Redburn (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Herman Melville
- First Published: 1849
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Bildungsroman
- Time of Work: Mid-nineteenth century
- Setting: New York, the Atlantic Ocean, and England
- Principal Characters: Wellingborough Redburn, Captain Riga, Harry Bolton
- Genres: Long fiction, Bildungsroman, Adventure
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., Suffering, United States or Americans, Suicide, Nineteenth century, Friendship, Immigration or emigration, England or English people, Ships, Sailing or sailors, Atlantic Ocean, Shipping
- Locales: New York, NY, Oceans, Liverpool, England
The Story:
Wellingborough Redburn’s father had died, leaving the mother and children poorly provided for, although the father had been a highly successful merchant and at one time a wealthy man. When Redburn was in his middle teens, he decided to take some of the burden off his mother by going to sea. Given an old gun and a hunting jacket by an older brother, Redburn left his home by the Hudson River and went to New York to seek a berth on a ship.
A college friend of his older brother aided Redburn in finding a berth on a ship bound for Liverpool. Unfortunately, the...
[The entire page is 2532 words long]
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