论《白鲸》中的象征意义
本科
毕业论文（设计）
题 目:
On The Symbolic Meanings in Moby Dick 论《白鲸》中的象征意义
姓 名: 姚小梅
学 院: 外 国 语 学 院
专 业: 英语专业（师范类）
班 级: 英语2010级1班
学 号: 1552100126
指导教师:
刘 云 职称: 讲 师
2014 年 6 月 17日
安徽科技学院教务处制
On The Symbolic Meanings in Moby Dick
By Yao Xiaomei
Supervised by Liu Yun
In partial fulfillment of the requirement
For the B.A. degree
School of Foreign Languages Anhui Science and Technology University
June 2014
Abstract
Herman Melville (1819-1891) is one of the distinguished writers of America in the 1900s. It can say that Moby Dick is his representative work. And this work is generally regarded as one of the most symbolic novels in the world literature. However, literary circles has not attached importance to Moby Dick when it was published in 1851.It was not until the early twentieth century that this shining star has yielded unusually brilliant results and has won hundreds of thousands of writers and critics favor. The hitting-points of their research are different. While the symbolism is striking among them, and symbolism plays an important role in the understanding to readers.
Herman Melville takes advantage of a good deal of symbolism in Moby Dick. To some extent, symbolism is exerted by the author incisively and vividly. It is said that symbolism derived from the symbolic movement of French in the late nineteen century. And it has already become an important writing technique to novels. It is noticed that Herman Melville has presented vividly the profound meanings of Moby Dick to readers through symbolism, which promotes the comprehension of readers and they can acknowledge American society, culture, religion beliefs of the 19th century and the development of symbolism to American literature.
In Herman Melville’s writing, there are two big clues that appeal to people, namely protagonist Ahab and Moby Dick. It is designed that they are two opposing camps: Human and Nature. In the novel, bigoted and selfish Ahab pledges his life to catch Moby Dick for the sake of his hatred of losing a leg. And finally all people (except Ishmael) died as a result of Ahab’s revenge. Their fates in a certain degree reflect the final fates between human and nature. In the article, Melville uses symbolism adeptly. Consequently we can get each element’s symbolic meanings with color and life. In this paper the author will try to analyze different symbolic images, such as people, important clues and significant events so that show the symbolism of Moby Dick to people. I hope that my analysis would enrich people’s understand to this work’s themes. What’s more important is that I hope people could really comprehend the relation between human and nature. Do not act like Ahab, his only purpose for life is to break the power of nature. It is not advisable to loss at both sides. Of course we can’t be conceited or underestimate our capabilities toward nature. Harmonious coexistence is the best choice for both sides.
The whole thesis is composed of five parts combined with the use of symbolism in Moby Dick. The first part will give us a brief introduction to Herman Melville, Moby Dick’s plot and the background information; In the second chapter the author will represent the definition of symbol and symbolism; The third chapter will analyze Ahab’s symbolic meanings; the forth part is to talk about the symbolic meanings of Moby Dick; and the last part presents us the symbolism of Pequod. Finally the thesis reaches a conclusion.
Key Words:Moby Dick; Herman Melville; Captain Ahab; Symbol; Symbolism
中文摘要
赫尔曼·麦尔维尔(1819-1891)是美国19世纪著名作家之一，《白鲸》可以说是他的代表作。这部小说被认为是世界上最有象征意义的小说之一，然而在1851年《白鲸》的问世并没有引起文学界的重视，这颗璀璨明星直到20世纪才大放异彩，赢得无数作家和评论家的亲睐。他们的切入点各不相同，而象征手法是其中重要一项，对于作品的理解起着十分重要的作用。
在《白鲸》中，麦尔维尔使用了大量的象征手法，象征主义的应用可以说是淋漓尽致。象征主义源于十九世纪晚期的法国象征主义运动，它已成为现代小说中一种重要的创作手法。通过运用象征主义手法，赫尔曼·麦尔维尔形象而生动地表达出了《白鲸》中的深刻含义,这促进了广大读者对《白鲸》这部作品的理解，让读者对19世纪美国的社会、文化、宗教信仰有了深层次的体会，同事也推动了象征主义手法在美国文学史上的发展。
在赫尔曼·麦尔维尔的笔下，《白鲸》中有两大线索吸引着人们的眼球，即主人公（船长）亚哈与莫比迪克，他们可以说是小说中的两大对立阵营：人与自然的对立。偏执，自私的亚哈为报失腿之深仇大恨，誓死追击白鲸，直至最终的灭亡，这也象征着人类社会与自然地最终命运。文章中，作者娴熟地运用象征手法，使得各个要素在作品中的象征意义活灵活现。本文将通过分析小说中具有不同象征意义的人物、重要线索、意象和重要事件，从而向人们展示《白鲸》中的象征意义，希望能进一步丰富人们对这部小说及其主题的理解。更重要的是，我希望借助白鲸这部作品，人们能够真正领会人与自然地关系，能与自然和睦相处。而不像亚哈那样，一心就想冲破自然界的力量，两败俱伤，何必呢？在自然界面前，我们不能狂妄自大，当然也不要妄自菲薄，融洽相处才是王道。
本文结合《白鲸》中的象征主义手法的运用，把文章共分为五个章节，第一章节简要介绍作者与作品及时代背景；第二部分讲述象征和象征主义；第三章分析亚哈在《白鲸》中的象征意义；第四章节通过作者对白鲸的描写，从而揭示白鲸的象征意义；第五章展示捕鲸船皮阔得号象征意义，最后得出结论。
关键词：白鲸；赫尔曼·麦尔维尔；亚哈船长；象征，象征主义
Contents
Abstract in English………………………………………………………………Abstract in Chinese………………………………………………………………Introduction…………………………………………………………………………Chapter 1 A Brief Introduction of Author and Work……………………
1.1 The Introduction to Herman Melville……………………………………………
1.2 Plot Overview………………………………………………………………
1.3 Background Information…………………………………………………Chapter 2 Symbol and Symbolism……………………………………………
2.1 A Brief Introduction to Symbol……………………………………………
2.2 A Brief Introduction to Symbolism………………………………………
2.3 The Function of Symbolism………………………………………………
Chapter3 The Symbols in Moby Dick…………………………………
3.1 Ahab Himself………………………………………………………………
3.2 Ahab’s Spirits………………………………………………………………
3.2.1 Exploring the Final Truth……………………………………………
3.2.2 The Spirit of Self-identity……………………………………………
3.2.3The Spirit of Heroism…………………………………………………
3.2.4 The Embodiment of Revolutionary Spirit……………………………
3.3 The Symbol of Ahab Hunting Moby Dick…………………………………
3.4The Symbol of Moby Dick…………………………………………………
3.4.1 Moby Dick itself……………………………………………………………
3 .4.2 The Symbol of Whiteness……………………………………………
3.4.3The Symbol of Capitalism Mode of Production………………………
3.5 The Symbol of Ship’s Name: Pequod………………………………………
3.6OtherObjects’ Symbol………………………………………………………Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………
Introduction
Herman Melville, American author, best-known for his masterpiece of the sea Moby Dick. “I have written a wicked book and feel as the lamb,” Melville wrote to Hawthorne. Maybe Melville is right. When this novel was published, it did not bring Melville the fame he had acquired in the 1840s. However, Moby Dick is popular with the readers and critics after 1919. It is said that this book is the reflection of Melville’s time. And this novel was honored as “The most abundant expression of American imagination”.
Moby Dick is a story about Ahab. Whale ship Pequod, was commanded by Captain Ahab. Ahab made a living by whaling. Moreover, he was sophisticated in sailing, and sailing for more than forty years. Once he lost a leg accidently when fighting with an enormous and ferocious white whale. From then on, Ahab vowed to revenge. He abandoned his wife and children, and put all his egg in one basket, that was revenge. Then Ahab’s burning desire for revenge really was the center of the story. At the end of Moby Dick, Ahab found and attacked Moby Dick. On the first day, the whale overturned a boat; on a second day, it swamped another. When the third day came, Ahab and all his crew managed to plunge a harpoon into it, but all of the remaining whaleboats and men are caught in the vortex created by the sinking Pequod and pulled under to their deaths expect Ishmael, who survives to tell the tale.
Moby Dick could be read as a thrilling sea story, an examination of the conflict between human and nature-the battle between Ahab and the white whale is open to many interpretations. It is a pioneer novel but the prairie is ocean, or an allegory on the Gold Rush, but now the gold is whale. And the readers are deeply impressed on a plurality of linguistic discourses, philosophical speculations, and Shakespearean rhetoric and dramatic staging. Mysterious Captain Ahab, a combination of Macbeth, Job and Milton’s Satan, devoted his life to his revenge. And Ahab reveals to his crew the purpose of the voyage is to hunt and kill Moby Dick, who had cost Ahab’s leg on a previous voyage.
There are two reasons to Moby Dick’s popularity. Firstly, Herman Melville describes more details about whaling spectacle; secondly, it’s enduring fascination and predominant literary value lies in the application of all kinds of complicated symbolism wholly expresses Melville’s ideas towards temporal culture, religion and social development. In brief, symbol can express particular significance and interpret some kind of ideas by the specific images.
