論《白鯨》中的象征意義

1、本科畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計(jì)） 題 目:On The Symbolic Meanings in Moby Dick 論白鯨中的象征意義 姓 名: 姚小梅 學(xué) 院: 外 國 語 學(xué) 院 專 業(yè): 英語專業(yè)（師范類） 班 級(jí): 英語2010級(jí)1班 學(xué) 號(hào): 1552100126 指導(dǎo)教師: 劉 云 職稱: 講 師 2014 年 6 月 17日安徽科技學(xué)院教務(wù)處制On The Symbolic Meanings in Moby DickBy Yao XiaomeiSupervised by Liu YunIn partial fulfillment of the requirementFor the B.A.

2、 degreeSchool of Foreign LanguagesAnhui Science and Technology UniversityJune 2014歡迎下載AbstractHerman 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

3、 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

4、. 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 incisiv

5、ely 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 sym

6、bolism, 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 Melvilles writing, there are two big clues that appeal to people, namely protagonist Ahab an

7、d 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 Ahabs revenge. Their fates in a certain d

8、egree reflect the final fates between human and nature. In the article, Melville uses symbolism adeptly. Consequently we can get each elements symbolic meanings with color and life. In this paper the author will try to analyze different symbolic images, such as people, important clues and significan

9、t events so that show the symbolism of Moby Dick to people. I hope that my analysis would enrich peoples understand to this works themes. Whats 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 br

10、eak the power of nature. It is not advisable to loss at both sides. Of course we cant 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

11、 first part will give us a brief introduction to Herman Melville, Moby Dicks plot and the background information; In the second chapter the author will represent the definition of symbol and symbolism; The third chapter will analyze Ahabs symbolic meanings; the forth part is to talk about the symbol

12、ic 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中文摘要赫爾曼麥爾維爾(1819-1891)是美國19世紀(jì)著名作家之一，白鯨可以說是他的代表作。這部小說被認(rèn)為是世界上最有象征意義的小說之一，然而在1851年白鯨的問世并沒有引起文學(xué)界的重視，這顆璀璨明星直到20世紀(jì)才

13、大放異彩，贏得無數(shù)作家和評(píng)論家的親睞。他們的切入點(diǎn)各不相同，而象征手法是其中重要一項(xiàng)，對(duì)于作品的理解起著十分重要的作用。在白鯨中，麥爾維爾使用了大量的象征手法，象征主義的應(yīng)用可以說是淋漓盡致。象征主義源于十九世紀(jì)晚期的法國象征主義運(yùn)動(dòng)，它已成為現(xiàn)代小說中一種重要的創(chuàng)作手法。通過運(yùn)用象征主義手法，赫爾曼麥爾維爾形象而生動(dòng)地表達(dá)出了白鯨中的深刻含義,這促進(jìn)了廣大讀者對(duì)白鯨這部作品的理解，讓讀者對(duì)19世紀(jì)美國的社會(huì)、文化、宗教信仰有了深層次的體會(huì)，同事也推動(dòng)了象征主義手法在美國文學(xué)史上的發(fā)展。在赫爾曼麥爾維爾的筆下，白鯨中有兩大線索吸引著人們的眼球，即主人公（船長）亞哈與莫比迪克，他們可以說是小說中

14、的兩大對(duì)立陣營：人與自然的對(duì)立。偏執(zhí)，自私的亞哈為報(bào)失腿之深仇大恨，誓死追擊白鯨，直至最終的滅亡，這也象征著人類社會(huì)與自然地最終命運(yùn)。文章中，作者嫻熟地運(yùn)用象征手法，使得各個(gè)要素在作品中的象征意義活靈活現(xiàn)。本文將通過分析小說中具有不同象征意義的人物、重要線索、意象和重要事件，從而向人們展示白鯨中的象征意義，希望能進(jìn)一步豐富人們對(duì)這部小說及其主題的理解。更重要的是，我希望借助白鯨這部作品，人們能夠真正領(lǐng)會(huì)人與自然地關(guān)系，能與自然和睦相處。而不像亞哈那樣，一心就想沖破自然界的力量，兩敗俱傷，何必呢？在自然界面前，我們不能狂妄自大，當(dāng)然也不要妄自菲薄，融洽相處才是王道。本文結(jié)合白鯨中的象征主義手法的

15、運(yùn)用，把文章共分為五個(gè)章節(jié)，第一章節(jié)簡要介紹作者與作品及時(shí)代背景；第二部分講述象征和象征主義；第三章分析亞哈在白鯨中的象征意義；第四章節(jié)通過作者對(duì)白鯨的描寫，從而揭示白鯨的象征意義；第五章展示捕鯨船皮闊得號(hào)象征意義，最后得出結(jié)論。關(guān)鍵詞：白鯨；赫爾曼麥爾維爾；亞哈船長；象征，象征主義ContentsAbstract in English Abstract in ChineseIntroductionChapter 1 A Brief Introduction of Author and Work1.1 The Introduction to Herman Melville1.2 Plot Ov

16、erview1.3 Background InformationChapter 2 Symbol and Symbolism2.1 A Brief Introduction to Symbol 2.2 A Brief Introduction to Symbolism2.3 The Function of SymbolismChapter3 The Symbols in Moby Dick3.1 Ahab Himself3.2 Ahabs Spirits 3.2.1 Exploring the Final Truth 3.2.2 The Spirit of Self-identity 3.2.

