文学论文Moby-dick.doc

Contents Abstract in English Abstract in Chinese I. IntroductionII.Religious meanings of the roles 2.1 Ahab2.2 Moby dickIII. Other things with religious meanings in the novel IV. Background and transcendentalism 4.1. Background 4.2. Transcendentalism V. Conclusion: Destruction, Rebirth, and questionsReference“Moby Dick”s religious significanceAbstractMelvillesmasterpiece, Moby Dick is theworlds cultural heritage.Religious significanceofit isstill relativelyless researched. Melvilles religious belief is verycomplex,difficult to determine.First,God isin his mind, the God in the BibleOld Testament , people have tofight against their own mindtofollow Godswishes.Hes Godisalso the Godofthe universe, whichmeansthat thewhite whalehas representedthedivinenature. He questionedGodsmercy in the Bible. In the early19th century, Transcendentalismis raisedin anumber ofwriters. Melville,lostfaithin the industrialrevolution, too. So he wastrying to search ofadestructionand rebirth in thewhalingadventure. Key Words: Melville Moby Dick religiousmeanings transcendentalism摘要麦尔维尔的著作白鲸是世界文化遗产。其宗教重要性相对来说却很少有人研究。麦尔维尔的宗教信仰很复杂，很难确定。首先，他相信上帝，这里的上帝是指旧约全书中的上帝。人们必须遵循上帝的意旨并同自己的想法做斗争。他的上帝也是宇宙之神，所指的是白鲸就是神圣自然的代表。他怀疑圣经里上帝的怜悯。在19世纪早期，超验主义作家的人数不断上升。麦尔维尔在工业革命时期也迷失了自己的信仰。所以他尝试着在捕鲸冒险中寻找毁灭与重生。 关键词:麦尔维尔 白鲸 宗教意义 超验主义I. IntroductionIt is aboutwhaling. “PeiTak” sCaptainAhabbent onkillingMoby Dick, a cruelsmart whale who bite offhisleg,almost tracked all over the world, throughtwists and turns,the boatfinallyhitwithMoby dike. After three days oftracking,aharpoonhad hit on Moby Dick, but theboat was crashed bythe whitewhale,Ahabsharpoon was tied bythe rope and fall into the sea. No one survived but a sailornamed Ishmael(Biblenames, meaningpeople who was abandoned)II.Religiousmeanings of the roles2.1 AhabInMoby Dick, the most attractiverole is theCaptainAhab.His experienceis almost the same asrevengetragedy inthe Elizabeth period，being bothheroand villain ,most peopleshould notbe comparedwith him.Hismind andwill,courage and convictionmake hima best manabove others. However,the novelmore than onceasserted thathe wasparanoidand stubbornandhis hatredwhitewhaleasa symbol of evil.It is suitable to sum up him with the words: “nofear of God, just like a God”.His name came from a story of Bible.Ahabis the Middle Eastseighthmonarch, a ancientnorthernkingdom of Israel.His father wasOmri(Kings16:29).Hisempire includesthe country ofMoab,the Kingdom of Judah.But hiskingdom was weakened bythe constantwarwith Syria.His marriage with PrincessJezebelof Sidon adopt PhoeniciangodBaal intoIsrael,whichlead tothe prophet ofElijah andthe otheropposition, and finally received thedoom.2.2 Moby dickMobyDickisa legendarywhitewhale, the novel showsthe symbols ofits multiple meaningsfromthe perspective ofdifferent characters.In thepagansview,it iscalm andsereneat times, but sometime become a brutalsea monsterof terror;madBuddhaBailey treat it asGod ofthe earthquake;inthe eyes ofAhab,It is alltherage andpain topeople,enough tostir up thingsstinks,alltruthwithmalice, and allthe thingspeoplethinkingabout the magicallifeand mysteriousspiritsheresy, and alltheevil, etc, are MobyDick.It istheevil andterrorin Ahabs heart; it is theenemydifficultto conquerand mustbe destroyed.Butto Ishmael, thewhitewhalerepresents bothnoblepeace and terroristdeath,it is theoppositeof allthe universe,the combination of contradictions, a symbol ofthe universes wideandmystery of Godsboundless divine power,fate and the futureof mankind,It isimportant togiveIshmaelenlightenments not simplyto destroy,but tostrive to improveawareness, the pursuit oftruth.III.Other things with religiousmeanings inthe novel MobyDickis not onlyubiquitous, but also immortal. This is thedivinity Moby dikerepresents,hislike the fate of aman, whichisinvincible.PriestMaple inthe beginning ofthe novel played awonderfulsermon spreadof Moby Dicks theme.By understanding thepreaching of this chaptercan we understandthe whole