本科毕业论文（设计）题目: On The Symbolic Meanings in Moby Dick论《白鲸》中的象征意义姓名: 姚小梅学院: 外国语学院专业: 英语专业（师范类）班级: 英语2010级1班学号: 1552100126指导教师: 刘云职称: 讲师2014 年6 月17日安徽科技学院教务处制On The Symbolic Meanings in Moby DickBy Yao XiaomeiSupervised by Liu YunIn partial fulfillment of the requirementFor the B.A. degreeSchool of Foreign Languages Anhui Science and Technology UniversityJune 2014AbstractHerman Melville (1819-1891) is one of the distinguished writers of America in the 1900s. It can say that Moby Dick is his representative work. And this work is generally regarded as one of the most symbolic novels in the world literature. However, literary circles has not attached importance to Moby Dick when it was published in 1851.It was not until the early twentieth century that this shining star has yielded unusually brilliant results and has won hundreds of thousands of writers and critics favor. The hitting-points of their research are different. While the symbolism is striking among them, and symbolism plays an important role in the understanding to readers.Herman Melville takes advantage of a good deal of symbolism in Moby Dick. To some extent, symbolism is exerted by the author incisively and vividly. It is said that symbolism derived from the symbolic movement of French in the late nineteen century. And it has already become an important writing technique to novels. It is noticed that Herman Melville has presented vividly the profound meanings of Moby Dick to readers through symbolism, which promotes the comprehension of readers and they can acknowledge American society, culture, religion beliefs of the 19th century and the development of symbolism to American literature.In Herman Melville’s writing, there are two big clues that appeal to people, namely protagonist Ahab and Moby Dick. It is designed that they are two opposing camps: Human and Nature. In the novel, bigoted and selfish Ahab pledges his life to catch Moby Dick for the sake of his hatred of losing a leg. And finally all people (except Ishmael) died as a result of Ahab’s revenge. Their fates in a certain degree reflect the final fates between human and nature. In the article, Melville uses symbolism adeptly. Consequently we can get each element’s symbolic meanings with color and life. In this paper the author will try to analyze different symbolic images, such as people, important clues and significant events so that show the symbolism of Moby Dick to people. I hope that my analysis would enrich people’s understand to this work’s themes. What’s more important is that I hope people could really comprehend the relation between human and nature. Do not act like Ahab, his only purpose for life is to break the power of nature. It is not advisable to loss at both sides. Of course we can’t be conceited or underestimate our capabilities toward nature. Harmonious coexistence is the best choice for both sides.The whole thesis is composed of five parts combined with the use of symbolism in Moby Dick. The first part will give us a brief introduction to Herman Melville, Moby Dick’s plot and the background information; In the second chapter the author will represent the definition of symbol and symbolism; The third chapter will analyze Ahab’s symbolic meanings; the forth part is to talk about the symbolic meanings of Moby Dick; and the last part presents us the symbolism of Pequod. Finally the thesis reaches a conclusion.Key Words:Moby Dick; Herman Melville; Captain Ahab; Symbol; Symbolism中文摘要赫尔曼·麦尔维尔(1819-1891)是美国19世纪著名作家之一，《白鲸》可以说是他的代表作。

这部小说被认为是世界上最有象征意义的小说之一，然而在1851年《白鲸》的问世并没有引起文学界的重视，这颗璀璨明星直到20世纪才大放异彩，赢得无数作家和评论家的亲睐。

他们的切入点各不相同，而象征手法是其中重要一项，对于作品的理解起着十分重要的作用。

在《白鲸》中，麦尔维尔使用了大量的象征手法，象征主义的应用可以说是淋漓尽致。

象征主义源于十九世纪晚期的法国象征主义运动，它已成为现代小说中一种重要的创作手法。

通过运用象征主义手法，赫尔曼·麦尔维尔形象而生动地表达出了《白鲸》中的深刻含义,这促进了广大读者对《白鲸》这部作品的理解，让读者对19世纪美国的社会、文化、宗教信仰有了深层次的体会，同事也推动了象征主义手法在美国文学史上的发展。

在赫尔曼·麦尔维尔的笔下，《白鲸》中有两大线索吸引着人们的眼球，即主人公（船长）亚哈与莫比迪克，他们可以说是小说中的两大对立阵营：人与自然的对立。

偏执，自私的亚哈为报失腿之深仇大恨，誓死追击白鲸，直至最终的灭亡，这也象征着人类社会与自然地最终命运。

文章中，作者娴熟地运用象征手法，使得各个要素在作品中的象征意义活灵活现。

本文将通过分析小说中具有不同象征意义的人物、重要线索、意象和重要事件，从而向人们展示《白鲸》中的象征意义，希望能进一步丰富人们对这部小说及其主题的理解。

更重要的是，我希望借助白鲸这部作品，人们能够真正领会人与自然地关系，能与自然和睦相处。

而不像亚哈那样，一心就想冲破自然界的力量，两败俱伤，何必呢？在自然界面前，我们不能狂妄自大，当然也不要妄自菲薄，融洽相处才是王道。

本文结合《白鲸》中的象征主义手法的运用，把文章共分为五个章节，第一章节简要介绍作者与作品及时代背景；第二部分讲述象征和象征主义；第三章分析亚哈在《白鲸》中的象征意义；第四章节通过作者对白鲸的描写，从而揭示白鲸的象征意义；第五章展示捕鲸船皮阔得号象征意义，最后得出结论。

