Point of View in Herman Melville's Typee and Redburn

Abstract

<p>Herman Melville is a difficult writer because of the built-in ambiguities of his narrative technique, i.e. point of view. The present study attempts to examine his use of point of view in his two early novels--Typee and Redburn with a view to understanding the meaning and vision embodied in them. The introductory chapter reviews some of Melville's critics and evolves an approach which may grapple with Melville's intricate handling of point of view. In the follmving chapters I use this approach. to study two of Melville's early noveis, Typee and Redburn. The analysis of the point of view in these two novels reveals that they are inspired by a vision of evil. Each of the novels expresses and illuminates some particular aspect of the human situation or of evil in the universe.</p>