《白鲸》中亚哈船长圣经原型的解读

1、AcknowledgementsThanks for giving me this chance to achieve this paper and to make the conclusion for my four years education. Through writing this paper, I have gained more knowledge than I supposed.My sincere thanks are due to my supervisor, Ms. Lv Qianping for helping me to clarify my thought and

2、 sharpen my thinking. Her corrections and suggestions make me get great progress in writing this thesis. I am also grateful for her encouragements.Here, I also want to give my thanks to other teachers and my classmates who have given me much help in the past four years. Thank you very much.AbstractH

3、ermanMelville is an important writer who enjoys great prestige in American literature in 19th. Moby Dick is one of the most outstanding works and is regarded as an American epic. This novel describes a story happened on the sea that Captain Ahab pursues a white whale in order to revenge. At the same

4、 time, the author uses many archetypes and archetypal events to show the brave and arrogant Ahab by depicting the hard struggle between him and the whale.This paper aims to apply the archetypal criticism of some representatives such as Frye, Jung and so on to contrast and analyze Captain Ahab and hi

5、s archetype-King Ahab in Bible. And this paper is divided into four parts. The first part mainly introduces about Melville such as his lifetime and sailing experience. Besides, the major characters, crucial plots and the influence produced by Moby Dick are also introduced in this part; the second pa

6、rt introduces the archetypal criticism including the definition and the utilization of archetype in this work; the third part is the core of the paper and it mainly explores the characteristics and destiny of Captain Ahab and his archetype-King Ahab in Bible. Whats more, the similarities between the

7、m in character and fortune are demonstrated through detail description; in the last part, the paper firstly summarizes the application of archetypal criticism and then deepens the theme: we should obey the rules of nature and get along with it harmoniously rather than conquering it.It is helpful for

8、 readers to understand Captain Ahab and his archetype-King Ahab by using some certain theories. In the end, it will arouse the readers resonance.Key Words: Melville; archetype; archetypal criticism; Captain Ahab摘 要 HYPERLINK javascript:; 赫尔曼麦尔维尔是19世纪享誉美国文坛的重要作家，白鲸是他杰出的作品之一同时也被称作美国史诗。在这部小说中作者描述了船长亚哈为

9、追捕一只白鲸进行复仇的漫长海上的故事并引用了很多原型和原型事件通过描写亚哈船长与白鲸殊死搏斗展示他勇敢无畏又狂妄自大的一面。本文旨在运用弗莱和荣格等的原型批评理论对亚哈船长和他在圣经中的原型亚哈王进行对比分析，从而了解亚哈船长与亚哈王命运与性格的异同。 HYPERLINK javascript:; 本文总共分为四个部分。第一部分简要介绍赫尔曼麦尔维尔的生平和航海经历及其主要作品，并对白鲸的主要人物和情节进行介绍并分析了该作品产生的影响； HYPERLINK javascript:; 然后第二部分介绍原型批评理论，其中包括原型的定义以及代表人物的理论思想在作品中的运用；第三部分是本文的核心，主要

10、探究小说中具有代表性的人物-亚哈船长和其在圣经中的原型亚哈王的性格特点极其命运，通过细节描写对比分析了两个人物在性格命运方面的相同之处；最后一部分是对全文的总结，先总结了原型理论在这部作品中的运用然后升华主题:我们应该遵守自然法则，与自然和谐相处而不是想着去征服它一定理论的运用有助于读者更好地理解亚哈船长与其所暗含的圣经原型亚哈王然后引起共鸣。关键词：麦尔维尔；原型；原型理论；船长亚哈ContentsTOC o 1-3 h u HYPERLINK l _Toc3672 1. Introduction 11.1 Introduction of the Author 11.2 Introducti

11、on of the Work 22. Archetypal Criticism 32.1 The Definition of Archetype 32.2 The Use of Archetypal Theories in Moby Dick 53. The Contrast Between Captain Ahab and King Ahab 73.1 Similar Character 83.1.1 Arrogant Captain Ahab 83.1.2 Evil and Cruel King Ahab 103.2 Same Destiny 113.2.1 Drown in the Se

