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. ( )

Teaching Objectives 1) Melville’s Life and Main Works 2) Melville’s masterpiece Moby Dick 3) The Main Plot, Major characters, theme, Symbols 4) Social significance of Moby Dick

Life Experience 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 1) Typee « 泰皮 » 2) Omoo « 欧穆 » 3) Mardi « 玛地 » 4) Redburn « 雷得本 » 5) White Jacket « 白外衣 » from his adventures among the people of the South Pacific islands an account of his voyage to England his life on a United States man-of-war

Melville’s Major Works 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, religion, the whaling industry a Shakespearean tragedy of man fighting against fates

His Tragic Influence from Literary Tradition At the time of writing, Melville was reading Greek tragedy, especially the Orestia ( 奥瑞 斯提亚） of Aeschylus Immersed in the tragedies of Shakespeare – King Lear, Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth Epic poetry, Homer

Moby Dick (1) 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) 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 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。爱斯基摩人肉装饰品 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生态环境

Symbols in Moby Dick  The Pequod  Moby Dick （ Is Moby Dick evil or good?)  Ahab

The Pequod a symbol of doom The Pequod is the microcosom of human society and the voyage becomes a search for truth. named after a Native American tribe in Massachusetts did not long survive the arrival of white men (extincted) is painted gloomy black and covered in whale teeth and bones like a primitive coffin

Moby Dick is hidden all the time mirrors its enviorment unknown and unknowable truths only the surface of the ocean is available for human observation and interpretation the depths conceal unknown truths a metaphor for the human relationship with the Christain God: God is unkown and cannot be pinned down inscrutable, mysterious

 For the character Ahab, however, the whale only represents evil.  For Melville and Ishmael--the narrator, Moby Dick is still a 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.

Ahab  Overconfident, selfish, too much of individualism, revengeful, tragic hero, adventuous  Ahab is also combination of both evil and good. He is a hero for fighting against the whale (if the whale is evil) and also a destroyer for destroying the nature (if the whale is innocent).

Themes of Moby Dick 1) Melville's bleak view (negative attitude): the sense of futility 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. the embodiment of nature 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 3 ) loneliness and suicidal individualism (individualism causing disaster and death) the basic pattern of nineteenth-century American life Moby Dick is a negative reflection upon Transcendentalism Ahab: too much of a self-reliant individual to be a good human being a victim of extreme individualism

Themes of Moby Dick 4 ） rejection and quest Voyaging for Ishmael has become a journey in quest of knowledge and values. starts out feeling bad hopes to find an ideal life comes to see the folly of Ahab seeking to conquer nature feels the significance of love and companionship learns to accept,an attitude which ensures his survival

Themes of Moby Dick themes the sense of futility and meaninglessness alienation loneliness and suicidal individualism rejection and quest

Writing style (1) 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 its whiteness--- paradoxical color evil goodness both 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.

Social Significance Harmonious view between Man and Man, Man and Nature Respect the nature’s law, otherwise human beings will punished by nature Nature is of good will, man’s activities corrupt it

Discussion Questions What do you think of “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” ? Will you be revengeful when you are hurt by the evil power? How is ecological balance revealed in Moby Dick? (view of harmony, view of ecological balance)

Homework Preview Longfellow’s A Psalm of Life Try to learn about the social backgrounds of America Realism