Analysis of the symbolism of the Pequod in Moby Dick

"Moby Dick " is a typical work of the most use of symbolism in American literature.The whaling ship named Pequod also has profound symbolic significance.

Pequod, an Indian race eliminated by the white American, was one of the most   tragic-fated   Native American Indian nations. The name of Pequod itself indicated sinking doom of the whaling ship and the tragic end of the ship crash. Meanwhile,the voyage of Pequod was also a symbol of long-life misery journey. All the hardships of hard work was only for the end to perish, and the strong natural forces cannot be resisted by the great determination or perseverance as well as the ultimate fate of destruction cannot be changed. Although Pequod that was characterized by human wisdom played a significant role in the whaling process, the tragedy between the Moby Dick and human beings embodied nature and mankind cannot conquer mutually. Thus the stubborn confrontation will only bring disastrous consequences.

   In the novel, Pequod was portrayed as a company with all the shareholders, a floating factory at sea, which has the typical characteristics of capitalist industry in nineteenth Century. In the voyage, money and power were regarded as the priority , and the sailors had to follow the orders of the ship management, duing to gain the poor bit of shared revenue as the reward of the great risk through exploitation and oppression. For example, Stubb even dropped the crew struggling into the sea to hunt down a whale just for money with no remorse. Obviously, the sea world was rather a pure ideal paradise than a murder factory or battlefield.The sailors were originally intended to escape from the modern civilization,while they became the victims regrettably.

   At the beginning of the foundation, the United States had inherited the expansion spirit of the Saxon nation. And this spirit had become even more fanatical in the mid-nineteenth century: Gold Rush prompted the United States to be the rival imperialist powers with Europe.The navigation of Pequod to some extent represented the extension of the spirit of the overseas expansion.

   The symbolism of Pequod was more than a world that was fraught with crazy and cruel hatred or killing. Through the perspective of the narrator Ishmael, the novel reveals the theme of love and friendship , which cannot be ignored. All the sailors had realized the interdependence among human beings, excluding extremely self-enclosed individualism of the Captain Ahab.They were eager to pursue the understanding and friendship, believe the beauty and virtue in the human soul, and appreciate others merits in initiative. Meanwhile,the sailors had the intent to be intimate companions and sincere with each other.In spite of the ugly appearance, they perceived the noble humanity by rustic soul. In addtion they passionately pursued simple and sincere friendship.Thus they shared weal and woe and attached much significanae to the unity.

    In short, symbolism are widely adopted in Moby Dick , thus the Moby Dick , Captain Ahab and Pequod all have respective symbolic significance. Moby Dick as a whole is a glimpse of whaling industry in the mid 19th century America and Pequod is an epitome of American society.

 

第二篇：白鲸记英文读后感

Moby Dick        

Brief Introduction

  The novel, Moby Dick, was written by Herman Melville, an American writer. The book I read was published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research in 2004. The book contains 286 pages.

Main Contents

  Ishmael was the only surviver in that wreck. The story was told by him. Ishmael worked as a schoolmaster, but sometimes he liked to adventure. Whenever he felt a little down from life, he would stop his work and head for the sea that brought back and restored his spirit. This time he decided to go aboard a whaling ship. In a hotel he met with Queequeg, a harpooner. Later on they became closed friends. Ishmael and Queequeg reached the Pequod. Captain Peleg was one of the two owners of the Pequod. Another was Captain Ahab. Actually Ahab was the captain of this ship.

  A white whale, Moby Dick often killed people and he ate Captain Ahab’s leg. He had promised he would chase him round the Cape of Good Hope and round Cape Horn and round the flames of Hell before He gave up. He had signed the men aboard his ship to chase that White Whale over all sides of the earth until he coughed black blood and rolled over. During the sea travel, they also killed many whales but Ahab still insisted to kill Moby Dick. Ahab looked after the trail of the White Whale. In the first day of hunting Moby Dick they had a fierce fighting with Moby Dick. Fedallah disappeared.On the second day’s chase, all the crew except Ishmael were dead. It was Queequeg’s coffin life saver that saved him. Finally Ahab did not kill Moby Dick.

Excellent episode

1.I worked as a schoolmaster, but sometimes I would feel that I needed a bit of change. So, whenever I felt a little down from life, I would stop my work and head for the sea. There was something about the sea that brought back and restored my spirit, my drive in life. For this I could always count on the sea.

2.No, my way of escaping the reality of my hometown of Manhattan, New York, was going to sea as a plain, ordinary seaman. I liked the exercise of being a seaman. Most importantly, I was able to travel to far-away places and experience things that I would never experience if I stayed in my hometown.

3.Floating all alone at sea, I had much to think about. I thought of Ahab going after his goal even thought it meant death, and of the White Whale’s answer of revenge. The memory of Queequeg’s kindness protected and kept my spirits alive, just as his coffin chest now kept my body above the sea.

Reflection

  When I am reading the fighting between the crew and whale,especially the White Whale, I feel I am one of them. After reading the novel I want to talk about it from different sides.

  Ishmael was a schoolmaster but he liked to adventure. If his life was smooth, he would feel bored. He liked to head for the sea. There was something about the sea that could bring back and restore his spirit, his drive in life. Today we are in a comfortable society and we enjoy the comfort. We live without passion.However, we lost our soul. We do something against morality. Our material life is rich but we are lacking morality. Society is full of coldness and we cannot smile at the strange. We lost the nature of human beings. I believe we don’t want to live in such society, so we should do something meaningful to improve ourselves and make our society full of warm.

  Many people who have read the novel admire Captain Ahab for his perseverance.

He had a great aim to kill the White Whale.They think the White Whale was the symbol of the devil and Ahab was the symbol of justice. However, I have the different idea. I think Captain Ahab was selfish. For the revenge for his leg, he didn’t care about others’ lives. Many people were dead for his selfishness. Many people think Captain Ahab was the great man who wined over the nature and who didn’t believe in the God. Actually I think he is a killer of the nature. He was rude. Animals are our friends and we should make friends with them. However, he killed them. He lost his leg, which he deserved. He made the sacrifice for what he did. We could not harm the nature or we will have the bad result just like the dead the White Whale had killed. We should have harmony with the nature.

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