Thus it can be seen that symbolism plays a vital role in literature and we are available to realize that predictable perfect symbolism in Moby Dick. Let’s turn into the world of symbolism of Moby Dick
Chapter 1 A Brief Introduction of Author and Work
1.1 The Introduction to Herman Melville
Herman Melville, (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) who was born in New York, was an American novelist, poet, and writer of short stories. He was the third of eight children born to Maria Gansevoort Melville and Allan Melville, a prosperous importer of foreign goods. When the family business failed at the end of the 1820s, the Melvilles relocated to Albany in an attempt to revive their fortunes. However, because of a string of future bad luck and overwork, his father drove to an early grave. And the young Melville had to start to work for his family when he was only thirteen years old.
After a few years of formal education, Melville was forced to leave school and to become an elementary school teacher. From that time on, Melville’s career began. At the age of nineteen, Melville made his first sea voyage, as a merchant sailor on a ship bound for Liverpool. In the summer of 1842, Melville and one of his fellow sailors got in Marquesas Islands. While Melville became separated from his companion and lamed a bad leg, he spent a month alone in the company of the natives. With the help of this experience, Melville created his first novel Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, published in 1846. Melville set out to write a series of novels detailing his adventures and his philosophy of life with the voluminous knowledge obtained from the sea. After Typee Melville wrote Omoo and Mardi and A Voyage Thither.In 1849, he published Redburn. His next novel, White-Jacket; or The World in a Man-of –War.
Through the points of literary history, Melville’s first five novels above-mentioned are all seen as an apprenticeship to what is today considered his masterpiece, Moby Dick.And Moby Dick is a tremendously ambitious novel that functions at ever as a documentary of life at sea and a vast philosophical allegory of in general. As Herman Melville satirizes by turns religious traditions, moral values, and the literary and political figures of the day, no sacred subject is spared in this bleak and scathing critique of the known world.
Melville was strongly inspired by the achievements of Hawthorne and Melville changed Moby Dick from a story into an allegorical novel with the encouragement of Hawthorne. And Melville had long admired Hawthorne’s psychological depth and gothic grimness. Melville associated Hawthorne with a new, distinctively American
literature. Although the works of Shakespeare and Milton influenced Moby Dick, Melville didn’t look exclusively to celebrate cultural models. He drew on sources from popular culture. For example, in 19th century whaling narratives were extremely popular. However Moby Dick was misunderstood and remained largely ignored until 1920s, when it was rediscovered and promoted by literary historians interested in constructing an American literary tradition.
"In general, it is the non-psychological novel that offers the richest opportunities for psychological elucidation. Here the author having no intentions of this sort, does not show his characters in a psychological light and thus leaves room for analysis and interpretation, or even invites it by his unprejudiced mode of presentation…I would also include Melville’s Moby Dick, which I consider as the greatest American novel, in this broad class of writings.”(Carl Jung in The Spirit in Man, Art and Literature,1967) From these words we can see Moby Dick’s value.
1.2 Plot Overview
Ishmael, the narrator, announces his intention to ship aboard a whaling vessel. He has made several voyages as a sailor but none as a whaler. When he travels to New Bedford, Massachusetts, w he stays in a whalers’ inn. As the inn is pretty full, he has to share a bed with a harpooner from the South Pacific who is named Queequeg. At first repulsed by Queequeg’s strange habits and shocking appearance (Queequeg is covered with tattoos), but with time goes by, Ishmael eventually comes to appreciate this man’s generosity and kind spirit, and the two decide to seek work on a whaling vessel together. So they take a ferry to Nantucket, the traditional capital of the whaling industry. At there they can secure berths on the Pequod, a savage-looking ship adorned with the bones and teeth of sperm whales. Peleg and Bildad, the Pequod’s Quaker owners, drive a hard bargain in terms of salary. They also mention the ship’s mysterious capt ain, Ahab, who is still recovering from losing his leg in an encounter with a sperm whale on his last voyage.
The Pequod leaves Nantucket on a cold Christmas Day with a crew made up of men from many different countries and races. Before long, the ship is in warmer waters, and Ahab makes his first appearance on deck, balancing gingerly on his false leg, which is made from a sperm whale’s jaw. He announces his desire to pursue and kill Moby Dick, the legendary great white whale who took his leg, because he sees this whale as the embodiment of evil. Ahab nails a gold doubloon to the mast and declares that it will be the prize for the first man to sight the whale. As the Pequod
sails toward the southern tip of Africa, whales are sighted and unsuccessfully hunted.
After Pequod rounds Africa and enters the Indian Ocean, a few whales are successfully caught and processed for their oil. From time to time, the ship encounters other whaling vessels. Ahab always demands information about Moby Dick from their captains. One of the ships, the Jeroboam, carries Gabriel, a crazed prophet who predicts doom for anyone who threatens Moby Dick. His predictions seem to carry some weight, as those aboard his ship who have hunted the whale have met disaster. While Ahab does not care about his predictions, he continues hunting Moby Dick. During another whale hunt, Pip, the Pequod’s black cabin boy, jumps from a whaleboat and is left behind in the middle of the ocean. Not long afterwards, Queequeg falls ill and has the ship’s carpenter make him a coffin in anticipation of his death. He recovers, however, and the coffin eventually becomes the Pequod’s replacement life buoy.
Ahab orders a harpoon forged in the expectation that he will soon encounter Moby Dick. He b aptizes the harpoon with the blood of the Pequod’s three harpooners. The Pequod kills several more whales. Issuing a prophecy about Ahab’s death, Fedallah declares that Ahab will first see two hearses, the second of which will be made only from American wood, and that he will be killed by hemp rope. Ahab interprets these words to mean that he will not die at sea, where there are no hearses and no hangings. A typhoon hits the Pequod, illuminating it with electrical fire. Ahab takes this occurrence as a sign of imminent confrontation and success, but Starbuck, the ship’s first mate, takes it as a bad omen and considers killing Ahab to end the mad quest. After the storm ends, one of the sailors falls from the ship’s masthead and drowns-a grim foreshadowing of what lies ahead.
Ahab’s fervent desire to find and destroy Mo by Dick continues to intensify and the mad Pip is now his constant companion. The Pequod approaches the equator, where Ahab expects to find the great whale. To his expectation, Ahab finally sights Moby Dick. On the first day, the whale overturned a boat; on a second day, it swamped another. When the third day came, Ahab and all his crew managed to plunge a harpoon into it, but the white whale carried the Pequod along with it to its death. All on board the whaler got drowned expect Ishmael, who survives to tell the tale.
1.3 Background Information
In the 19th century, American optimism is a commonplace. All of American had seen that the United States depended on the UK. Especially they have expended their
territory from more than two million square kilometers to over nine square kilometers. So American took pride in their achievements. The Atlantic makes American far away from the European countries’disputes. They made good use of this geographical advantage and abundant natural resources to develop economy, increase wealth and purse Hegemonism. Therefore the phrase “Capital Accumulation” emerged. American was urged to build wealth to stimulate their capitalistic development. And the whaling could meet their demands and produce a large fortune for their capital accumulation. In addition, American believed that the God was in special favor of American. Under this background romanticism also came into being.
And at that time, American was in a young, vibrant and vigorous development period. Every American was proud of their national independence. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a era of individualism, and everyone managed to purse their own independent and create success through diligent work. And American lived in a comfortable without a sense of tragedy. There is nothing but a sense of optimism. No one struck up a discordant tune to this optimistic position except a few main writers, Herman Melville was one member of them.
Chapter 2 Symbol and Symbolism
2.1 The Introduction of Symbol
The word “symbol” comes from the Greek verb symballein, “to put together,”and the noun symbolon “sign”“token” which originally referred to a half-coin that the two parties to an agreement carried away as a pledge for its fulfillment. In the simplest sense, symbol associated with anything that stands for or represents something else beyond an idea conventionally. However in literary usage, a symbol is especially evocative kind of image; that is, a word or phrase referring to a concrete object, sense, or action which also has some further significance associated with it. Its application to literature with a clearly defined meaning, contrasting it with allegory and it occurred first in Germany in the late eighteen century.
And symbol is one of those words that are usually used in a confusing manner. The confusion is increased by different scholars using the words to mean very different things. Most obviously, General Semantics use symbol to designate what other writers call a “sign”. A symbol is a sign that has further layers of meaning. In other words, a symbol means more than it literally says. The more profound the symbol is, the greater the complexity of the layers of meaning.
Dr. Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin defined this literary term as：“A symbol is representation of an idea, thing, concept, or quality. A symbol is an object, which stands for something else; it is a word, which while signifying something specific, also signifies something beyond itself. With a symbol we have to infer the meaning and associations.”(Lentricchia and McLaughlin, 1995:5)
In literary works, it is important to remember that a word would mean more than what the writer consciously intends to convey. Thus, when a writer intends to express certain meanings by means of symbols, the meaning he or she express will exceed what was consciously intended. Furthermore, symbols are used when a writer wants to express his understanding of something in his mind and it is not directly observable in the daily life. At that time, the writer has to use a symbol to convey his comprehension of something abstract by using objects and words from the familiar world. The writer starts with an object in the real world and makes it symbolic by loading it with a meaning which is not explicitly stated.
It is human being’s ability that manipulates symbols to allow them to explore the
relationships between ideas, things and concepts beyond the explorations of any other species on earth are capable. The ability to interpret symbols is essential for a full understanding of a work. In a larger degree, Herman Melville was adept in suing symbols to reflect complex objects and characters’ inner world in Moby Dick.
