HermanMelville

(1819~1891)

Date：2013-11-12ContentsOccupation,Lifestory1Works2AnalysisofMobyDick3Evaluation4OccupationBankclerkSalesmanFarm-handTeacherSailorCustomsinspectorNovelistPoetAmerican’sShakespeare

1.OneofthegreatesttragediesintheNorthAmericanliteraryhistory2.OneofthegreatestlossestoAmericanliteratureLifeStoryOfMelville

HischildhoodwashappytotheageofelevenwhenhisfatherdiedindebtThemarriedlifeofMelvillewasmorelikethatofScottFitzgeraldthanMarkTwain’sForaperiodofsomeeightyearsafterhisreturnfromsea,hewasathismostprolificForthelasttwentyyearsofhislifeMelvilleworkedintheCustomHouseinNewYork,goingoffinthemorningandcominghomelaterintheday.SeaExperiencesHewasaWhaler,aboutthelowestofsailors.Hisexperiencesandadventuresonthesea,stoodhiminrichstead.Theyfurnishedhimwithabundantmaterialforfiction.Marriage(1847)ElizabethShaw(daughterofChiefJusticeofBoston)ExtravagantlifestyleWritingformoneyFriendshipwithHawthorneMeetingHawthorneinthesummerof1850InfluencedbyhisblackvisionRevisingMobyDickTheyallrepresentedapositionoftragichumanismintheirtimeMelville’sgraveFeaturesEarlierWorks—drawinguponhisseaexperiences—blackandwhiteLaterWorks—ReconciliationbetweenmanandGod—livingbytherulesofthisworldMelville’sMajorWorksTypee?泰比?1846Omoo?歐穆?1847波里尼西亞三部曲Mardi

?瑪地?1849 Pierre

?皮埃爾?1852哲學性小說Redburn

?雷得本?1849WhiteJacket?白外衣?1850BillyBudd

《比利?巴德》1891Clarel《克拉萊爾》(apoem)1876Moby-Dick

?白鯨?，?莫比?狄克?1851MobyDick(1851)Hisbestworkandmasterpiece;thefirstAmericanproseepic.（散文體史詩）;anencyclopediaofeverythingShakespeareantragedyofmanfightingagainstoverwhelmingoddsinanindifferentandhostileuniverse小說梗概小說敘述一位名叫埃哈帕的捕鯨船船長率領全體船員和捕鯨水手，追捕一條叫莫比迪克的白鯨，莫比迪克是一條令人心驚膽顫，兇殘狡猾的海中怪物，凡是捕鯨的漁民無不聞聲喪膽，談虎色變。埃哈帕的一條腿就是被它吞噬的，因此，他決心捕殺白鯨報仇雪恨。

捕鯨船在大海中日夜搜捕，終于和白鯨相遇，經過三天的追蹤，白鯨終于被魚叉標槍所擊中。發狂的白鯨撞翻了漁船，船長被魚叉標槍上的繩索纏住，一起卷入海中，最后兩敗俱傷，船沉人亡。只有船員伊什梅爾生還，向我們講述這個悲壯的故事。人物分析Pequod:“皮闊德”號捕鯨船被稱為人類世界的縮影，既是一個設備齊全的人類配備充足的生產中心同時也是個小社會。在這個社會中，管理機密，人人各司其職，操作程序有條不紊。Ahab:埃哈帕船長是根據《舊約全書》中十分刻毒的同名復仇國王的原型塑造的。是人類征服自然的代表，有著普通人所沒有的堅毅，剛強，近乎神明。但卻有自私，剛愎自用，瘋狂等陰暗面。是社會的生產中心和至高無上的主宰。MobyDick:自然的代表，自然力量的象征。Ishmael:伊什米爾是一名教師，希望擺脫平庸的生活，投入了大海懷抱。他是小說的敘述者，是唯一的幸存者。ThemesofMobyDick1.Searchfortruth

Thestorydealswiththehumanpursuitoftruthandthemeaningofexistence.

2.ConflictbetweenGoodandEvil.

3.ConflictbetweenManandNature.

4.Isolationbetweenmanandman;manandnature;manandsociety.

5.Solipsism(唯我論）作品理解通過《白鯨》向人們指出，人必須承認自己靈魂中的“惡”；人雖然可以觀察世界，或者對世界有一定的影響力量，但從根本來說，人不能左右自然征服自然；人只要不冒失的自取滅亡，大自然便樂于讓他平靜的生活。《白鯨》是作者對社會和人生的認識的全面總結，它描寫了捕鯨工人的辛勤勞動和智慧，解釋了資本主義的殘酷剝削。但它的文字有事冗長，艱澀，給人一種借題發揮，離題跑偏的感覺。梅爾維爾超越了時代的認知能力，這是他在世時收到冷落的根本原因，直到絕望彌漫的20世紀，他的小說才被大家認可。SymbolismandallegoryinMoby-DickLand:asymbolofsafetySea:adventureanddangerThePequod:thehumanworld

Thevoyage：tendstoimplythevoyageofmindsearchingfortruthandknowledgeoftheforcesworkingintheuniversethatcontrolmenandtheirdestiny.5）Thewhitewhalemeansmanythings:ToMelville,itsymbolizesnature,foritiscomplex,unfathomable（高深莫測的）,malignant（惡性的）,andbeautifulaswell.ToAhab,itrepresentsevil.Moby-Dickislikeawall,hidingsomeunknown,mysteriousthingsbehind.Ahabpursuedthewhalesoastopiercethewall,torootouttheevil,butonlytobedestroyedbyevil,inthiscase,byhisowndesire,hismadness.

Totheauthor,thereaderandIshmael,thenarrator,MobyDickisamystery,amysteryofuniverse,inscrutable（難以了解的）andambivalent（矛盾的）,andthevoyageofthemindwillforeverremainasearch,notadiscovery,ofthetruth.EvaluationsD.H.LawrenceonH.Melville“Herecordsalso,almostbeyondpainorpleasure,theextremetransitionsoftheisolated,far-drivensoul,thesoulwhichisnowalone,withoutanyrealhumancontact”Hawthorne“Hewillneverrestuntilhegetsholdofadefini