Religious Archetypes in Moby Dick, Billy Budd, and Bartleby the Scrivener
Herman Melville's use of Biblical overtones gives extra dimensions to his works. Themes in his stories parallel those in the Bible to teach about good and evil. Melville emphasizes his characters' qualities by drawing allusions, and in doing so makes them appear larger than life. In the same way that the Bible teaches lessons about life, Herman Melville's stories teach lessons about the light and dark sides of human nature. He places his readers in situations that force them to identify with right or wrong choices. In Moby Dick, Billy Budd, and "Bartleby the Scrivener," Melville encourages his readers to learn from his explanations of human nature and strive for a better society.
Melville's Moby Dick is the saga of a whaling voyage gone awry when the Pequod's Captain Ahab leads his crew, not to hunt for profit, but to hunt the White Whale who took one of his legs. Captain Ahab's idolatrous relationship with the White Whale, Moby Dick, parallels King Ahab's idol worship. Captain Ahab represents all idolaters. His obsession approaches Biblical proportions. In First Kings in the Old Testament, King Ahab, who is "weak-willed" (Hertz 699), is controlled and influenced by his wife Jezebel. He neglects his responsibility as King of the Israelites, and leads his people astray to the worship of Baal. In doing so, he breaks the Second Commandment: "thou shalt have no other gods" (Hertz 295). Similarly, Captain Ahab leads his crew away from their job as whalers. As Mr. Starbuck says, "I came here to hunt whales, not my commander's vengeance"(Moby 162). Led by feelings of revenge and anger, Ahab uses the crew to search for his G...
... middle of paper ...
...
152. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism, Vol. 17. Detroit, 153. Michigan.: Gale Research Company, 1985.
Gardner, John. "'Bartleby': Art and Social Commitment," in Philological
Quarterly, Vol. XLIII, No. 1, January 1964, pp. 87-88. Rpt. in
Contemporary Literary Criticism, Vol. 17. Detroit, Michigan.: Gale Research Company, 1985.
Hertz, J.H., ed. Pentateuch and Haftorahs. London: The Soncino Press, 1960.
Melville, Herman. "Bartleby the Scrivener." Rpt. in Billy Budd and Other Tales. New York: The New American Library, 1961.
_____. Billy Budd. Rpt. in Billy Budd and Other Tales. New York: The New American Library, 1961.
_____. Moby Dick. New York: Random House, Inc., 1950.
The New English Bible. "Matthew 25: 40-41." Oxford: Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, 1970.
Ender is selected to go to Battle School in space because of the actions he has displayed against a bully after a device known as a monitor, which allows the leaders of the I.F. to watch and hear everything Ender perceives. Although Ender’s conception was predetermined (in this time period, families are only allowed to have two children unless stated by the government which is why Ender is often called a “Third”), he had to display the correct characteristics to be selected. Ender’s siblings, Peter and Valentine also wore the monitor, but neither wore it as long nor was selected because Peter was too cruel and Valentine was too mild. Once Ender arrives, he makes a couple new friends from the other selected children, including a boy named Alai. When Ender is alone, he plays a mind game and progresses farther than anyone has before so out of the blue, Ender becomes promoted to a group called Salamander Army, where he befriends the only girl, Petra Arkanian, at Battle School. As Ender continues to display his brilliance, he is continuously being promot...
Bradstreet was a Puritan and was therefore raised with a simplistic view of the world. This, combined with the fact that she was a woman, carried over into her way of writing. Her writing style was not eloquent but plain, humble, and pleasant to read. Her poems dealt with topics such as faith, family, and adversity and were easy to understand. Bradstreet had great faith which she gained through the experiences she encountered in life.
Throughout the novel, Ender gradually begins to realize that he is not so different from his brother Peter. Ender grew up being punished and beaten up just for being a third who was smarter than Peter. This explains why Ender wants nothing to do with him when he leaves home. The mind game periodically reminds Ender that he is not completely different from him through certain levels. On the first obstacle that proved difficult, he brutally
...t and only try to defeat the I.F. Just as important as knowing that they hurt Ender was knowing why. After talking with Bean he realized that he was becoming everything he wanted to avoid. A commander that pushed around his soldiers and put them down. But he knew why. He thought, “Graff had isolated [me] to make [me] struggle” (Card 167). He was beginning to be like the people he hated because of his own isolation. He was supposed to struggle so he didn’t feel like anyone would help him but that only made his situation worse. Once again, knowing who the real enemy was was a key step to defeating the real enemy. Truly knowing your enemy can help a lot when trying to defeat them.
Heberle, Mark. "Contemporary Literary Criticism." O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Vol. 74. New York, 2001. 312.
Anne Bradstreet was born in 1612 to Thomas and Dorothy Dudley in Northampton, England. Her father and a young man named Simon Bradstreet were chosen by the Earl of Lincoln as stewards to manage the Earl’s affairs. Anne, unlike many women of her time, was well educated and it is presumed that she had access to the Earl’s vast library during this time. The Earl’s residence was known for its romantic background and this proved true in 1628 when Anne and Simon married. She was only sixteen to his twenty-five years but they were known to have a happy marriage as evidenced in “To my Dear and Loving Husband” where Bradstreet laments, “If ever two were one, than surely we” (125). In 1630, the Dudley’s and the Bradstreet’s, along with other Puritans, sailed aboard the Arabella to settle the Massachusetts Bay Colony. These families journeyed to America as many Puritan settlers had before them, in the hopes of religious freedoms unattainable in England. In the colonies, Anne’s husband was frequently absent. Bradstreet still found time to write her poetry while raising her 8 children and carrying on the strenuous duties of colonial life.
