美国文学 moby dick

美国文学 moby dick The Symbolic Meaning of Moby Dick in Moby Dick Moby Dick, which is regarded as the Great American novel and the first American prose epic, is written by Herman Melville. It is a tremendously ambitious novel that functions at once as documentary of life at sea and also a vast philosophical allegory of life in general. The novel, first published in 1851, tells the story of the one-legged Captain Ahab, a deranged whaling skipper, and his obsessive voyage to find the great white whale that causes him to be crippled. However, Herman Melville uses symbols instead of putting the battle between Ahab and the big whale into simple statements. Referring to symbols, the symbolic meaning of Moby Dick is more typical, because Moby Dick possesses various symbolic meaning for various individuals, as shown by the symbol of evil, the symbol of human being to the Pequod’s crew including Ahab, and the symbol of omnipotent God to some whale men except for Pequod’s crew and Ahab. To the Pequod’s crew, the legendary white whale is a concept onto which they can displace their anxieties about their dangerous and often very frightening jobs. They believe deeply that the legendary white whale act malevolently towards men, so Moby Dick is the incarnation of evil. To Ahab, “all evil [are] visibly personified, and [make] practically assailable in Moby Dick” (Melville, 153). In chase of Moby Dick, he loses one of his legs, so he hates Moby Dick very much. He wants to take revenge. He dedicates his ship and crew to destroying Moby Dick, because they see Moby Dick as the living embodiment of all that is evil and malignant in the universe. By ignoring the physical dangerous that this quest entails, setting himself against other men, and presuming to understand and fight evil on a cosmic scale, Ahab arrogantly defies the limitations imposed upon human being. Also, just the evil of Moby Dick makes the crew including Ahab get close to death. To readers, in terms of the suffering of the crew including Ahab, Moby Dick is the incarnation of evil to some extent. Although Ahab becomes almost crazy, he is the 1 representation of the people who are determined to fight against evil. In an ultimate demonstration of defiance, Ahab uses his “last breath” (468) to curse the whale and fate. Although the strength of Ahab and his crew is negligible and in some ways their action is a little blind, their spirit of fighting against the evil and perseverance is worthy of learning today. Nowadays, life is becoming more and more comfortable, and the will-power of people becomes weaker and weaker. In some ways, ignoring Ahab’s craziness and blindness, his braveness and perseverance really set a good example for today’s people. Referring to Ahab’s positive spirits, have you realized that in some ways Moby Dick is about the conflicts between two kinds of people? Of course, it is reasonable. Ishmael, the narrator, compares the legend of Moby Dick to his experience of the whale. He notes that sperm whale attacks have increased recently and that superstitious sailors have come to regard these attacks as an intelligent action. Pequod’s crew regard Moby Dick as human being, because Moby Dick, who has defied capture numerous times, seems to exhibit an “intelligent malignity” (154) in his attacks on men. In Pequod’s opinion, Moby Dick is as intelligent as human being. During struggling with Moby Dick, Ahab realizes, “aye, he’s chasing me now; no I, him - that’s bad” (Melville 461). Ahab regards Moby Dick as human being and they engage in a battle of wits. In my opinion, the battle of wits between them is the epitome of today’s society, in which all people fight for their own benefits. From their battle, readers can conclude that there is no real winner in their competition. Does it tell readers that they need to get along well with each other? Does it tell readers that they need to build a harmonious world in a concerted effort? People really need to consider about these questions carefully. Referring to regarding Moby Dick as a human being, have you realized that Moby Dick has some kind of super power? To some whale men not including Pequod’s crew and Ahab, “Moby Dick” is “not only ubiquitous, but immortal (for 2 immortality is but ubiquity in time)” (151). In particular, wild rumors about Moby Dick circulate among whale men, suggesting that it can be in more than one place at the same time and that it is immortal. That is to say, Moby Dick is the image of God to them. The people, who believe in God, believe that God is omnipotent. In some ways, some whale men regard Moby Dick as omnipotent and powerful God, who is “all-destroying but unconquering” (Melville 462). However, in Pequod’s crew’s and Ahab’s views, they don’t think so. To them, Moby Dick is the representation of evil. Ahab, as a fatalist to the last, believes the arrangement of fate, but the fate plays a serious joke on him. Ahab’s sufferings are pitiful, however, his temerity and craziness also give a lesson to people today – you can believe in fate, but please act according to your own capability in case that you are the next person on whom God play a serious joke. No matter you believe the existence of God or not, and no matter what kind of image of Moby Dick in your point of view, please be yourself, because when you are lost, only you can really save yourself. In our daily life, there is always that kind of person, who has a great dream, but life always gives him or her a lesson and then becomes his or her teacher in the end. Moby Dick is a whaling tale or sea adventure, dealing with Ahab, a man with an overwhelming obsession to kill the whale which has crippled him. The novel is also turned out to be a symbolic voyage of the mind in quest of the truth and knowledge of the universe, and a spiritual exploration into man’s deep reality and psychological. Above all, the symbolic meaning of Moby Dick is the most typical. It symbolizes evil, human being themselves, and the omnipotent God. From the symbolic meaning of Moby Dick, readers also learn a lot. For example, although you are brave enough, and you also believe in fate, you must still act according to your capability. That may the force be with me is just a good hope. I hope you will not be the next person, on whom God plays a serious joke. All in all, Moby Dick is a good novel which will prove worthy of your attention. 3 References: Melville, Herman. Moby Dick. Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited Cumberland House, 1993. 4