“The Fiddler” by Herman Melville or The Story on 5 Pages

Hello! Do you think that it is impossible to read one story in one evening in English? I will prove the opposite. I want to tell you about a wonderful short story by an American writer that I’ve read today and show that learning English is interesting, and reading in English is not work, but pleasure and benefit. I will tell you about the author, a little about the plot, give you some words that you will learn or repeat after reading the book. Let’s go!

The author of this story is Herman Melville, an American novelist, short story writer and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are his magnum opus, Moby-Dick, and Typee, a romantic account of his experiences of Polynesian life.

Melville’s work often touched on themes of communicative expression and the pursuit of the absolute among illusions.

Melville was not financially successful as a writer; over his entire lifetime Melville’s writings earned him just over $10,000. Melville’s travelogues based on voyages to the South Seas and stories based on his time in the merchant marine and navy led to some initial success, but his popularity declined dramatically afterwards. By 1876, all of his books were out of print. He was viewed as a minor figure in American literature in the later years of his life and during the years immediately after his death. Only in the 1920s did the rethinking of Melville begin, and he was recognized as a classic of world literature.

The story The Fiddler is perfect for a one-day evening reading. It is easy, it has an obvious meaning, a lot of useful English words and a talented author’s syllable (if you have read Moby-Dick, you will understand what I mean). This story is only five pages long, so, the plot is small. Meeting two friends and getting to know a talented person who has not lost his cheerfulness and love of life even in spite of the life difficulties that fate has thrown at him. History makes you think about your problems, your life, your attitude to yourself and the world around you.

I advise everyone to read this story. In the meantime, new words that you can see in this writing:

• intolerable fate —нестерпимая участь
• to snatch — охватить
• a fiddler — скрипач
• boisterously — неистово
• to resent — сердиться
• ruddy — румяный
• inimitable — превосходный
• to roll under the tongue — смаковать
• infatuation — одержимость
• to wail — причитать, вопить
• disdain — презрение
• to rebuke — упрекать, делать выговор
• inaudibly drum on the slab — беззвучно барабанить пальцами по столу
• peculiar — своеобразный
• to sneer with spleen — саркастически усмехаться
• “I humbly beg pardon.” — “Покорнейше прошу прошения.”
• no pattern (lesson) for somebody — не пример, не образец для кого-либо
• spleen — хандра
• jigembob = jig and bob

So, I hope that this post was useful and interesting to you. I advise you to read this little story, but who likes big books — I can recommend a book by the same author — Moby-Dick (and also there is a movie).

Enjoy!