Transcendentalism in Selected Works by Herman Melville

Abstract

The aim of this bachelor thesis is to compare Herman's Melville's work in relation to the philosophy of Transcendentalism. The thesis is divided into to parts. The first part is concerned with introducing Transcendentalism and determining how is it influenced by philosophical and religious dogmas. The second part focuses on contrasting Herman Melville's work with the ideas of Transcendentalism. The overarching question of the thesis is to find out to what extend does the character of Captain Ahab from Melville's Moby Dick reflect the philosophy of Emerson and Transcendentalism. This is achieved by analyzing how the two authors reacted to the introduction of Romanticism and Classical German philosophy.