关键词：白鲸；赫尔曼·麦尔维尔；亚哈船长；象征，象征主义ContentsAbstract in English………………………………………………………………Abstract in Chinese………………………………………………………………Introduction…………………………………………………………………………Chapter 1 A Brief Introduction of Author and Work……………………1.1 The Introduction to Herman Melville……………………………………………1.2 Plot Overview………………………………………………………………1.3 Background Information…………………………………………………Chapter 2 Symbol and Symbolism……………………………………………2.1 A Brief Introduction to Symbol……………………………………………2.2 A Brief Introduction to Symbolism………………………………………2.3 The Function of Symbolism………………………………………………Chapter3 The Symbols in Moby Dick…………………………………3.1 Ahab Himself………………………………………………………………3.2 Ahab’s Spirits………………………………………………………………3.2.1 Exploring the Final Truth……………………………………………3.2.2 The Spirit of Self-identity……………………………………………3.2.3The Spirit of Heroism…………………………………………………3.2.4 The Embodiment of Revolutionary Spirit……………………………3.3 The Symbol of Ahab Hunting Moby Dick…………………………………3.4The Symbol of Moby Dick…………………………………………………3.4.1 Moby Dick itself……………………………………………………………3 .4.2 The Symbol of Whiteness……………………………………………3.4.3The Symbol of Capitalism Mode of Production………………………3.5 The Symbol of Ship’s Name: Pequod………………………………………3.6OtherObjects’ Symbol………………………………………………………Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………IntroductionHerman Melville, American author, best-known for his masterpiece of the sea Moby Dick. “I have written a wicked book and feel as the lamb,” Melville wrote to Hawthorne. Maybe Melville is right. When this novel was published, it did not bring Melville the fame he had acquired in the 1840s. However, Moby Dick is popular with the readers and critics after 1919. It is said that this book is the reflection of Melville’s time. And this novel was honored as “The most abundant expression of American imagination”.Moby Dick is a story about Ahab. Whale ship Pequod, was commanded by Captain Ahab. Ahab made a living by whaling. Moreover, he was sophisticated in sailing, and sailing for more than forty years. Once he lost a leg accidently when fighting with an enormous and ferocious white whale. From then on, Ahab vowed to revenge. He abandoned his wife and children, and put all his egg in one basket, that was revenge. Then Ahab’s burning desire for revenge really was the center of the story. At the end of Moby Dick, Ahab found and attacked Moby Dick. On the first day, the whale overturned a boat; on a second day, it swamped another. When the third day came, Ahab and all his crew managed to plunge a harpoon into it, but all of the remaining whaleboats and men are caught in the vortex created by the sinking Pequod and pulled under to their deaths expect Ishmael, who survives to tell the tale.Moby Dick could be read as a thrilling sea story, an examination of the conflict between human and nature-the battle between Ahab and the white whale is open to many interpretations. It is a pioneer novel but the prairie is ocean, or an allegory on the Gold Rush, but now the gold is whale. And the readers are deeply impressed on a plurality of linguistic discourses, philosophical speculations, and Shakespearean rhetoric and dramatic staging. Mysterious Captain Ahab, a combination of Macbeth, Job and Milton’s Satan, devoted his life to his revenge. And Ahab reveals to his crew the purpose of the voyage is to hunt and kill Moby Dick, who had cost Ahab’s leg on a previous voyage.There are two reasons to Moby Dick’s popularity. Firstly, Herman Melville describes more details about whaling spectacle; secondly, it’s enduring fascination and predominant literary value lies in the application of all kinds of complicated symbolism wholly expresses Melville’s ideas towards temporal culture, religion and social development. In brief, symbol can express particular significance and interpret some kind of ideas by the specific images.Thus it can be seen that symbolism plays a vital role in literature and we are available to realize that predictable perfect symbolism in Moby Dick. Let’s turn into the world of symbolism of Moby DickChapter 1 A Brief Introduction of Author and Work1.1 The Introduction to Herman MelvilleHerman Melville, (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) who was born in New York, was an American novelist, poet, and writer of short stories. He was the third of eight children born to Maria Gansevoort Melville and Allan Melville, a prosperous importer of foreign goods. When the family business failed at the end of the 1820s, the Melvilles relocated to Albany in an attempt to revive their fortunes. However, because of a string of future bad luck and overwork, his father drove to an early grave. And the young Melville had to start to work for his family when he was only thirteen years old.After a few years of formal education, Melville was forced to leave school and to become an elementary school teacher. From that time on, Melville’s career began. At the age of nineteen, Melville made his first sea voyage, as a merchant sailor on a ship bound for Liverpool. In the summer of 1842, Melville and one of his fellow sailors got in Marquesas Islands. While Melville became separated from his companion and lamed a bad leg, he spent a month alone in the company of the natives. With