人性与自然——对《白鲸》的分析英文论文

1、人性与自然对白鲸的分析摘 要:白鲸作为一部充满浪漫主义气息和现代精神的预言小说成为梅尔维尔关注和表达人与自然关系的平台。国内外有很多学者对这部小说中的人与自然的关系进行了研究。然而，很少人进一步对人性与自然的关系进行阐释。在白鲸中，人性的邪恶与自然的关系构成了人与自然不和谐的一面。在人与自然的交锋中，人类试图凭借自我意识的膨胀来征服大自然，而自然又并不为人类所摆布，甚至对人类实施还击。同时，人性的宽容与自然的关系构成了人与自然和谐的一面。人类要寻求与自然的和谐与统一，就必须保持一颗对自然界宽容的心。本文进一步分析了人性与自然的关系，同时探讨了影响这种关系的诸多因素。关键词: 人性； 自然； 白

2、鲸； 人性与自然的关系humanity and naturean analysis of moby-dickabstract: moby-dick, as a predictive fiction with romantic color and modern spirit, becomes the center of the stage for melville to show his care and express the relationship between humanity and nature. some researchers at home and abroad have d

3、eeply studied the relationship between human beings and nature in the novel. however, few studies clarify the relationship between humanity and nature. in the novel, the inharmonious side of human and nature reflects the relationship between humans evil and nature. in the fierce battle of them, huma

4、n beings relying on the swelling self-awareness try to conquer nature. however, nature doesnt surrender to human beings but retaliates upon them. meanwhile, the harmonious side reflects the relationship between humans tolerance and nature. when human beings try to live in harmony with nature, they m

5、ust be tolerant to nature. this thesis further analyzes the relationship between humanity and nature. in addition, this thesis also explores the factors influencing the relationship between humanity and nature.key words: humanity; nature; moby-dick; relationship between humanity and naturecontents1.

6、 introduction12. an analysis of nature12.1 the white whale moby dick12.2 the ocean22.3 the pequod23. an analysis of humanity33.1 human beings evil33.2 human beings tolerance44. an analysis of the relationship between humanity and nature44.1 the relationship between humanity and nature in the 19th ce

7、ntury44.2 an analysis of the relationship between humanity and nature54.2.1 human beings evil and nature54.2.2 human beings tolerance and nature64.2.3 human beings suspicion and nature74.3 factors influencing the relationship85. conclusion9bibliography10acknowledgements111. introductionherman melvil

8、le is one of the greatest american literary naturalists, who was born in a rich family in new york in 1819. after his father died in debt, 11-year-old melville had to begin to work early. he once worked as a bank clerk, a salesman, a schoolteacher, but all these failed to offer him a decent liveliho

9、od. then he went to sea at twenty, which provided him rich experiences, especially his sailing experiences that furnished him with abundant material for fiction. for a period of some eight years after his return from the sea, he was at most prolific. melville composes lots of works, such as typee (1

10、846), omoo(1847), mardi(1849), redburn(1849), white jacket(1850), moby-dick(1851) etc. among his works, moby-dick is one of the greatest masterpieces of the world.moby-dick is a very famous novel showing that ahab, the captain of the pequod, leads the crew to pursue and kill the white whale. it is a

11、lso the story of the struggle and harmony of nature and human beings, reflecting the complex relationship between humanity and nature. the others also have touched upon the relationship. for example, tian fang, the instructor of wuhan university of science and technology, writes one paper melvilles

12、opinion on the relationship between human beings and nature. wang yiqun also writes an article entitled on humanistic thinking in moby-dick.in the novel, the purpose of analyzing humanity and nature is to research the relationship between humanity and nature. the analysis of the relationship in the

13、novel reflects humans evil and tolerance in the realistic society. according to the analysis, we can find the positive side of humanity to harmoniously coexist with nature.2. an analysis of naturenature means all the things in the universe that are not made by human beings, such as animals, plants,

14、mountains, and rivers. the analysis of nature in the thesis mainly focuses on the white whalemoby dick, the ocean and the shipthe pequod.2.1 the white whalemoby dickmoby dick is also called the white whale literally because it possesses a special white back and a huge white head. it is so noble and

15、tranquil that it freely swims in the ocean and shares the sunshine. it has blended into nature admirably and becomes a typical representation of nature. however, moby dick is a dreadful whale. it is a white-headed whale with three holes punctured in its starboard fluke, which reminds people of fears

16、omeness and evil. it represents the devil of nature and receives gods order to fight against those whalemen who desire to chase, even kill it. those whalemen almost reach a concensus on moby dicks destruction. they think that moby dick is more curious than other whales living in the ocean. they also

17、 believe that once they meet with moby dick and try to attack it, they will suffer from such harmful calamity in these assaults which may cause sprained wrists and ankles, broken limbs, or devouring amputations, even death. moby dick is also clever. it can estimate accurately what is the best time t

18、o assault human beings successfully. therefore, moby dick is the scared, mysterious, invincible and intellectural embodiment of the ocean in nature.2.2 the oceanour first impression of the ocean is that it is so vast and endless. when sailing in the sea, we feel that we are so tiny. we adore the bro