2.2 The Introduction of Symbolism
Symbolism originated in France, and originated with a group of French in the 19th century, spread to painting and the theatre. When comes to symbolism, we naturally think of Charles Baudelaire, he created the open-ended symbols and brought the invisible into being through the visible. And in terms of symbolism, Dr. Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin concludes, “Symbolism is the systematic use of symbols to represent or allude to something. In the most literal sense, all languages are symbolic. In a narrower sense, symbolism is the use of iconic figures with particular conventional meanings.”(Lentricchia and McLaughlin, 1990:75) And symbolism tends to broaden reader s’perceptions, giving the meaning to objects beyond its concrete use or intended meaning. Symbolism is the representation of ideas by using symbols and symbolism is a common literary and artistic expression skill. It was widely used in the European and American literature in the 18th to 19th century.
Usually symbolism works under the surface to tie the work’s external action to the theme. In the early development of the fictional narrative, symbolism shows the literal event and its allegorical counterpart a one-to-one correspondence. Symbolism operates without consciousness. It means that readers would accept its input without really understanding how it works. As Barnet points out, “when we read, we may feel that certain characters and certain things in the story stand for more than themselves, or hint at larger meanings.”(Barnet, et al. 2002: 195) It may be clear that the author has mentioned certain items or ideas in order to induce readers to think more deeply about something.
In a word, symbolism is important component in literature and plays a great role in many works. Many famous writers would like to use symbolism as a rhetorical device central to the meaning of their works, for instance, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and James Joyce’s Ulysses.In many works, symbolism was more an international ideological trend. Symbolists believe that art should apprehend more absolute truths, which could only be accessed indirectly. Therefore they describe senses from nature, human activities, and all other real world phenomena in a highly metaphorical and suggestive manner. And they provide particular images or objects
with esoteric attractions. In Moby Dick we would see attractive symbolism. And with the help of symbolism, we can understand many complex objects’ meanings.
2.3 The Function of Symbolism
It is not uncommon that symbolism is used to express meanings to abstract objects beyond what are actually being described. The plot and action take place in a story can be considered as one level, while in the writing the symbolism of some certain things act on another level to enhance the understanding of readers.
Symbolism can help readers to grasp the themes of works represented on a physical level. A simple example might be occurrence of a storm at critical point while there are conflicts or high emotion. Similarly a transition from day to night, or spring to winter, could symbolize a move from goodness to evil or hope to despair. Flowers can symbolize youth or beauty.
While not everything in a novel has necessarily symbolic meaning. A garden landscape is just a garden…but when it is contrasted with a bustling city, at which point the garden could symbolize tranquility, peace or escape, it means that we have to estimate depend on specific situations. In Moby Dick, there are many abstract objects, but it is not so difficult to grasp its meanings under the help of symbolism.
Chapter 3 The Symbols in Moby Dick
3.1 Ahab Himself
It is widely known that Herman Melville has created a character, Captain Ahab, who dared to fight against the nature in Moby Dick. Ahab, he is not only a hero but also an evil person. To some extent, Ahab is a King Lear type person, and he is somebody many people really look up to. Furthermore, Ahab is discerned with wisdom, but conceived and egoistic. In the novel Ahab is the opposite of Moby Dick. But what does Ahab symbolize? Whether is he the embodied principle of devil or a resistant hero bravely on earth? Whether is he a fanatic, who wanted to become a dominator and opposed the power of nature in vain or a hero who had the courage to fight for devil violently and explore the secrets of nature?
It is obvious that Ahab only take his personal revenge into consideration. In other words, Ahab went his own way, he ignored other ship-owners’and have not took sailors’ lives seriously. What’s worse, Ahab took actions to his sailors with carrot and stick. Ultimately, all sailors were drowned by sea except Ishmael, who told the story about Moby Dick. Therefore it is said that the symbol of devil, Ahab, who was more wicked than Moby Dick. He stood for the wicked and black part of human nature consciousness.
It is available for us to see what Ahab has done has not based on his morality and reason but affected his instinct impulsion. All of that inevitably resulted in the final tragedy. According to Ahab’s narrow psychology, the event that Moby Dick bit one of his leg was a sort of malicious intention, and Moby Dick intentionally made an enemy of him. So he must throw his hat into the ring and pursued his psychological balance.
On one hand, Captain Ahab is the symbol of devil. His tremendous overconfidence or hubris, leads him to defy common sense and believe that he can enact his will and remain immune to the forces of nature like a god. In his eyes, the nature can be conquered on condition that he tries his best On the other hand; Ahab is a warrior, who fights for devil and destiny bravely. He is a sophisticated in sailing and he acts decidedly. Furthermore, Ahab is brave and battle wise. Faced with powerful Moby Dick, he never chooses retreat. And Ahab sailed for more than forty years by means of his lofty soul and pristine mind. It can say Ahab is the king of sea. Once
Ahab fell flat on his face but he never was afraid of failure. At the end of the novel, Ahab proceeded without hesitation and perished with Moby Dick together like the character Samson Agonistes of Milton’s writing.
So Ahab has multiple and contradictory personality in Moby Dick. Exactly Ahab is the embodiment of good and devil, beauty and ugliness. To some extent, Ahab is not only a sufferer but also a victimizer. In other words, he is as much a victim as he is an aggressor. In Moby Dick, symbolism is used to suggest human can never be defeated but Ahab shows his contempt for nature at the cost of his live.
According to the critic M. H. Abrams, such a tragic hero “moves us to pity because, since he is not an evil man, his misfortune is greater than he deserves; but he moves us also to fear, because we recognize similar possibilities of error in our own lesser and fallible selves.”
3.2 The Spirits of Ahab
3.2.1 Exploring the Final Truth
Herman Melville did analyze and explain the action that Captain Ahab hunted down Moby Dick. And he thought that the action is a kind of spirit of pursuit and exploration. Moreover Melville has endowed multiple symbolic meanings on this spirit. First of all, the spirit of exploring the final truth, as for Ahab Moby Dick is like a wall that approached him but he couldn’t see it. And he struggled to break through only to a failure. Ahab just felt the unpredictable power of this wall. Despite others were awful of Moby Dick, Ahab still insisted on chasing. It is necessary to prove that Ahab was trying to find out the answer of truth, isn’t it? Nevertheless Ahab didn’t realize that he was not capable to break through because human’s abilities were confined by the limited knowledge, and that wall might was the symbol of the final truth.
Taking Ishmael as an example, he discovers that whale has incredible multiplicity meanings throughout history. Over the course of the novel, Ishmael takes multiple approaches and makes use of nearly every discipline known to man in his attempts to understand the essential nature of the whale. However, including art, taxonomy and phrenology, fails to give a reasonable account. The frequent references to the limits of observation Ishmael often talks about (men cannot see the depths of the ocean, for example), suggest human knowledge is always limited and insufficient.
3.2.2 The Spirit of Self-identity
In the whole novel, Herman Melville has designed the delicate relationship
between Captain Ahab and Moby Dick. Ahab’s leg was bit when he first came across Moby Dick. We all know that accident brought the physical suffering to Ahab, but more suffering was mental torture. Not long afterwards, Ahab was forced to command his craftsman to forge whalebone in his leg for the sake of his revenge on Moby Dick. Thus in terms of body white whale became a part of Ahab and one of Ahab’s legs was from white whale. In the meantime, it is miraculous for Ahab feel Moby Dick appealed to him by inexplicable power. It means that Ahab thought he loss his ego at the same time of losing a leg. For my part, his ego was his dignity and will to some extent. And he believed his ego would come back if he found Moby Dick and killed it. So this strange power urged Ahab to look for Moby Dick and to seek his ego.
3.2.3The Spirit of Heroism
It is a truth that Melville has created a hero for readers in Moby Dick that is Captain Ahab, who dared to fight against the nature. “H eroes are not mediocrities, and mediocrities couldn’t be heroes!”[5](p420)Ahab has showed his heroic qualities to us completely in the aspect of personality, decision and destiny. How brave does a man have to be when he is in Moby Dick’s presence? Let alone take his courage to fight with formidable Moby Dick face to face. T the normal, it is beyond imagination. But the answer is no for Ahab. He strengthened his goal constantly during the course of chasing Moby Dick. No matter how his first mate Starbuck persuaded him, Ahab never changed his idea. Maybe like Ralph Waldo Emerson described in his Heroism “Heroes always keep in a balanced mind, and there is no harassment that could shake his will, they advance in their pace with rapture.”[5](p414)
Although like the heroes of Greek, Ahab attended to dominate his own fate in vain, his strong will and courage deserves our praise. We also catch the Diego Spirit that famous writer Hemmingway depicted “A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”[11] (p68) Moreover, Ahab undertook all disasters and pressure. “H e was not only a master but also a undertaker of live and Ahab bore the good and the bad of survival.”[6](p25) It can say Ahab is worthy of the title of hero!
