Leon Parker and Harrison Hayford 2006

 

MONSTROUS COMPOUNDS: GENRE AND VALUE IN HERMAN MELVILLE

 

DISSERTATION  Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate  School of  The Ohio State University  By Jason L. Corner, M. A. The Ohio State University 2006 Dissertation       

Approved by Professor Elizabeth Renker, Adviser

 

Many critics, including Leon Parker and Harrison Hayford, have produced convincing evidence that Melville’s intentions changed over the course of writing.  The bulk of the evidence such critics cite suggests that Melville began with the intention of focusing the narrative entirely around Ishmael, and deciding in the process that Ahab would be an important character