《白鲸》和《海狼》中两位叙述者的生态对比解读_英语论文

A Comparison of Two Narrators in Moby Dick and Sea Wolf under Ecocriticism Perspective

摘要

20世纪70年代起，由于生态批评主义的兴起，有不少评论家从生态批评的角度重新解读《白鲸》和《海狼》这两部海洋著作，给人以焕然一新的感觉。过去很多人把关注点都放在两位船长身上，或只从人和自然角度关注其中一部小说的生态意义。但本文旨在以生态批评角度，从人与自然、人与人、人与自我三个层面对比解读作品中的两位叙述者以实玛利和凡·伟登先生。他们都在航海中转变了对自然、人类和自我的态度并且最终成为幸存者。通过对比揭示出，若要创造生态和谐，人们不仅需尊重自然，还要有真诚朋友之交并不断追寻自我探索。

关键词：《白鲸》；《海狼》；以实玛利；凡·伟登；生态批评主义

Abstract

Since the 1970s, there have been lots of interpretations of Moby Dick and Sea Wolf under Ecocriticism due to the emergence of the theory, which refresh the literary work and readers.

Previous critics put the focus on the two captains or just study one novel from the relationship between man and nature. But this thesis aims to compare and interpret Ismael and Van Weyden in the aspects of Man and Nature, Man and Man, Man and Himself from the perspective of Ecocriticism. These two narrators transform their attitudes towards Nature, others and themselves during the voyages and fortunately become the survivals at the end of the stories.

From the comparative study, we can conclude that in order to create ecological harmony people not only need to respect the nature, but also should establish a sincere relationship with a friend and never cease the pursuit of self-exploration.

Key words: Moby Dick; Sea Wolf; Ismael; Van Weyden; Ecocriticism

Contents

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Two Novels and Narrators 1

1.2 Previous studies and literary review 2

1.3 Research Purpose and Significance 4

1.4 Structure 5

2. Ecocriticism 6

2.1 Brief Introduction 6

2.2 Three Aspects Provided by Ecocriticism 6

2.3 The Significance of Ecocriticism in Literature 7

3. The Relationship between Man and Nature 9

3.1 Ishmael from Curiosity to Admiration 9

3.2 Van Weyden from Alienation to Contact 10

4. The Relationship between Man and Man 12

4.1 Ishmael’s Friendship with Queequeg 12

4.2 Van Weyden’s Love with Maud 13

5. The Relationship between Man and Himself 14

5.1 Ishmael’s Exploration of Spiritual World 14

5.2 Van Weyden’s Pursuit of Human Nature 15

6. Conclusion 17

Reference 18