3.2.4 The Embodiment of Revolutionary Spirit
It is widely accepted that Moby Dick is a epic that reflects American spirit. To be specific, this novel represents the national spirit and efforts to press ahead, and it is no doubt Ahab is a pioneer of American spirit. Revolution is characterized by combat, wisdom, braveness and sacrifice, all of that characters Ahab has showed us. And exactly it is the national spirit American advocated all the time. Since the beginning of
the heaven and the earth, human have been exploring nature. How many people have dedicated their lives to the exploration? No one knows the number. It can say Moby Dick and sea are the symbol of powerful nature; they are filled with difficulties and hardships. In front of them, some people were fear and took escape as their choice. While Ahab was not, he firmly decided to process and held it out! Finally, he accomplished his goal and handed over his live to nature. Just like Ahab, there were too many people who inevitably contributed lives to revolution. The success of revolution attributes to people’s lives. Perhaps sacrifice is an indispensable part of revolution or is the essence and character of revolution. So it is not hard for us to understand Ahab’s spirit stands for human revolutionary spirit. In a word, although Moby Dick is “all-destroying but unconquering”: its victory has been inevitable, it has not defeated Ahab’s spirits and his spirits would remain forever!
3.3 The Symbol of Hunting Moby Dick
Captain Ahab is crazy about hunting Moby Dick, which has profound symbolic meanings. And those symbolic meanings depend on our understanding to Moby Dick. In a word, there are three implications. Firstly, if Moby Dick is the symbol of evil, in that way, Captain Ahab is a hero of human. He is brave enough to hunt Moby Dick; it means human challenge to evil and never yield to it. Ahab never gives up his goal, which is the embodiment of indomitable struggle spirit when human confront with the evil. Secondly, if Moby Dick is the symbol of nature, in that way, Captain Ahab represents capitalism. So Ahab’s hunting is a process that human being immoderately hunting for natural resources. Perhaps Ahab and his crews’fate is natural revenge. Thirdly, if Moby Dick seems stands for capitalism, so powerful and fierce, in that way, Ahab is one of many labors, killing whale perhaps that is the attack of Ahab to capital production mode. While anyway, it is not hard for us to draw a conclusion that the contradiction between Ahab and Moby Dick has multiple symbolic meanings, namely the opposite of human and nature; good and evil; beauty and ugliness, and this contradiction promotes social development.
3.4The Symbol of Moby Dick
3.4.1Moby Dick Itself
In a sense, Moby Dick is not a character, because the readers have no access to the white whale’s thoughts, feelings or intentions. Moby Dick is a legendry and enormous white whale, the novel is named after Moby Dick. And Moby Dick is an impersonal force, one that many critics have interpreted as an allegorical
representation of God, an inscrutable and all-powerful being that human can neither understand nor defy. It is said that Moby Dick thwarts free will and can’t be defeated, only accommodated or avoided.
Judging from that, Moby Dick is the symbol of inscrutable and powerful nature, particularly the ocean. To the Pequod’s crew, they frighten the power of the legendary white whale though Moby Dick is a concept in their mind. But they are forced to take whaling as their career. To Melville, he thinks that there exists an irresistible force in the unseen world that is mysterious force of nature, which manipulates people’s fate. In the novel, this mystery represents through the description of the ocean’s variety. After all, the boundless sea is unpredictable. Sometimes it keeps in a peaceful position, and it might become angry and roars waves at times. But whether it is a bright and beautiful day or starry night, hidden in somewhere of sea, maybe is a fatal force.
Indeed, as Ishmael points out, the majority of a whale is hidden from view at all times. In this way, a whale usually mirrors its environment. Like the whale, only the surface of the ocean is available for human to observe and interpret, while its depths conceal unknown and unknowable truths.
3.4.2 The Symbol of Whiteness
Traditionally, whiteness is the symbol of purity and innocence. However, to Ishmael, whiteness is horrible because it is the representation of the unnatural and threatening, albinos’creatures that live in extreme and inhospitable environment or waves breaking against rocks. So these examples reverse the traditional association of whiteness with purity. And whiteness conveys both a lack of meaning and an unreadable excess of meaning that confuses people. Moby Dick is the pinnacle of whiteness and Melville’s characters can’t objectively understand Moby Dick. For instance, Ahab holds that Moby Dick represents evil, while Ishmael fails in his attempts to determine scientifically the whale’s fundamental nature
