An Analysis of Symbolism in Moby-Dick_英语论文

摘要

《白鲸》是美国著名作家赫尔曼·梅尔维尔在1851年“美国文艺复兴”时期所创作的鸿篇巨作。在此书中，作者赫尔曼·梅尔维尔隐藏在讲述人以实玛利背后，以第一人称回忆的形式，向读者讲述整个故事。《白鲸》是关于复仇的故事，全书主要描述了捕鲸船船长亚哈与白鲸莫比迪克之间的恩怨纠葛。

在此书中，赫尔曼·梅尔维尔运用超凡的写作手法与独特的叙事形式，将19世纪的捕鲸场面跃然于纸上，让读者仿佛置身其中，深受震撼。赫尔曼·梅尔维尔在书中，运用多重象征手法，针砭时弊地批判了19世纪美国社会的弊病。其晦涩的象征与多重的意象手法，使该小说成为文学研究的热点。

本论文旨在通过对书中主要人物与冲突的解读，阐释并分析其中丰富的象征手法，力图通过象征手法的角度来理解这一经典著作，从而得到一个新的视角与启发。

关键词： 赫尔曼·梅尔维尔 《白鲸》 象征手法 

Abstract

Moby-Dick is a unique masterpiece by American writer Herman Melville, which has been published in 1851 during the period of the American Renaissance. Herman Melville took his position behind Sailor Ishmael, who actually narrates the story of the frenzied hunting of Captain Ahab in retrospect. The story is about the revenge on Moby Dick, the white whale, which has destroyed Ahab’s ship and took away his leg on an early time. 

Through the panoramic depiction and overwhelming plots, Herman Melville, who did not simply create the epic of human race versus nature, exposes the conflicts and contradictions of human nature and contemporary social maladies in his time as well. Each role in the book reveals multiple and elusive symbolic implication, and each symbolic role could be viewed as a counterpart of great contrast and sharp conflict.

By exploring the plots and narration thoroughly, it’s necessary to break down those symbolic implication into several hierarchies: the nature and mysterious divine force which represent by Moby Dick, human nature and social structure which represent by various sailor roles and Captain Ahab, the historical inevitability which represents by the development of the hunting voyage and the tragic ending of the crew, the conversion between evil and sacred which represents by struggling between Ahab and Moby Dick. And by detecting the very implied symbolic elements of Moby Dick, it is likely to provide a broader angle and perspective about the time of the post Industrial Revolution and the very mixed and twisted state of human nature and social development.          

Key Words: Moby-Dick；Symbolism; Herman Melville

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 The Symbolic Interpretation of the Natural Forces 3

2.1 The Symbolic Interpretation of the Sea Background.3

2.2 The Symbolic Interpretation of Moby Dick 5

3 The Symbolic Interpretation of the Ahab 8

3.1 The Symbolic Interpretation of Heroism in Ahab .8

3.2 The Symbolic Interpretation of Heathen in Ahab .9

4 The Symbolic Interpretation of the Crew and Plot .11

4.1 The Crew Members of Pequod 12

4.2 Ishmael 12

5 Conclusion .13

Bibliography 15

Acknowledgements .16