... . So, in addition to the obvious biographical facts, a more difficult study, that of Melville's mind and spirit, should be pursued, and it should embrace not only his psychological and intellectual history but his responses, frequently deviant and always ambivalent, to nineteenth-century American culture. Melville's father, Allan, an "importer of French Goods and Commission Merchant" who traveled abroad, was a member of ... press, and sales looked promising. There was also some feeling that he had stretched the facts. He was encouraged to consider a sequel that would closely follow his v...

• Word Count: 2748
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography