Abstract
Herman Melville was one of the greatest novelists, essayists and poets in the United States. His famous book is Moby Dick which was published in 1851 while it did not capture the attention of the public until the 1920s. Since then, people have shown great interest on it and praised highly of it. It is set as a monument in American literature. The novel is set in the middle 19th century when America became the center of whaling industry. Captain Ahab chases madly after Moby Dick and dies at the sea, which tells us that humans will get retaliated and punished by nature if humans put nature in the opposite side just to satisfy our own needs and over-hype our power and despise nature and other creatures. Starbuck only sees the economic value of nature and eventually is drowned in the sea. However, Ishmael, the narrator of the novel who treats the white whale and nature with admiration and appreciation, survives. By doing this, Melville reflects his prospective ecological consciousness and how humans can get out of the ecological crisis.
In general, this paper is divided into three parts. The first part is introduction. In this part, Herman Melville and his masterpiece Moby Dick are introduced, as well as the current research status of this book at home and abroad. Eco-criticism and Anthropocentrism are illustrated briefly in this part, too. The next part is the main body, including two chapters. In Chapter One, the awakening of ecological sense in Moby Dick is presented. Chapter Two is about the Ecological crisis in Moby Dick. The last part is conclusion. Humans must reexamine and reconstruct the relationship between humans and nature and only when we live with nature in harmony can we coexist with nature.
Key words: Moby Dick Eco-criticism Anthropocentrism
Content
摘要：
Abstract:
Introduction-1
Chapter One Humans’ Awakening of Ecological Sense in Moby Dick-4
1.1 Ishmael and His Ecological Sense-4
1.2 Melville’s Awakening of Ecological Sense Embodied in Queequeg’s Disappointment at Human Civilization-7
Chapter Two The Ecological Crisis in Moby Dick-9
2.1 Captain Ahab’s Hostility towards Moby Dick-9
2.2 Captain Ahab’s Brutality towards the Crew-11
2.3 Starbuck and His Shattered Anthropocentrism-13
Conclusion-14
Bibliography-16
Acknowledgments-17