To Melville, yet whiteness is peaceful, quiet and kind. As long as human being could understand the coexistence relationship between human and nature, and do not attend to conquer it, they would get along well. On the contrary, human must pay a heavy price. Like the author of Silent Spring, Rachel Carson refers to “Human being always keeps on talking about conquering the nature with a conceited tone. Now they are able to accomplish what they have said. This is our misfortune and it is possibly our tragedy.”[3](p27) Obviously at the old time, human were not aware of the importance of harmonious relation between human and nature. In the novel, sailors
《白鲸》的论文
Abstract Moby-Dick is regarded as the masterpiece of Herman Melville. It contains plenty of symbolism. Understanding the symbolic meanings of the characters and subjects in the novel is important. This paper analyses the symbolic meanings of different individuals in order to make a better understanding of the novel. Moby Dick represents God owing to his godlike characters and his awfully severe beauty. Ahab symbolizes the league human with evil. In the whaling trip, we can see his bravery and patience, as well as his madness and stubbornness. The third symbolic element is the idea of the “counterpane” that is woven throughout the story as a symbol of the world’s multiculturalism. Melville develops the symbol proving that the world is indeed a counterpane of diverse cultures, races, and environment, in which we are always connected by our humanity. Key words:symbolism; Moby Dick; Arab; counterpane 摘要 《白鲸》被看作是赫尔曼·麦尔维尔的杰作。它包含了大量的象征主义。在这部小说中，理解人物事物的象征意义是非常重要的。为了更好的理解这部小说，这篇论文将分析不同个体的象征意义。其中的白鲸被描写成无处不在，无所不能的万能的上帝。埃哈布船长为复仇远涉重洋捕捉白鲸，最后自己，同伴与白鲸同归于尽的事迹，既表现了人类的勇敢与忍耐，也反映了他们的偏执与疯狂。另一个贯穿全文的象征就是“床单”，它象征世界不同文化的混合与交织，世界就像一块由多种布拼凑而成的床单，由不同的文化、种族、背景交织而成，人们在一起相互依靠，相互依存，小说中来自不同国家的船员就是最生动形象的体现。 关键词：象征主义；白鲸；埃哈布; 床单
《白鲸记》主要人物解读
摘要：麦尔维尔以其丰富的想象力和创造力赋予小说《白鲸》中的莫比·迪克多重象征寓意。白鲸丰富的象征意义赋予小说永恒的艺术张力和无穷魅力。 关键词：白鲸;矛盾化身;艺术张力 阐释学认为,文本意义总是相对的,理解是生产性的。不同时代的阐释者对一部作品意义的理解,总是根据理解者自己的需要做出对文本的新解释,正所谓“诗无达诂”。事实上,作品中的人物对作品的某个事物的理解也是触景动怀,别有激发,各不相同。以此出发,梅尔维尔《白鲸》中富有传奇色彩的白鲸莫比·迪克在不同人物独特视角的诠释中赋予其多重的象征寓意,各随所得,见仁见智。 一、对小说的叙述者伊希米尔来说,白鲸既代表高洁安宁,也代表恐怖死亡,它是宇宙间一切对立矛盾的结合。它象征宇宙的浩阔与奥秘、上帝的无边神力、人类的命运与前途,它给伊希米尔的重要启迪不是简单的摧毁,而是努力完善认识、不懈地追求真理的神秘力量。首先,伊希米尔描述了白鲸莫比·迪克在人们的心中引起的善与美的遐想“,在它那巨大而温和的头部的上方弥漫着由于它难以言全的沉思默想而产生一片重重的雾气;而那片雾气,正如有时候你所看到的那样,又被彩虹照耀得光辉四射,仿佛上天已在它的思想上盖上了他那朱红印似的。”这种庄严与华贵几乎可与上帝的形象相媲美。特别是,它雪白的前额和山一样的脊背更增添了它的神秘莫测。让人觉得它是一种神化之物,是神圣不可侵犯的。这也是众多捕鲸者把白鲸看成是上帝的象征,极力劝阻亚哈不要去捕杀它的原因。其次,伊希米尔认为,白鲸是自然的代表,令人捉摸不定。它是神奇的大自然的产物,它代表着自然界的神秘和力量。只要人类不去打扰它,自然是安静、和平的、友善而美丽的。面对大自然,梅尔维尔通过伊希米尔表达了对白鲸自然美的赞美“,白鲸!……白鲸!……这美得出奇的乳白色庞然大物……在地平线上光彩夺目的太阳照耀下,它像清晨蔚蓝的海面上一块富有生命的乳色玻璃闪闪发光,熠熠生辉”。再次,白色对伊希梅尔而言,象征宇宙的不确定、空虚、无限,对于作者那似有似无的颜色既代表美丽纯洁,又代表死亡与灵魂。从一开始,伊希米尔就承认白鲸的白色“比什么东西都更让我害怕……不管它们是愉快可敬的,或者崇高的,反正在这种颜色最深层的意中总是潜藏着一种捉摸不透的东西,比让人恐惧的血之红色更让人的灵魂为之惊恐。”白色是大鲸、雪山、海洋、熊和信天翁以及亡灵裹尸布的颜色。可是伊希米尔又告诉读者白色就是明显的没有颜色,它什么也不表示,又象征着一切事物,是各种颜色的凝结物和综合体。因此,白色在这里与其说是象征着上帝、魔鬼或死亡,还不如说代表着让人发抖的虚空。在这里,伊希米尔尽管感受到了巨大的恐惧,却不知道它到底源于何处,这就是白色的威力。它的存在,其实本无所谓善恶,但是人无法清楚地理解它所体现的宇宙奥秘而使其显得神秘莫测。人类和白鲸抗争,无异于和命运抗争。所以,在伊希米尔看来,白鲸真正的可怕在于它的白色,在于它身上的那一缕耀眼的白色以及它所象征的无形的力量。它就是女妖“塞妊”的美妙歌声,引诱水手走向死亡。在全体船员中,只有伊希米尔幸存,因为只有他对白鲸的看法不断地发生变化。最初,他认为,白鲸是恶的化身,与其他人一起要发誓杀死莫比·迪克,但随着认识的深化,他觉得人还不如鲸,尽管人类爱他的伙伴,然而人类毕竟是唯利是图的趋利动物。这种趋利癖好常与人的仁爱之心格格不入。他对人类的进一步认识,即他的成长和他对白鲸的逐渐了解使他相信白鲸是神的化身,是一种神性和灵性的动物,它可以体察到某种恐惧,然而却能与之共处的。他这种对白鲸、对自然的理解使他明白了人与自然的关系,同时也使他获得了精神和灵魂的重生。二、伊希米尔把白鲸看作是大自然的化身,而在船长亚哈眼里,白鲸是邪恶的化身“:一切最使人狂怒和痛苦的事情,一切足以搅起事物的沉渣的东西,一切附有恶念的真理,一切使人焦头烂额的东西,一切在人类生活中和思想上对鬼怪神魔的不可理喻的信奉,一切的邪恶等等,都是摩比·迪克这一有形的化身”。它是亚哈心中邪恶与恐怖、难以征服而又必须予以摧毁的仇敌。白鲸不仅是肉体上的大敌,也是“万般邪恶的偏执的化身”的精神宿敌。白鲸莫比·迪克有着“雪山一样的背峰”,它天生使人畏惧,它突击的时候,一再表现那种无以伦比的充满机
《白鲸》中亚哈精神探寻的象征意义
在小说《白鲸》中, 作者梅尔维尔描述了亚哈船长带领“裴廓德号”全体船员疯狂追逐白鲸的场面,整部小说叙述了亚哈追杀白鲸的疯狂心理和不杀白鲸, 誓不罢休的坚定决心。笔者从象征主义的视角出发来分析说明亚哈船长对白鲸的追杀行为不仅是一种精神的追求与探寻, 而且, 作者对这种精神探寻赋予了多重象征意义。 一、终极真理的探寻 对亚哈船长精神探寻的阐释与对白鲸的象征意义理解是密不可分的, 白鲸象征着退近亚哈的一堵墙, 这堵墙压得他近乎窒息, 他在墙内苦苦挣扎,企图冲破它, 但却不能, 他看到了这堵靖的强大, 感觉到它的力大无穷, 深不可测, 有时他也想, 即使冲破了这堵挡在他面前的培, 发现的只是空白一片。这不正说明了亚哈在寻找问题的答案, 探索宇宙的真理吗而这墙就像知识的面纱一样挡在他的面前, 使他永远看不到墙的另一面, 找不到问题的答案, 但他仍在苦苦追求, 努力探索, 亚哈岂不知, 这堵墙就是终极真理的象征, 而对它的探寻就像亚哈所感觉到的那堵冲不破的培一样, 是不可能的。那是因为人的能力受其知识局限性的限制。而且, 这种盲目的探索肯定会招来失致, 甚至是人类自身的毁灭。因此, 亚哈在探寻终极真理的过程中也感到了宇宙的神秘和它所给人类带来的威胁。 二、寻找自我的过程 亚哈精神探寻的第二个象征意义解读墓于亚哈和白鲸关系的理解。在整部小说中梅尔维尔在亚哈和白鲸之间创造了一种很徽妙的关系。他的腿是亚哈在海上第一次与白鲸相遇时被白鲸咬去的, 那次事故不仅给亚哈带来了肉体的痛苦, 更使他的精神受到了极大的创伤。后来他让工匠为他打造了一条鲸骨假腿。装上鲸骨假腿的同时, 也就表明了亚哈要找到白鲸的决心。从肉体上来看, 白鲸成了亚哈的一部分, 而亚哈也成了白鲸的一部分, 因为白鲸带走了亚哈的一条腿, 并把它消化在体内。从这层意义讲, 两者是密不可分的。进一步分析亚哈的心理, 我们会发现, 亚哈冥冥之中感到白鲸对他有一股强大的吸力, 这种吸力催促着他必须找到白鲸, 找到他丢失的魂魄, 原来的自我。找到白强烈的欲望令他心烦意乱。坐卧不宁, 在“ 裴廓德号”上,亚哈要么就呆在他认为是自己的“ 墓穴” 中, 好似一具僵尸, 要么就出现在甲板上, 来回踱步, 就像一个幽灵, 亚哈脑海中唯一的目的就是不惜一切地找到白鲸, 这种追寻白鲸的欲望使他不顾一切, 迷失了生活的方向, 成为了一个偏执狂, 复仇变成了他重新找回自我的唯一手段, 因此, 惟有重新找回丢失的灵魂才能挽救亚哈精神的空虚与迷茫。 三、裹读和叛逆的表现 从宗教意义上来看, 白鲸不可理解的沉寂和神秘的生活习惯, 可以被理解为象征了不可知的上帝。在小说中以实玛利多次提到白鲸, 但是无论怎样描述都不能说清白鲸的具体特征和习性, 梅尔维尔自己也承认, 尽管花了很大功夫也不能真正了解白鲸, 它好似一个迷宫。白鲸在太平洋里到处游动,正如无处不在的上帝。但水手们和亚哈始终看不到白鲸的真正面目。迩百列认为白鲸就是上帝, 他曾多次预言, 捕杀白鲸的下场就是死亡, 他的预言也感染到船上的船员, 使他们对自己的行为产生了怀茄和动摇的想法。但亚哈不接受任何别的法则, 不服从任何意志, 只是按照自己的意志行事, 他是一个反对上帝的撒旦式的人物, 他是从不忏悔的约拿。他说, “ 自己是火神的儿子, ”他鄙视上帝, 崇拜火, 像波斯徒一样迷恋太阳。当亚哈的捕鲸枪被打造好后, 他说他是奉魔鬼之命, 而不是上帝之命来为它洗礼。亚哈的行为自始至终表现了对上帝的蔑视和憎恨。因此, 亚哈追逐白鲸的行为就象征着对上帝的裹读和叛逆。为此, 他也受到了上帝的惩罚,付出了生命的代价。 四、西方文明和社会规约的挑战 在梅尔维尔的时代, 美国的文明发展到一个两难的境地。一方面, 随着科学技术的进步, 人们的物质生活水平日益提高, 越来越多的人们在不断地追求着物质财富, 贪欲和索取充斥着人们的头脑。在享受着物质快乐的同时, 另一方面, 美国人也出现了精神空虚和心理压抑。许多人丧失了生活的意义感和目的感。他们开始寻求精神的满足, 人们把目光投向了海洋,
