HERMAN MELVILLE, AN AMERICAN AUTHOR BEST KNOWN TODAY FOR HI...

EXERCISE 2

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 humanity 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.

Questions

Question 1: The main subject of the passage is ...

A. Melville's travels B. the popularity of Melville's novels

C. Melville's personal background D. Moby Dick

Question 2: According to the passage, Melville's early novels were ...

A. published while he was traveling B. completely fictional

C. all about his work on whaling ships D. based on his travel experience

Question 3: In what year did Melville's book about his experiences as a cabin boy appear?

A. 1837 B. 1841 C. 1847 D. 1849

Question 4: The word “basis” in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to .

A. background B. message C. bottom D. dissertation

Question 5: The passage implies that Melville stayed in Tahiti because ...

A. he had unofficially left his ship

B. he was on leave while his ship was in port

C. he had finished his term of duty

D. he had received permission to take a vacation in Tahiti

Question 6: A “frigate” in paragraph 1 is probably .

A. an office B. a ship C. a troop D. a fishing boat

Question 7: How did the publication of Moby Dick affect Melville's popularity?

A. His popularity increased immediately.

B. It had no effect on his popularity.

C. It caused his popularity to decrease.

D. His popularity remained as strong as ever.

Question 8: According to the passage, Moby Dick is .

A. a romantic adventure

B. a single-faceted work

C. a short story about a whale

D. symbolic of humanity fighting the universe

Question 9: The word “metamorphosis” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ...

A. circle B. change C. mysticism D. descent

Question 10: The passage would most likely be assigned reading in a course on ...

A. nineteenth-century novels

B. American history

C. oceanography

D. modem American literature