Herman Melville
But it is better to fail in
originality than to succeed
in imitation. He who has
never failed somewhere,
that man cannot be great.
(1819-1891)
Teaching Objectives
1)
2)
3)
4)
Melville’s Life and Main Works
Melville’s masterpiece Moby Dick
The Main Plot, Major characters,
theme, Symbols
Social significance of Moby Dick
Life Experience
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born on August 1, 1819 in New York City into an
established merchant family, the third of 8 children.
His father became bankrupt and insane, dying
when Melville was 12.
His sea experiences and adventures furnished him
with abundant materials, and resulted in five novels
that brought him wide fame as a writer of sea
stories.
In 1850, he met Hawthorne and they became good
friends. He read Hawthorne’s books and was
deeply impressed by Hawthorne’s black vision.
His fame was recognized after his death.
Melville’s Major Works
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1) Typee «泰皮»
from his adventures
among the people
2) Omoo «欧穆»
of the South
Pacific islands
3) Mardi «玛地»
an account of
4) Bedburn «雷得本»
his voyage to
England
5) White Jacket «白外衣»
his life on a
United States
man-of-war
Melville’s Major Works
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6) Pierre «皮埃尔»
7) Billy Budd 《比利•巴德》(a sign that he
had resolved his quarrel with God)
Clarel 《克拉莱尔》( a poem)
Melville’s Major Works
Moby-Dick
«白鲸»，«莫比•狄克»
an encyclopedia of
everything
history,
philosophy,
a Shakespearean
religion, the
tragedy of man
whaling
fighting against
industry
fates
His Tragic Influence from
Literary Tradition
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At the time of writing, Melville was reading
Greek tragedy, especially the Orestia (奥瑞
斯提亚） of Aeschylus
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Immersed in the tragedies of Shakespeare
– King Lear, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth
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Epic poetry, Homer
Moby Dick (1)
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This book is dedicated to Hawthorne, for
Hawthorne encourged Melville to change this
novel from a story full of details about whaling,
into an allegorical novel.
Moby Dick (2)
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Epic in scope.
It consists of 135 chapters.
- the long and arduous journey
- the great battle
Defined as an epic, which contains a tragic
drama, a tragedy of pride, and pursuit and
revenge, which is also a tragedy of thought
与白鲸有关的背景
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对爱斯基摩人来说，白鲸也是非常重要的，不仅因
为其肉好吃，而且它们的油用来点灯不仅明亮，还
能释放出大量热量，使简陋的冰屋保持温暖。除此
之外，白鲸的皮也很有用，还有一种香味，可以制
成各种装饰品。
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然而，不幸的是，自从17世纪以来，由于捕鲸的高
额利润，捕鲸者对白鲸进行了疯狂的捕杀，致使白
鲸数量锐减。更加可悲的是白鲸的生态环境遭到毁
灭性的破坏，一批批白鲸相继死亡
Discussion Questions
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What do you think of “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” ? Will
you be revengeful when you are hurt by the evil power?
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Should human beings conquer nature or yield before
nature? What’s your opinion on nature?
Characters
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Ishmael: The name has come to symbolize orphans,
exiles, and social outcasts (in Genesis)----the son of
Abraham and the slave girl Hagar
Elijah:The character Elijah (named for the Biblical
prophet, Elijah
Ahab:Ahab is the tyrannical captain of the Pequod
who is driven by a monomaniacal desire to kill Moby
Dick,
Mates: Starbuck, Stubb. Flask. The three mates of the
Pequod are all from New England
Harpooners: Queequeg, Tashtego, Daggoo, Fedallah
(from different countries in the world)
Introduction to Ishmael
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The narrator of the story (knowledgeable, intelligent),
digression from art, geology, anatomy, to legal codes,
and literature ---- Jack of all trades
A whaling ship “is my Yale College and Harvard”
His intention in the ship journey: out of some spiritual
malaise (精神的抑郁）
Additionally, Ishmael represents the contradiction
between the story and its setting. (suitable but fictional)
Learned person & working-class men (less-educated
and even rough)
Ahab
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The Peqod’s obsessed captain, represents both an
ancient and a modern type of hero. Like the heroes of
Greek or Shakespearean tragedy, Ahab suffers from a
single fatal flaw (致命性的缺陷). ----overconfidence
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According to the critic M. H. Abrams, such a tragic hero
“move us to pity because, since he is not an evil person,
his misfortune is greater than he deserves; but he moves
us also to fear, because we recognize similar
possibilities of error in our own lesser and fallible selves.”
