Tired of boring life, Ishmael was forced by his livelihood and decided to go to sea. He met an Indian, Queequeg, at the Wharf Hotel, and they boarded the whaling ship "Pequod" together. During a whaling, Captain Ahab saw off his leg by a Moby dick. He vowed to find the Moby dick to avenge himself, and threatened the crew to hunt him down with him. Starbuck, the first mate, repeatedly persuaded Ahab to give up his revenge plan, but Ahab was headstrong and inhuman. After months of searching at sea, Moby Dick was finally found. On the first day, Moby Dick broke the ship that Captain Ahab was chasing. The next day, the Pequod put down three ships to pursue, but the Mobidick not only sank three ships, but also broke Ahab's prosthetic leg. On the third day, Ahab insisted on his pursuit, which led to Mobidick's crazy counterattack. The captain, crew, whaling ship and Moby Dick died together. Only Ishmael survived and told the world this tragic story.
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I, Ishmael, am one of those sailors; My crying broke out with their crying; My vows have been combined with theirs; The louder I scream; The hammer of my oath is getting tighter because my soul is afraid. I have a fanatical and mysterious sympathy; Ahab's irresistible hatred seems to be my hatred. My greedy ears heard the story of that ferocious beast, and all the others and I made our vicious and hateful vows to it.
In the past, solitary beluga whales only occasionally appeared in wild waters frequented by sperm whale catchers. Not all whalers know about this white whale; Only a few whalers have consciously seen it; In fact, there are really few people who consciously fight against it. Because there are many whaling ships; They are scattered around the ocean in confusion, and many of them are exploring in remote places, so it is rare or can be said that during the voyage of more than a year, they will never meet any ship that reports any news; Every voyage is very long; The irregular sailing time, all these, together with other direct and indirect circumstances, make the unique news about Moby Dick unable to spread in the whole whaling fleet all over the world for a long time. However, there are also legends that make people doubt. It is said that many ships met a very huge and fierce sperm whale at a certain time and place, and the whale escaped after causing great damage to its attacker. I don't think the idea that some people think the whale must be Moby Dick is completely absurd. However, because the sperm whale fishing industry was recently attacked by this behemoth, various common examples have appeared. Therefore, anyone who challenges Moby Dick is accidental and ignorant. These whalers may say that in the general sperm whale fishing industry, they often regard their special fears as a great danger rather than an individual situation. As a result, Ahab followed.
As for those who have heard of Moby Dick before, or met him by chance, almost everyone will bravely put down the boat and chase it, just as he is chasing any sperm whale. However, in the end, these attacks caused such misfortune-not only sprained elbows and kneecaps, broken limbs, or swallowed limbs-but also were killed in the end; Such disastrous counterattacks again and again made them all pile up all their fears on Moby Dick. So, in the end, those brave whalers heard Moby Dick's story, which inevitably shook their perseverance.
And all kinds of loud rumors add fuel to the fire, making the truth of these terrible experiences even more frightening. Because all absurd rumors are not only naturally produced by various terrible events themselves-just like a rotten tree growing bacteria; Besides, life at sea is very different from life on land. As long as there is a little basis, rumors will fly all over the sky. Because the ocean has surpassed the land in this matter, the whaling industry is far superior to other kinds of marine life in terms of its strangeness and horror in the rumors it sometimes spreads. Because, as far as the whole whalers are concerned, they not only have not got rid of the tradition of ignorance and superstition of all sailors, but also among all the water hands, there are several whalers who are most directly related to anything shocking at sea. They not only witnessed the most amazing miracle at sea, but also fought it themselves. What's more, in the farthest ocean, although I sailed 1000 miles and passed 1000 shores, I couldn't meet a family and get any hospitality in that place. In such a place, in their business, whalers are surrounded by all kinds of forces, all of which are to let their imagination breed many important new legends.
It's no wonder that this rumor about Mobidick's windward expansion only needs to sweep across the vast ocean, and finally add all kinds of terrible hints to remind people that half of it is out of divine power, and finally add many new horrors to Mobidick that are basically invisible to the naked eye. Therefore, on many occasions, Moby Dick finally caused such a big panic that several whalers had at least heard such rumors about Moby Dick, and several whalers were willing to take the risk of talking.
However, there are other more important and practical influences at work. Because today, in the eyes of the whole whaler, the original reputation of sperm whales is far superior to all other marine animals in terms of terror. Today, among the whole whalers, there are some people who are very capable of fighting Greenland whales or right whales, but they are still unwilling to fight sperm whales because of lack of professional experience, incompetence or timidity; In short, there are indeed many whalers, especially those who are not Americans. They have never been hostile to sperm whales, and their understanding of this marine behemoth is limited to the second-class behemoth that once roamed the North Sea. These people are sitting in their hatches, listening to the crazy and novel story of whaling in the South China Sea. It feels like children sitting by the fire and listening in fear. As far as true understanding is concerned, these people will never surpass those who stand at the bow and fight the great sperm whale.
