Herman-Melville-作家及作品介绍

Puritanism

(Calvinism),

Transcendentalism,Symbolism,

Individualism(Am.)

The

Romantic

PeriodHerman

Melville

(1819-1891)Herman

Melville

(1819-1891)NovelistSymbolism

+

allegoryMoby-Dick

(a

white

whale):His

best

work

and

masterpiece;the

first

American

prose

epic.（散文体史诗）Melville’s

major

worksEarly

works:Mardi;Redburn;White

JacketMoby-DickLate

works:Pierre;Billy

BuddMelville’s

viewpoints1.

Apart

from

Hawthorne,

whose

black

visionregarding

the

evil

of

human

beings

had

insome

way

changed

Melville’s

outlook

onlife

and

whose

allegorical

way

of

expositiohad

affected

his

writing

techniques,Shakespearean

tragic

vision

andEmersionian

Transcendentalism

alsoproduced

some

positive

effect

of

his

writinMelville’s

viewpoints2.In

the

early

ones,Melville

is

moreenthusiastic

about

setting

out

on

a

quest

forthe

meaning

of

the

universe,hence

they

aremore

metaphysical形而上学的,超自然的andthe

main

characters

are

ardent激烈的andself-dramatizing自我中心的“I”,defyingGod,as

best

reflected

on

Moby-Dick;while

inthe

late

works,Melville

becomes

morereconciled

with

the

world

of

man,in

which,he

admits,one

must

live

by

rules.2001.4

29.

Most

of

Herman

Melville’s

novels

arebased

on

sea

voyages

and

sea

adventures.Which

of

the

following

is

not

the

case?Typee.Moby-Dick.Omoo.The

Confidence-ManMoby-Dick

is

regarded

as

the

firstAmerican

prose

epic.Analysis

of

Moby-DickThe

storyTheme:

surface

and

deep

interpretationsa

combination

of

romanticism

andStructure:realismSymbolism

and

allegoryArtistic

features:Language

style;

2)

writing

styleThe

excerpt1.The

storyThe

story

goes

roughly

as

follows.The

outcastyouth

Ishmael,feeling

depressed,seeks

escapby

going

out

to

sea

on

the

whaling

ship,Pequod.The

captain

is

Ahab,the

man

with

oneleg.Moby-Dick,the

white

whale,had

shearedoff折断his

leg

on

a

previous

voyage,and

Ahabresolves

to

hunt

him

to

the

kill.He

hangs

adoubloon

（古金币）on

the

mast

as

reward

foranyone

who

sights

the

whale

first.The

pequodmakes

a

good

catch

of

whales

but

Ahab

refusesto

turn

back

until

he

has

killed

his

enemy.1.The

storyEventually

the

whale

appears,

the

Pequodbegins

its

doomed

fight

with

it.

On

the

firstday,

the

whale

overturns

a

boat;

on

thesecond

it

swamps

another.

Ehen

the

thirdday

comes,Ahab

and

his

crew

manage

to

plunge使插入a

harpoon

into

it,but

thewhale

carries

the

Pequod

along

with

it

to

itsdoom.All

on

board

the

whale

ship

getdrowned,except

one,Ishmael,who

survivesto

tell

the

tale.2.Theme:surface

and

deep

interpretations1)

Surface

interpretation:The

story

is

not

complicated,

dealing

withAhab,

a

man

with

an

overwhelming

obsessionto

kill

the

whale

which

has

crippled

him,

onboard

his

ship

Pequod

in

the

chase

of

the

bigwhale.

The

dramatic

description

of

thehazards

of

whaling

makes

the

book

a

veryexciting

sea

narrative

and

builds

a

literarymonument

to

an

era

of

whaling

industry

in

thenineteenth

century.2.Theme:surface

and

deep

interpretations2)

Deep

interpretationBut

Moby-Dick

is

not

merely

a

whaling

taleor

sea

adventure,

considering

that

Melville

ia

great

symbolist.

