Redburn, his first voyage ; White-jacket, or, The world in a man-of-war ; Moby-Dick, or, The whale

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<div style="text-indent: 0px;">Redburn is the fourth novel and most clearly autobiographical work of Herman Melville. For the first time, I felt intimately connected to one of his books. The novel is a fantastic sea story that brings up treasured memories of my own experience at sea. Redburn, a young and inexperienced kid, finds sea life a little harder than anticipated on his first ocean voyage.  His comparison of the numbers of lines on the schooner to number of bones in the human body was hilarious. Melviile writes about his transition from a landlubber to a real sailor. This story is fantastic from the start. I would definitely read this book again and again.  This was an interesting book, because it transformed an innocent kid into a sailor by having him scrub decks, hear sailor stories, and learn deck seamanship. Redburn learns that he must start from the bottom and learn the basics before he can become a sailor. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who has a deep passion for the sea.</div>

 

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White Jacket is a book that the average person may have a hard time comprehending. Those with some military knowledge and experience will find the concepts and events much easier to identify with. The book is told through the main character, who is a young sailor nick named white jacket due to his unusual attire. The book addresses the values of the Navy during the 1800’s and heavily reveals some of its key flaws and injustices. One of which was called flogging, a form of punishment that was eventually banned from the Navy. The story weighs heavily on good men versus evil men on the ship and their specific jobs. Although the book is centered around the Navy, it is highly comparable to today’s Coast Guard experience; more specifically Eagle.  Some of the key values of the Coast Guard are present in the story through the characters actions; most noticeable is devotion to duty. Drills are done at all hours of the day and night with unbelievable precision. During one section of the story, the main character falls overboard, is rescued, and then sent back into the rigging to continue his duty. This book is a great read for cadets because it goes in depth about the hard work schedules and relationships of crewmembers. By the end of the book it is possible to have a new understanding of what the ship faces as a whole at sea and how conflicts on board can possible defeat the crew from the inside out if core values are not stressed and applied regularly.

White-Jacket

    Although Melville’s novel “White-Jacket” or “The World in a Man-of-War” is often overshadowed by his other works such as “Billy Budd” and “Moby Dick”, “White-Jacket” is a great glimpse into the life onboard a US Naval vessel during the middle 1800’s. The novel is very descriptive about the members of the crew and can be very useful to a member of the Coast Guard today to better understand the history of seagoing members of the military throughout United State’s history.
    The main purpose of “White Jacket” has very political roots, Melville gave every member of the Senate a copy of the novel in hopes that they would ban flogging in the US Navy. The novel showed the injustices and poor treatment of the common sailor. As a cadet and future officer this book can be very valuable, it can show through bad example how an officer should behave and treat their subordinates. As a professional mariner and Guardian, this novel helps you to better understand the rich heritage of sea power in the United States and how the sea going services have progressed though out history.