Herman-Melville-and-Moby-Dick(1)

HermanMelville梅尔维尔(1819—1891)HermanMelvillereceivedrecognitionuntilthe1920s“Hehasaveryhighandnoblenature”Threeimportantthingsinhislife:1)Goingouttosea2)Hismarriage3)HisfriendshipwithHawthorneMelville’sMajorWorks•1)Typee«泰皮»•2)Omoo«欧穆»•3)Mardi«玛地»•4)Redburn«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,thewhalingindustryaShakespeareantragedyofmanfightingagainstfatesWarm-upquestionsaboutMoby-Dick1.WhichbodyparthasAhablosttoMobyDick?(A)Hisleg(B)Hisarm(C)Hiseye(D)HisfingersAMoby-Dick2.WhatisthenameofAhab’sship?(A)TheTown-Ho(B)TheRachel(C)TheSamuelEnderby(D)ThePequodDMoby-Dick3.AfterwhatisAhab’sshipnamed?(A)Itsowner(B)AvanishedtribeofNativeAmericans(C)Aspeciesofwhale(D)AbiblicalcharacterBMoby-Dick4.Forwhatwerewhalesprimarilyhunted?(A)Oil(B)Skin(C)Meat(D)FinsAMoby-Dick5.WhatdoesAhabnailtotheship’smasttomotivatehiscrewinhisquestforMobyDick?(A)Agoldcoin(B)Aseveredhead(C)AdrawingofMobyDick(D)ApirateflagAMoby-Dick6.WhatkeepsIshmaelafloatafterthePequodsinks?(A)Acoffin(B)Abarrelofoil(C)Alifeboat(D)AmattressAMoby-Dick7.WhatfrightensIshmaelthemostaboutMobyDick?(A)Thewhale’ssize(B)Thewhale’steeth(C)Thewhitenessofthewhale(D)ThesoundsthatthewhalemakesCMoby-Dick8.WithwhatisthePequodadorned?(A)Spermwhaleteeth(B)Americanflags(C)Redpaint(D)WhalefinsAMoby-Dick9.FromwhatisAhab’sfalselegmade?(A)Awhale’sjawbone(B)Wood(C)Anelephant’stusk(D)LeatherAMoby-Dick10.HowdoesthePequodsink?(A)SheisrammedbyMobyDick.(B)Sheisoverloadedwithoil.(C)Shegetslostinastorm.(D)Sheisrammedbyanothership.AMoby-Dick一.Thehistoricalbackground1)Thisperiodismarkedwithtremendousnationaloptimism.However,Melvilleisoneofthefewwriterswhoruncountertothisoptimisticattitude.MobyDickinparticularsuggestshiddenterrorsandincomprehensibletragedyandfatalisminlife.2.Itwasaneraofexpansion.ThevoyageofthePequodrepresents,inaway,thisspiritofexpansion.3.Thisperiodputahighvalueonindustriousness.Thewaleshipisakindofgreatmachine.PerhapsMelvilleissuggestingthatanattempttosubduenaturethroughtechnologycanbedangerous,orthattoomuchindustryaimedatnoparticularhumangoaltendstodehumanizemen.ThemesofMobyDick1)Melville'sbleakview(negativeattitude):thesenseoffutilityandmeaninglessnessoftheworld.Hisattitudetolifeis“EverlastingNay”Maninthisuniverselivesameaninglessandfutilelife,meaninglessbecausefutile.Mancannotovercomenature.Onceheattemptstoseekpoweroveritheisdoomed.ThemesofMobyDicktheadventureofkillingMobyDickismeaningless.Ahabtriestocontrolit,whichleadstohisdoom.modernlifethelossoffaith,thesenseoffutilitywellexpressedinMoby-DickThemesofMobyDick2)alienation(farawayfromeachother)existsbetweenmanandman,manandsociety,andmanandnature.Ahabcutshimselfofffromhisfamily,staysawayfromhiscrew,hatesMobyDickandbecomesadevilrushingtohisdoom.Hewaswithin“themasoned,walledtownofacaptian’sexclusiveness”,whichleadshimtohisdoom.ThemesofMobyDick3)lonelinessandsuicidalindividualism(individualismcausingdisasteranddeath)thebasicpatternofnineteenth-centuryAmericanlifeMobyDickisanegativereflectionuponTranscendentalismAhab:toomuchofaself-reliantindividualtobeagoodhumanbeingavictimofextremeindividualismThepriceofself-relianceisdeath.ThemesofMobyDick4）rejectionandquestVoyagingforIshmaelhasbecomeajourneyinquestofknowledgeandvalues.startsoutfeelingbadhopestofindanideallifecomestoseethefollyofAhabseekingtoconquernaturefeelsthesignificanceofloveandcompanionshiplearnstoaccept,anattitudewhichensureshissurvivalThemesofMobyDickthemesthesenseoffutilityandmeaninglessnessalienationlonelinessandsuicidalindividualismrejectionandquest三、characters1.Ahabasatragichero1)Ahab,anobleandhighlyeducatedman,acknowledgesthelimitationofman’spowertoknowGodthroughhisintellect;yetinsteadofsubmittingtohisweakness,hehopestotranscenditbysheerdefianceandexerthispoweroverwhathesees.Helosesthebalancebecauseoftheblindandpurposelessfuryofthewhalethateventuallydestroyshim.2)Ahabfailsbecauseofhisdeprivationofhumanity.Thereisasoftsideinhim,whichrespondstolove,tosympathizinghisfellowbeings’suffering.Butheconstantlysuppressesthesoftsideinhim,thus,extinguishingtheflameofloveandhumanity.2.IshmaelOnanotherlevel,Moby-DickcanberegardedasnoveldealingwithIshmael’stransformationormentalhealth.ThemoralgrowthofIshmaelintheformofajourneyisademonstrationofMelville’sphilosophicalviewoflife.Ishmaelentersthestoryasasocialoutcast,remindingusbiblicallyofAbraham’sillegitimatesonwhoisdisinheritedandcastoutofthepalace.Duringthevoyage,hegetstoknowallkindsofpeopleandbuildsupafriendshipwithQueequeg.ThewarmthandlovehegetsfromQueequegishumanizinginhisruthlesshuntforwhales.Intheend,heissavedbyQueequeg’scoffin,symbolizingarestorationtohumanity.Ishmaelhastransformedfromapessimisticmanwithadarkviewiflifeintosomeonewho,capable