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On Implications of the Conflicts between Human Beings and Whales in Moby Dick

Author: WangYi
Tutor: WangJinE
School: Shandong Normal University
Course: English Language and Literature
Keywords: implications conflicts colonial aggression anti-colonialism
CLC:
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2011
Downloads: 545
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Abstract

Herman Melville is one of the most brilliant novelists that can stand for the later period of American Romanticism. His masterpiece Moby Dick once brought him great agonies when published and pushed him to the group of well-known great classical writers as well, because of which generations of scholars and readers concentrate on the marvelous work to explore the mysterious treasure buried in it. This novel, through the mouth of a wandering young man named Ishmael, relates a story about the endless hunting and the relentless massacre in the sea, presenting a typical image of Captain Ahab who is just Hitler in the eyes of the innocent living beings in the sea and the miserable huge white whale who hides everywhere so as to escape the cold harpoon from the hands of human beings. The thesis, inspired by the marvelous story, deals with the essence of the conflicts between human beings and whales in Moby Dick in order to expose further intentions implicated by the author in his period. Since the currently existing relevant researches mostly pay attention to the fact of the conflicts, which neglected its further implications that are included in the novel, this thesis continues to research the essence of the conflicts between human beings and whales and tries to work out the author’s implied intention, which are the two innovations of my thesis. As a result, the thesis is expected to make a contribution to the relevant study to some extent.This thesis is composed of six parts. The first part contains a general introduction of Herman Melville and his great masterpiece Moby Dick as well as literature review of this novel. The opening chapter begins with American social background in this period and Herman Melville’s personal ideas. It is proved that whaling and westward movement are the two main social phenomena in the period when Moby Dick was written and published. In addition, Melville’s surroundings that can affect the forming of his thoughts are touched in this part. The second chapter proceeds to deal with the conflicts between human beings and whales in this novel. In this part, Ahab and Moby Dick, the two main characters who are the representatives of the two conflicting parts are studied in detail. The third chapter centers on the study of the conflicts between colonial invaders and local Indians during westward movement in America. Furthermore, the similarity of the invaders and victims between westward movement in American history and whaling in Moby Dick gains special attention. The final chapter is the detailed comparison between Ishmael and the author of Moby Dick, which shows us Herman Melville’s ideas of pursuing a harmonious relationship among living beings through Ishmael. The last part gives a general conclusion of this thesis including the intention of giving the above proofs so as to serve the thesis. To sum up, through a story of conflicts between human beings and whales, Melville tells us his belief that as to the question of the relationship between nations, what is needed is not just conquest or simple use but respect and tolerance for we are actually a whole.Melville’s Moby Dick once threw his artistic life into the abyss and made him ignored by the world for almost forty years. Anyhow, Herman Melville is now widely known as a splendid delegate of the post romanticism in America.

On Implications of the Conflicts between Human Beings and Whales in Moby Dick

Abstract

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