12、a in Moby Dick 113.2.2 Shot in the War in Bible 134. Conclusion 14Bibliography 15Archetypal Analysis on Captain Ahab in Bible1. IntroductionMelville is famous for his several books and Moby Dick is one of his classic works in American literature. Not only the author but his works have great impact o

13、n that moment. This part will introduce Melville and Moby Dick, which will give readers more understanding about them.1.1 Introduction of the AuthorHerman Melville is one of the greatest novelists, essayists and poets in American literature in the 19th century. He enjoys equal popularity with Nathan

14、iel Hawthorne, however he didnt draw attention until he was dead at that time. In the 1920s, he became famous and was generally considered as an influential writer.Melvilles youth was filled with dream of romance, which became the perfect sources of his earliest books. HYPERLINK javascript:; He was

15、born in a poor family in New York in 1819. Times were so hard that he hardly received formal education after the age of fifteen. Nonetheless, he naturally preferred to venture and his adventures led to his literary career. In fact, he also owed his success to reading. Coopers novels had stirred him

16、when he was a little boy. Most of his books related to his experience on the sea. Typee was a romanticized record of his stay in Polynesians and he wrote Billy Budd for his naval experience in 1924. Of course, Melville wasnt able to be content with narrating adventures because deep questions of spir

17、it always were marked in his mind. Having absorbed Shakespeares humanistic conception, Melville began to break up the narrative form used in his earlier work with the help of Hawthorne, finally he created a unique and enduring work-Moby Dick. At the beginning, he paid more attention to the way of de

18、coration so that he described those stories ups and downs. Later, he kept his style all the time and both philosophy and spirit of adventure were endowed in his works. In his last twenty years, he nearly secluded from the world and disappeared from the literary circles. After back to New York, he wa

19、s assigned as a staff in General Administration of Customs. Although his death didnt give rise to the public attention, he finally gained recognition.Herman Melville was also deeply influenced by Bible in which human being was required to control nature cautiously rather than conquering it brutally.

20、 As a brilliant writer, Herman Melville was very keen to watch his life time and social change.1.2 Introduction of the WorkMoby Dick, published in 1851, tells a story about pursuing a legendary white whale. The book which strongly appeals the readers of this century is steeped in symbolism and it is

21、 an encyclopedia of embracing several aspects of society such as geography, religion and history. At the same time, both Moby Dick and its main character Captain Ahab all have drawn praise from the literary field.Captain Ahab is the protagonist of Moby Dick. He was bit off a leg by a clever but fero

22、cious white whale in a process of pursuing, therefore he decided to revenge. The whole story happened on a ship called Pequod where people were from some different countries and races. Soon, Ahab declared his desire to pursue and kill that whale. He regarded the whale as the embodiment of the evil,

23、and as the Pequod went around Africa, a great number of whales were caught but not including the white whale. Captain Ahab never gave up searching information about it when they encountered other vessels. Ahab prepared a harpoon in order to revenge at any moment. On his way to pursuing the white wha

24、le, whoever he met, he will try his best to find more clues about the whales trace. In the end, the whale was sighted. Even though the white whale was harpooned after a furious struggle, it attacked the ship. Consequently, the ship was crashed and all sailors perished together with the whale except

25、Ishmael, the relater and survivor in this book. It is obvious that Ahab is crazy and arbitrary even regardless of others lives. He only cares for himself and is preoccupied with revenge, which demonstrate an egoistic and arrogant captain.Above all, Symbolism is the main line of this work by which we

26、 can find the archetypes about some figures in Bible. The use of Archetypal Criticism gives readers a clear understanding. Firstly, Pequod represents a huge stage in which human being can live and also can be viewed as mysterious American spirit of exploring nature. HYPERLINK javascript:; On the oth

27、er hand, Moby Dick is a legendary whale, but as for Ahab, it is full of evil and has to be conquered and destroyed. Finally, Captain Ahab is a contradiction with multiple personality and is actually the embodiment of tyrant and evil king. Besides, the archetype of Coffin, Queequeg and other figures