这样一个悲剧英雄人物让我们为之感动，因为他不是一个
恶人，他的不幸超过了他所得到的；但是他也让我们感到
恐惧，因为我们认识到，尽管我们渺小，易于犯错误，但
也会有可能铸成如此大错。
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Moby Dick
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Moby Dick is not a character, as the reader has no
access to the white whale’s thoughts, feelings, or
intentions.
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Instead, moby dick is an impersonal force, one that
many critics have interpreted as an allegorical
representation of God, an inscrutable and all-powerful
being that humankind can neither understand nor defy.
Symbols in Moby Dick
 The Pequod
 Moby Dick（Is Moby Dick evil or good?)
The Pequod
named after a
Native
American tribe
in
Massachusetts
did not long
survive the
arrival of
white men
(extincted)
like a
primitive
coffin
is painted
gloomy black
and covered
in whale
teeth and
bones
a symbol of doom (注定要死亡的象征）
The Pequod is the microcosom of
human society and the voyage
becomes a search for truth.
Moby Dick
is hidden all
the time
unknown and
unknowable truths
mirrors its
enviorment
only the surface
of the ocean is
available for
human observation
and interpretation
inscrutable,
mysterious
the depths
conceal
unknown
truths
a metaphor for the human relationship
with the Christain God: God is unkown and
cannot be pinned down
 For the character Ahab, however, the whale only
represents evil.
 For Melville and Ishmael--the narrator, Moby Dick
is still a mystery, an ultimate mystery of the
universe, inscrutable and ambivalent.
 So, the symbolic meanings of Moby Dick are
ambiguous. It is the symbol of both holy and evil
things.
Themes of Moby Dick
futility and meaninglessness of
existence 存在的徒劳无益与无意义
themes
alienation
loneliness and suicidal individualism
rejection and quest
Themes of Moby Dick
1)
Melville‘s bleak view (negative attitude): the sense of
futility (徒劳无益）and meaninglessness of the world.
Man in this universe lives a meaningless and futile life,
meaningless because futile. Man cannot overcome
nature. Once he attempts to seek power over it he is
doomed.
Themes of Moby Dick
the adventure of killing Moby Dick is
meaningless.
Ahab tries to control it, which leads to his
doom.
modern
life
the loss of
faith, the
sense of futility
well
expressed in
Moby Dick
Themes of Moby Dick
2) alienation (far away from each other)
exists between man and man, man and
society, and man and nature.
Ahab cuts himself off from his family,
stays away from his crew, hates Moby
Dick and becomes a devil rushing to his
doom.
Themes of Moby Dick
the basic pattern of nineteenth-century American life
3) loneliness and suicidal individualism
(individualism causing disaster and death)
4）rejection and quest
Voyaging for Ishmael has become a journey
in quest of knowledge and values.
Writing style
His works are symbolic and metaphorical.
voyage- "search and discovery, the search for
the ultimate truth of experience."
the Pequod -the ship of the American soul
Moby Dick---a symbol of
evil
(1)
goodness
both
its whiteness--- paradoxical color
death and
corruption
purity, innocence,
and youth
Writing style
(2) He manages to achieve the effect of
ambiguity through employing the
technique of multiple view of his
narratives.
Moby Dick is portrayed for the reader
from different angles. The author is
unwilling to commit himself, and the
reader is thrown upon himself for
judgment.
Writing style
（3）narrative point of view:
a. Ishmael is the narrator (as a learned
person, the only people who survived the
adventure).
b. dramatic monologues and soliloquies of
Ahab and other characters.
Social Significance
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Harmonious view between Man and Man, Man
and Nature,man and God.
Respect the nature’s law, otherwise human
beings will got punished by nature
Nature is of good will, man’s activities corrupt it.
Homework
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Preview Whitman’s “O, Captain, My Captain”
Try to learn about the social backgrounds of
American Realism