Moby DickHerman Melville’s classic nineteenth-century novel. It’s long, full of neologisms, encyclopedicand “overwrought” if you believe one former American Lit survey student. In the age of fifteen-second TikTok videos, how can we get students to appreciate what one critic calls Melville’s mighty book? May we suggest layering in a few JSTOR Daily stories, a few images and objects from collections found on JSTOR, and focusing on sperm whaling in the United States. Links from JSTOR Daily to all content on JSTOR are free as usual. Call us prepared.
JSTOR DAILY STORIES
The Diverse Whaling Crews of Melville’s Era
July 30, 2019
The ship from Moby Dick was a fairly accurate portrayal of the multi-racial character of American whaling crews before the Civil War.
Did North America’s Longest Painting Inspire Moby-Dick?
June 20, 2018
Herman Melville likely saw the panorama “Whaling Voyage,” which records the sinking of the whaler Essex, while staying in Boston in 1849.
What Herman Melville Can Teach Bob Dylan about Plagiarism
August 1, 2017
Bob Dylan delivered his Nobel Prize lecture on June 4, just days before a deadline that would have …
What Is Ambergris and Where Does It Come From?
December 9, 2015
Ambergris, a waxy-like substance found in perfumes, has a unique origin.
Melville Reborn, Again and Again
September 28, 2014
A scholar traces Herman Melville’s reputation in American and British literary circles.
Melville’s Confidence Man Today
February 19, 2017
Does Herman Melville’s 1857 novel The Confidence-Man have anything to tell us about our present day? Philip Roth thinks so.
Why Don’t Americans Eat Whale?
February 2, 2016
Whales have been used for everything but meat in this country. Why is that?
JOURNAL ARTICLES ABOUT HERMAN MELVILLE, MOBY DICKAND WHALING
“‘Whaling Voyage Round the World’: Russell and Purrington’s Moving Panorama and Herman Melville’s ‘Mighty Book.’” by Kevin J. Avery. American Art Journal, vol. 22, no. 1, 1990, p. 50–78.
“The Business of Whaling in America in the 1850’s.” by David Moment. The Business History Review. Vol. 31, No. 3 (Autumn, 1957), pp. 261-291.
“Turner’s Whaling Pictures,” by Alison Hokanson Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin , Spring 2016, Vol. 73, No. 4, Turner’s Whaling Pictures (Spring 2016), pp. 1-2, 4-47.
“Journal of Melville’s Voyage in a Clipper Ship” by Herman Melville. The New England Quarterly, 1929. Vol. 2, No. 1 (Jan., 1929), p. 120-125.
“‘Universal Mixing’ and Interpenetrating Standing: Disability and Community in Melville’s Moby-Dick.” by Harriet Hustis. Nineteenth-Century Literature. Vol. 69, No. 1 (June 2014), pp. 26-55.
“Oil, Spermaceti, Ambergris, and Teeth: Products of the Nineteenth-Century Pacific Sperm-Whaling Industry.” by Nancy Shoemaker. RCC Perspectivesno. 5 (2019): 17–22.
IMAGES RELATED TO WHALING, HERMAN MELVILLE, AND MOBY DICK
Paintings of Whaler Ships
Whale Skeletons, Bones, Teeth
Students can understand the size of a whale from preserved skeletons and teeth.
Whale Oil Lamps
Objects That Use Whale Parts
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Resources
JSTOR is a digital library for scholars, researchers, and students. JSTOR Daily readers can access the original research behind our articles for free on JSTOR.
By: C. Merton Babcock
American Speech, Vol. 27, No. 2 (May, 1952), pp. 91–101
Duke University Press
By: J. A. Ward
American Literature, Vol. 28, No. 2 (May, 1956), pp. 164–183
Duke University Press
By: Robert Paul Lamb
College Literature, Vol. 32, No. 1 (Winter, 2005), pp. 42-62
The John Hopkins University Press
By: Kevin J. Avery
The American Art Journal, Vol. 22, No. 1 (Spring, 1990), pp. 50–78
Kennedy Galleries, Inc.
By: David Moment
The Business History Review, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Autumn, 1957), pp. 261–291
The President and Fellows of Harvard College
By: Alison Hokanson
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 73, No. 4, Turner’s Whaling Pictures (Spring 2016), pp. 1–2, 4–47
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
By: Herman Melville
The New England Quarterly, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Jan., 1929), pp. 120-125
The New England Quarterly, Inc.
By: Harriet Hustis
Nineteenth-Century Literature, Vol. 69, No. 1 (June 2014), pp. 26–55
University of California Press
By: Nancy Shoemaker
RCC Perspectives, No. 5, NEW HISTORIES OF PACIFIC WHALING (2019), pp. 17–22
Rachel Carson Center