外国文学名著简介：白鲸
外国文学名著简介：白鲸 美国著名作家梅尔维尔的长篇小说《白鲸》创作于1851年，小说描写一位捕鲸船长在在海上捕鱼时，不慎被白鲸咬掉了一条腿，他发誓要找到白鲸。船长航行了几乎整个世界，历尽千辛万苦，终于找到了白鲸。于是，船长命令船员们靠近白鲸叉死它，船员明知九死一生但不得不服从船长的命令，他们叉中了白鲸，受伤的白鲸凶狠地冲向他们的鱼船，鱼船被撞得粉碎，船上的人除一人死里逃生外，都与白鲸同归于尽了。 小说中称霸海洋的白鲸被写成一种强大可怕的、对人怀有敌意又难以制服的怪物。它是人类难以摆脱并深受其害的人间罪恶的象征。小说描写了捕鲸的艰难和捕鲸工人的智慧和勇敢，很有现实意义，有浓重的象征意味和神秘色彩。小说扑朔迷离、欲辩难言的意境在20世纪30年代引起欧美文学界强烈反响，成为浪漫主义的杰作。 梅尔维尔是美国浪漫主义小说家和诗人。青年时代当过水手，在长达四年的海上生活中，品尝了捕鲸船上的艰难与困苦。在南太平洋航行期间，他在一个海岛上的土著泰比人中间生活了一段时间。他初创作的小说《泰比》和《奥穆》都是以他的经历见闻为基础，描写异国风土人情的作品。作者把未开化的、未被近代文明玷污的人们的纯朴生活同资本
主义的文明相互对照，对资本主义制度进行了深刻的揭露。梅尔维尔是美国浪漫主义后期的代表人之一。作品带有一种神秘和悲观的色彩。代表作品长篇小说《白鲸》所表现的神秘和悲观的浪漫主义色彩引起当时欧美文学界很大的反响，并因此被尊为美国第一流的浪漫主义作家。 本片根据美国著名作家梅尔维尔的巨著《白鲸》改编拍摄。片中主人公亚哈由美国著名影星格里高利·派克饰演。 捕鲸船船长亚哈被一条叫莫比·迪克抹香鲸咬断一条腿。为了复仇，他利诱威逼船员们不顾一切地去追捕白鲸，既不顾船员们的生命安危，也不顾陆续出现的凶险以及袄教徒的不祥预言，他们像发疯似的在大海上与白鲸周旋恶斗，最后终于击中白鲸，他的捕鲸船也被狂怒的白鲸掀翻，船员们葬身海底，亚哈本人被缠结的捕鲸绳绞死，只有水手以实玛利一人死里逃生，成为悲壮故事的叙述者。
论《白鲸》中的象征主义
[摘要] 《白鲸》是美国作家赫尔曼·麦尔维尔的代表作, 被认为是世界上最有象征意义的小说之一。本文将对小说中的象征主义进行探索性的分析。象征主义在小说中无所不在: 裴考德号全体船员的最终灭亡, 象征着人类在社会、自然及至宇宙的命运; 这艘船的名字本身就象征着灭亡; 而它的船长亚哈伯是人类本质中邪恶的一面的象征; 这次航海本身象征着对人类生活最终真理的追求; 白鲸既象征着那庞大的资本主义生产方式又象征着自然, 而它的白色象征着纯洁和无辜 《白鲸》是美国作家赫尔曼·麦尔维尔的代表作。它作为一部在发表时反响平平而在半个多世纪以后才越来越受到人们广泛重视的“奇书”,其内容之丰富、寓意之深邃、意象之奇谲, 确为美国文学上不可多得的一部作品。自20 世纪20 年代以来, 人们从不同的角度对这部作品进行了分析, 尤其对他的象征主义进行饶有兴趣的探索, 可谓百家争鸣, 在本文中, 我也将对此进行探索性的分析。 一、裴考德号全体船员悲惨命运的象征意义 《白鲸》描写的是一艘名叫裴考德号的捕鲸船在船长亚哈伯的带领下追击白鲸的故事。从表面上看, 全书的焦点似乎集中在船长亚哈伯和白鲸莫比·迪克之间不共戴天的仇恨上。但实际上, 它不仅仅是一部离奇曲折、充满异国风光与浪漫情调的历险小说。贯穿作品始终的是对人类命运的深沉的忧患,处处闪耀着象征主义的光芒。小说中裴考德号全体船员向白鲸一步步的逼近以及他们的最终灭亡, 象征着人类在社会、自然及至宇宙的命运。这一命运带有浓厚的神秘色彩和悲剧意绪, 而作者正是通过象征主义来表达他对人类命运的忧患意识。 1. 裴考德号的象征意义 显然, 裴考德号及全体船员的悲惨下场是从一开始就已注定了的。首先, 这艘船的名字本身就象征着灭亡。裴考德是美国印第安人一个种族的名字, 在美国被白人殖民者占领以后, 许多本土的印第安人部落和种族在和白人殖民者的冲突中被消灭了。裴考德就是一个已经被白人消灭了的种族。赫尔曼·麦尔维尔用这个名字来命名捕鲸船, 象征着它必定灭亡的悲惨下场。其次, 因为全书的叙述者伊史玛利是这艘遇难船上的惟一生还者, 他的叙述只是将业已酿成的灾难复述一遍而已。正如伊史玛利所说的, 船员们做着一切努力, 千辛万苦的穿过那无垠的大海, 只是为了奔赴他们的死期。他们天涯海角的跟踪、追逐, 只是在搜索那条最终会毁灭他们的东西。作者安排惟一的幸存者来讲述这个故事, 预示了裴考德号及全体船员的悲惨下场。 2. 裴考德号船长亚哈伯的象征意义 其实, 裴考德号船长亚哈伯曾经有过许多次调头的机会,但每次都被他毅然拒绝了。书中写到该船先后与“信天翁号”、“处女号”、“玫瑰蕊号”、“拉吉号”等好几艘船在海面上相遇。这几次相遇都起到对裴考德号的警告和劝戒作用。船长亚哈伯一次又一次被告知, 莫比·迪克具有超自然的力量, 谁要与它抗争必死无疑。然而, 这些忠告都未被采纳。直到最后一天的决战来临之前。船员斯达巴克最后一次劝船长及早停手时,他还是执意的表示, 一切都无法更改了, 因为这一切都是既定不移的天意。亚哈伯是人类本质中邪恶的一面的象征, 他对白鲸的仇恨象征着人类对自然的敌视, 而他以及船员们对白鲸疯狂的追逐, 象征着人类意识中疯狂的失控状态。当人的意识处于这种失控状态时, 就会被邪恶的一面完全控制, 从而招受自我毁灭, 也毁灭他人。亚哈伯正是处于这样的状态, 所以他才不顾一切的寻找白鲸, 并且不惜在桅杆上挂起一枚金币以奖励首先发现白鲸的水手, 而水手们在金钱的刺激下, 也变得疯狂了。在亚哈伯的带领下, 他们不顾一切的冲向安静的海洋搜索被他们视为敌人的白鲸, 在打破了海洋的宁静和白鲸的和平以后, 和白鲸一起葬身于海底。亚哈伯以及全体船员的这种疯狂的邪恶为他们带来了最终的毁灭。 二、这次航海本身的象征意义 这次航海本身象征着一种追寻和发现, 是对人类生活最终真理的追求。故事的叙述者伊史玛
试论白鲸的多层象征意义
试论白鲸的多层象征意义 摘要：赫尔曼·麦尔维尔的《白鲸》是世界文学长廊中的一颗璀璨明星，无数文学家，评论家写文章解读该作品，他们的切入点各不相同，而象征手法是其中重要一项，对于作品的理解起着十分重要的作用。本文剖析了作品中的人物亚哈，白鲸莫比·迪克，及航船裴廓德号及海洋的象征意义，和主题的象征意义，从而更加深刻的理解这一名著。 关键词：白鲸；象征意义； 《白鲸》是美国作家麦尔维尔发表于1851年的一部小说，在当时，没有引起人们的重视，甚至可以说受到了出奇的冷落。但是，到了20世纪30年代，人们才惊奇地发现，这是一部文学史上少有的杰作，它的深刻与伟大可以和任何一部名著相媲美。其实，《白鲸》的故事很简单：就是一条鲸鱼和一个船长的故事。莫比、迪克是一条凶猛无比的白鲸，它横行海上多年，曾使无数捕鲸船和水手命丧大海，成了许多航海者心中恐惧的妖魔；亚哈是一艘船的船长，在一次与白鲸的遭遇中，他被咬掉一条腿，为了复仇，他网罗了一群冒险者，开始在茫茫大海中搜捕白鲸行动。经过多年苦苦寻找，终于，找到了白鲸，经过六天六夜的激烈搏斗，虽然命中白鲸，可是，亚哈本人及其他水手、捕鲸船也都粉身碎骨，同归于尽。《白鲸》的确代表了梅尔维尔的艺术顶峰。《白鲸》是一部独具魅力的作品，小说的风格奇异多变，主题多解，最主要的是作者成功地运用了19世纪美国小说最多用的象征手法。 一、白鲸奠比·迪克的象征意义 莫比·迪克是一条带有传奇色彩的白色巨鲸，小说就以这条巨鲸的名字命名。“异教徒水手”把它收稿当成海怪，疯子迦百列把它当成镇教神的化身，亚哈把它当作自己的仇敌，以实玛利则认为它代表着残酷的空虚和宇宙的浩阔。自鲸莫比·迪克天生使人畏惧，它常常在大海里翻腾，施展出可怕的暴力，它曾使无数的捕鲸者藏身大海。它无处不在，并且会在同一时间里出现在不同的地方。人们的铁叉对它毫无伤害，它身上插遍了铁枪头，却还能安然无恙地游来游去。“白鲸”在这里成了一种超然的对人怀有敌意而又难以征服的神秘力量，进而它又被人们理解为世间一切“恶”的化身，凡是一切最使人狂怒和痛苦的事情，一切足以搅起事务的残渣的东西，一切附有恶念的真理，一切使人焦头烂额的东西，一切有关生命思想的额神秘而又不可思议的鬼神邪说，一切的邪恶等等，都是莫比·迪克的明显化身。若从社会政治的角度去理解和阐释白鲸的象征意义，这白鲸在一定程度上可以说是象征着那庞大的资本主义生产过程中与生产者相对立的那种力量。正如批评家安妮特·鲁宾斯坦所指出的那样：“由于要在船上提取并储存油脂，捕鲸船实际上就成为一座流动的工厂。它是一种将现代企业与极权的君主制相结合的组织形式；”白鲸这个尚不被理解而又威力无穷的怪物，实际上是作者对资本主义强大的生产力既感到不可理解又感到恐惧不安的心理的真实反映。也表现出他对处在这一变动时代的人类命运的忧患意识以及他们处境的深切同情。白鲸同时又是上帝神力的象征，“在它那硕大柔和的头顶，由于它那无法言传的沉思默想而挂着一顶雾气重重的华盖，而这种雾气??你有时看得到又被??彩虹耀得光辉灿烂，仿佛上天已经批准了它的思想似的。”白鲸还是大自然的化身。这样，小说的象征意义在于表明：人类如果一无止境地疯狂掠夺大自然，必将被大自然所埋葬。白鲸的象征意义究竟是什么?这就像白鲸身上那“雪白的异常的前额，”“金字塔似的白色背峰”一样叫人难以琢磨，它既代表着高洁安宁，又代表着恐怖邪恶，或者它干脆就是矛盾冲突的化身。 二、船长亚哈的象征意义 亚哈船长是白鲸的对立面，他又象征着什么呢?首先，亚哈为了报私仇，一意孤行，无视船东们的利益，置船员们的生死于不顾，并且，他充分利用自己作为船长的职权，对水手们进行威逼利诱，最后使所有船员(一人除外)都葬身海底。这时，亚哈成了比白鲸还要邪恶的魔王。但是同时，亚哈又是一个敢于反抗神明，反对习俗常规，坚毅无畏，百折不回，英勇善战，经验丰富的船长。他跟可怕的大海斗争了四十年，他遭受过一次又一次的挫折，但是他永远不会被击败。这也正如海明威的《老人与海》中圣地亚戈所说的：人不是为失败而生的，一个男子汉可以被消灭，不能被打败。作品中亚哈自己也印证了这句话：“我要走遍合恩角??走遍挪威的旋涡流，走遍地狱的火坑去追击到它后，这才散手。”表面上，亚哈追击的是白鲸，但更深层次上，它要打败的是一种邪恶的化身。此时亚哈成了人类挑战自然，战胜自的代表。另外，亚哈还代表着资本主义大生产方式，代表着那些不顾一切掠夺大自然的狂徒。所以，亚哈的象征意义和白鲸一样，不是唯一的或者绝对的，其性格是多重的，矛盾的，其象征意义也是复杂的，难以把握的。在它身上，善与恶并存，美与丑共在。它既是害人者，也是受害者，它对大自然的反叛必然招致灭亡，而社会从一开始就已使亚哈成了精神上，肉体上的受害者和畸形人。他自杀性的自我表现和反叛社会的疯狂行为，原本是社会对他彻底孤立的必然结果。亚哈的悲剧具有及其深刻而又恢弘的意义。 三、航船裴阔德号和海洋的象征意义 在《白鲸》中，裴阔德号航船是来自陆地的力量，海洋则代表着自然，他们之间的对立比较也具有明显的象征意义：航船裴阔德代表的陆地是有限的，但是相对海洋来说它是安逸舒适的；而海洋是元边无际，变幻莫测的，它象征着凶险。同时水是生命之源，因此海洋在这里也代表着深奥难测
