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.

i

Abstract

Melville

is best known for

his novel

Moby Dick

. Critics have agreed it is

one of the world's greatest symbolic novels. It is an encyclopedia, covers history,

philosophy, religion, etc, in addition to a detailed account of the operations of

the

whaling

industry.

Moby

Dick

is

a

charming

work,

changeful

styles,

rich

themes and the most important is the successful use of the symbolism. Not only

images

are

symbolic,

but

also

the

description

of

the

details

and

scenes

are

endowed rich symbolic meanings.

The

present

thesis

will

explore

the

symbolisms

of

this

novel

in

order

to

help further understand the symbolic meaning of different images.

Key words:

Moby Dick

，

symbolic meaning

，

Melville

ii

摘

要

《白鲸》是美国作家赫尔曼麦尔维 尔的代表作，是世界上最有象征意义

的小说之一

.

它是一部关于历史，哲学，宗教以及捕鲸业的百科全书。白鲸

是一部独具魅力 的作品，小说的风格多变，主题多解，最主要的是作者成

功运用了象征主义。除了作者塑 造的各类形象均有象征意义外，小说对景

物、细节的描写也具有极其丰富的象征、暗示意 义。

本文对小说中的象征逐一进行了探究性的分析，旨在进一 步了解各类

形象的象征意义。

关键词

：

《白鲸》

，象征意义，麦尔维尔

iii

Contents

Achnowl edgements

.............................. .................................................. ....i

Abstract

.............. .................................................. .....................................ii

摘

要

............................. .................................................. ......................iii

1

Introduction

........................... .................................................. ..........1

1.1

Introduction

to

the

Writer

....... .................................................. ...1

1.2

Introduction

to

the

Novel

........ .................................................. ....1

1.3

Introduction

to

S ymbolism

............................... ..........................2

2

Literature

Review

.................................................. ................................2

3

The

People

and

Objects

'

Symbolic

Meaning

in

Moby

Dick

..................4

3.1

The

Symbolic

Meaning

of

Moby < /p>

Dick

......................... ...................4

3.2

The

Symbolic

Meaning

of

Captain

Ahab

..... ...................................8

3.3

The

Symbolic

Meaning

of

the

Pequod

and

Sea

.......... ...................12

4

Conc lusion

................................. .................................................. ..........15

Bibliography

... .................................................. .........................................

17

iv

Brief View on Three Embodiments of Symbolic Meaning in

Moby

Dick

1 Introduction

Herman Melville shapes a narrator named Ishmael in his masterpiece

Moby

Dick

. Ishmael takes various approaches to describe people and objects in

Moby

Dick

and endows them different symbolic meanings. So throughout the famous

novel,

it

is

easy

to

notice

that

many

people

and

objects

have

their

own

significant

symbolic

meanings.

Interesting

in

symbolic

meaning,

this

thesis

mainly develops by discussing the various symbolisms in

Moby Dick

.

1.1 Introduction to the Writer

Herman Melville, was an American novelist, short story writer and poet as

well, born in New Y

ork, 1819. Melville was best known for his novel

Moby Dick

and

the

posthumous

novella

Billy

Budd

.

He

was

the

first

writer

to

have

his

works collected and published by the Library of he was 20, as a

cabin

boy

he

boarded

a

merchant

ship

bounding

for

Liverpool,

England.

His

experiences and adventures on the sea furnished him with abundant material for

his

novel

Moby

Dick

.

It

was

until

the

Melville

Revival

published

in

the

early

20th

century

that

he

won

worldwide

recognition.

But

after

a

fast- blooming

literary success in the late of 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the

mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime.

1.2 Introduction to the Novel

v

Moby-Dick

is a symbolism

and tremendously ambitious novel. It functions

as a documentary of life at sea and a vast philosophical allegory of life.

Moby

Dick

can be read as a thrilling sea story, an examination of the conflict between

man

and

nature.

The

story

tells

the

adventures

of

the

Captain

Ahab

of

the

Pequod who seek one white sperm whale and revenge it in eager. Because of a

previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his left

leg. In

the

process

of

fighting

against

Moby

Dick,

all

the

seamen

died,

only

Ishmael

survived.

