Isreal Potter

Mellville chose to write a story that could be used as a somewhat accurate conveyance of the times. The setting of Israel Potter tends to be accurate for the time period. Most of the story took place upon a ship, where Israel worked. During the American Revoltion many people did work on ships, whether as merchants or as part of the navy. In fact, it is believed by most historians and analysts that Potter truly did work on a ship and spend time on the sea, however, he was not on John Paul Jones' ship as Mellville wrote. The people in Israel Potter tended to be somewhat superstitious. Because there were few

However, not all of the situations presented in Israel Potter are accurate or true to life. While Ben Franklin, Ethan Allen, and John Paul JOnes are real people, they were used in fabricated manners to add drama and intrigue to the novel. For example, historians have managed to discredit the belief that Potter worked on John Paul JOnes' ship. Most of the discrepancies in Mellville's novel were added for drama. At the time that Mellville wrote Israel Potter, he believed strongly in the YOung American Movement. They felt that literature should be lusty, exciting, and full of grandeur. Therefore, Mellville developed a theme of capture and escape to add intrigue to his tale. This tendency to add drama also helped to originally sell the novel when it was published as sections in a magazine.

Israel Potter was not only a novel of excitement and adventure, it also had a message. American itself was a new and independent country with a bold and adventurous spirit. Americans were willing to take risks and put themselves out on the line for their beliefs, just as Potter did. Most importantly though, Israel Potter was written five years before the Civil War when tensions were high and the American people were beginning to divide. Mellville was trying to show the people the value and meaning of the true American spirit. For example, many people believe that his use of Benjamin Franklin, John Paul Jones, and

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