谈白鲸中的象征主义
安徽农业大学 毕业论文（设计） 论文题目谈《白鲸》中象征主义运用 姓名学号 学院专业 指导教师职称 中国·合肥 二零壹壹年五月
On The Use of Symbolism in Moby Dick Thesis submitted to the faculty of School of Foreign Languages, Anhui Agricultural University in partial fulfillment of The requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts By: Supervisor: School of Foreign Languages, AAU May 2011
Acknowledgements I have eternal gratitude to Ma Wen, my thesis supervisor, for her/his inestimable help and valuable instruction, and to Professor Xu Y oujiang for his insightful lectures, which inspire me to compose this dissertation. I also thank those who help me in course of the writing and whose names I can’t list here one by one. Finally, I would also like to acknowledge the continuing support and kindness from my parents. Without their love, I could never have gone this far.
《白鲸》中的象征意义探寻
《白鲸》中的象征意义探寻 摘要：《白鲸》是梅尔维尔根据自己在捕鲸船上的经历而著，但同时又交织着作者对人生问题的搜索。而蕴含在这部小说各个层面的象征，有力地深化了这一主题，本文试图从各个角度来剖析其意蕴。如：结构象征，事物象征，身份象征以及语言层面的诸多象征意象。 关键词：白鲸；象征；身份 《白鲸》是19 世纪美国首屈一指的文学家赫尔曼·梅尔维尔的巨著，《白鲸》又名《莫比·迪克》，在他所有航海历险的书中，《白鲸》达到高峰。小说讲的是船长亚哈捕鲸鱼40 年， 一次出海时被一条水手们称“莫比·迪克”的白鲸咬碎了一条腿，亚哈决心报仇。在亚哈眼中，白鲸不仅是他的死敌，也是宇宙间一种不可名状的恶的化身，他的复仇情绪发展到近似偏执狂的地步。他既不听别人的劝阻，也不相信各种“不祥之兆”，以为凭着个人的意志和力量可以杀死白鲸。最后他虽用鱼叉击中白鲸，但船被白鲸撞破，亚哈被鱼叉上的绳子缠住，拖入海中。全船的人落海淹死，只剩下伊斯梅尔一人生还，来讲述他们的悲惨故事。 一、象征与象征主义 象征的符号有些是约定成俗的或大众化的，但是也有一些是作家“自我的”或是“个人的”。作者往往善于使用“个人化”的象征，读者在对作品进行体味时，才体会到作者所用象征符号的深意，在《红字》中，我们都知道戴在海斯特胸前的那个鲜红的“A”字，在请教徒眼中，它意味着“通奸”，当然这个字母“A”有其另外的意义，如“能干”或“天使”。这时候“A”字变成了海斯特德行的象征。象征符号能够使读者超越语言的表层，触及它的深层意蕴，这也是象征的最大特点。梅尔维尔的《白鲸》中，运用了大量的“个人化”象征，例如伴随故事始终的“裴阔德号”与“白鲸”，以及故事情节的场景，“海洋”这些象征相互作用，构成了一个庞大而又复杂的象征体系，同时也揭示了主人公“亚哈船长”在自然抗争的同时，也注定他要失败的这一主题。 象征主义包含双重含义：一是19 世纪晚期起源于法国的象征主义文学思潮；二是指文学创作中的象征主义表现手法。法国象征主义诗人马拉美说过“象征就是由种种暗示构成的一点一点地把对象暗示出来，用以表明一种心灵状态”。《白鲸》从人物到事物等各层面都运用了象征主义表现手法。 二、结构象征 从《白鲸》的结构布局来看，处处紧密相关联，小说开始以白鲸咬去亚哈船长的一条腿，导致了他的复仇心里，体现了亚哈的勇敢，顽强和临危不惧的精神。最后还是失败，与白鲸“融为一体”。 三、人物亚哈船长的象征意义 亚哈为了报私仇，一意孤行，无视船员的安危，而且他利用船长之职，对水手们进行威逼利诱，最后使船员们葬身海底，亚哈此时成了邪恶的象征，但是同时亚哈又是一个敢于抗争，坚毅顽强，英勇的英雄。亚哈追击白鲸，从深层次上看，它要打败的是一种邪恶的代表，那么此时亚哈船长成了战胜自然的代表。这部小说被认为是反映美国精神的史诗，体现了美国进行的民族精神，亚哈象征着这种精神代表，他的精神则成为人类精神的体现。因此，亚哈的象征意义具有
《白鲸》读书笔记
读懂一种唯我论 ————《白鲸》读书笔记 11中文2班吴意晟 《白鲸》主人公名叫以实玛利，曾跟商船出过海。他和在南塔开特结识的好友魁魁格到即将出航的捕鲸船“裴廓德号”报名。在航海过程中他知道了“莫比?迪克”——一只凶猛而狡诈的白鲸，在大海上一再使许多捕鲸者失肢断臂，船破人亡，是捕鲸者心目中的一种妖魔。“裴廓德号”船长亚哈，在一次猎击中给莫比迪克咬掉了一条腿，因此，他满怀复仇之念，一心想追捕这条白鲸，竟至失去理性，变成一个独断专行的偏热症狂。捕鲸船“裴廓德”号船长亚哈一心要捕杀咬掉自己一条腿的凶残聪明的白鲸莫比?迪克，在航行几乎全世界，经历辗转，终于与莫比?迪克遭遇的故事。经过三天追踪，最后用鱼叉击中白鲸，但船被白鲸撞破，亚哈被鱼叉上的绳子缠住，带人海中。全海落海，只有水手以实玛利（《圣经》中人名，意为被遗弃的人）一人得救。 亚哈船长是一个具有多重性格的矛盾体。他违犯了基督教关于“傲慢”的戒律,一切以“自我”为中心,背弃捕鲸获取鲸油的使命,执迷不悟于一己私仇,全然置船员的安危于不顾,在这个意义上,他就是一个不折不扣的暴君和邪恶魔王的象征。然而,就其敢于搏击邪恶、挑战命运、反抗神明而言,他又是人类反抗英雄的象征。另一方面,他又是一个坚毅执著探索宇宙奥秘的勇士,尽管具有顽强无畏和骁勇善战的勇气和能力,但终因无视大自然的内在规律,而徒劳地成为与宇宙力量抗争的牺牲品。可见,在亚哈身上同样体现了善恶并存、美丑相共、既是害人者又是受害者的多重意义,这一形象所蕴含的象征意义与白鲸一样也是复杂深邃、难以把握的。读者很难从中找到绝对的、唯一正确的结论,小说的意义并不是证明所有这些不同的结论都可能正确,而是要求读者根据自己的经历和思考做出评判,正如评论家 C. K.希勒加斯(C.k.Hillegass) 所言:“《白鲸》的意思不在书中,而在读者身上。”复仇是世界文学的一个古老母题。《白鲸》正是以复仇主题贯穿故事始末的。从事捕鲸业四十余年的船长亚哈不幸在出海时被白鲸莫比?迪克咬掉一条腿。此后,他对白鲸就充满了刻骨的仇恨,复仇的欲望吞噬着他的每一个细胞,他出航乃至整个余生的唯一目标就是誓死捕杀莫比?迪克。满腹仇恨使他成为最孤独自闭的人。为了报复白鲸,他听不进理智的劝告,完全被自己的“我”所吞没,他不再为妻子和孩子着想,不再和船员们交流,极端的自我中心主义使他几乎完全丧失了理性和人性,为报一己私仇不惜伤害他人。他始终固执地认为,自己的意志就是唯一的法则,世界为他而存在,世人为他而牺牲。“我所敢做的,我就有决心做;而我有决心做的,我就要做!他们当我发疯了……可是,我是恶魔,我是疯上加疯!……我现在预言,我一定要肢解那肢解我的家伙。”复仇的抉择一旦作出,满载祸殃的命运之船便开动了,一场由狂妄和偏执领航的复仇战斗就在这泯灭了理智的黑暗航行中开始了,最终把“裴廓德号”引向了毁灭的航程。在这个意义上,亚哈的悲剧主要源于由复仇导致的极端自我膨胀,他的灵魂因过于独立而难以得救,因而成为唯我论的牺牲品。 《白鲸》像一座象征主义的迷宫。这里大到典型人物、宏观景物,小到静止的物体几乎都具有多层次的象征意义。作者正是通过多重奇谲的象征事
白鲸,开题报告
篇一：moby dick 白鲸开题报告 毕业论文开题报告 篇二：本库论文开题报告(二) 外国语学院2011届本科毕业论文 开题报告书 中文题目：论麦尔维尔《白鲸》中的象征意义 英文题目：on the symbolic meaning in melville’s moby dick 学生姓名：李世明学号：0751144110 班级：0322级本（2）班 指导教师：刘国栋职称：讲师 2011年11月 论麦尔维尔《白鲸》中的象征意义 1 引言 2 文献综述 3《白鲸》中主题的象征意义 3.1 复仇主题的象征意义 3.2 人与自然主题的象征意义 4《白鲸》两大线索的象征意义 4.1埃哈伯与莫比.迪克线索 4.1.1 埃哈伯的象征意义 4.1.2 莫比.迪克的象征意义 4.1.3 白色的象征意义 4.2伊西梅尔与捕鲸活动线索 4.2.1 伊西梅尔的象征意义 4.2.2 捕鲸活动的象征意义 4.2.3 皮阔得号的象征意义 4.2.4 大海的象征意义 5 结论 on the symbolic meaning in melville’s moby dick ⅰ introduction ⅱ literature review ⅲ the symbolic meaning of the themes 3.1 the symbolic meaning of revenge 3.2 the symbolic meaning of human and nature ⅳ the symbolic meaning of two main clues 4.1 ahab and moby dick 4.1.1 the symbolic meaning of ahab 4.1.2 the symbolic meaning of moby dick 4.1.3 the symbolic meaning of white 4.2 ishmael and the hunting 4.2.1 the symbolic meaning of ishmael 4.2.2 the symbolic meaning of the hunting 4.2.3 the symbolic meaning of pequod 4.2.4 the symbolic meaning of the sea
论《白鲸》中的象征意义
