Abstract

Moby-Dick is a unique masterpiece by American writer Herman Melville, which has been published in 1851 during the period of the American Renaissance. Herman Melville took his position behind Sailor Ishmael, who actually narrates the story of the frenzied hunting of Captain Ahab in retrospect. The story is about the revenge on Moby Dick, the white whale, which has destroyed Ahab’s ship and took away his leg on an early time. 

     Through the panoramic depiction and overwhelming plots, Herman Melville, who did not simply create the epic of human race versus nature, exposes the conflicts and contradictions of human nature and contemporary social maladies in his time as well. Each role in the book reveals multiple and elusive symbolic implication, and each symbolic role could be viewed as a counterpart of great contrast and sharp conflict.

     By exploring the plots and narration thoroughly, it’s necessary to break down those symbolic implication into several hierarchies: the nature and mysterious divine force which represent by Moby Dick, human nature and social structure which represent by various sailor roles and Captain Ahab, the historical inevitability which represents by the development of the hunting voyage and the tragic ending of the crew, the conversion between evil and sacred which represents by struggling between Ahab and Moby Dick. And by detecting the very implied symbolic elements of Moby Dick, it is likely to provide a broader angle and perspective about the time of the post Industrial Revolution and the very mixed and twisted state of human nature and social development.       

Key Words: Moby-Dick；Symbolism; Herman Melville

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction 1

2 The Symbolic Interpretation of the Natural Forces 3

  2.1 The Symbolic Interpretation of the Sea Background.3

  2.2 The Symbolic Interpretation of Moby Dick 5

3 The Symbolic Interpretation of the Ahab 8

  3.1 The Symbolic Interpretation of Heroism in Ahab .8

  3.2 The Symbolic Interpretation of Heathen in Ahab .9

4 The Symbolic Interpretation of the Crew and Plot .11

  4.1 The Crew Members of Pequod 12

  4.2 Ishmael 12

5 Conclusion .13

Bibliography 15

Acknowledgements .16