The relevance of Herman Melville and his prose over the years has steadily mounted. Moby-Dick still powerfully resonates with today’s audiences. Remarkably, Melville’s influence and implied philosophy continue to stand the test of time.
The Great American Novel?
Moby-Dick, arguably Melville’s masterpiece, has captivated readers for well over a century. Mesmerized by the eerie whiteness of the whale, engaged in Ahab’s monomaniacal quest for revenge, and compelled to see beyond the mask of perception into the true visage of reality, readers consistently return to this uncommonly rich, profoundly in-depth text.
Myriad reasons exist for the sustained success of Moby-Dick. The surface plot, adventure, peril, tragedy, and perseverance all please casual readers, but beneath the surface lingers a haunting and compelling poignancy. Ishmael presents metaphysical monologues comparable to those of Hamlet. The endless interpretations of meaning for the white whale and the gold doubloon serve as precursor to Jacques Derrida’s literary approach, deconstruction. And, according to Sterling Stuckey’s African Culture and Melville’s Art (2009 Oxford UP), Melville presents to a starkly racist 1850s culture a radically subversive, largely unpopular message of equality and multiculturalism.
Melville's Existentialism
With stunning acumen and scope, Melville describes a turbulent world, on the brink of an even darker future. He examines the hopes and horrors of industrialism and analyzes the inevitable repercussions of nature and humanity, adulterated. He probes the tensions of class politics and identity and often dwells on alienation, homo-social interaction, and the disconnect between appearance and reality.
Though existentialism was in its infancy during Melville’s time, his work exhibits several existential characteristics. Themes of anguish, existence, absurdity, and engagement arise throughout Melville’s work. Consequently, Melville compares interestingly with Fyodor Dostoyevsky, his Russian contemporary, a pioneer of existential literature. Both writers display an apprehension of civilization, a preoccupation with madness, and an acute insight into individual psychology and motivation.
Chaos Theory and Moby-Dick
While ordering such an array of issues, Melville approaches the realm of chaos theory. In Chaos: Making a New Science, James Gleick begins a chapter by quoting Melville’s famous line from the Cetology chapter of Moby-Dick: “The classification of the constituents of a chaos, nothing less here is essayed.” The quote refers to how Melville believes in truth as a composite entity, comprised of a vast complexity of details and variables. Gleick points out Melville’s presentiment of an underlying equation.
Somehow Melville's writing indeed manages to encapsulate the entire world. His sense of place (be it America, Europe, the Galapagos, or the open sea) and prodigious foresight form an intricate and authentic image of Melville's world in all its furious momentum. Truly, Melville's singular creativity qualifies him as an American literary master.
Cormac McCarthy and Melville
Unsurprisingly, one of today’s great American writers, Cormac McCarthy, lists Melville as one of his few influences, citing, according to his biography, provided by the Cormac McCarthy Society, Moby-Dick as his favorite novel. McCarthy’s attention to specific mechanical detail, chaos, order, freewill, and violent existentialism resembles Melville’s efforts. The authors also contain striking similarities through their mutual concern with the metaphysical significance of the repetition of working-class activity versus a pervading sense of doomed meaningless. Doubtless, McCarthy continues to echo the wind-worn howls that Melville began in the mid 19th century.
Melville Studies Gaining Momentum
In the future, expect Melville to maintain his place in the American literary canon. While Moby-Dick continues to garner extraordinary critical acclaim and Bartleby, The Scrivener and Benito Cereno consistently remain in great American short-story collections, other works such as The Confidence-Man are attracting fresh interest in Melville studies.
Melville’s name now comes up in a range of discussion, from Queer Theory to Feminist Criticism. His cumulative contribution stands as a pillar in American fiction. He produced some of America's most amazing short fiction and possibly the country's finest novel. So to those guilty of the literary sin of not having read Moby-Dick, head to the local library, quickly.
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