14-Herman-Melville

Lecture14HermanMelvilleBy张慧[e-mail]•HermanMelville•BiographicalIntroduction•MajorWorks•AppreciatingMobyDick•EvaluationofHermanMelvilleHermanMelville(1819-1891)•Novelist•Shortstorywriter•Essayist•Poet•OneofthecentralfiguresofAmericanRenaissanceBiographicalIntroduction(1)•FamilyBackground–Bornintoamerchantfamilyin1819inN.Y.–EminentAncestors•paternalgrandfatherThomasMelville,memberofBostonTeaParty•MaternalGrandfather:GeneralPeterGansevoort,aheroofthebattleofSaratoga–Happychildhooduntil11whenhisfatherdiedBostonTeaParty(1776)•AdirectactionbycolonistsinBostonagainsttheBritishgovernmentandthemonopolisticEastIndiaCompanythatcontrolledalltheteacomingintothecolonies.•OnDecember16,1773,afterofficialsinBostonrefusedtoreturnthreeshiploadsoftaxedteatoBritain,agroupofcolonistsboardedtheshipsanddestroyedtheteabythrowingitintoBostonHarbor.BostonTeaParty(1776)DoyouknowwhichstateSaratogaislocatedin?TheBattleofSaratoga(1777)•“…oneoftheGreatestbattlesthatEverwasfoughtinAmerica…”----MajorHenryDearborn•AturningpointintheIndependenceWar•ConclusivelydecidedthefateofBritishGeneralJohnBurgoyne'sarmyintheAmericanWarofIndependence•EducationBackground–Receivedlittleeducation:oneandahalfyearinAlbanyAcademy(1830s)–Writingsourcescomefromhisreadingandhislifeexperience•Awhalingshipis“myYaleCollegeandmyHarvard”.BiographicalIntroduction(2)AlbanyAcademyMarriedElizabethShaw(Aug,4th,1847),thedaughterofawealthyjudgeMarriage•WorkingExperience–Variousjobsinhisearlyyears•surveyorontheEriecanal,schoolteacher;cabinboy;sailor;•experienceatsea(1839-1844)furnishedhimwithabundantmaterialforfiction–Writer(1846-1891)–Lecturer(1857-1860)–CustomsinspectorfortheCityofNewYork(1866-1884)BiographicalIntroduction(3)ErieCanal•AwaterwayinNewYorkthatrunsabout363miles(584km)fromAlbany,NewYork,ontheHudsonRivertoBuffalo,NewYork,atLakeErie,completinganavigablewaterroutefromtheAtlanticOceantotheGreatLakes.MajorWorks•Novels–1846Typee《泰比》–1847Omoo《奥穆》–1849Mardi《玛迪》–1849Redburn《雷德伯恩》–1850WhiteJacket《白夹克》–1851MobyDick《白鲸》–1852Pierre《皮埃尔》–1857TheConfidence-Man《自信的人》–1924BillyBudd(posthumous)《比利·巴德》•Shortstories–1856BenitoCereno《贝尼托·赛莱诺》–1856Bartleby,TheScrivener《书记员巴特勒比》•CollectionofPoems–1866Battle-PiecesandtheAspectsoftheWar《战事集》–1876Clarel《克拉莱尔》Baseduponhisexperiencesonthesea,andthefirsttwowereoncebestsellersAppreciatingMobyDick•AGeneralIntroduction•Plot•MajorCharacters•WritingTechnique•ThemeAGeneralIntroductiontoMobyDick•WrittenwhenMelvillelivedatArrowhead(1850-1863)•DedicatedtoNathanielHawthorne,whohelpedMelvillechangetheoriginalwritingplan•Itisatremendouschronicleofawhalingvoyageinpursuitofaseeminglysupernaturalwhitewhale.•Itisconsideredasanencyclopediaofwhalingloreandlegend.Arrowhead,HermanMelville’sHouse(1850-1863)inPittsfield,MAPlot•Ishmael,feelingdepressed,seeksescapebygoingouttoseaonthewhalingship,Pequod.ThecaptainisAhab,themanwithoneleg.MobyDick,thewhitewhale,hasshearedoffhislegonapreviousvoyage,andAhabresolvestohunthimtothekill.Hehangsadoubloononthemastasarewardforanyonewhosightsthewhalefirst.ThePequodmakesagoodcatchofwhalesbutAhabrefusestoturnbackuntilhehaskilledhisenemy.Eventuallythewhitewhaleappears,andthePequodbeginsitsdoomedfightwithit.Onthefirstdaythewhaleoverturnsaboat;ontheseconditswampsanother.Whenthethirddaycomes,Ahabandhiscrewmanagetoplungeaharpoonintoit,butthewhalecarriesthePequodalongwithittoitsdoom.Allonboardthewhalergetdrowned,exceptone,Ishmael,whosurvivestotellthetale.MajorCharacters•Ahab–CaptainofPequod–Stubborn,lonely,self-centered,…•Ishmael–Narrator–kind-hearted,pious…•MobyDick–Thewhitewhale–supernaturalAhab•epicfigure:dauntlessandpersevering;Satanic•atypicalMelvilleanisolator(Lonelyandarrogant)–Cutshimselfofffromhiswifeandchild–Staysawaymostofhistimefromhiscrew•anEmersonianself-reliantindividual–Toomuchofaself-reliantindividualtobeagoodhumanbeing–Forhim,theonlylawishisownwill.Tohimtheworldexistsforhissake.–Hisselfhoodmustbeassertedattheexpenseofallelse:livesandnature.•avictimofsolipsism–hearsofnoobjection;–loseshissanityandhumanityandbecomesadevilishparanoid唯我论Ishmael•Wanderer:restlessandwantstoseetheworld•Escapist•Self-salvation–AttitudetowardCaptainAhab:respectfulandcritical–Learnedtohaveafaith:beliefinGod’sexistenceandfollowGod’swill(alessondrawnfromAhab;)–UnderstandingandCompassiontowardshumanbeings(anotherlessondrawnfromAhab)•Attheverybeginning,heisaslonelyandpainfulasAhab•FriendshipwithQueequegmadehimrealizethebeautyandkindnessinhumanbeings’natureThewhitewhaleMobyDick•theWhiteWhale•theworld’slargestcreature•Powerful&legendaryimageofnature•Itswimspeacefullyintheseauntildisturbedbyhumans,thenshowsaterriblefuryandanger.–Itisanembodimentofnature–ForAhab,MobyDickisthesymbolofevilWritingTechnique-Symbolism•ThePequod•MobyDick•Nameofthecharacters•Doubloon•TheSeaThePequod•Asymbolofdoom•Aminiatureofsociety•TheshipoftheAmericansoulMobyDick•Asymbolofevilaswellasgoodness•White:aparadoxicalcolor,signifyingdeathaswellaspurity,innocence,•RepresentsthemysteryoftheuniverseNameofthecharacters•IshmaelinBible–Wanderer–Anexiledperson•SonofAbra