The powerful facts about sperm whales that have been confirmed now seem to have signs to follow as early as the previous legendary era; We found that many naturalists who wrote books-Olason and Paulson-claimed that sperm whales were not only a big beast that frightened other creatures in the ocean, but also a very ferocious beast, which often ate human blood. Even in Ju Weiye at the latest, it is inevitable that there will be more or less similar views. Because, the count himself insisted in his book "History of Natural History" that all fish (including sharks) were "scared out of their wits" at the sight of sperm whales, and "when they are eager to escape, they often go straight to the rocks and kill them on the spot". Regardless of the general experience of fishing industry, similar reports can be revised; However, as far as the horror experience of the whole fishing industry is concerned, even as far as the viewpoint of drinking blood put forward by Paulson is concerned, it is inevitable to teach whalers to have superstitious ideas in their minds.
Therefore, because of the awe of all kinds of rumors and omens about Moby Dick, many fishermen think of early whaling when they mention sperm whales. At that time, it was usually not easy to persuade experienced right whale catchers to take up this brave and dangerous new undertaking. These people insist that although other marine animals may catch up with each other at once, ordinary people can't chase this ghostly sperm whale and throw spears at it. They believe that anyone who tries will inevitably die immediately. In this regard, there are still some noteworthy documents for reference.
Having said that, some people even ignore this fact and go after Moby Dick at any time. But most people, even if they only vaguely heard something, don't know any exact details of the disaster, and they don't know any additional superstitions and legends. However, if he is allowed to take part in the struggle, he can't escape.
It must be mentioned here that superstitious people finally associate an absurd association with Mobidick, and they suddenly think Mobidick is everywhere; Think it will actually appear in another place at the same time.
Since there are such credulous people, we can't treat all these whimsy as the possibility of no superstition. Because the secrets of the ocean have not been uncovered so far, even the most comprehensive investigation is impossible, so the stealth method of sperm whales at the bottom of the sea is mostly puzzling to its pursuers; Moreover, many strange and contradictory speculations are often made about its stealth method, especially why it can swim to the farthest place so quickly and exceptionally once it dives into the bottom of the sea.
One thing is well known to British and American whaling ships, and it was recorded in the authoritative Scobie Yearbook many years ago, that is, many whales caught in the far north of the Pacific Ocean were found to have javelin hooks. This is not to deny that the time between the two strikes in the past cannot be very long, but to say that some whalers believe that this northwest route, which has long been a problem for human beings, is definitely not a problem for whales now. So what is explained here is the miracle of Mount Strello in ancient Portugal (it is said that there is a lake near the top of the mountain, and some of them were wrecked on the lake) and the more wonderful legend of the Aledusa fountain near Syracuse (the water in the fountain is thought to come from the holy land through a tunnel), etc. As far as the real life experience of contemporary human beings is concerned, it is just like the actual situation of whalers.
Therefore, because some similar legends have become well known, people also know that Moby Dick can still escape from life after repeated attacks. No wonder some whalers are becoming more and more superstitious, claiming that Mobidick is not only ubiquitous, but also immortal (because immortality happens to be everywhere); It is believed that although it is covered with clusters of spear heads, it can still swim unscathed, or in case it really gets thick blood and shoots violently, because in a short time, its white splash will reappear in the bloodless waves hundreds of miles away.
However, even if these supernatural speculations are stripped away, the posture and obvious characteristics of this behemoth alone are enough to make people have a strong imagination of it. Because, the great difference between it and some other sperm whales lies not in its extraordinary body, but in its unusually white wrinkled forehead and high, pyramid-shaped white hump, which has been mentioned accidentally elsewhere. This is its remarkable feature. With these characteristics, even in the vast sea where the name can't be found on the map, in distant places, its identity will be exposed as long as it meets people who know it.
As for the rest of its body, because it is covered with stripes and spots, and there is marble with the same color as its body, in the end, it got its unique title-Moby Dick; If you see it slowly crossing the deep blue sea at noon, leaving a long trace like a milky way, with a thick foam and stirring up a shining golden light, then its vivid expression will make the name Moby Dick truly worthy of the name.
