Herman MelvilleMelville's early life experiences influenced many of his writings and the themes of his stories. As you know, it all started in a special way, like everyone's life. Somewhere in New York lived Allan and Maria Gansevoort Melvill. On August 1, 1981, Allan and Maria welcomed their third son and named him Herman. Herman was born into a family with a lot of history. His elders were of Scottish and Dutch origin. Herman had two grandfathers who played important roles in the American Revolution and the Boston Tea Party. Herman, however; did not follow these traces. In 1826, Herman's father Alan wrote that he was slow and quite backward in his thinking. A year later, Alan was tragically diagnosed with scarlet fever, leaving him almost permanently blind. Unable to work, the family business collapsed. Seeking reinforcement, they decided to return to Albany, New York, where Alan and his wife originally met. Herman later enrolled at Albany Academy, but just before another tragedy struck the family. Alan died in 1832, leaving his family once again in despair. Gansevoort, Alan's eldest son, took on the responsibility of head of the family. Herman joined him two years later as a bank employee. Surprisingly, the family made the decision to change their last name from “Melvill” to “Melville”. In 1835, Herman attended the classical school in Albany, then joined the school's local debating society. Later, Melville decided he would like to try teaching. He only taught for 3 years because he didn't really like it, but what he does next decides his entire future. Melville by that time had already started writing, but as a teenager he went in search of something. ...... middle of paper ....... Certain passages in Melville's writings address all forms of sexuality. There are passages from Moby Dick and Billy Bud where you can see it best. In recent years, Billy Budd has become a center in the field of legal scholarship, also known as law and literature. Herman's legacy is quite important in our lives today. He changed the way many writers based their stories. They realize how popular his writings are and see that the reason is that his books reflect such reality and life experiences. Moby Dick is still used in school libraries around the world and forms the basis of all historical writings. He is well known for this novel and in fact was recently honored for it. In 2010, scientists discovered a new species of extinct giant sperm whale. The paleontologist who discovered the fossils was a fan of Moby Dick and named the species in his honor..