Melville is known as a writer of rip-roaring, whale-snorting sea stories, so it makes sense that The Piazza Tales would have some tales of folks marooned and abandoned far from home. Melville's also a Very Serious Author, though, so "exile" for him doesn't just mean desert islands and catastrophic adventure; it also means the sad, lonely exile of the lost soul. Bartleby is a kind of exiled adventurer in his cubicle; a drifting sailor lost amidst the paperclips.
Questions About Exile
- Is Bartleby an exile? Why or why not?
- Is Babo an exile? Why or why not?
- Is Marianna in "The Piazza" an exile? Why or why not?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate.
The reader in "The Encantadas" is made to experience the feeling of exile.
The reader in "The Encantadas" is not really an exile, but a tourist.