《白鲸》英语论文人与自然的关系+开题报告(8)
4.2 The True Meaning of the Relationship between Man and Nature
The greatness of Moby Dick, or we can say the greatness of Herman Melville is that at his age of the time he has realized bad results after people’s serious robbery from nature. At their time, most human think themselves as the eternal protagonist of the world. Under such situation, Melville still held his own idea, which was truly great. Seeing from the outside, the story describes just the whaling trail of Pequod. However, what Herman Melville really wants to express is the fighting between human and nature. And from the end of story, we can find that Melville’s attitude to nature. He expresses this opinion that human should live in harmony with with nature. Through analyzing three main leading roles’ fate of story, it is very easy to catch Melville’s attitude.
Ahab, this crazy captain of Pequod, finally lost all his legs at the whaling trail. To express correctly, we find that he brings himself a destruction. During the whole life of Ahab, we can say that he just does two things that was hunting whales and hunting Moby Dick. Maybe we can think he is doing just one thing, which is conquering nature. But it is a pity that in the end he is finished with his tragic destiny. So from this aspect, we can know one of Melville’s point that human should never want to conquer nature.
Starbuck ,the first mate of Pequod, is also another tragic figure of the story. He is a typical Christian, but at last he still goes into the hell not the heaven. If we call Ahab as a devil, then Starbuck is the ghost following devil. If we can still find some shining point of Ahab, then Starbuck is just nothing but a coward. During the long time hunting for white whale, he has so many opportunities to stop Ahab, but under the lure of money he quits them all. This pathetic man can never escape his fate of death because of his greed. Through this Melville shows his anger to those who always want to rob from nature.
Ishmael, the only survival of Pequod, this lucky man is also the narrator of the story. And it is obvious why Melville makes such an ending of the story, because he is the only one who keeps the equal view of nature. Actually, Ishmael is the symbol of writer’s thought. Melville created the story of hunting the white whale to deliver such a topic that human should take the equal view on nature. Through Ishmael’s view, the natural world in his novels is magic, beautiful and full of spirits, which is equal with human . And this beautiful relationship is always the truth forever and ever.
5 Modern Value of the Relationship between Man and Nature in Moby Dick
Although Melville wrote this novel in that age, but his theory can still be used in today’s situation. And the modern value of this work is still immeasurable.
5.1 Ecological Revelation
Some critics and readers think Moby Dick is an anti-ecological nature works. However if we can read the story from the view of white whale , the angle will be totally different. Although this work is not a ecological literature in the true sense, it still shows us the truth that human shall live peacefully with nature through its own tragic ending. The abundant ecological revelation in this work make a huge impact on modern environmentalists generation after generations.