摘 要《白鲸记》是美国文学史上最伟大的小说之一，是赫尔曼·梅尔维尔杰出的作品。小说讲述了船长亚哈航行去寻找并杀掉夺去他一条腿的白鲸莫比·迪克，最后船毁人亡，只有以实玛利幸存并讲述悲壮的故事。本文运用仔细研读和文本研读两个方法分析小说中的象征手法。本文将系统地分析主题和两个线索的象征意义。首先是关于两个主题，即复仇和人与自然。接着是两个线索，一个是亚哈和莫比·迪克，另一个是以实玛利和捕鲸活动。通过对《白鲸记》中象征意义的分析，对《白鲸记》有了相对深刻的理解。不同的人物和事物都有其象征意义，甚至同一个事物有不同的象征意义。读者如果不理解小说中的象征意义，可能就不能真正读懂小说的真正意义。所以，有必要分析象征手法的使用。81992

毕业论文关键词：象征手法；象征意义；主题；线索

Abstract Moby Dick is one of greatest novels in the history of American literature, which is Herman Melville’s extraordinary accomplishment。 The novel tells a story of Captain Ahab’s voyage to find out and kill white whale Moby Dick who ripped off his leg。 At last, crew got buried at sea, and ship Pequod was in a crash。 Only Ishmael survived and became the narrator of the tragic story。 This paper mainly adopts the methods of close-reading and text-analysis to analyze the symbolism in the novel。 The paper will support a systematic analysis about symbolic meanings of themes and clues。 At first, the paper will be about two themes: revenge, human and nature。 Next, the paper will be about two clues。 One is Ahab and Moby Dick, the other is Ishmael and the hunting。 According to the analysis of symbolism in Moby Dick, we can have a relatively profound comprehension on Moby Dick。 Different characters and objects have different symbolic meanings; even the same thing has different symbolic meanings。 The readers may not understand the true meaning of the novel, if they cannot understand the symbolic meaning in the novel。 So it’s essential to analyze the use of symbolism in the novel。

Key words: symbolism; symbolic meanings; themes; clues 

The Symbolism in Moby Dick

Contents

摘 要 i

Abstract ii

I。 Introduction 1

II。 Symbolism of the Themes 2

2。1 Symbolism of Revenge 2

2。2 Symbolic Meaning of Human and Nature 4

III。 Symbolism of Two Clues 5

3。1 Ahab and Moby Dick 6

3。1。1 Symbolic Meaning of Ahab 6

3。1。2 The Symbolism of Moby Dick 7

3。1。3 Symbolism of Whiteness 8

3。2 Ishmael and Hunting 9

3。2。1 Symbolism of Ishmael 9

3。2。2 Symbolic Meaning of Pequod 10

3。2。3 The Symbolism of Hunting 11

3。2。4 The Symbolism of Sea 12

IV。 Conclusion 13

Bibliography 14

Acknowledgments 15

I。 Introduction

Herman Melville (1819-1891) is one of most excellent American writers in the 19th century。 His experience on the sea furnished him with abundant material for fiction。 His work is not only the portrayal of his life, but also the portrayal of his thought。 Published in 1851, Moby Dick is considered one of the world’s greatest masterpieces。  But it did not attract much attention from readers and critics at that time。 It didn’t become popular with people until the 1920s。 Moby Dick is known as not only an encyclopedia of whaling, but also a book of history, philosophy and religion。 Therefore, it is an encyclopedia of the 19th century American mind and America itself。 One of the reasons why it is in popularity is that Melville uses symbolism to express his thoughts, ideas and understanding of the whole world。 And the mixed symbolism makes the novel attractive and vivid。 Throughout the novel, we can notice that almost everything has its symbolic meaning。 When we read Moby Dick, we seem to fall into a net of symbolism。 Moby Dick is filled with symbolism。 Different people on the ship are representations of different social and ethnic groups, so do the different objects。 Maybe we are confused if we have difficulty understanding the symbolic meanings。