unit-3-Melville-and-Moby-Dick

HermanMelville(1819-1891)andMobyDickTheMainPointsI.Melville’sLifeandWorksII.Moby-Dick(1851)III.PerspectivesofinterpretationI.Melville’slifeandworks1.HisLife-In1819,borninNewYorkCity,sonofawealthymerchant.-In1832,leftschoolandbegantoworkafterhisfather’sbusinessfailureanddeath.-In1839,onaship,theST.LawrencetoLiverpool.-In1841,signedonawhalerAcushnetasasailor.-In1842,after19monthsofhardships,hejumpedoffshipatNukuhivaintheMarquesasIslands.-There,MelvilleforamonthwasthecaptiveofacannibaltribebeforeheescapedaboardanAustralianwhalerLucyAnne.-In1847,hemarried.-In1850-1863,helivedonafarminMassachusetts.-In1851,MobyDickpublished.-In1891,diedinobscuritywithhisfinalmasterpieceBillyBuddunpublished.-Hewaslargelyneglectedinhislifetime.-Onlyduringthe20thcenturyhisreputationrevivedastheinventorofthemodernAmericannovel.-Hewasgreatlyinfluencedbytranscendentalism(over-soul),buthedidnotbelieveinthatoneismorallygoodinhisnature.Hismainworks•Typee(1846)and,hislifeonAcushnetfortheSouthSeasin1841.•RedBurn(1849),hislifetoLiverpoolontheshipST.Lawrence.•MobyDick(1851):aclassicin19thcenturyinAmericanliterature.•BillyBudd(1924):thetragedyofBillyBudd.II.Moby-Dick(1851)1.CharactersAhab---thecaptainIntheBible:-AhabisthehusbandofJezebelandakingofIsraelwhodisplayedmorewickednessbeforeGodthananyotherking.-Heharassedtheprophets,especiallyElijah,andwhenhewaskilledinbattleinSamaria,thedogslickeduphisblood.Ishmael---Thenarratorofthestory.-ThenameIshmael---thefirstsonofAbrahamintheOldTestament.-Aschoolteacherontheland,andhasanopenmindwhenitcomestotheworldaroundhim.-Hehasgoodknowledgeofwhaling.-Ishmaeltellsreadersthathehasturnedtotheseaoutofafeelingofalienationfromhumansociety.-Ishmaelreferstohimselfsymbolicallyasanorphan,exile,andsocialoutcastMobyDick---thewhitewhale-SymbolasavengefulGod,killingothersonlywhenbeingpursued.-Asanavengingpresence,unabletobekilledbyhumanbeings,andimmortal.-Heisintelligent,resortingtomanycleverstratagemstodefeatAhabandthecrew.Starbuck---thechiefmate-Athoughtfulandintellectualquaker.-ObjectingAhab’squest,andtellAhabitismadnesstorevengeonananimal-Advocatingthepursuitofwhalesfortheiroil.2.Thestory---searchforMobyDick-CaptainAhab’sobsessionwithMobyDick.-Ishmael,seekingadventureatsea,boardsthewhalingshipPequod.-MeetingwithQueequeg,ablackharpoonerhehasrecentlymet.-Theysoondiscoverthatthecaptainoftheship,Ahab,aimstoleadhiscrewonamadanddangerousmissiontofindandkilltheWhiteWhale---MobyDick.-ForMobyDicktookoffoneofAhab’slegsonapreviousencounter.(Chapter41)-Ahabissocrazedbyhisdesiretokillthewhalethatheispreparedtosacrificeeverything.-Ahab’smadpresumptioninthisquestendsincatastrophe.-Ishmaelalonesurvives,usinghisfriendQueequeg'scoffinasaflotationdevice.-Ishmaelsurvivestotellthetale.3.Stylisticfeatures-AnewlanguageThepowerfulsynthesis---themixofthecolloquial,themetaphysicalandthescientificinclassical,biblicalmodernstylesandusages.-Paceandrhythm:accumulationsofclauseswhichoverlaplikethewavesandgraduallygatherenergyandforce.-Liketheoceanwithitsmanydifferentcurrentsandcross-currents.-Readerslostintheinfiniteexpanseoftheopenocean,thesenseoftime,spaceanddirectionbecomesconfused---Aprofoundofdisorientation.-Differentdirectionsofnarratives:realtime,dreamtime,thetimeofmythandcosmictimesuperimposed.4ThemesofMobyDick1)Melville'sbleakview(negativeattitude):thesenseoffutilityandmeaninglessnessoftheworld.Hisattitudetolifeis“EverlastingNay”•Maninthisuniverselivesameaninglessandfutilelife,meaninglessbecausefutile.Mancannotovercomenature.Onceheattemptstoseekpoweroveritheisdoomed.ThemesofMobyDicktheadventureofkillingMobyDickismeaningless.Ahabtriestocontrolit,whichleadstohisdoom.modernlifethelossoffaith,thesenseoffutilitywellexpressedinMoby-DickThemesofMobyDick2)alienation(farawayfromeachother)existsbetweenmanandman,manandsociety,andmanandnature.Ahabcutshimselfofffromhisfamily,staysawayfromhiscrew,hatesMobyDickandbecomesadevilrushingtohisdoom.Hewaswithin“themasoned,walledtownofacaptian’sexclusiveness”,whichleadshimtohisdoom.ThemesofMobyDick3)lonelinessandsuicidalindividualism(individualismcausingdisasteranddeath)thebasicpatternofnineteenth-centuryAmericanlifeMobyDickisanegativereflectionuponTranscendentalismAhab:toomuchofaself-reliantindividualtobeagoodhumanbeingavictimofextremeindividualismThepriceofself-relianceisdeath.ThemesofMobyDick4）rejectionandquestVoyagingforIshmaelhasbecomeajourneyinquestofknowledgeandvalues.startsoutfeelingbadhopestofindanideallifecomestoseethefollyofAhabseekingtoconquernaturefeelsthesignificanceofloveandcompanionshiplearnstoaccept,anattitudewhichensureshissurvivalThemesofMobyDickthemesthesenseoffutilityandmeaninglessnessalienationlonelinessandsuicidalindividualismrejectionandquestIII.Perspectivesofinterpretation-languagestyle;-themes;-psychology;-archetypesofBible;-gender;-narrativeanglesofview,etc.Theeffectofambiguitythroughemployingthetechniqueofmultipleviewsinhisnarratives.-MobyDickisbeyondinterpretation.-Anencyclopediaofeverything:history,religion,philosophy,thedetailedaccountoftheoperationsofthewhalingindustry,the19thc