19、ad attitude of the ocean with awe from the bottom of our hearts. but the cunning, fierce and unmerciful features of the ocean are substantial. it is cunning because it knows how its dreaded creatures glide under water, unapparent for the most part, and treacherously hide beneath the loveliest tints

20、of azure. indeed, in order to escape from the humans chase and protect themselves, the marine creatures have to seek a shelter. the best shelter is beneath the ocean where they can hide. if human beings desire to gain the things they need, they must pay for these, such as hard work, much energy, etc

21、. people should know that seeking the necessary things in the ocean is lengthy and hard work. meanwhile, the scene of cannibalism and the rule that strong animals prey upon weaker ones hide subtly in the ocean. this kind of feint induces us to think that the ocean is so peaceful, quiet and divine. h

22、owever, it is really fierce and unmerciful because it dashes the mightiest whales against the rocks, and leaves the whales corpses there side by side with the split wrecks of ships. the power of the ocean shows that nature is inviolable and unconquered. but the power is at the cost of destroying the

23、 ships randomly and killing the marine animals. therefore, in the novel, the author wants to show that the ocean is cunning, fierce and unmerciful.2.3 the pequodfrom the frame of the novel, the pequod is a high generalization and an epitome of the human beings society. the firm body and the advanced

24、 equipments bestow this ship the strong power. the moment it sails in the ocean, it begins its provocation and invasion to the divine sea. in fact it is the delegate of destroying nature. the whalemen on the ship are connived to pursue and kill the whales. so the pequod is a direct participator. on

25、the other hand, in this small ship, there is a sharply divided hierarchy. captain ahab is the sovereign lord and the sailors are only the slaves in the lower end of the social ladder at the outset. when they set foot on this ship, they have lost their human rights. they have to obey ahabs order so t

26、hat they devote their own lives to the whale fishery because their bodies and soul belong to the captain. an unlucky encounter of the pequod actually reflects the tragic fate of the whalemen.3. an analysis of humanitygenerally speaking, humanity involves two aspects: one negative side of humanity, s

27、uch as human beings suspicion, cruel and evil, etc; one positive side, such as human beings tolerance, kindness, pity, etc. humanity not only appears between human beings and nature, but also in the humans own society. in the novel, human beings evil is the typical negative side of humanity and huma

28、ns tolerance is the typical positive side. 3.1 human beings evilcaptain ahab is the most typical representative of the wicked quality in this novel. his name, ahab, has an obvious symbolism. in the bible, ahab is a wicked king from israel. he introduces paganism to his own country. so we can absolut

29、ely find that ahabs archetype in the bible is so wicked. in moby-dick, ahabs wicked quality is also showed clearly. in the course of whaling, he encounters a cachalot called moby dick. when he chases the white whale with his sailors, he suffers a great blow. the white whale devours his leg cruelly.

30、however he makes use of the sperms jawbone to burnish an artificial leg. ahab is hostile to nature after he becomes handicapped from the action of burnishing the artificial leg. he concentrates hatred on moby dick. to achieve his purpose of finding and killing moby dick, he persists in setting sail

31、without considering the stockholders benefit of the pequod. when he meets the captains of the other boats sailing on the sea, he refuses to accept their suggestions that he should turn back. he solely wants to chase and kill the white whale. at that time, ahab has cherished a wild hatred against the

32、 whale. actually the white whale not only brings him bodily woes, but also the intellectual and spiritual exasperations. therefore the white whale becomes the monomaniac incarnation of all those malicious agencies. he crazily chases moby dick in order to comfort his injured heart and smooth his woun

33、ds. his ruinous deed has pushed him into the abyss of the wicked quality.ahab doesnt really care about his crew but ask them to work for him with the temptation of benefits. he prefers to take advantage of them to achieve his dream of chasing and killing moby dick. he equates crews lives with money

34、in his hand. in his mind, he regards their lives as the slaves and the tools of revenging moby dick. this kind of internal spirit of ahabs trampling their lives and controlling their soul shows obviously that his evil in his inner heart has absolutely exposed his real natural instincts. 3.2 human be

35、ings tolerancehuman beings tolerance is manifested in two aspects: humans tolerance to nature and humans tolerance to themselves. first, we need to simply know tolerance to nature. in chapter 100, the captain of the samuel enderby says that he will not struggle with moby dick any longer after his ar

36、m is bitten off by the white whale. he even warns captain ahab not to get a rise out of moby dick. his concession on escaping from the disaster shows humans tolerant attitude to nature. this kind of attitude roots in the instinct of humans self-protection. the captain of samuel enderby knows that if

37、 he doesnt provoke nature, his life affirmatively will not be threatened. this is the most original way for human beings to deal with the relationship between human and nature.in terms of interpersonal tolerance, melville adequately expresses his thought and opinion. in that period, the white men al

38、ways discriminate the black men in the american society. but melville shows the deep friendship between the white manishmael and the cannibalqueequeg. we may think that this kind of friendship shows that the interpersonal relationship is so equal. in the beginning, ishmael considers that queequeg is

