Herman Melville

Mardi Herman Melville

Mardi, and a Voyage Thither is Melville's third book. It is his first pure fiction work. It details (much like Typee and Omoo) the travelings of an American sailor who abandons his whaling vessel to explore the South Pacific. Unlike the first two, however, Mardi is highly philosophical and is said to be the first work to show Melville's true potential. The tale begins as a simple narrative, but quickly focuses upon discourse between the main characters and their interactions with different symbolic countries they encounter. While not as cohesive or lengthy as Moby-Dick, it shares many of the same themes and writing style.