1.3 Introduction to Symbolism

Melville

employs stylized

language,

symbolism, and

metaphor to explore

numerous

complex

themes.

Symbolism

is

one

of

the

most

significant

artistic

techniques which can be frequently seen in this novel.

A symbol, in the broadest sense, is anything that signifies something else.

In

discussing

literature,

however,

the

term

symbol

is

applied

only

to

a

word or phrase that signifies an object or event which

in turn signifies

something, or has a range of reference, beyond itself (Abrams 622-23).

Symbol

as

a

literary

device

is

long

used

in

various

novels

and

poets.

Many

people and objects in

Moby Dick

are endowed with various symbolic meaning.

Therefore,

the

thesis

focuses on

discussing

the

different

symbolic

meaning

of

Moby Dick and characters to have a further understanding about this novel.

2 Literature Review

vi

Lawrence (1961) declares that

Moby Dick

is a great book, Melville

is one

of the greatest writers and

master of symbolism

in America. There

is no doubt

that his longest novel

Moby Dick

is one of the great masterpieces of fiction

in

the 19

th

century American literature. Melville's

Moby Dick

was first published in

London in 1851, but was not significant repercussions until 1919. It is called a

monumental book

for readers to understand

arbitrarily. From the early critical

reception

to

the

modern

criticism,

Moby

Dick

has

been

studied

in

various

perspectives

due

to

its

significance

in

Melville's

literary

career

and

its

rich

implications.

Moby

Dick

was

not broadly

recognized

by

public

until

the

1920s.

From

then

on, comments on

this

book

gradually

appeared.

In

British

and

American

critical fields, throughout 1970s, to 1990s, more and more critics started to fix

their eyes on

Moby Dick

. As it is

Not only a

very big book; it

is also a peculiarly full and rich one, and

from the very opening it conveys a sense of abundance, of high creative

power,

that

exhilarates

enlarges

the

imagination

(Richard

Chase,

1962:39).

The

novel

is

generally

regarded

as

an

encyclopedia

of

many

things:

history,

religion,

philosophy

and

so

on,

in

addition

to

a

detailed

account

of

human

beings' encroachment on nature (Wu, 1998).

There

were pieces of analysis which

deal with

Moby Dick. For instance,

the data showed that when came to the

researches of

Moby Dick

in China by

vii

1997,

there

were

more

than

90

essays

commenting

on

Moby

Dick

had

been

collected in China's National Knowledge Infrustructures. Some of them refer to

its symbolic meaning. For example, Chen (1997) said

Moby Dick was nature itself; and in terms of social politics it was the capitalist

system; and it was the incarnation of evil if we analyze it from the point of good

and evil

of

God. In addition,

about

the whale's

color,

Liu

(2005) thought

is

the

symbol

of

pureness

and

innocent,

and

on

behalf

of

the

mysteries

of

the

universe

When

readers

read

the

whole

novel

carefully,

they

can

find

that

the

glittering

part

moving

readers

most

is

the

multiple

symbolic

meanings

in

the

novel. The thesis will carry out a detailed analysis of the symbolic meaning

in

this book from three aspects as follows.

3 The People and Objects' Symbolic Meaning in

Moby Dick

Moby Dick

is considered as one of the world's most outstanding symbolic

novels.

People

and

objects

in

Moby-Dick

are

endowed

with

various

symbolic

meanings and show abstract senses.

This chapter focuses on analyzing the white

whale

Moby

Dick,

the

captain

Ahab

and

the

whale

ship

Pequod

and

sea's

symbolic meaning and relative social meaning.

3.1 The Symbolic Meaning of Moby Dick

Obviously

the

white whale Moby Dick

has the most important symbol

in

viii

the novel. Moby Dick can be read out multiple symbolic meanings, the symbolic

meanings

vary

if

readers

see

it

in

different

circumstances

and

from

different

perspectives.

3.1.1 Moby Dick

Moby Dick is a great white sperm whale, an infamous and dangerous threat

to seaman. In this novel, Moby Dick is portrayed as a mysterious being which is

greatly destructive, hostile to human but difficult to be conquered. Moby Dick's

back like a

the terrible violence and leads numerous whalers dead in the sea.