39、 a cannibal, a devil of killing others. but after noticing queequegs kind and polite action, he changes his opinion and starts to give a high praise for queequeg. in fact, when ishmael eliminates his prejudice, he admits that queequeg has the equal right with him. in ishmaels mind, he has broken the

40、 interpersonal discrimination. the interpersonal equal relationship is one kind of tolerance because once we treat anyone equally, we will remove interpersonal estrangement and we can also excuse them although they made the mistake before. 4. an analysis of the relationship between humanity and natu

41、rethe relationship between humanity and nature is quite complicated. when human beings invade nature with hatred, they will suffer from retaliation of nature. in the novel, ahabs hatred to the white whale brings its revenge. moreover, when human suspect nature and begin to invade nature, they will b

42、e punished by nature. in the novel, when ahab is still persisting in fighting against nature, he will suffer from punishment of nature. but human also know how to tolerant nature. when humans tolerance begins to emerge, they will keep a harmonious relationship with nature.4.1 the relationship betwee

43、n humanity and nature in the 19th centuryin the 19th century, american relying on the advanced equipments and ships became the overlord of the whale fishery. they captured various whales, extracted the sperm oil, cut off the whalemeat and fished out the costly ambergris. they desired to seek more be

44、nefits from nature and began to invade nature. therefore humans evil dominated in humanity in that period. however, some curious whales, rainstorm and tsunami forced human beings to pay a painful price. in that period, nature began to revenge humans invasion. the phenomenon ulteriorly aggravated the

45、 dreadful relationship between human beings and nature. however, humans tolerance, the most valuable quality in humanity, appeared in that period. human realized gradually that if they continued to invade nature, they would be revenged by nature. human began to seek the essential quality of humanity

46、 though humans evil still played a dominated role. therefore, in the 19th century, human kept an inharmonic relationship with nature. but a harmonious relationship began to appear.4.2 an analysis of the relationship between humanity and naturethe relationship between humanity and nature has two aspe

47、cts: the inharmonic relationship and the harmonious one. in the novel, the inharmonic one embodies in humans hatred to nature and natures revenge to human. the harmonious one embodies in humans tolerance to nature. therefore, human beings must show their tolerance if they want to keep the harmonious

48、 relationship with nature.4.2.1 human beings evil and natureahab is an opposite role to moby dick. in his instinct, his evil almost comes from his hostility to nature. the hostility focuses on his hatred to moby dick. he can bare the physical pain, but he cannot tolerant the failure and disgrace whi

49、ch originate from his broken leg. he loses sense absolutely because of the torment of the soul suffering from the bad setback, not the disabled body. in his opinion, human being is a master of the world. consequently, he is so crazy to take the actions to chase and kill moby dick without considering

50、 any cost and consequence. in moby-dick, it is impossible for ahab to love moby dick. the hatred has congested his whole mind. according to his actions, he has become a determined person not the hesitated one. hatred inflames his boiling heart and releases his evil. before he is inflamed by hatred,

51、he only hunts the whales for his own benefit. but now his purpose is to chase and kill moby dick. after ahab is injured physically and mentally by moby dick, his view of nature and life is that he will beat it up if the sun insults him. he has been so illiberal that he is hostile to all the things.

52、when the sperm oil leaks into the ocean in the course of chasing the white whale, he is unwilling to undertake necessary remedial work because his brain fills with the hatred to the white whale. he damages his range quadrant deliberately in order to continue to go forward with the goal of chasing an

53、d killing the white whale. hatred shows ahabs evil and forces him to depart the way of his normal life. therefore, his extreme hatred and hostility to nature show the evil side of human beings losing sense and conscience.on the other hand, the sailors crazily cut down the head of the whale, dissect

54、the abdomen of the whale and peel the whale and scoop the whale oil in the ocean. for their own benefits, they cruelly destroy and nibble nature. when they hunt the whales, they lose the good quality of humanity and show their evil. during three days of their receiving ahabs order to chase moby dick

55、, their hatred to moby dick and atrocity to nature have not been controlled by themselves. when they find the white whales sign of floating on the surface of the sea again and again, they shout crazily in order to tell the other sailors that their evil actions of whaling will start. they rush the wh

56、ite whale with the spear gun without considering their safety. they give up their kindness and become the enemy of nature. their bodies have been controlled by evil soul. in their mind, bloody slaughter and extreme destruction can force nature to succumb to their strong power.but nature doesnt succu

57、mb to human beings. human beings will suffer from retribution after they constantly conquer and destroy nature. even if ahab orders his crew to chase moby dick again and again, the white whale doesnt surrender but appeal to counterattack. it attacks the boats, wrecks the whaling ship and brings much

58、 pain to human beings. it is the symbol of the gods power and the embodiment of justice. it is so great that it announces to human beings that if they still destroy nature unshakably, they will be buried by divine nature finally. the author wants to tell us that it is difficult for human beings relying on our own stuffless power to win the battle between nature and them. 4.2.2 human beings tolerance and natureas a narrator of the whole story and melvilles prolocutor, ishmael appears as a wise man. he figures out the best way to seek the harmonious relationship between human beings and nat