谈白鲸中的象征主义.doc

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 DickThesis submitted to the faculty of School of Foreign Languages, Anhui Agricultural University in partial fulfillment ofThe requirements for the degree ofBachelor of ArtsBy:Supervisor:School of Foreign Languages, AAUMay 2011Acknowledgements I have eternal gratitude to Ma Wen, my thesis supervisor, for her/his inestimable help and valuable instruction, and to Professor Xu Youjiang 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 cant 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.Abstract Herman Melville was a famous American novelist in Romantic period，who has written numerous popular works, among which Moby Dick was the most outstanding one. Moby Dick is a novel about the fighting between man and nature. It is famous for symbolism. In this novel, every character, even every object has its symbolic meaning. The use of symbolism makes an artistic effect in this novel and makes the novel world-famous. This paper centers on the use of symbolism in Moby Dick. It gives a brief introduction about the main characters and symbolism, then analyses the symbolic meanings of these characters and objects including the white whale Moby Dick, the captain Ahab, the ship Pequod, the sea Pacific, the voyage for hunting the white whale and the relationship between Ishmeal and Queequeq. After analysis, we will find that this novel is in fact a mini but real society and how skillfully symbolism was used by Melville.Key words: symbolism; nature; characters摘 要赫尔曼.麦尔维尔是美国浪漫主义时期的杰出作家。在他众多的作品中，最最著名的要数白鲸了。这是一部描述人与自然斗争的小说，小说最鲜明的特点就是象征主义。这部小说中每一个人物,甚至是物体，都有其象征意义。象征主义手法在小说中营造了艺术气氛，同时也使得白鲸闻名世界。本文主要探讨象征主义在白鲸中的运用。文章首先简要介绍了作品中主要人物和象征主义,接着就文章中主要的人和物进行了象征手法的分析，包括白鲸莫比迪克，船长阿哈伯，船皮盔德号，太平洋，追捕白鲸的旅程以及伊什米尔和奎奎德德关系的象征意义。通过分析,我们可以发现白鲸这部小说就是一个缩小版的真实社会以及麦尔维尔对象征主义手法的出色运用。关键词：象征主义；自然；角色iiiTable of ContentAcknowledgementsiAbstractii摘 要iiiI. Introduction of Herman Melville and Moby Dick1II. Characters22.1 Ishmael32.2 Ahab32.3 Queequeq42.4 Moby Dick4III. Application of Symbolism in Moby Dick53.1 Symbolism53.1.1 The introduction of symbolism53.1.2 The features of symbolism53.2 Symbolism in Moby Dick63.2.1 The white whale-Moby Dick63.2.2 The captain-Ahab83.2.3 The ship-Pequod83.2.4 The sea-Pacific93.2.5 The voyage of hunting for the white whale93.2.6 The relationship between Ishmael and Queequeq10IV. The Relationship between Man and Nature.114.1 To Ahab114.2 To Melville11V. Conclusion13 Bibliography14I. Introduction to Herman Melville and Moby Dick Herman Melville (1819-1891) was a great American writer in Romantic period. He was born in a poor family in New York. But through his continuous effort, he succeeded at last and fortunately he became world-famous. As an outstanding novelist, Melville had his own unique style and view. Moby Dick is Melvilles masterpiece. It describes the struggle between human and nature, which is also Melvilles constant theme. Educator Zuo stated that Melville held a black view towards the world like the great American writer Hawthorne(Zuo 2006:200). To him, the world is always Godless and purposeless. Man in this university lives a meaningless and futile life(Zuo 2006:340).In his works he profoundly expressed the loss of faith, the sense of futility and meaninglessness which characterize the modern life of the west. This also indicates why Melvilles fame is still popular in the present century. Melville is known for his sea stories which include Typee, Omoo, Mardi, and his masterpiece-Moby Dick. So far, Moby Dick is still regarded as the best novel which describes the industry and process of hunting whale. The structure of this novel is simple. The story goes roughly as follows: Call me Ishmael, the writer begins. Ishmael, feeling depressed, seeks escape through going to sea and at last he landed on a ship, Pequod, the captain of which is Ahab, a man with strong belief and pride. He has only one leg because the other leg was sheared off by a white whale-Moby Dick, in previous voyage. Because of this, Ahab resolves to kill it. Pequod makes a good catch of whales but Ahab refuses to turn back until he can kill his enemy. Eventually the white whale appears, and the Pequod begins its destined fight with it. On the first day the whale overturns a boat, and on the second it swamps another. When the third day comes, Ahab and his crew manage to plunge a harpoon into it, but the whale carries Pequod along with its doom. All on the board of the whaler get drowned, except Ishmael, who survives to tell the tale. At last, Moby Dick disappears and nobody knows where it has gone. II. Characters There are several characters in this novel, including Ishmael, the narrator, Ahab, the captain, Queequeq, a prince, and the most important one, Moby Dick. As we know, the greatest success of this novel lies in its perfect use of symbolism. Every character has its unique symbolic meaning. Now, let me make a brief introduction about these main characters.2.1 Ishmael Call me Ishmael, the novel begins. At the beginning, we have already known him. Ishmael once worked as a schoolmaster. But as a person full of enthusiasm, he wasnt content with his simple and plain life. So he often stopped his work and headed for the sea for relaxation when he felt down. At such time, he worked as a seaman on a ship, to escape from the reality of his hometown, Manhattan, New York. Once he was attracted by a whaling ship because of its dangerous work and interesting seamen on the ship. It is on this ship-Pequod that he went through an adventurous and nervous experience. That is the war between the white whale Moby Dick and the captain of Pequod-Ahab.2.2 Ahab Ahab was the captain of the