When the novel starts Ender Wiggin is a six-year-old genius. He has a brother, Peter, and a sister, Valentine, whom is the only person Ender truly loves. Ender is the third born in the Wiggin family, which is rare, because the limited amount of children per family is two. The government had been running a Battle School in space to train young boys and girls to become military commanders to fight against the buggers, aliens who had invaded Earth in the First and Second Invasions. Peter and Valentine had both been tried out for the Battle School, but Peter was too ruthless and Valentine was too soft towards the enemy. They both failed to go to the Battle school. But, the government wanted Ender. They wanted the death threatening genes that Peter had and the merciful and loving genes that Valentine had. They hoped that Ender would make the perfect military commander. So, The government had Ender born and they put a monitor on the back of his neck to watch his every move to see if he had what it took to get into Battle School. The monitor protected Ender from Peter and kids at school because if anything got out of hand the officers would stop it to help Ender.
Herman Melville’s use of religious images not only demonstrates his genius as a romantic author, but also displays the human capacity for evil. Melville specifically chooses these religious images to make a powerful statement on how evil is used as a weapon against people. Melville’s use of religious imagery is deliberate and even on the verge of calculating. Melville uses religion multiple times to show how being ignorant of one’s surroundings can be incredibly damaging.
In conclusion, this essay analyzes the similarities and differences of the two stories written by Herman Melville, Billy Budd and Bartleby. The settings, characters, and endings in the two stories reveal very interesting comparisons and contrasts. The comparison and contrast also includes the interpretation of the symbolism that Melville used in his two stories. The characters, Billy and Bartleby, could even be considered autobiographical representatives of Herman Melville.
Fogle, Richard Harter. "Hawthorne's fiction: The Light and the Dark." Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Study of Short Fiction. Ed. Nancy Bunge. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993. 133-35
Growing up in the early 1600's was a tough time for many people, especially women. Women were very much discriminated against and made to fulfill the duties that were in the household and nothing else beyond that. Anne Bradstreet was a woman that grew up during this time as a Puritan. Puritans believed that humans could only achieve goodness if they worked hard, were self-disciplined, and constantly examining themselves to make sure that they were living their lives for God. Due to this way of looking at life, Anne Bradstreet had little time for writing her poetry. Being a mother of eight children and a devoted wife one would think that Bradstreet wasn't carrying out her duties to her family and God if she was busy writing poetry. Therefore if people knew that she was writing this poetry she would not want them to think less of her so she would write it in a happy and family oriented sense showing how devoted she was to her family through her poetry. That is why Bradstreet writes how she does in the poem To My Dear and Loving Husband. She writes as if to portray that she has a great relationship with her husband and God. Although from her other poem, Prologue, one can see that underneath she truly feels betrayed by the men in her life and by men in general.
When Ender leaves to Battle School, not only does he face other “Peters” but he experiences fatigue and loneliness from the severe program he is going through. Valentine will begrudgingly be used to motivate Ender in continuing in the program. Ender has improved at Battle School within a year- the youngest toon leader yet and was highest in the ranks. Everyone respected him as a teacher- not as a friend. This made Ender feel utterly depressed. Nobody saw him as a young child- just a respectable commander and that surely made him agitated. Graff and the other adults began to worry about Ender’s health. So, they called in reinforcements and had Valentine write a letter, “She’d written before, and they didn’t let any of those letters through. Those might have been real, but this was asked for, this was part of their manipulation” (Card-107). The IF uses the person Ender as ever truly cared for, Valentine, to motivate him and give him some kind of shrivel of hope to persevere through the program. They believed that Ender would do anything for his sister Valentine because of his unconditional love for his sibling. Even though this manipulation strategy was transparent and quite frustrating for Ender, he was determined not to play by the adults’ rules and he continued to be the best soldier yet. Later, when Ender was promoted to Commander, he stayed on Earth for two months- never wanting to go to space. Valentine is brought to meet him and convince him to go to Eros,” She walked back up the hill, savagely angry at them for making her come to Ender like this. For she had, after all, done just what they wanted. She had talked Ender into going back into his training, and he wouldn’t soon forgive her for that” (Card-170). Valentine knew the consequences of manipulating her brother- that Ender would think
Early in the novel, Rubashov experiences a chronic toothache that he later associates with recollections of past events or people for which he now feels guilty, although he did not feel so at the time. The toothache appears upon recollection of Richard's and Little Loewy's expulsion from the Party, and of Rubashov's inaction towards the expulsion and execution of Arlova. It occurs on "the right eye-tooth which [is...
Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Ed. Linda Pavlovski. Vol.
The novella Billy Budd was written by the American novelist Herman Melville. Throughout the story, the reader is repeatedly introduced to the concepts of morals, and integrity. Melville himself referred to this idea as “The Art of Telling the Truth.” Billy demonstrated the injustice for the common man, as well as the honorability of accepting the consequences for ones actions. Melville argues in his three final chapters that the common man receives no justice in society, and the farther time passes, the more injustice one receives.