28、in this novel can be found in Bible. In short, Contrasted with Bible, most figures in Moby Dick become easy to understand.Maugham, an English writer, regards this work as one of the worlds top ten literary classics and Melville is also honored as “Shakespeare” in America. Whats more, it is worth rea

29、ding.2. Archetypal CriticismArchetypal Criticism whose originator is Frye became quite popular in 1950s and 1960s in western countries. It also exerted a great influence in literary study along with Marxism Criticism and Psychological Criticism. Northrop Frye, as a main founder, created the myth-arc

30、hetypal criticism in his book, which was influenced by James Frazers famous work The Golden Bough and Psychology of the Unconscious which written by Carl Jung. They all used their ways to make great contributions to Archetypal Criticism that concerned with religion, anthropology and psychoanalysis.

31、Myth is a basic term throughout the history of literature and a kind of narrative form that is used for generalizing literature. Therefore, Archetypal Criticism is utilized in Moby Dick and most of archetypes root in Bible. Next, in order to understand Archetypal Criticism, this part will introduce

32、something about it and its application in this novel.2.1 The Definition of ArchetypeIn the first place, the word “archetype” is made up of the Greek word “arche” and “type” in which “arche” represents primitive and “type” symbolizes form. Myth is equal to archetype, according to Plato, the eternal w

33、orld of ideal exists and can be gotten through the minds instead of the senses. Furthermore, he thought the object that we feel only through our senses is just pale and in a sense, it is an imperfect copy of the ideal forms called “archetype”. It is very important to understand the meaning of archet

34、ype when we read and understand a literary work. Of course, we can find several different explanations in the literary works.For example, In Websters Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged, there “archetype” is defined asL archetypum, fr. GK archetypon, fr. Neut. of ar

35、chetypos molded first as a model, exemplary, fr. arche- + typos- impression of a seal, mold, replica-more at type, the original model, form, or pattern from which something is made or from which something develops. (Webster 112)then the Websters Revised Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language

36、defines archetype as “L. archetypum, Gr. refers to stamped first and as a model; The original pattern or model of a work; or the model of a work; or the model from which a thing is made or formed” (porter 78).These two dictionaries in which the definitions are showed provide the original meaning of

37、this word, sometimes, it is similar to prototype.On the other hand, in the Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms, archetype is regarded asa symbol, theme, setting, or character type that recurs in different times and places in myth, literature, folklore, dreams, and rituals so frequently or pr

38、ominently as to suggest that it embodies some essential element of “universal” human experience. (Baldick160)In addition to, in A Handbook to Literature, it defines archetype asa term to an image, a descriptive detail, a plot pattern, or a character type that occurs frequently in literature, myth, r

39、eligion, or folklore and is, therefore, believed to evoke profound emotions in the reader because it awakens a primordial image in the unconscious memory and thus calls into play illogical but strong responses. (Holman 34)In The Oxford Companion to English Literature, we can see that the definition

40、of archetype is “a primary symbol, action, setting, or character-type that is found repeatedly in myth, folklore, and literature.there is a universal symbolic language of dreams and vision” (Webster 112).The three definitions above state that the internal implication of archetype in literary field.

41、An archetype isnt merely a simple imagination, on the contrary, although it doesnt have its own forms, we can see and feel it in our daily life. An archetype exists in the things in an organized way. As a matter of fact, it shows the original imaginations that remind people of common things around t

42、hem. For example, we can think of the certain persons or events in myth, legends and so on. They can be called archetype. Usually, an archetype has direct connections with bodies and may be basic forces that play a critical role in the creation of the world and human beings themselves. In literary w

43、orks, we can easily find plenty of archetypal images such as sun, snake, water and others. As we have learned, the sun is able to bring brightness, so it represents lives and hope. And sometimes it also looks like a circle, hence people at that time take the sun as unity and harmony. Besides, water

