nullHerman Melville
梅尔维尔
(1819—1891) Herman Melville
梅尔维尔
(1819—1891) Herman MelvilleHerman Melvillereceived recognition until the 1920s“He has a very high and noble nature”Three important things in his life: Three important things in his life: Going out to sea
His marriage
His friendship with HawthorneMelville’s Major Works Melville’s Major Works 1) Typee «泰皮»
2) Omoo «欧穆»
3) Mardi «玛地»
4) Redburn «雷得本»
5) White Jacket «白外衣»from his adventures among the people of the South Pacific islandsan account of his voyage to Englandhis life on a United States man-of-warMelville’s Major WorksMelville’s Major Works6) Pierre «皮埃尔»
7) Billy Budd 《比利•巴德》(a sign that he had resolved his quarrel with God)
Clarel 《克拉莱尔》( a poem)Melville’s Major WorksMelville’s Major WorksMoby-Dick «白鲸»,«莫比•狄克» an encyclopedia of everythinghistory, philosophy, religion, the whaling industry a Shakespearean tragedy of man fighting against fatesnullMoby-DickMoby-Dick1. Which body part has Ahab lost to Moby Dick?
(A) His leg
(B) His arm
(C) His eye
(D) His fingers
AMoby-DickMoby-Dick2. What is the name of Ahab’s ship?
(A) The Town-Ho
(B) The Rachel
(C) The Samuel Enderby
(D) The Pequod
D
Moby-DickMoby-Dick3. After what is Ahab’s ship named?
(A) Its owner
(B) A vanished tribe of Native Americans
(C) A species of whale
(D) A biblical character
BMoby-DickMoby-Dick4. For what were whales primarily hunted?
(A) Oil
(B) Skin
(C) Meat
(D) Fins
B
Moby-DickMoby-Dick5. What does Ahab nail to the ship’s mast to motivate his crew in his quest for Moby Dick?
(A) A gold coin
(B) A severed head
(C) A drawing of Moby Dick
(D) A pirate flag
AMoby-DickMoby-Dick6. What keeps Ishmael afloat after the Pequod sinks?
(A) A coffin
(B) A barrel of oil
(C) A lifeboat
(D) A mattress
A
Moby-DickMoby-Dick7. What frightens Ishmael the most about Moby Dick?
(A) The whale’s size
(B) The whale’s teeth
(C) The whiteness of the whale
(D) The sounds that the whale makes
BMoby-DickMoby-Dick8. With what is the Pequod adorned?
(A) Sperm whale teeth
(B) American flags
(C) Red paint
(D) Whale fins
AMoby-DickMoby-Dick9. From what is Ahab’s false leg made?
(A) A whale’s jawbone
(B) Wood
(C) An elephant’s tusk
(D) Leather
A
Moby-DickMoby-Dick10. How does the Pequod sink?
(A) She is rammed by Moby Dick.
(B) She is overloaded with oil.
(C) She gets lost in a storm.
(D) She is rammed by another ship.
ASymbols in Moby DickSymbols in Moby DickThe Pequod
Moby Dick
Ahab
Queequeg’s CoffinThe PequodThe Pequoda symbol of doomnamed after a Native American tribe in Massachusettsdid not long survive the arrival of white men (extincted)is painted gloomy black and covered in whale teeth and bonesthe mementos of violent deathlike a primitive coffinMoby DickMoby Dickis hidden all the timemirrors its enviormentunknown and unknowable truthsonly the surface of the ocean is available for human observation and interpretationthe depths conceal unknown truthsa metaphor for the human relationship with the Christain God: God is unkown and cannot be pinned downinscrutable, mysteriousMoby DickMoby Dickvarious symbolic meaningsto the pequod’s crewa concept onto which they can diplay their anxiety about dangerous and frightening jobsto Ahaba manifestation of all that is wrong with the worldIt is his destiny to get rid of this symbolic evilQueequeg’s CoffinQueequeg’s CoffinQueequeg’s coffin alternately symbolizes life and death.
Queequeg has it built when he is seriously ill, but when he recovers, it becomes a chest to hold his belongings and an emblem of his will to live. He perpetuates the knowledge tattooed on his body by carving it onto the coffin’s lid.
The coffin further comes to symbolize life when it replaces the Pequod’s life buoy. When the Pequod sinks, the coffin becomes Ishmael’s buoy(浮标), saving not only his life but the life of the narrative that he will pass on.Themes of Moby DickThemes of Moby DickMelville's bleak view (negative attitude): the sense of futility and meaninglessness of the world.
His attitude to life is “Everlasting Nay”
Man in this universe lives a meaningless and futile life, meaningless because futile. Man cannot overcome nature. Once he attempts to seek power over it he is doomed. Themes of Moby DickThemes of Moby Dickthe adventure of killing Moby Dick is meaningless.
Ahab tries to control it, which leads to his doom. the embodiment of naturemodern life the loss of faith, the sense of futilitywell expressed in Moby DickThemes of Moby DickThemes of Moby Dick2) alienation (far away from each other)
exists between man and man, man and society, and man and nature. Ahab cuts himself off from his family, stays away from his crew, hates Moby Dick and becomes a devil rushing to his doom.
He was within “the masoned, walled town of a captian’s exclusiveness”,which leads him to his doom.Themes of Moby DickThemes of Moby Dick3) loneliness and suicidal individualism (individualism causing disaster and death)the basic pattern of nineteenth-century American life Moby Dick is a negative reflection upon Transcendentalism Ahab: too much of a self-reliant individual to be a good human beinga victim of extreme individualismThe price of self-reliance is death.Themes of Moby DickThemes of Moby Dick4)rejection and quest
Voyaging for Ishmael has become a journey in quest of knowledge and values.starts out feeling badhopes to find an ideal lifecomes to see the folly of Ahab seeking to conquer naturefeels the significance of love and companionshiplearns to accept,an attitude which ensures his survivalThemes of Moby DickThemes of Moby Dickthemes the sense of futility and meaninglessness alienationloneliness and suicidal individualism rejection and questWriting styleWriting styleHis works are symbolic and metaphorical.
voyage- "search and discovery, the search for the ultimate truth of experience."
the Pequod -the ship of the American soul
Moby Dick---a symbol of
its whiteness--- paradoxical colorevilgoodnessbothdeath and corruptionpurity, innocence, and youthWriting styleWriting style(2)He manages to achieve the effect of ambiguity through employing the technique of multiple view of his narratives.
Moby Dick is portrayed for the reader from different angles. The author is unwillingness to commit himself, and the reader is thrown upon himself for judgment. Writing styleWriting style(3) He tends to write periodic chapters (掉尾章的手法).
the last paragraph of chapter one pulling all things into one sentence is a good illustration in point.