《白鲸》中的象征主义与主题意义探析.docx

《白鲸》中的象征主义与主题意义探析.docx

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《白鲸》中的象征主义与主题意义探析

毕业设计（论文）

课题名称（英文）OntheSymbolismandThematicSignificance

inMobyDick

（中文）《白鲸》中的象征主义与主题意义探析

学生姓名

学号

系、年级专业

指导教师

职称

OntheSymbolismandThematicSignificanceofMobyDick

Abstract

HermanMelvilleisnotonlyoneofthemostoutstandingnoveliststhatcanstandforthelaterperiodofAmericanromanticism,butalsoaninfluentialfigureintheworldofletters.MobyDick,whichwaspublishedin1815,ishismasterpiece.Althoughthenovelgainedcontemporarypeople’smorecriticismthanappreciation,ithasnowbeenconsideredasoneofbestAmericannovelsandaclassicalworkinworldliterature.Thispapermakesananalysisoftherelationshipsbetweenmanandman,manandnatureinMobyDickwiththetheoryofsymbolismtorevealitsprofoundthematicsignificance.Thispaperiscomposedofthreeparts.ThepartofintroductiongivesageneralsurveyofHermanMelvilleandhismasterpieceMobyDickaswellasliteraryviewsaboutthenovelathomeandabroad,thebasicframeworkofthearticleandtheguidingsignificanceofthistheorytothispaper.Themainbodyincludesthreeparts.ThefirstpartmainlyintroducestheAmericansocialbackgroundwhenMobyDickwaspublishedandthedefinitionanddevelopmentofsymbolismtheory.Thesecondpartanalysesthesymbolicmeaningoftherelationshipsbetweenmanandman,manandnature.Thethirdpartexcavatesthethemeoftheauthor’scriticismtotheoppressioninthesocietyandtheman’scrazyplundertonatureaccordingtotheoryofsymbolism.Thelastpartistheconclusion.ItpointsoutsymbolismplaysanimportantroleinrevealingthethematicsignificanceofMobyDick.

KeyWord:

HermanMelville;MobyDick;symbolism;thematicmeaning

《白鲸》中的象征主义和主题意义探析

摘要

赫尔曼·麦尔维尔不仅是美国后期浪漫主义的杰出代表，同时也是世界文坛颇具影响的人物。

出版于1851年的《白鲸》是麦尔维尔的代表作。

尽管同时代的人对它褒少贬多，但该书今天已被列为美国最佳小说之一，也被公认为世界文学宝库的经典之作。

本文运用象征主义理论探析《白鲸》中人与人、人与自然的关系以揭示其深刻的主题意义。

全文分为引言、正文和结论三部分：

引言简要介绍作者的生平、《白鲸》一书的内容梗概和《白鲸》的国内外研究现状以及本文的主要内容和基本框架。

正文包括三部分：

第一部分主要介绍《白鲸》出版时的社会背景和象征主义理论的定义和发展以及该理论对本文的指导意义。

第二部分运用象征主义理论分析作品中人与人、人与自然的关系的象征意义。

第三部分根据象征主义理论并结合小说文本揭示作者对社会中存在的压迫以及人类对大自然疯狂掠夺的批判的主题。

结论部分总结《白鲸》中象征主义在揭示主题意义中的重要作用。

关键词：

赫尔曼·麦尔维尔；《白鲸》；象征主义；主题意义；

Contents

Abstract................................................................................................................................Ⅰ

中文摘要...............................................................................................................................Ⅱ

Introduction...........................................................................................................................1

1.BriefIntroductionofTimesBackgroundandSymbolismTheory................3

1.1TimesBackgroundoftheNovel……………………………………………...............3

1.2TheDefinitionandDevelopmentofSymbolismTheory.....................................4

2.TheSymbolicMeaningsofRelationshipsbetweenManandMan,ManandNatureinMobyDick……………………………………………………………..6

2.1TheSymbolicMeaningofRelationshipbetweenManandMan.......................6

2.2TheSymbolicSenseofRelationshipbetweenManandNature.........................8

3.TheThematicSignificanceofMobyDick...............................................................9

3.1TheCriticismofOppressionintheSociety…………………….............................9

3.2TheCritiqueofMan’sCrazyPlundertoNature...................................................10

Conclusion............................................................................................................................10

Bibliography........................................................................................................................12

Acknowledgements...........................................................................................................13

OntheSymbolismandThematicSignificanceofMobyDick

WeiWeicong

Grade2009,departmentofforeignstudies,ShaoyangUniversity

SupervisedbyChenHong

Introduction

Asweknow,MobyDickisoneofthegreatestnovelsin19thAmericanromanticism.Itisnotonlytheclassicworkaboutwhalingindustrybutalsoconsideredasanencyclopediaofeverything,history,philosophy,industryetc.ThisnovelstatesastoryabouttheendlesshuntingandtherelentlessmassacreintheseathroughawanderingyoungmannamedIshmael.ItpresentstypicalimageofCaptainAhabwhobearsenormousgrudgesagainstMobyDick,livingbeingsthatshearsoffoneofhislegsonaperviousvoyageinthesea,CaptainAhabchasesiteverywheresoastorevengeforhim,butallcrewandevenAhabexceptforthenarratoralldie.Whenitwaspublished,criticismoccupiedthelion’sration.Becauseofit,HermanMelville’spopularitygraduallybottomedout.Melvillewasalsoneglectedbytheworldatthattime.However,astimewenton,moreandmorepeoplerecognizeditstremendousvalue.Sometimeswecantakeonitasashiningtreasurytoexploreit.

