《白鲸》英语论文人与自然的关系+开题报告(3)
2. Literature Review
There are many scholar making their own opinion on Moby Dick, which really give us o lot inspiration.
2.1 Different Opinions of Scholar on Moby Dick
Du Xiaofei（2011）has a thorough analysis of the symbolic art in Moby Dick. In this analysis he points out his view that Melville used the color "white" as whale is on purpose. Whiteness symbolizes purity and innocence. Melville believes that nature is very quiet, very peaceful and very friendly, as long as mankind can understand the coexistence of man and nature, do not disturb it, nature would not destroy mankind, otherwise, people will be inevitable doomed to fail. In novels, the crew members struggling with the white whale is the struggle of man and nature. The white whale is living in nature totally without worries, and never takes the initiative to mankind, never attacks human arbitrarily. But the sailor representing the evil side of human has tried to conquer it, destroy it, so it was finally destroyed.
Kang Qiang (2005) makes a general description of the figures in Moby Dick. Of all the figures, the description of whale Moby Dick gives me a deep impression. He writes that in a sense, Moby Dick is not a character, as the reader has no access to the White Whale’s thoughts, feelings, or intention. 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. Moby Dick thwarts free will and cannot be defeated, only accommodated or avoided. Ishmael tries a plethora of approaches to describe whales in general, but none proves adequate. In this way, a whale mirrors its environment. Like the whale, only the surface of the ocean is available for human observation and interpretation, while its depths are still unknown .Furthermore, even when Ishmael does get his hands on a“whole" whale, he is unable to determine which part--the skeleton, the head, the skin offers the best understanding of the whole living breathing creature; he cannot localize essence of the whale.
Zhao Peng (1999)deeply analyzes inward world of Ishmael in his passage. He writes that in the end of the chapter, Ishmael is totally lost. In his comprehension of whiteness, he felt within himself the source of all the tormenting ambiguities of life. ."Thus, Ishmael does not draw any conclusion from his comprehension of whiteness. The truth of life is contradictory and complex. Life is ambiguous and mysterious. Then is Ishmael going to give up his pursuit of truth of life? Certainly not. In the final scene of the book, Ishmael' s survival and escape from the "cream pool" suggest his resurrection. What will Ishmael' s fate be in the future? To answer this, He Quote Pop's words as the conclusion of the commentary: There can never be a permanently happy ending for Ishmael. There will be joy and sorrow, life and death, but there will never be life through death foe Ishmael, the question will never be done. Obviously , Zhao Peng really walked into the deep world of Ishmael.
Xu Zhiyun(2011) also makes an analysis of the symbolism in Moby dick. She concludes that almost everything described in it has its symbolic meaning. For instance, a pipe symbolizes pleasure, and a rope symbolizes unity and corporation. We may find many more such images in the book, both people and objects. when analyzed from difference they can have different symbolic meanings and the mixed symbolic meanings, and the mixed symbolic meanings make the book more vivid and profound. The book does not only reveal the spirit and social reality of the 19th century the influence of it is still far-reaching. The symbolic meanings are still applicable in the modern society.
Zhou Mingming (2012) gives a comparative analysis of Moby Dick and The Old Man and Sea on heroism. He gives this evaluate on Ahab that based on his craw contempt of the nature, Ahab developed his own regulation in ruling the ship Pequod and formed his own way of conducting regardless of other crew member's life. He sat on the cap- twin cabin all day long without a slight thinking of his wife and son. All that he was fanatic about was to kill the white whale under his guidance even at the expense of all the crew member's lives including that of his own. Obedience is the only rule in the ship Pequod. Michel Bakounine has ever said that only when a person could respect and love other people's life and selfhood and also he is respected and loved by others, would he truly stand as a human being.