book? Priest Maplepreachingis the key toopenthe novel.Sermonskillfullyadapted fromThe BibleOld Testament and Jonah, especiallythat part ofthe adventureof Jonah.Priest Maplepreachedan attempt to proveGodsway iscorrect,the individual soulsrelationshipto Godis difficult to determine, it needs to consider the self s nature.Maplethinksindividualcan expressthe spirit ofChrist. He insisted thatthe individualwillbe subject tothe will of God,the individual self should besubmerged inGodsself.Maplepriestsusethe language ofwhaling,establishedbythe story ofwhaling,to express an idea which is hard to understand: the most perfect self can be reachedonly through theelimination ofself.Faith is a problem throughthe whole book. Even ifhesometimesdoes not knowwhat to believe andwho to believein thecircumstances, he stillkeeps the faith. For example, inMoby DickChapter 48,in the night ofthe storm, they put a boat downto search the whale butnearlymetdisaster, and thestandard-bearerKuiKuisat there,as asymbol ofthe people without anybelief indespair, supporting theirhopein weakness (316).IV.Backgroundand transcendentalism4.1. Background In Mid-nineteenth century, literature has acommontheme of rejectand seek ,the themeof Moby Dick insimilarly with that.CaptainAhabwilling toabandon thecomfortablelife on landto isolatedangeroussea, the motivation thesurface isto killthe whitewhale for revenge, but in reality istofind himself and thespirit ofpeaceand freedom;Othercrew members,or fora livingforce, orto escapethe mercilessfate,or tochange the environment, escaped the landthatcan notbringthem joyand happinessand focuson seekingthe idealworld. In their eyes,the landaroundthe machinesof modernindustrial had lostthe depthof life. In theboundless sea, whethercalmorstorm, the seacan alwaysstirredthe human imaginationandthe unlimitedaccumulationof the originalvitality ofthe body, only the oceanwasfull ofthe highesttruth4.2. TranscendentalismMelvilledoubtedthe Godsmercyin Bible.Melvillecontemporarywiththe New EnglandTranscendentalistmovement,a symbol spiritual leaderand the maincharactersEmerson believed thatman ishis own god“. On thispoint,Ahab described byMelvilleontheline ofthe Emersons self criterion. He is aman do notfear God,but like god, he shouldbeGodhimself. AlthoughMelvillespessimismis fardifferent from EmersonsTranscendentalismand positivephilosophy,however,he was full ofrespectforEmersons heroes.CaptainAhabthoughnotactuallywon avictorybut won in spirit.He is amaster ofshrewdrisk-taking, is atragic hero. This is theAhab-his bodywassplit; butthe spirit ofAhab,is ahundredfeet centipede, which is still active(788). Articleon thefate ofEmerson: For thepeoplecan thinkthat, hewas free. Strong-willedindividuals want acquirethe land, destroyingthe forest, built arailway.Their driving forceastoughasAhab; theymissedthefunas he did. Otherisignored. As he didwiththe sameplan toshow hisconfidence and strong will;the finalashe didtoruin.V. Conclusion:Destruction, Rebirth, andquestions.I boldlyspeculated the authorsintention of this fiction.Inthe early 19th century,the capitalism developed rapidly, and religion andthe God are less important. The lackness offaithbecamethe problemsthat plaguedmany intellectuals, so theyexplorein the spiritual realm, trying to find out who are they,whattheyshould believe in, theformerspiritual world, or the new materialworld.White has been mentionedin the novel repeatedly, it isa symbol ofdivinespurityand terror. Ahaband otherpeople are abandoned, or we can say,they gave uptheirfaithin God, they even suspected the God,and having thesubconscioushostility.In the antagonism betweenthe differentfaith, Goddestroyedwith themall.Clearly, theauthorpraisedAhab, who pursuited thetruth andmysteries of the universe.Theirultimateaim is to putthe vulnerabilityof human being,goodness anduglinessof human nature intodestruction, then createa new equilibrium,a new world, but how is the new world , noone knows. Ishmaelas thenarratorand theescaper,