This whale is inherently frightening not so much because of its unusually large, prominent color and deformed jaw, but because (according to its unique situation) it has repeatedly shown unparalleled cunning when attacking. Especially its treacherous retreat is more terrible than anything else. Because, when it swam all the way to the cheerful pursuers, it was very alert and deliberately turned several times suddenly. However, it immediately pounced on them, either smashing their boat or scaring them to pieces, and then quickly fled back to the boat.
In pursuit of it, several tragedies happened. Although these similar unfortunate events did not spread widely on the shore, they were by no means a major event in the fishing industry; Moreover, on most occasions, it seems that there are still people who don't completely regard Moby Dick's vicious premeditated plan to make people lose limbs or die as a blow from irrational divine power.
Then, take a look at how excited and angry the hunters are in danger. At that time, they were surrounded by small boat fragments that had been bitten carefully and the broken and sinking limbs of their companions. They finally swam out of the white mud from the whale's terrible anger and swam into the quiet and intense sunshine that seemed to greet the newborn baby or bride with a smile.
The captain was surrounded by three broken boats, and the oars and sailors were spinning in the whirlpool; He grabbed a knife from the tattered bow and threw it at the whale, just like an Arkansas duel with his old enemy, and randomly found a six-inch knife to try to end the unfathomable life of the whale. That captain is Ahab. At this moment, Moby Dick suddenly waved his sickle-like jaw from under his body and cut Ahab's leg like a lawn mower cutting grass in a field. This is a turban-wrapped Turk, a hired Venetian or a Malay. They won't use such vicious means against him. Therefore, there is no doubt that after this almost fatal encounter, Ahab had a fanatical revenge on the whale, and during his crazy illness, he was fascinated by this idea and finally regarded it as not only his physical enemy, but also his intellectual and spiritual enemy. He used evil thoughts to regard the white whale floating in front of him as the embodiment of various fevers belonging to divine power, and corroded those strong-willed people to the point where only half of their hearts and lungs were left to survive. That elusive evil deed from the beginning, even modern Christians believe that half the universe is dominated by it, and it is also something that snake worshippers in ancient East worship their devil statues-Ahab did not bow down to it like them, but transplanted all its concepts to this disgusting white whale in a daze, and he did not hesitate to fight this evil deed to the end with his black and blue body. Everything that makes people most furious and painful, everything that can stir up the residue of things, everything with evil thoughts, everything that makes people overwhelmed, all mysterious ghosts and gods and heresies about life thoughts; All evil and so on, in the eyes of crazy Ahab, are obvious manifestations of Moby Dick, so in fact they should be condemned. He added all the anger and hatred of his entire race since ancient times to the whale's white back peak; Then, as if his chest were a mortar, he fired his fiery heart at it.
His fever may not have happened immediately when he lost his limb. At that time, he was pounding the beast with a knife in his hand. He just wanted to vent his sudden, angry and physical hatred. And when he was hit by physical disability, maybe he just felt the pain of physical injury. However, when Ahab had to turn around and go home because of this violent blow, he lay in a hammock for a long time and suffered great pain both physically and mentally. In the dead of winter, when he wandered in the desolate corner of Bata Gogna, his disabled body and scarred soul began to communicate with each other. After such infiltration, he went crazy. Until later, on the return trip after the accident, he finally had a fever, but in fact, this seems to be completely correct, because on the return trip, he became a raving lunatic. However, although he lost a leg, his Egyptian chest was still full of strength, and it was even stronger because of his insanity, so his sophomore and third mate saw him barking and screaming in the hanging shop even in that situation and had to tie him up with a belt. He wore a tight dress and swayed with the strong wind. Later, when the boat sailed into a zone with moderate heat and cold and sailed through the calm tropics with soft auxiliary sails, the old man's insanity seemed to be left behind by the turbulent waves in Cape Horn. He walked out of his black nest and entered the pleasant weather and sunshine. Even so, despite his pale face, he still looks firm and gives orders calmly. His third mate, a sophomore, is glad that he has recovered from his terrible madness. However, even then, Ahab's heart was still very crazy. People's madness is often a cunning and most insidious thing. You think it's gone, but in fact it may just become a more ingenious form. Ahab's madness has not completely subsided, but has deepened, just like the Hudson River, which has never retreated, mysteriously crossed the canyon of the plateau when the noble northerners slowly crossed it. However, because Ahab did not leave any obvious traces of madness in his fanaticism, his great natural reason did not disappear in his obvious madness. The dynamic force of the past has now become a dynamic means. If such a rough metaphor is appropriate, then his special madness developed after storming his whole clear mind, aiming all its concentrated artillery at his crazy goal; So Ahab didn't lose heart at all. He now has a thousand times the power to achieve this goal, not when he is sober to achieve any appropriate goal.