ship, Pequod. His strong, brave characteristic may impress readers most. When Ishmael saw him first time, he felt that Ahab was so fierce and serious that he was remained of a bronze statue that was tall and wide in form. One of Ahabs legs was made of the ivory of the smooth bone of a whales jaw. There is an implication here, in fact, Ahabs leg was disabled by a white whale, who, he vowed to kill and at last he was killed by. Educator Liu stated that Ahab is a typical American at Melvilles time(Liu 1995：38).2.3 QueequeqWhen Ishmael first saw Queequeq, he thought that Queequeq was a terrible and peculiar man. He was a son of a king. In order to improve his peoples life, he began his life of hunting whales on the sea, because he wanted to know better about the Christian world. After knowing this, Ishmael changed his impression on Queequeq and they became good friends. Later on their way of sea Queequeq even saved Ishmaels life.2.4 Moby Dick Moby Dick is the name of the book. It is also the most important character in this novel. It is a large white whale in the Pacific Ocean. In a battle with Ahab, it sheared off one of Ahabs legs and escaped, thus, Ahab vowed to kill it. In this novel, Moby Dick is a clue, everything happened around it. At last, Moby Dick killed all the seamen on Pequod except Ishmael and disappeared in the wide blue sea.III. Application of Symbolism in Moby Dick3.1 Symbolism3.1.1 The introduction of symbolism Symbolism, the first literary school of Modernism, is the line of demarcation between traditional literature and modern writings. It rose against Realism in France in the mid-19th century, flourished in the 1920s to 1940s in England, the US and other European countries, and has lingered on until the present day. In 1857, Charles Baudelaire, the founder of French symbolism, published The flowers of Evils, the first work of symbolism. Later in the 1880s, symbolism grew into a conscious literary movement with Arther Rimbaud, Paul Verlaine and Stephane Mallarme as the leading advocates. Educatior Zuo expressed that, in general, symbolism is one of the writing skills(Zuo 2006:170). Its goal is to convey elusive illusion and its content is mysticism. What the writer wants to explain is not the realistic objective world, but individuals subjective inward world. The word symbolism comes from the Greek word symbolon. 3.1.2 The features of symbolism Professor Hu and Du has told us that symbolism does not believe in the doctrine of Realism that art presents reality( Hu & Du 1999:28). Professor Liu has said in his book that symbolism sees the immediate, unique, and personal emotional response as the proper subject of art (Liu 1995:60). Since the emotions experienced by a poet in a given moment are unique to that person and that moment are finally both fleeting and incommunicable, the poet is reduced to the use of a complex and highly private kind of symbolization in an effort to give expression to an evanescent and ineffable feeling. The result is a kind of writing consisting of a series of symbols lacking apparent logical relation, which are put together in a pattern characterized by a indefiniteness as great as the indefiniteness of the experience itself and the conscious effort to use words for their evocative musical effect without very much attention to precise meaning. The most famous representatives of symbolism includes the France poet Charles Baudelaire and the Irish poet William Bulter Yeats. 3.2 Symbolism in Moby Dick Moby Dick describes a story that a ship, which was called Pequod, under the guidance of Captain Ahab, looks for and fights against the white whale Moby Dick. On surface, the novel seems to focus on the hostility between Ahab and Moby Dick. But in fact, it is not simply an adventurous novel which is full of complicated odds and romantic sentiments. The clue which runs through the whole novel is the deep concerns to the fate of human beings. In the novel, the radiance of symbolism shines from the beginning to the end. For example, the sailors on Pequod going nearer and nearer to the whale until they get to death symbolizes the fates of human, nature and universe. The fate is filled with mystery and tragedy. The author just expressed his concerns to human fate through symbolism. Just as I have mentioned, in this novel, every character has its symbolic meaning.3.2.1 The white whale-Moby Dick The most outstanding character in this novel is Moby Dick, which has many deep symbolic meanings. Educator Jin and Qins book told us that some western critics think that the white whale is a symbol of evil (Jin & Qin 1997:46）. Indeed, in the novel the whale is described as a destructive, hostile and mysterious being which is difficult to conquer. But such evil is not just totally in form. So, to some degree, the white whale can be viewed as the huge mode of production of capitalism, the strength in the manufacturing process which is opposed to the productivity. The author makes a mysterious atmosphere in the novel and expresses humans incapability in face to the fate. On one hand, the novel reflects the authors own anxiety and worry to the development of capitalism productivity and the contradictory in the new society. On the other hand, the author also shows his sympathy and concerns to the fate and situations of people at this time. To the author Melville, the white whale also stands for the mysterious nature, especially the ocean. Another theme of Melvilles description is the relationship between man and nature. He thought that there is an invisible power which can control mans fate, and this power is from nature. In the novel, such mystery is expressed by the description