44、also symbolizes the source of lives because it cultivates and makes something grow up well, however, it can destroy everything. Therefore, we can say water symbols disaster as well. Whats more, snake that induces the earliest ancestor to violate gods order is the symbol of temptation and evil in Bib

45、le. Of course, snake is viewed as the archetype and motif of art. In modern society, it is believed that those leaders must learn from the man who was brave and loyal to their countries and citizens in ancient times, in other words, the ancient heroes are the archetypes of modern leaders.According t

46、o all definitions above mentioned, the connotation of archetype can be understood clearly. Actually, a symbol is an archetype. Both of them have something in common and archetype is universal and it is the symbolic representation of human collective unconscious. Moreover, archetype evolves gradually

47、 from the human spiritual experience. All in all, it has been used and accepted to express those authors ideas in literary works all the time.2.2 The Use of Archetypal Theories in Moby DickArchetypal theories which were put forward by some famous theorists were used widely in a lot of noted books an

48、d especially in Moby Dick. For example, Northrop Frye, who was the main founder of archetypal theories set up his system on archetypal theories and he published Anatomy of Criticism in 1957. He insists that literature is the core of culture. Most important of all, he believes that archetype is a com

49、municative form in literature and a symbol may be an archetype, in addition, he also thinks that archetypes exist in human world just like history, culture and other essential elements. In summary, in Fryes opinion, archetypal theories mainly studies the relationship between literary and myth. As we

50、 all know, many modern novels are related to mythology because of the symbolism. It is the myth that endows meaning of archetype. Therefore, according to Frye, a literary book narrates the same story about myth in different ways. Besides, so far as he is concerned, literature is the rebirth of myths

51、 and the utilization of archetypal theories is to find out the archetype and deep meaning of a piece of work. Therefore, Frye has made great contribution to the archetypal theories.On the other hand, there also is a vital person who contributed to archetypal theories. Carl Jung is a famous philosoph

52、er and psychologist. His main study is collective unconscious which means that individual has more memory than himself and everyone takes along the memory comes from his or her ancestor in the inner world. He was influenced by Freuds theories of the individual unconscious deeply. According to Jung,

53、firstly, archetype is a tendency to reaction, which shows a kind of form. Then it also has the connotation of content. Among the several archetypes described by Jung, mother, trees, sun and so on are included. He states that as a medium, archetype is not only a sort of means but also a purpose. Fina

54、lly, what Jung thinks and writes in literature has been a significant part in human civilization and his contribution to archetypal theories is worth learning, thus much deeper research should be put into it.Certainly, there are other theorists that study about archetypal criticism theory as well. W

55、e have learned two main representative figures as well as their explanation to archetypal theories. Then in Moby Dick, this theory is used widely and felicitously. If we read this work carefully and go into the further study, we will find that whatever its plots, characters, and themes all demonstra

56、te the interpretation of archetypes. But the core of exposition in this paper is the archetype of Captain Ahab, surely, some other characters in Moby Dick will be discussed next. The work is the most famous masterpiece in American literature and considered as the mirror of that age. By applying this

57、 theory, the archetypes of some important figures in this book can be found in Bible. In the first place, Captain Ahab is the protagonist in this book and his archetype derives from King Ahab in the Old Testament of Bible. Both of them assimilate with each other such as their nature, fortune and so

58、on. Sometimes, we need to connect Captain Ahab with King Ahab, as a result, the former is a tragic hero and the latter also has miserable ending. Next, Ishmael, the narrator of this work, has his own archetype .He is a son of Abraham in Bible and later is expelled out by his stepmother, so he has no

59、 choice but to vagabond. He and God in, so his name has the meaning that God is listening. Thirdly, a white whale called moby dick is a vital role in the book. In western language and cultural background, a huge whale has close relationship with Bible and is a synonym of the sea master. At the same

60、time, it is the creation which is taken as a great honor by God. Besides, the white whale is the symbol of Gods extraordinary force. Elijah represents the prophet, who has a mysterious force to predict the future and the fortune of the ship during the voyage. Still, other figures in Pequod are capab