This has been said a lot; However, no one mentioned the bigger, more secret and deeper part of Ahab. However, it is futile to say profound things to everyone, and all the truths are profound. We are now standing in the center of cluny Palace, so let's zigzag from the inside of the spire palace-no matter how grand and charming it is, let's go-you noble and sad souls, please go to the grand bathing place in ancient Rome, where the exotic castles far below the human earth, the grand foundation of mankind, and the whole source of awe are really deep and ancient; It's really an antique hidden under many antiques, a throne built on an unfinished giant structure! Therefore, the great gods used this destroyed throne to ridicule the captured Wang Zun; He sat there patiently, like an elephant column, with many long-standing coils on his stiff head. You proud and sad souls, wander there and ask proud and sad Wang Zun! How similar these families are! Yes, he did give birth to you, you exiled young aristocrats; Only from your cold-faced ancestors can you get the ancient secret of the imperial clan.
Now, in Ahab's mind, there is such a flash, that is to say, all my means are conscious, but my motivation and purpose are crazy. However, he has no right to destroy, change and avoid this fact; He also knows that he has been hiding the truth from people for a long time; It can be said that this is still the case until now. But this cover-up about him is only limited to his appearance and does not involve his strong will. However, he succeeded in hiding this point, so that when he finally dragged his leg ashore, no Nantucket people did not think it was a natural sadness, but all thought it was due to a sudden and terrible disaster.
The news about his undeniable insanity at sea was also attributed to similar reasons. Later, the gloomy air that hung over his forehead until the day when the Pequod sailed, people thought so. Those skilled islanders have never been hostile to him because of his gloomy appearance, and think that he is not worthy of a second voyage. It is for this reason that they think he is the most suitable and suitable candidate, because killing whales is full of anger and fanaticism. I can find a character like him: his heart is biting, his appearance is like fire, and with those unforgiving fangs and hopeless thoughts, it seems that he is the right person who can dance javelin, raise spear and attack all powerful beasts. Even though some people still think that he can't do such a thing physically, such a person should be regarded as an extraordinary and capable candidate in encouraging and scolding his subordinates to attack. However, in any case, the fact is true. Ahab took part in this voyage, hiding extreme madness in his heart, and his only purpose was to kill Moby Dick. If any of his old friends on the shore only need to read his mind vaguely, then those stunned fair people will immediately stall the boat and stop such a demon from sailing! They all threw themselves into the parade that would make a lot of money, thinking that they could count the profits of the gold circle of the mint. He devoted himself to bold, unforgivable and incredible revenge.
So, this white-haired old man who is not afraid of ghosts and gods came here with a group of sailors. They are full of resentment and want to go all over the world to chase a big whale. These sailors are mainly composed of a group of mixed-race apostates, bachelors and students-the same group of people with weak morality, plus Starbuck who is incompetent and has only useless virtues or only ideas. One is reckless and indifferent, laughing and laughing all day. Such a group of sailors, equipped with such leaders, seems to be a group of outstanding people specially selected by fate to help him complete his fanatical revenge. How on earth can these characters be so consistent that Qi Xin responds to the anger of the old man-what magic occupies their hearts and makes Ahab's hatred sometimes become their hatred; Moby Dick seems to be their sworn enemy. How come-what do they think of Moby Dick? Or, in their unconscious understanding, Moby Dick may be like a creeping sea monster, which is a bit vague and beyond doubt. What happened? This is not Ishmael's further pursuit to explain all this. The underground miner who bewitched all of us, who can know where his mine is from his ever-changing and ambiguous excavation sound? Who didn't feel an irresistible arm pull? How can a canoe towed by a 74-gun warship stop? As far as I am concerned, I have made up my mind to forget time and space; However, when everyone rushed to attack the whale in the morning and evening, I could only see the fatal lost face on the beast.
(translated by Cao Yong)
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Excerpt from the forty-first chapter of the symbolic novel Moby Dick, entitled Moby Dick. This chapter contains the thoughts of Ishmael, the narrator of the whole novel. It not only introduces the legendary origin of Moby Dick, but also describes in detail the process of the enmity between Captain Ahab and Moby Dick, and the captain's psychology of swearing revenge, interspersed with many historical facts about whales and whaling industry.
