Herman-Melville

HermanMelvilleButitisbettertofailinoriginalitythantosucceedinimitation.Hewhohasneverfailedsomewhere,thatmancannotbegreat.(1819-1891)TeachingObjectives1)Melville’sLifeandMainWorks2)Melville’smasterpieceMobyDick3)TheMainPlot,Majorcharacters,theme,Symbols4)SocialsignificanceofMobyDickLifeExperiencebornonAugust1,1819inNewYorkCityintoanestablishedmerchantfamily,thethirdof8children.Hisfatherbecamebankruptandinsane,dyingwhenMelvillewas12.Hisseaexperiencesandadventuresfurnishedhimwithabundantmaterials,andresultedinfivenovelsthatbroughthimwidefameasawriterofseastories.In1850,hemetHawthorneandtheybecamegoodfriends.HereadHawthorne’sbooksandwasdeeplyimpressedbyHawthorne’sblackvision.Hisfamewasrecognizedafterhisdeath.Melville’sMajorWorks1)Typee«泰皮»2)Omoo«欧穆»3)Mardi«玛地»4)Bedburn«雷得本»5)WhiteJacket«白外衣»fromhisadventuresamongthepeopleoftheSouthPacificislandsanaccountofhisvoyagetoEnglandhislifeonaUnitedStatesman-of-warMelville’sMajorWorks6)Pierre«皮埃尔»7)BillyBudd《比利•巴德》(asignthathehadresolvedhisquarrelwithGod)Clarel《克拉莱尔》(apoem)Melville’sMajorWorksMoby-Dick«白鲸»，«莫比•狄克»anencyclopediaofeverythinghistory,philosophy,religion,thewhalingindustryaShakespeareantragedyofmanfightingagainstfatesHisTragicInfluencefromLiteraryTraditionAtthetimeofwriting,MelvillewasreadingGreektragedy,especiallytheOrestia(奥瑞斯提亚）ofAeschylusImmersedinthetragediesofShakespeare–KingLear,Hamlet,Othello,MacbethEpicpoetry,HomerMobyDick(1)ThisbookisdedicatedtoHawthorne,forHawthorneencourgedMelvilletochangethisnovelfromastoryfullofdetailsaboutwhaling,intoanallegoricalnovel.MobyDick(2)Epicinscope.Itconsistsof135chapters.-thelongandarduousjourney-thegreatbattleDefinedasanepic,whichcontainsatragicdrama,atragedyofpride,andpursuitandrevenge,whichisalsoatragedyofthought与白鲸有关的背景对爱斯基摩人来说，白鲸也是非常重要的，不仅因为其肉好吃，而且它们的油用来点灯不仅明亮，还能释放出大量热量，使简陋的冰屋保持温暖。除此之外，白鲸的皮也很有用，还有一种香味，可以制成各种装饰品。然而，不幸的是，自从17世纪以来，由于捕鲸的高额利润，捕鲸者对白鲸进行了疯狂的捕杀，致使白鲸数量锐减。更加可悲的是白鲸的生态环境遭到毁灭性的破坏，一批批白鲸相继死亡DiscussionQuestionsWhatdoyouthinkof“eyeforeye,toothfortooth”?Willyouberevengefulwhenyouarehurtbytheevilpower?Shouldhumanbeingsconquernatureoryieldbeforenature?What’syouropiniononnature?CharactersIshmael:Thenamehascometosymbolizeorphans,exiles,andsocialoutcasts(inGenesis)----thesonofAbrahamandtheslavegirlHagarElijah:ThecharacterElijah(namedfortheBiblicalprophet,ElijahAhab:AhabisthetyrannicalcaptainofthePequodwhoisdrivenbyamonomaniacaldesiretokillMobyDick,Mates:Starbuck,Stubb.Flask.ThethreematesofthePequodareallfromNewEnglandHarpooners:Queequeg,Tashtego,Daggoo,Fedallah(fromdifferentcountriesintheworld)IntroductiontoIshmaelThenarratorofthestory(knowledgeable,intelligent),digressionfromart,geology,anatomy,tolegalcodes,andliterature----JackofalltradesAwhalingship“ismyYaleCollegeandHarvard”Hisintentionintheshipjourney:outofsomespiritualmalaise(精神的抑郁）Additionally,Ishmaelrepresentsthecontradictionbetweenthestoryanditssetting.(suitablebutfictional)Learnedperson&working-classmen(less-educatedandevenrough)AhabThePeqod’sobsessedcaptain,representsbothanancientandamoderntypeofhero.LiketheheroesofGreekorShakespeareantragedy,Ahabsuffersfromasinglefatalflaw(致命性的缺陷).----overconfidenceAccordingtothecriticM.H.Abrams,suchatragichero“moveustopitybecause,sinceheisnotanevilperson,hismisfortuneisgreaterthanhedeserves;buthemovesusalsotofear,becausewerecognizesimilarpossibilitiesoferrorinourownlesserandfallibleselves.”这样一个悲剧英雄人物让我们为之感动，因为他不是一个恶人，他的不幸超过了他所得到的；但是他也让我们感到恐惧，因为我们认识到，尽管我们渺小，易于犯错误，但也会有可能铸成如此大错。MobyDickMobyDickisnotacharacter,asthereaderhasnoaccesstothewhitewhale’sthoughts,feelings,orintentions.Instead,mobydickisanimpersonalforce,onethatmanycriticshaveinterpretedasanallegoricalrepresentationofGod,aninscrutableandall-powerfulbeingthathumankindcanneitherunderstandnordefy.SymbolsinMobyDickThePequodMobyDick（IsMobyDickevilorgood?)ThePequodasymbolofdoom(注定要死亡的象征）ThePequodisthemicrocosomofhumansocietyandthevoyagebecomesasearchfortruth.namedafteraNativeAmericantribeinMassachusettsdidnotlongsurvivethearrivalofwhitemen(extincted)ispaintedgloomyblackandcoveredinwhaleteethandboneslikeaprimitivecoffinMobyDickishiddenallthetimemirrorsitsenviormentunknownandunknowabletruthsonlythesurfaceoftheoceanisavailableforhumanobservationandinterpretationthedepthsconcealunknowntruthsametaphorforthehumanrelationshipwiththeChristainGod:Godisunkownandcannotbepinneddowninscrutable,mysteriousForthecharacterAhab,however,thewhaleonlyrepresentsevil.ForMelvilleandIshmael--thenarrator,MobyDickisstillamystery,anultimatemysteryoftheuniverse,inscrutableandambivalent.So,thesymbolicmeaningsofMobyDickareambiguous.Itisthesymbolofbothholyandevilthings.ThemesofMobyDickthemesfutilityandmeaninglessnessofexistence存在的徒劳无益与无意义alienationlonelinessandsuicidalindividualismrejectionandquestThemesofMobyDick1)Melville‘sbleakview(negativeattitude):thesenseoffutility(徒劳无益）andmeaninglessnessoftheworld.Maninthisuniverselivesameaninglessandfutilelife,meaninglessbecausefutile.Mancannotovercomenature.Onceheattemptstoseekpoweroveritheisdoomed.ThemesofMobyDickthead