of the change of the sea. Sometimes the sea is quiet and wild, giving people beautiful images, while other times it even lifts huge billows, making people dizzy. Man doesnt have strength to win against nature because of its unfathomable changes, which destined mans failure of fighting against nature. Besides, the author has purpose to choose a white whale because the color white also has its symbolic meaning. White means purity and innocence. From this we can see, the author thought that nature is quiet and friendly, only if man could understand his coexistence with nature and be in harmony with nature. Otherwise, man will be dying. In the novel, the fight between sailors and whale is the fight between man and nature. The white whale has lived a happy life in the nature and never deliberately gone near to man. But the sailors want to conquer and kill it while at last be killed by it. At the same time, white symbolizes the mystery of the universe. To human, the secret of universe is white; people could see nothing except the white. This is one of the authors permissive opinions: man is so little in front of the strong nature that he could never know about the secret of the nature.3.2.2 The captain-Ahab Another important character in the novel is the captain of the ship Poquod-Ahab. His only purpose is to kill Moby Dick; even he has already known that there would be numerous dangers. In fact, in their voyage, Ahab has many chances to turn back but every time he refuses firmly. He has been told more than once that Moby Dick has super nature strength and the only result of fighting against it is death. But he never adopts those ideas until the last day comes with the final struggle. One sailor tries to persuade him to give up, but he still indicates that all has been destined and can not be altered. Ahab symbolizes the vicious side of mans inherent quality. His hostility towards Moby Dick is mans enmity towards nature. He and his sailors crazy seek for the white whale just means people whose state is out of control. When man is in such state, he will be controlled by the vicious side and destroy others, even himself. Ahab is in this state and he guides his sailors to rush to the quiet sea and disturb the peace life of the whale, only leads to his own extermination.3.2.3 The ship-Pequod Obviously, the misery fate of the ship Pequod and all the sailors on it has been destined from the beginning. Firstly, the name Pequod itself symbolizes death. Pequod is the name of an American Indian tribe. After American was dominated by the white, a lot of native Indian tribes were killed by the white in their conflicts, and Pequod was one of the tribe. Melville used it to name this ship just to imply its fate. Secondly, the narrator of this novel Ishmael is the only survivor of the ship. His description is a restatement of this voyage. Just as Ishmael himself said: the sailors have made great efforts to go through the wide sea only to run to their death. They searched and pursued, only to look for the thing that finally destroyed them. The author arranged the only survivor to tell the story also indicates the tragedy of the ship.3.2.4 The sea-Pacific This voyage happened in the Pacific Ocean. After reading the whole novel, we can feel a mysterious atmosphere in the story, partly because of the description of the sea. The sea symbolizes the secret strength of nature. Simply speaking, it is the symbol of nature. The author deliberately described the sea under different situations: sometimes it is peaceful and quiet, makes people feel comfortable, while sometimes it is noisy and dangerous and makes people feel terrible. No matter it is sunny daytime or star-shinned night, the ocean always sets out a huge destructive power and strange danger. When Ahab wanted to fight with the whale living in the sea, his only result is death. Because anyone who tries to break the rules of nature will be broken by himself at last. 3.2.5 The voyage of hunting for the white whale The voyage itself symbolizes searching and finding, is the pursuit for the final truth of human life. The narrator Ishmael is an outstanding example. He escaped from his living environment and got on the Pequod just wanted to find a new life that could make him feel happy and fulfilled. He dissatisfied with the reality because it let him feel empty, lifeless and meaningless. He was controlled by a feeling of loneliness and estrangement, which is between man and man, nature and soul, which is one of the themes of the novel. The author thought that in 19th century, American was under the control of such loneliness. That is why Ishmael got on the Pequod with the dream of searching for truth and new life. In the voyage, he gradually knew about the importance of love and friendship. He has learned the value of acceptance, which the author thought is the guarantee of human life. This point we can see from the change of Ishmaels attitude toward Queequeq. When he first got on the ship and was arranged to sleep with Queequeq, he was very afraid because he felt that this black man must eat human. But with deep contracts with Queequeq, he found that this black man was quite lovely. His change towards Queequeq at first came from Queequeqs firm appearance, which impressed him deeply. Later Queequeqs behavior of saving a sailor established his heroic image in Ishmaels heart. So this voyage symbolizes Ishmaels search for knowledge and life value, so does the American people. This ship is a soul ship of American people, and its destruction stands for Melvilles pemissive opinion to life and the world.3.2.6 The relationship between Ishmael and Queequeq Queequeq, who came from an