Understanding this symbolic novel and grasping the background of the times are the key links. Moby Dick was written in the forties and fifties of19th century, which was the period when the American industrial revolution was completed and capitalism developed rapidly. With the development of productive forces, the desire of the bourgeoisie has expanded rapidly. In order to satisfy their desire for profit, they constantly expand and explore. The theme of the novel is the ruthless plunder of natural resources and the conquest of nature, which reflects the serious struggle between man and nature. "Peikuo", represented by Captain Ahab, can be said to be a symbol of human beings, representing the power and ability of human beings to conquer nature. Navigation symbolizes the ambition of human beings to conquer nature continuously, and also contains the endless desire of capital for material. They know Moby Dick's greatness and magic, and know that it is everywhere, but out of desire and ambition, they take risks and attack again and again. "In the end, these attacks all led to such misfortune-not only sprained elbows and kneecaps, broken limbs, or swallowed limbs-but also were killed in the end." In this respect, Mobidick, a Mobidick, can be said to be a symbol of great natural forces and a concrete embodiment of powerful nature. Captain Ahab is full of courage and perseverance. His whaling achievements can be described as fruitful and experienced, but he failed again and again in front of Moby Dick. When he ventured to attack Moby Dick, "Moby Dick suddenly waved his sickle-like jaw from under him, like a lawn mower cutting Ahab's leg in the field", which meant that man could not conquer nature in the end; If, like Ahab, we take Mobidick as the enemy, put human dignity and face above nature, and take revenge as the quick way, it will inevitably lead to tragedy.
In Melville's view, the world is a whole, man and nature should live in harmony, and man and Moby Dick should live in peace. Unfortunately, however, human beings try to completely conquer and control nature. In this way, the relationship between man and nature has changed in essence, from the harmony in the past to the decisive opposition between subject and object, conqueror and conquered. Especially in the rising period of modern capitalism, people rely on scientific and technological progress and have doubled their confidence, thinking that they can conquer and control the whole world. Ahab's declaration that "I am the god of the ship" is the embodiment of this concept. "After this almost fatal encounter, Ahab took fanatical revenge on the whale, and in his fanatical illness, he was even more fascinated by this idea, and finally regarded it not only as his physical enemy, but also as his intellectual and spiritual angry enemy ... He did not hesitate to fight this vicious hostility with his black and blue body." This is true ignorance and sorrow. The author said through Ahab's mouth: "Now, there is such a flash in Ahab's heart, that is to say, all my means are rational, but my motivation and purpose are crazy." "Those who play with fire will burn themselves" can be understood as the author's anxiety about the development model of capitalism, or in a more profound sense, it expresses his anxiety about the way of human existence. If people blindly expand and explore crazily, and take and plunder from nature endlessly, they will eventually go to the point of no return.
There are two points worth noting about the creation of novels.
First of all, the novel has a beginning praised by many novelists and literary critics: "Call me Ishmael." In the excerpt, the author once again uses this narrative perspective, "I, Ishmael, am one of those water hands." Although this narrative also adopts the traditional first-person perspective, what is different from the past is that he is not the protagonist, and he is not telling his own story. He is just a character in the book. His role is not to decide the plot, but as a confidant, arbiter or observer of other characters. He can treat readers as bosom friends and tell them what he knows, hopes or fears. If he is at a loss, tell the reader frankly. This way can avoid revealing what the author wants to hide to the readers, and let the real protagonist of the story resonate with the readers. Such a method used in the novel is helpful for readers to feel intimate with the characters and enhance their authenticity, so it has been used for reference by many modern writers.
Another feature of this novel is that the author inserted some historical facts and materials about whaling and whaling industry in the novel. These materials seem to have nothing to do with the development of the story, but they provide the background, point to the symbolic significance, and make a tortuous evaluation of the event. Throughout the novel, the life of whaling, the types of whales, the various parts of the whale's body and the habits of whales-these interludes constantly interrupt the development of the plot and increase the depth of the narrative. However, it can be seen that the personal experience of the whaling crew had a far-reaching impact on the author's life. He gave unreserved praise to the industry he was engaged in, thinking it was the most glorious cause, claiming that "the whaling ship is my Yale University and Harvard University".
When Moby Dick was first published in 185 1, critics were either not interested in it or said it was useless. This novel was dedicated by Melville to Hawthorne, and only Hawthorne really realized the true value of this work. In a letter to a friend, he said, "What great works Melville has created!" A century and a half have passed, and history has proved that Hawthorne's judgment is correct. Today, Moby Dick is not only regarded as a masterpiece of Melville's artistic creation, but also one of the most outstanding American novels in the19th century.
The reason why this novel has stood the test of time and won such a high evaluation is mainly because it has rich and profound inner meaning as a symbolic novel. Because this novel was rediscovered 30 years after Melville's death, and the author's theme and symbolic meaning were hidden, it seems to be hidden, so the critics have always had different opinions on its significance. "There are a thousand readers, there are a thousand Hamlets", and I believe you will find something new after reading it.
(Chloe Wang)