HermanMelvillewasborninaCalvinistfamilyinNewYorkCityin1819.HewasthesonofanimporterwhoranbusinessaboutFrenchtextile.Whereas,hisfatherlaterwentbankruptandfinallydiedintheyearof1832.Sincethenhehaslivedagonizinglivesandleftschoolattheageoffifteen.Hewasabankclerk,asalesman,afarm–handonhisuncle’sfarmandaschoolteacher.Inordertolivebetterlives,hehadtochoosetogotoseaasacabinboyin1839.Itgaveanabundantsourcematerialforthecreationoffiction.In1841,MelvillewenttotheSouthSeasonawhalingship,Acushnet,wherehegainedthefirst-handinformationaboutwhalingwhichhelaterusedinMobyDick.InMobyDick,MelvillethroughthemouthofIshmaelsaid:

“awhale-shipwasmyYaleCollegeandHarvard.”[1]（p123）Afterhewasbackfromthesea,between1846and1852,whichisconsideredashisprolificperiod,“booksPouredforthlikeatorrent.”[2]（p74）HehasfinishedTypee（1846）,followedbyOmoonextyear,thenMarrdi（1849）,Redburn（1849）,WhiteJacket（1850）,MobyDick（1851）andPierre（1852）.[3]（p73）

Atthesametime,hisacquaintancewithHawthornehasmadeadeepinfluenceonMelville’sattitudetowardshislifein1850.Especially，weallknowthattheUnitedStateswasintheoptimisticperiodofTranscendentalismwhenMelvillewroteMobyDick.AstomostofAmericanpeople,Hawthorne'spessimismwasincomprehensible,butMelvilleseemedtounderstanditcompletely,sohedeterminedtochangetheinitialtravel-talemodeofhismasterpieceMobyDickaboutonethirdofwhichhehadfinishedandmadeitbecomeanoutstandingworkwhichwereadtoday.Althoughtheylosttheirtoucheswitheachother,apositionoftragichumanismthatbothofthemrepresentedintheirworkswasunique.Ishmaelthenarratorhas“amorerestlessandwide-rangingspeculativeintelligenceandamuchdarkervisionofhumanlife.”[4]（p313）Besides,thereisanotherthingthatwehavegottomentioninhislife.ThemarriedlifeofMelvillewasjustthesameasthatofScottFitzgerald.Theyallmarriedthepeoplewhosestatuswasabovethem.Therefore,bothofthemwereharnessedbythemoneythattheywereforcedtokeeptheirextravagantwives.MelvillemarriedElizabethShaw,thedaughterofawealthyjudge,intheyearof1847.[3]（p73）Hehadtosparenoeffortstosupporthisgrowingfamilyalthoughitwasanguishforadevotedwritertowriteformoney.Whatismore,itwasverydifficulttoapersontomakingalivingthroughwriting.Becausehislifehasneverbeensmooth,itexplainedthemoodofpessimismwhichwasrepresentedinhiswoktoacertainextent.HesawdarkaspectofAmericansocietyandtheevilofhumannature.

TherearevariousreviewsaboutMobyDick.Atabroad,nowadaysthefamousscholarRichardH.BrodheadinhisNewEssaysonMobyDickmakesviewsaboutMobyDickonvariousaspects,forexample,nature,thedramaticchangesinsocialalienation,thechallengeofreligion,diversityoflanguageofthenovel.[5]（p3）Besides,thereisabookthatwemusttomention,thatis,HermanMelville:

MarinerandMystic.ItwaswrittenbyRaymondWeaverandpublishedin1921.Melville’sreputationwasagainrecognizedbyworldbecauseofitspublication.RaymondWeavercalledMobyDick“indisputablythegreatestwhalingnovel.”[6]（p105）

InChina,therearemoreandmorerelevantpaperspublished.Somepapersconcentrateoncomplex,esoteric,multiplesymbolicmeaninginMobyDick.Somepapersfocusonnarrative,narrativetime,biblicalarchetypeandecologicalculture.Therearealsoscholarswhodiscussthetwoprotagonists,especiallythecharacterofAhab.Hispride,madness,crankiness,alienationmakesdeepimpressiononallofus.Ishmael,thespecialcharacterinnovel,actsasbothanarratorandapersoninvolvedinvoyage.Atthesametime,somepeoplestudyitssocialreality,religiousmeaningandthetragicendingoftheepic.

Inthelightofsymbolismtheory,thispapermakesananalysisoftherelationshipsbetweenmanandman,manandnatureinMobyDicktorevealitsprofoundthematicsignificance.Themainbodyincludesthreeparts.ThefirstpartmainlyintroducestheAmericansocialbackgroundwhenMobyDickispublishedandthedefinitionanddevelopmentofsymbolismtheory.Thesecondpartanalysessymbolicmeaningsoftherelationshipsbetweenmanandman,manandnature.ThethirdpartexcavatesthethematicsignificanceofMobyDickaccordingtotheoryofsymbolism.Thelastpartistheconclusion.ItpointsoutsymbolismplaysanimportantroleinrevealingthethematicsignificanceofMobyDick.

1.BriefIntroductionofSocialBackgroundandSymbolismTheory

Tosomeextent,wecanregardMobyDickasthefirstAmericanproseepic.Americawasinaspecialerawhenitcameoutin1851.Itwasanageofoptimistictranscend