It

turns

out

to

be

asymbolic

voyage

of

the

mind

in

quest

of

thetruth

and

knowledge

of

the

universe,

aspiritual

exploration

into

man’s

deepreality

and

psychology.3.The

structure:a

combination

of

romanticism

and

realismIt

is

a

mixture

of

fantasy（幻想）

and

realisbased

upon

the

South

Pacific

whaling

industry;it

might

be

read

as

an

initiation

（beginning）story

about

Ishmael,the

outcast,findinghimself

in

a

real

world

of

hard

work

and

dangerand

an

unreal

world

of

speculation

（思索）andmystery;3.The

structure:a

combination

of

romanticism

and

realismmoreover,it

is

a

fabulous寓言般的

dramatization戏剧化的表现of

Ahab’sobsessed

determination

to

revenge

himself

inthe

pursuit

of

one

particular

whale

who

haspreviously

destroyed

his

boat

and

humiliatedhim

by

ripping

off

one

of

his

legs.4.

Symbolism

and

allegoryLike

Hawthorne,

Melville

is

a

master

ofallegory

and

symbolism.

Different

people

onboard

the

ship

are

representations

of

differenideas

and

different

social

and

ethnic

groups;Facts

become

symbols

and

incidents

acquireuniversal

meanings.the

Pequod

is

the

microcosm

（微观世界）of

human

society.The

voyage

becomes

a

search

for

truth.4.

Symbolism

and

allegory3)The

white

whale

means

many

things:①To

Melville,it

symbolizes

nature,for

it

iscomplex,unfathomable,malignant恶性的,andbeautiful

as

well.②To

Ahab,it

represents

evMoby-Dick

is

like

a

wall,hiding

some

unknown,mysterious

things

behind.Ahab

pursued

thewhale

so

as

to

pierce

the

wall,to

root

out

theevil,but

only

to

be

destroyed

by

evil,in

thiscase,by

his

own

desire,his

madness.4.

Symbolism

and

allegory③To

the

author,the

reader

and

Ishmael,the

narrator,Moby

Dick

is

a

mystery,amystery

of

universe,inscrutable难以了解的

and

ambivalent矛盾的,and

the

voyage

of

the

mind

will

forever

remain

a

search,not

adiscovery,of

the

truth.5.Artistic

features1)

Language

featuresMoby-Dick

is

regarded

as

the

first

American

epic.

Although

it

is

presented

in

the

form

of

anovel,

at

times

it

seems

like

a

prose

poem.

It

idifficult

to

read

because

much

of

the

talk

in

thnovel

is

sailors

talk

and

much

of

the

language

ipurposely

old-fashioned

and

Elizabethan.5.Artistic

features2)

Writing

styleSymbolismMelville’s

gifts

of

language,invention,psychological

analysis,speculative

agility思维的敏

and

narrative

power

are

fused溶为一体to

makeMoby-Dick

a

world

classic.The

skillful

use

of

Ishmael

both

as

a

characterand

narrator

gives

the

novel

a

moral

magnitude重要性.5.Artistic

featuresThe

manipulation操纵of

the

whalingchapters

for

some

philosophical

speculation思makes

the

novel

more

than

symbolic.Different

levels

of

language

use

and

stylturn

the

whole

book

into

a

symphony

with

allthe

musical

instruments

going

on

to

form

amelody.5.Artistic

features(6)

Melville’s

knowledge

of

epic

andtragedy,

the

highest

literary

genres,

helpshim

produce

a

great

epic,

with

Ahab

at

thecenter

as

a

tragic

hero,

who

burns

with

abaleful

fire,

becoming

evil

himself

in

histhirst

to

destroy

evil

(image).Moby-Dick

(6.

The

excerpt)The

excerpt

is

from

the

last

chapter

of

Moby-Dick,

in

which

the

great

chase

of

the

whitewhale

is

ending

and

we

are

close

to

theconclusion

of

the

book.

The

Pequod

has

finallysighted

Moby-Dick.

The

boats

have

been

lowered

in

chase

of

the

whale,

which

hasalready

demolished

two

of

them.

Though

Ahabkills

the

white

whale,

yet

all

the

human

beingsinvolved,

except

the

narrator,

die

in

theprocess.

