Dec 29, 2009

Moby Dick | Overview

Background
The spirit of adventure and rugged individualism evident in Melville’s work was the spirit of the age in which he lived. The Manifest Destiny doctrine defined the country’s will to grow and spread its democracy throughout the hemisphere. Westward expansion accelerated after the economic depression of 1837, and American pioneers conquered the frontier.

At the same time, New England whaling captains and their crews were conquering the great fishing grounds throughout the world. New Bedford, Massachusetts, the setting of the opening scene in...