Fathers & Sons in Melville

I just got out of my American Fiction class, where we are talking about Herman Melville's novel REDBURN. Two summers ago, MOBY DICK kicked my ass--so I wasn't really looking forward to REDBURN. Luckily for me, this earlier novel is much easier to get into. I think I'm going to have to add it to my "favorites" list. It's good, really good actually. As a young person starting life in the "adult" world, I find myself identifying a lot with young Redburn.

One of the last chapters we read for today's lecture concerned a guidebook. Redburn's father (who is long dead) used to travel abroad quite a bit in his youth. One of Redburn's prized possessions is this old battered Liverpool guidebook that was his fathers. Upon reaching Liverpool, Redburn tries to use it to see some of the sights. But the book is old, and Liverpool has changed. The book his father used to get around is no longer useful. Though he cherishes the book, Redburn discovers that he's going to have to figure the world out all on his own. I think that is a really good metaphor for life. No one can tell you what or how to live...you just have to figure it out for yourself.

My father isn't dead, I can still talk to him, but the problem remains. I'm about to graduate college--something neither of my parents did (uncharted waters, if you will). I'm really nervous about my future, and I don't know what I should do in January when I'm out of school. My father can tell me about starting out, and the things he did...but Liverpool has changed. I can't rely on any one's past experiences to steer my life forward.

I'm reminded of the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"Each age, it is found, must write its own books; or rather each generation for the next succeeding. The books of an older period will not fit this"