At

the

end

only

nature,

symbolized

bythe

sea,

remains

moving

but

unmoved.Call

me

Ishmael■Ishmael,the

outcast,finding

himself

in

areal

world

of

hard

work

and

danger

and

anunreal

world

of

speculation

（思索）and■Melville

manages

to

achieve

the

effect

ofambiguity

through

symbolism

and

allegoryin

his

narratives.Ahab■It

turns

out

to

be

a

symbolic

voyage

of

themind

in

quest

of

the

truth

and

knowledgeof

the

universe,

a

spiritual

exploration

intoman’s

deep

reality

and

psychology.In

Moby—Dick,

the

white

whale

symbolizesnature

for

Melville,

for

it

is

complex,unfathomable,

malignant,

and

beautiful

aswell.“Then

all

collapsed,

and

the

great

shroudof

the

sea

rolled

on

as

it

rolled

fivethousand

years

ago.”

means

that

man"sdesire

to

conquer

nature

can

only

end

inhis

own

destruction2000.4

25.For

Melville,

as

well

as

for

the

readerand

,

the

narrator,

Moby

Dick

isstill

a

mystery,

an

ultimate

mystery

of

theuniverse.A.AhabB.IshmaelC.StubbD.Starbuck1999.4In

Moby-Dick

after

the

whaling

ship

The

Pequadsinks,

Melville

writes:

“…

then

all

collapsed,

athe

great

shroud

of

the

sea

rolled

on

as

it

rolledfive

thousand

years

ago.”

The

author

mightimply

that

Nothing

changes

in

the

5,000

years

of

humanhistoryman’s

desire

to

conquer

nature

can

only

endin

his

own

destructionNature

is

evil

as

it

was

5,000

years

agoNature

has

the

ultimate

creative

power.2007.4

10.

Which

of

the

following

writing

isregarded

as

the

first

American

prose

epic?A.

PierreC.

TypeeB.

Moby

DickD.

Billy

Budd2004.4

37.Like

Nathaniel

Hawthorne,（

）also

manages

to

achieve

the

effect

ofambiguity

through

symbolism

and

allegoryin

his

narratives.A.

Mark

TwainB.

Henry

JamesC.

R.

W.

EmersonD.

Herman

Melville2008.4■■■■

31．The

white

whale,

Moby

Dick,symbolizes

for

Melville,

for

it

iscomplex,

unfathomable,

malignant,

andbeautiful

as

well.societyB．natureC．ocean

animalsD．

both

A

and

C2007.4

32．In

Moby—Dick,

the

white

whalesymbolizes

for

Melville,

forit

is

complex,

unfathomable,

malignant,

andbeautiful

as

well.naturehuman

societywhalingindustry

D．truth2004.4

27.

“Then

all

collapsed,

and

the

greatshroudof

the

sea

rolled

on

as

it

rolled

fivethousand

years

ago.”

In

the

quotedsentence,

the

author

might

implythat

.nothing

changes

in

the

5000

years

ofhuman

historyman"s

desire

to

conquer

nature

can

onlyend

in

his

own

destructionnature

is

evil

as

it

was

5000

years

agonature

has

the

ultimate

creative

power2004.4

30.

Besides

symbolism,

all

thefollowing

qualities

EXCEPT

arefused

to

make

Melville"s

Moby-Dick

aworld

classic.A.

narrative

powerB.

psychological

analysisC.speculative

agility思维的敏捷D.

optimistic

view

of

life2003.4

50.Retell

in

a

few

sentences

the

storyof

the

last

chapter

(Ch,

135)

“TheChase－Third

Day”

of

Melville’s

novelMoby-Dick.

Discuss

the

meaning

of

theending

of

the

story.AnswerIn

the

last

chapter

of

Moby-Dick,the

greatchase

of

the

white

whale

is

ending

and

we

areclose

to

the

conclusion

of

the

book.

ThePequod

has

finally

sighted

Moby-Dick.

Theboats

have

been

lowered

in

chase

of

thewhale,

which

has

already

demolished

two

ofthem.

Though

Ahab

kills

the

white

whale,

yetall

the

human

beings

involved,

except

thenarrator,

die

in

the

process.