3.1.2 Mody Dick's Symbolic and Related Social Meanings

Moby Dick possesses various symbolic meanings in

different perspectives

as

talked

above. Take

Ahab

as

an

example,

he

believes

that

Moby

Dick

is

a

manifestation

of

all

that

is

wrong

with

the

world.

Meanwhile,

Ishmael

thinks

that

it

represents

the

cruel

emptiness

and

the

vast

universe.

Hence,

it

is

not

difficult to see the white whale has multiple symbolic meanings.

Based on Chen's (1997) argument Moby Dick is a symbol of nature. People

seems never

understand Moby Dick completely, also never defeat

it, mankind

only

do

not disturb

Moby

Dick's

life

in

the

sea

but

to

respect

its

mysterious

forces. When comes to the relationship between human and Moby Dick, Human

beings

may

never

conquer

nature,

only

respecting

and

protecting

it,

just

by

doing so, human and nature can get along well. Additionally, for Melville (1967),

the

white

whale

is

also

a

symbol.

He

believes

that

there

is

some

kind

of

ix

irresistible

force

manipulating

the

destiny

of

humanity;

such

force belongs

to

nature.

On

the

one

hand,

in

the

novel,

this

mystery

is

reflected

from

the

description

of

the

sea.

The

boundless

ocean

is

unpredictable:

sometimes

it

is

quiet, solemn and gentle; sometimes

wind waves off and makes people dizzy.

On

the

other

hand,

some

other

predictions

and

signs

appear

in

the

novel

also

indicate the mystery. Such as a large blackened oil painting hangs on the wall

which is about a ship nearly sinking in the whirlwind, while

a furious whale

is

pouncing

it.

All

of

these

suggest

the

tragic

fate

of

the

whalers

who

come

to

lodging. By showing these the

author may suggest the

inevitable result of the

conflict between human and nature: the destruction of mankind.

In

some

extent,

Moby

Dick

is

a

symbol

of divine

power

as

well.

Moby

Dick is an impersonal force, many critics have interpreted it as an allegorical of

God,

an

inscrutable

and

all-powerful

being

that

humankind

can

neither

understand nor defy. The sacred, special character of Moby Dick is delivered by

his whiteness. His awfully severe beauty is godlike, so is his titanic power and

pyramid-like white hump. His color, white, has signified a special sanctify:

In

many

natural

objects,

whiteness

refines

and

enhances

beauty,

as

in

pearls, or confers special qualities such as innocence or purity. There is

an elusive quality that causes the thought of whiteness to heighten terror,

such

as

the

white

bear

of

the

poles

or

the

white

shark

of

the

tropics.

Among

humans,

the

Albino

is

considered

shocking

and

loathed,

while

the whiteness of a corpse is a distinguishing and disturbing feature. In its

x

most profound idealized significance it calls up a peculiar apparition to

the soul. White is portentous because it is indefinite, not so much a color

as the visible absence of color. (Melville 213)

Informed from these words, Melville explores the meaning of whiteness through

the ages and

views of many different cultures. This

indicates that

Moby

Dick's

color-whiteness is significant and owns various symbolic meanings. To Ishmael,

he

first

begins

his discussion

of

noting

its

use

as

a

symbol

of

virtue,

nobility,

and

racial

superiority.

But

later

Ishmael

tries

to

explain

that

Moby Dick meant to him at the time of the voyage is the whiteness of the whale

that appalls him

...There

was

another

thought,

or

rather

vogue,

harmless

horror

concerning him, which at times by its intensity completely overpowered

all

the

rest;

and

yet

so

mystical

and

well

night

ineffable

was

it,

that

I

almost

despair

of

putting

it

in

a

comprehensible

form.

It

was

the

whiteness of the whale that above all things appalled me (Melville 178).

Whiteness,

now

to

Ishmael,

seems

no

more

than

horrible

as

it

presents

the

unnatural threatening.

Based on the above discussion it may easy to notice that

Moby Dick has

two

symbolic

meanings.

For

the

first,

it

means

nature.

It

indicates

that

Moby

Dick is unknowable to man in some extent, just like nature to man. Man in some

way can never fully understand nature, only surrender to it. Then, when it refers

to

divine

power

including

its

white

color

implies

that

Moby

Dick

cannot

be

xi