本科 毕业论文（设计） 题 目: On The Symbolic Meanings in Moby Dick 论《白鲸》中的象征意义 姓 名: 姚小梅 学 院: 外 国 语 学 院 专 业: 英语专业（师范类） 班 级: 英语2010级1班 学 号: 1552100126 指导教师: 刘 云 职称: 讲 师 2014 年 6 月 17日 安徽科技学院教务处制
On The Symbolic Meanings in Moby Dick By Yao Xiaomei Supervised by Liu Yun In partial fulfillment of the requirement For the B.A. degree School of Foreign Languages Anhui Science and Technology University June 2014
Abstract Herman Melville (1819-1891) is one of the distinguished writers of America in the 1900s. It can say that Moby Dick is his representative work. And this work is generally regarded as one of the most symbolic novels in the world literature. However, literary circles has not attached importance to Moby Dick when it was published in 1851.It was not until the early twentieth century that this shining star has yielded unusually brilliant results and has won hundreds of thousands of writers and critics favor. The hitting-points of their research are different. While the symbolism is striking among them, and symbolism plays an important role in the understanding to readers. Herman Melville takes advantage of a good deal of symbolism in Moby Dick. To some extent, symbolism is exerted by the author incisively and vividly. It is said that symbolism derived from the symbolic movement of French in the late nineteen century. And it has already become an important writing technique to novels. It is noticed that Herman Melville has presented vividly the profound meanings of Moby Dick to readers through symbolism, which promotes the comprehension of readers and they can acknowledge American society, culture, religion beliefs of the 19th century and the development of symbolism to American literature. In Herman Melville’s writing, there are two big clues that appeal to people, namely protagonist Ahab and Moby Dick. It is designed that they are two opposing camps: Human and Nature. In the novel, bigoted and selfish Ahab pledges his life to catch Moby Dick for the sake of his hatred of losing a leg. And finally all people (except Ishmael) died as a result of Ahab’s revenge. Their fates in a certain degree reflect the final fates between human and nature. In the article, Melville uses symbolism adeptly. Consequently we can get each element’s symbolic meanings with color and life. In this paper the author will try to analyze different symbolic images, such as people, important clues and significant events so that show the symbolism of Moby Dick to people. I hope that my analysis would enrich people’s understand to this work’s themes. What’s more important is that I hope people could really comprehend the relation between human and nature. Do not act like Ahab, his only purpose for life is to break the power of nature. It is not advisable to loss at both sides. Of course we can’t be conceited or underestimate our capabilities toward nature. Harmonious coexistence is the best choice for both sides.
美国文学作品《白鲸》的象征意义
白鲸的象征意义 1. 小说以白色的鲸鱼命名，白色本身就有给人以琢磨不清，它有着“雪山一样的背峰”，“它突击的时候，表现那种无以伦比的充满机智的阴险”。它无处不在，并且会在同一时间出现不同的地方，“连魔鬼本人也领悟不了它的真相”。它是不朽的，人们的铁叉对它毫无伤害，它身上插遍了铁枪头，却还能安然无恙地游来游去。“白鲸”在这里成了一种超然的对人怀有敌意而又难以征服的神秘力量，进而它又被人们理解为世间一切“邪恶”的化身。 2. 白鲸出没诡异、难以捕捉，也象征了不可知的上帝，“在它那硕大柔和的头顶，由于它那无法言传的沉思默想而挂着一顶雾气重重的华盖，而这种雾气…你有时看得到又被…彩虹耀得光辉灿烂，仿佛上天已经批准了它的思想似的。”白鲸作为一种神秘莫测的力量对抗着人类的认知，体现出人往往只看到表面肤浅的东西，看不到背后的实质。 3. 白鲸还是大自然的化身。其象征意义在于：人类如果一无止境地疯狂掠夺大自然，必将被大自然所埋葬。 4. 从社会角度来看，白鲸象征着庞大的资本主义生产过程中与生产者对立的力量，捕鲸对于船员而言是资本主义社会残酷的劳动剥削。 白鲸的象征是具有多重性。 人物亚哈船长的象征意义 1. 亚哈为了报私仇，一意孤行，无视船员的安危，而且他利用船长之职，对水手们进行威逼利诱，最后使船员们葬身海底，亚哈此时成了邪恶的象征。 2. 亚哈又是一个敢于抗争，坚毅顽强，英勇的英雄。亚哈追击白鲸，从深层次上看，它要打败的是一种邪恶的代表，那么此时亚哈船长成了战胜自然的代表。这部小说被认为是反映美国精神的史诗，体现了美国进行的民族精神，亚哈象征着这种精神代表。 3. 从社会角度看，亚哈还代表着资本主义大生产方式，代表着那些不顾一切掠夺大自然的狂徒。 因此，亚哈的象征意义也具有多重性。 亚哈追击白鲸的象征意义 1. 如果白鲸是自然的象征，而船长则是黑暗的资本主义代表，此时亚哈追逐白鲸是人类与自然抗争的过程，这种结局必然遭到自然的谴责。 2. 把白鲸当作是邪恶的代表，亚哈则是英雄的化身，他追击白鲸过程，正是人类勇敢、智慧、顽强精神的体现。 3. 把白鲸视为上帝的代表，那么船长追击白鲸则是象征对上帝的亵渎和叛逆。因此，他受到了上帝的惩罚。 捕鲸船的象征意义 1. 浩瀚海洋里的“裴阔德号”代表的陆地是有限的，相对于凶险的海洋来说它是安逸舒适的。船与海代表着人类所必须面对的生活，象征着必须要面对人生途中的凶险，人们才能获得对生活的充分理解。 2. 小说写于美国西部淘金热时期，一叶方舟驶入大海，象征扩张的精神与执着探索自然界奥秘的美国精神。 3.又由于“裴阔德”取自被灭绝的印第安部落之名，因而它还可以象征邪恶人类世界必遭毁灭的命运。
论《白鲸》中象征意义的三种体现
Achnowledgements My special thanks go to Zhou Xue for her consent to be my supervisor, which is a great encouragement to me, for her insightful advice and above all careful scrutiny of both the outline and the draft in materializing the present thesis. I also wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to teacher Ma Y an whose lectures enhance my interest in American literature as well as widened my academic view, to Mr. Li Wenjun and Miss Zhang Yuanyuan, whose valuable suggestions, warm encouragement and great patience in the critical reading of my thesis. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to my beloved family for their loving considerations and great confidence in me all through these years. I also would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the respectable professors and friends that have taught and helped me in the course of my under graduate study.