2min chapter

The History of Literature cover image

474 Herman Melville

The History of Literature

CHAPTER

Herman Melville in New York City

Herman Melville was the heir to famous patriots and proud of his heritage both his grandfathers were revolutionary war heroes. His mother's father general Peter Ganzavort had defended Fort Stanwicks against the British and was a friend of James Fenimore Cooper. Ishmael basically begins the book with this description of man in Manhattan sliding towards the sea like chest pawns on a tilted board. It's going to see is the substitute for blowing your brains out he suggests.

00:00
Speaker 1
with a discussion of Manhattan is basically a spot filled with men who longed to be at sea, restless men or an Ishmael's description posted like silence sentinels all around the town, stand thousands upon thousands of mortal men fixed in ocean reveries and quote his description of them chained to their desks and of himself grim about the mouth ready to walk into the streets and knock people's hats off, bringing up the rear funerals and pausing involuntarily at coffin warehouses with a drape sorry a damp drizzly November in his soul. Ishmael basically begins the book with this description of man in Manhattan sliding towards the sea like chest pawns on a tilted board. It's going to see is the substitute for blowing your brains out he suggests. That does not seem to have been the case for young Herman Melville in New York City. Instead he lived in a grand house on Bleaker Street and then on Broadway elegant places staffed with servants. He was the heir to famous patriots and proud of his heritage both his grandfathers were revolutionary war heroes his father's father major Thomas Melville the name had no E at that point had been part of the Boston Tea Party and then made his bank as an importer in New York. His mother's father general Peter Ganzavort had defended Fort Stanwicks against the British and was a friend of James Fenimore Cooper. Herman had seven brothers and sisters four boys four girls in the family he was the third eldest and not all that promising at least at first he was sickly as a child to with scarlet fever that weakened his eyes for the rest of his life. A more dramatic impairment was that his father was living beyond his means borrowing money from his parents both his his own parents and his father-in-law Ganzavort which Ganzavort eventually cut off leaving Melville's father in debt of twenty thousand bucks which is about a half a million dollars in today's money.

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode