Herman Melville is synonymous with the romantic ideal of a starving artist. PBS remarked that"Melville fought for a greatness that would not be realized during his lifetime" (pbs.org). How depressing is that? Herman Melville was born August 1, 1819 in New York City as the third of eight children. In his childhood, Melville fell prey to scarlet fever (the very same that affected Helen Keller), which left his vision permanently impaired the rest of his life. His father, Allan Melville, worked as a high-end importer. The work paid handsomely, but Allan had borrowed so much, he decided to start fresh in the fur industry and moved upstate to Albany. The business flopped and Allan suddenly died, leaving the Melville family impoverished and impossibly hopless.  The death of his father and the family's financial situation constantly interfered with Melville's education. Herman's eldest brother took control of the fur business. Herman clerked at a nearby bank to help make ends meet. The situation stabilized enough and Herman was able to return to school at Albany Academy where he studied classic literature and wrote extensively. In 1837, he left home for a teaching position in Massachuessetts. As quickly as he came, he left, deeming the work as "unfulfilling." That same year, his brother's business folded and the family was thrust into a dire situation. The Melvilles relocated and Herman was urged to finish school as a surveyor so he could quickly gain employment for the Eerie Canal project.  Despite the lack of serious education and the spare time, Melville was a highly voracious reader devouring everything from Greek mythology to Shakespearean tragedies. He also loved hearing the story of the Essex, a U.S. ship that had been attacked and sunk by a whale (hint, hint foreshadowing).  Melville was unable to get a job as a surveyor, though, and at his oldest brother Gansevoort's (yes that is his actual name) urging, he took a position as a cabin boy on the St. Lawrence in 1839. He was 20 years old. Being a sailor must've paid handsomley or provided a thrill because once the St. Lawrence returned, Herman set sail on the Acushnet, which unlike his first voyage was a whaling one. And in the Pacific. After the Acushnet arrived in Polynesia (a year and a half of being on ship), Melville and a friend deserted the ship, only to be captured by cannibals known as the Typee. Melville was treated extremely well, but he still fled and sought board with the Lucy Ann after four months of imprisonment. He must've not learned his lesson about disobedience because not long after he was jailed for joining a minority of the crew in mutiny against the captain. He escaped to the island Eimeo and joined the crew of the Charles and Henry as a harpooner. Five months later, Charles and Henry anchored (a sailor term for when a boat "retires" in a port for a while) and Melville took up clerical work in Maui. In the August of that year (1843), only four months after docking, Herman enlisted in the US Navy.  Herman Melville returned home (and by that I mean his mother's basement) in October 1844, three years of adventures behind him. He went to work putting pen to paper to detail his tales in story form. Typee (1846) was based on his real life experience as a prisoner of cannibals in Polynesia, which American publishers initially rejected as being "too far-fetched."  An English publisher agreed to publish it, where it was a sensational success among the British. When one of Melville's former crewmates came forward and publicly validated the accuracy of the story, American publishers agreed to publish it and the book became an international success (19th century speaking). Omoo followed as a overnight success.  During this time as a successful writer, Herman Melville married Elizabeth Shaw, the chief justice of Massachuessetts daughter, in 1847. He moved his family and his wife to an apartment in New York City, where he proceeded to complete two more books in two years. His later works were modest hits, but nothing else would amount to the critical success Melville had experienced with his first two novels the rest of his lifetime. As he started working on the manuscript for Moby Dick, he befriended author Nathaniel Hawthorne who provided critiques and encouragement for the book-in-progress. The book would become a great masterpiece that detailed the American identity featured in the preceding whaling industry, however upon it's release, critics ghosted and the book flew under the radar. The anticlimatic and ultimately disappointing release of Moby Dick served as a precursor to a floundering literary career the rest of Melville's life.  Melville's subsequent works performed poorly and Herman began to give up on writer. He continued to battle against the approaching obscurity and financial ruin that came with flop after flop. During this time, Melville sank into deep depression, which he coped with by beating his wife. He took up work as a dock inspector, writing short stories and speeches on the side. His familial relationships continued to worsen. In 1867, Melville's oldest son Malcolm (18) committed suicide. Melville desperate for some source material (and material success for that matter) travelled Europe, the Holy Land, and reflected back on his sailing days. He was nearly finished with Billy Budd , The Sailor when he died of a heart-attack at 72. Closer analysis on many of Herman Melville's works will reveal many homosexual allusions (especially in his last book), causing some to wonder if perhaps Herman was a homosexual. Melville's works received a revival in the 1920s where his name gained the presitge he had so sought after his entire life.