17、3The Spirit of Heroism 3.2.4 The Embodiment of Revolutionary Spirit3.3 The Symbol of Ahab Hunting Moby Dick3.4The Symbol of Moby Dick3.4.1 Moby Dick itself 3 .4.2 The Symbol of Whiteness3.4.3The Symbol of Capitalism Mode of Production3.5 The Symbol of Ships Name: Pequod3.6OtherObjects Symbol Conclus

18、ionBibliographyIntroductionHerman 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 acquir

19、ed 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 Melvilles 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 command

20、ed 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 pu

21、t all his egg in one basket, that was revenge. Then Ahabs 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 a

22、ll 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 c

23、onflict 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, phil

24、osophical speculations, and Shakespearean rhetoric and dramatic staging. Mysterious Captain Ahab, a combination of Macbeth, Job and Miltons 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 Ahabs leg on a previo

25、us voyage.There are two reasons to Moby Dicks popularity. Firstly, Herman Melville describes more details about whaling spectacle; secondly, its enduring fascination and predominant literary value lies in the application of all kinds of complicated symbolism wholly expresses Melvilles ideas towards

26、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 Mo

27、by Dick. Lets turn into the world of symbolism of Moby DickChapter 1 A Brief Introduction of Author and Work1.1 The Introduction to Herman MelvilleHerman Melville, (August 1, 1819 September 28, 1891) who was born in New York, was an Americannovelist, poet, and writer of short stories. He was the thi

28、rd 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 ov

29、erwork, 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, Melvilles career began.

30、 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 t

31、he 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. Aft

32、er 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, Melvilles first five novels above-mentioned are all seen as an apprenticeship to what is today considered hi

33、s 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 da

34、y, 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 Hawthornes ps

35、ychological depth and gothic grimness. Melville associated Hawthorne with a new, distinctively American literature. Although the works of Shakespeare and Milton influenced Moby Dick, Melville didnt look exclusively to celebrate cultural models. He drew on sources from popular culture. For example, i

36、n 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.Ingeneral,itisthenon-psychologicalnovelthatof

37、ferstherichestopportunitiesforpsychologicalelucidation.Herethe author having no intentions of this sort, doesnotshowhischaractersinapsychological light and thus leaves room for analysis and interpretation, or even invites it by his unprejudiced mode of presentation I would also include Melvilles Mob

38、y 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 Dicks value.1.2 Plot Overview Ishmael, the narrator, announces his intention to ship aboard a whaling vessel. He has ma

39、de 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 Queequegs strange habits and shocking

40、appearance (Queequeg is covered with tattoos), but with time goes by, Ishmael eventually comes to appreciate this mans 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 ther

41、e they can secure berths on the Pequod, a savage-looking ship adorned with the bones and teeth of sperm whales. Peleg and Bildad, the Pequods Quaker owners, drive a hard bargain in terms of salary. They also mention the ships mysterious captain, Ahab, who is still recovering from losing his leg in a

42、n 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, whic

43、h is made from a sperm whales 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 th

44、e 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 a

45、lways 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. Whil

46、e Ahab does not care about his predictions, he continues hunting Moby Dick. During another whale hunt, Pip, the Pequods 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 ships carpenter make him a coffin in anti

47、cipation of his death. He recovers, however, and the coffin eventually becomes the Pequods replacement life buoy.Ahab orders a harpoon forged in the expectation that he will soon encounter Moby Dick. He baptizes the harpoon with the blood of the Pequods three harpooners. The Pequod kills several mor

48、e whales. Issuing a prophecy about Ahabs 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 n

49、o 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 ships first mate, takes it as a bad omen and considers killing Ahab to end the mad quest. After the storm ends, one of the sailor

50、s falls from the ships masthead and drowns-a grim foreshadowing of what lies ahead. Ahabs fervent desire to find and destroy Moby 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 expectati

51、on, 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 dr

52、owned expect Ishmael, who survives to tell the tale.1.3 Background InformationIn 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 ove

53、r 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

54、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. Un

55、der 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 m