《白鲸》中人与自然的象征意义_英语论文

A Symbolic Study of Humanity and Nature in Moby Dick

摘要

梅尔维尔写的《白鲸》，是美国最伟大的小说之一，在美国文学史上有着巨大的影响。在1851年时出版，但是很长一段时间里，人们并不知道他为什么创作一个这么无为的小说。直到1919年，它才开始被高度重视，并且越来越受欢迎。《白鲸》的故事掺杂着人性与自然。作者运用了大量的象征意义来阐述他们的关系。船长渴望探索新事物却被白鲸的攻击失去了一条腿，他发誓定要向白鲸复仇，却因此丢了性命。

这篇文章主要分析在当时那个年代，船长渴望探索海洋的原因及当时人类的发展与自然观。而征服并不等于毁灭，船长代表着人类；白鲸代表着自然。但是许多作家仅仅着眼于谴责人类对自然的破坏，呼吁保护自然。但是这篇文章更多关注的是征服的精神和探险的欲望。正是由于这种无畏的探险和征服精神，社会才会发展的越来越快，征服的主题思想是非常重要的，对于人类社会有巨大的推动作用。

关键词：《白鲸》；人性；自然；征服；探险

Abstract

Moby Dick, by Herman Melville, is one of the great novels in American literature. It has great influence in literature in the world. It was published in 1851, and for a long time, people did not know why the author creates such a different novel. And not until 1919 did it begin to be highly valued; and it became more and more popular. The story of Moby Dick is mixed with humanity and nature. The author uses plenty of symbolism to express the relationship between them. The captain tried to discover new things from the ocean. However, he lost his leg because of the whale’s assault. And he swore to give revenge to the white whale. In the end, all of the sailors lost their lives.

This thesis will analyze the reason why the captain decided to explore the ocean at that time. And conquering nature is not just to destroy it. The captain stands for human, and the whale symbolize nature. Many writers just focus on condemning people’s behavior on the destruction of nature, and appeal to protect the nature. But the thesis pays more attention to the spirit of conquest. And more about praising human’s courage to exploration. With the help of conquest and exploration, the society is developing more and more quickly. Conquering nature is an old theme of human beings. In modern society, the theme of conquest is of great importance. A textual analysis of the conquest theme in Moby dick has a positive meaning.

Key words：humanity; nature; conquest; symbolism

Contents

1 Introduction…1

   1.1 Herman Melville’s Biography1

   1.2 The plot review of Moby Dick2

   1.3. The purpose of the thesis.3

2 An analysis of symbolism in the novel3

   2.1 The definition of symbolism3

   2.2 The symbolism with the captain and whale 4

   2.3 The symbolism with ocean and land 5

3 The information of the spirit－conquest and possession6

   3.1 The social background…6

3.2 The reason of the Americans to explore 7

   3.3 The effects of the spirit 7

4 The evolution－exploration and challenge 7

   4.1 Conquer is not to destroy  8

4.2 The importance of the spirit to the society.9

5 The reflection10

   5.1 The balance of humanity and nature 11

5.2 Exploration change the world 12

6 Conclusion. 12

References 13