In the following excerpt, Robillard discusses Melville's linking of landscape and seascape descriptions with works of art through his character/narrator Wellingborough Redburn, who envisions the entire world as a work of art.
In the following essay, Sten suggests that Melville's Wellingborough Redburn undergoes not a simple initiation over the course of the novel, but rather the far more complicated and lengthy process of identity formation.
In the following essay, Schroeter discusses the limitations of the mythic, initiation into evil interpretation of Redburn, claiming that there are important elements of tone and structure within the novel that undercut such an interpretation.
In the following essay, Bell examines Melville's treatment of initiation into the adult world as less involved in problems of innocence or good vs. evil than most critics assume; Bell's criticism is more concerned with the social and psychological implications of the transformation from naïve child to experienced adult.
In the following essay, Haberstroh maintains that Redburn was written as a haven from his precarious emotional state following the publication of Mardi.
In the following essay, Press claims that Melville's presentation of the relationship between Europe and America in Redburn is far more complicated than the usual dichotomy between decadence and innocence.
In the following essay, McCarthy examines Melville's treatment of Liverpool, London, and New York as centers of Anglo-American culture founded on private property, class difference, and social malaise.
In the following essay, Mathewson asserts that Melville expanded Redburn into a full-length book by repeating and recycling elements from the first section into the novel's sections on Liverpool and New York through a process of “self-plagiarism.”
In the following essay, Pry contends that Melville's novel, centered on a theme of Christian brotherhood, is far more unified than many critics and readers assume.
