Herman Melville, an American author best known today for his novel Moby Dick, was actually more popular during his lifetime for some of his other works. He traveled extensively and used the knowledge gained during his travels as the basis for his early novels. In 1837, at the age of eighteen, Melville signed as a cabin boy on a merchant ship that was to sail from his Massachusetts home to Liverpool, England. His experiences on this trip served as a basis for the novel Redburn (1849). In 1841 Melville set out on a whaling ship headed for the South Seas. After jumping ship in Tahiti, he wandered around the islands of Tahiti and Moorea. This South Sea island sojourn was a backdrop to the novel Omoo (1847). After three years away from home, Melville joined up with a U.S. naval frigate that was returning to the eastern United States around Cape Horn. The novel White-Jacket (1850) describes this lengthy voyage as a navy seaman.

With the publication of these early adventure novels, Melville developed a strong and loyal following among readers eager for his tales of exotic places and situations. However, in 1851, with the publication of Moby Dick, Melville's popularity started to diminish. Moby Dick, on one level the saga of the hunt for the great white whale, was also a heavily symbolic allegory of the heroic struggle of man against the universe. The public was not ready for Melville's literary metamorphosis from romantic adventure to philosophical symbolism. It is ironic that the novel that served to diminish Melville's popularity during his lifetime is the one for which he is best known today.

According to the passage, Moby Dick is .............

Câu hỏi liên quan

• Which of the following is the main topic of the passage?

• The word “retrieves” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _______.

• In what year did Melville’s book about his experiences as a cabin boy appear?

ZUNIA12

• The reason why telecommuting has not become popular is that the employees ___________.

• Why did the professor study the Brazilian students’ behaviour?

• What can be inferred about the defense mechanisms of the sea cucumber?

• The word “bounds” in line 5 is closest in meaning to ......

• What is the meaning of “waterproof” in the second paragraph?

• It can be inferred from the passage that the eye ___.

• What is the main topic of the passage?

• According to the author, blacks in King's neighborhood were involved in all the following businesses and services EXCEPT .......

• The phrase “infringing upon” in paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _____

• The word "assigned" in the fourth paragraph mostly means ......

• The word "them" in the passage 2 refers to_________.

• What does the word magni stand for?

• The word “this” in paragraph 3 refers to ...............

• Which of the following threatens the countryside in Britain?

• The author claims all of the following to be the benefits of rooftop gardens except .............

• The passage mainly discusses costume in terms of its _______

• The word "perish" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.