Abstract: 

Ahab, the protagonist of Melville’s Moby Dick, is an experienced captain. After one of his legs was bitten by Moby Dick, he is determined to kill the whale. In pursuit of Moby Dick, such positive qualities as his forging ahead and taking adventure are reflected. However, his acting arbitrarily is somewhat risky and even drives himself and his crew to ruin. This paper aims to probe into Ahab’s dual character — justice and evilness, through the analysis of his deeds and attitudes towards the pursuit of Moby Dick. Part one analyzes Ahab’s justice, which is reflected in his fighting against Moby Dick to protect others from danger and to arouse people from cowardice. Part two mainly analyzes Ahab’s evilness, which is reflected in his concentration on taking revenge on Moby Dick and his indifference towards his family and mariners. Part three analyzes the causes of his character from the perspectives of his arbitrary ideas, his sailing experiences and the social environment.

Keywords: Ahab; justice; evilness; causes

摘要：

《白鲸》中极富经验的老船长亚哈在一次捕鲸过程中被白鲸莫比•迪克咬断一条腿，从此他发誓要杀死这只白鲸。在追逐白鲸的过程中，他身上体现了一种开拓进取、英勇善战的精神，但是，他的一意孤行把自己与船员都带向了毁灭。本文旨在通过分析亚哈在追击白鲸的过程中所表现出的言行态度，来探索亚哈正义与邪恶的双重性格。第一部分分析亚哈性格的正义面， 反映在亚哈与白鲸搏斗来保护他人，同时把人们从怯懦中唤醒；第二部分分析亚哈性格的邪恶面，反映在他满怀对白鲸的复仇之念、对家人和船员的冷漠上；第三部分分析从他武断的性格、航海经历及社会背景这三个方面分析其性格的成因。

关键词: 亚哈； 正义； 邪恶； 性格成因

1. Introduction
Moby Dick, published in 1851, is regarded as the ‘mirror of the times’ and ‘the most outstanding expression of America’.  It is a masterpiece, which consists of drama, epic and philosophy in the period of American Renaissance. As a matter of fact, it was not accepted by all the readers until the 1920s. In this novel, Herman Melville presents readers the dual character of Ahab through the description of the conflict between Moby Dick and Ahab. Captain Ahab is praised for his courage and iron will and is also criticized as a wheeler-dealer for his hatred and vengeance. The plot of the novel is easy to understand, but the meaning behind it is by no means simple. The clue of Moby Dick is Ishmael, through whom we can clearly find out what actually happens.