the help of this experience, Melville created his first novel Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life, published in 1846. Melville set out to write a series of novels detailing his adventures and his philosophy of life with the voluminous knowledge obtained from the sea. After Typee Melville wrote Omoo and Mardi and A Voyage Thither.In 1849, he published Redburn. His next novel, White-Jacket; or The World in a Man-of –War.Through the points of literary history, Melville’s first five novels above-mentioned are all seen as an apprenticeship to what is today considered his masterpiece, Moby Dick.And Moby Dick is a tremendously ambitious novel that functions at ever as a documentary of life at sea and a vast philosophical allegory of in general. As Herman Melville satirizes by turns religious traditions, moral values, and the literary and political figures of the day, no sacred subject is spared in this bleak and scathing critique of the known world.Melville was strongly inspired by the achievements of Hawthorne and Melville changed Moby Dick from a story into an allegorical novel with the encouragement of Hawthorne. And Melville had long admired Hawthorne’s psychological depth and gothic grimness. Melville associated Hawthorne with a new, distinctively Americanliterature. Although the works of Shakespeare and Milton influenced Moby Dick, Melville didn’t look exclusively to celebrate cultural models. He drew on sources from popular culture. For example, in 19th century whaling narratives were extremely popular. However Moby Dick was misunderstood and remained largely ignored until 1920s, when it was rediscovered and promoted by literary historians interested in constructing an American literary tradition."In general, it is the non-psychological novel that offers the richest opportunities for psychological elucidation. Here the author having no intentions of this sort, does not show his characters in a psychological light and thus leaves room for analysis and interpretation, or even invites it by his unprejudiced mode of presentation…I would also include Melville’s Moby Dick, which I consider as the greatest American novel, in this broad class of writings.”(Carl Jung in The Spirit in Man, Art and Literature,1967) From these words we can see Moby Dick’s value.1.2 Plot OverviewIshmael, the narrator, announces his intention to ship aboard a whaling vessel. He has made several voyages as a sailor but none as a whaler. When he travels to New Bedford, Massachusetts, w he stays in a whalers’ inn. As the inn is pretty full, he has to share a bed with a harpooner from the South Pacific who is named Queequeg. At first repulsed by Queequeg’s strange habits and shocking appearance (Queequeg is covered with tattoos), but with time goes by, Ishmael eventually comes to appreciate this man’s generosity and kind spirit, and the two decide to seek work on a whaling vessel together. So they take a ferry to Nantucket, the traditional capital of the whaling industry. At there they can secure berths on the Pequod, a savage-looking ship adorned with the bones and teeth of sperm whales. Peleg and Bildad, the Pequod’s Quaker owners, drive a hard bargain in terms of salary. They also mention the ship’s mysterious capt ain, Ahab, who is still recovering from losing his leg in an encounter with a sperm whale on his last voyage.The Pequod leaves Nantucket on a cold Christmas Day with a crew made up of men from many different countries and races. Before long, the ship is in warmer waters, and Ahab makes his first appearance on deck, balancing gingerly on his false leg, which is made from a sperm whale’s jaw. He announces his desire to pursue and kill Moby Dick, the legendary great white whale who took his leg, because he sees this whale as the embodiment of evil. Ahab nails a gold doubloon to the mast and declares that it will be the prize for the first man to sight the whale. As the Pequodsails toward the southern tip of Africa, whales are sighted and unsuccessfully hunted.After Pequod rounds Africa and enters the Indian Ocean, a few whales are successfully caught and processed for their oil. From time to time, the ship encounters other whaling vessels. Ahab always demands information about Moby Dick from their captains. One of the ships, the Jeroboam, carries Gabriel, a crazed prophet who predicts doom for anyone who threatens Moby Dick. His predictions seem to carry some weight, as those aboard his ship who have hunted the whale have met disaster. While Ahab does not care about his predictions, he continues hunting Moby Dick. During another whale hunt, Pip, the Pequod’s black cabin boy, jumps from a whaleboat and is left behind in the middle of the ocean. Not long afterwards, Queequeg falls ill and has the ship’s carpenter make him a coffin in anticipation of his death. He recovers, however, and the coffin eventually becomes the Pequod’s replacement life buoy.Ahab orders a harpoon forged in the expectation that he will soon encounter Moby Dick. He b aptizes the harpoon with the blood of the Pequod’s three harpooners. The Pequod kills several more whales. Issuing a prophecy about Ahab’s death, Fedallah declares that Ahab will first see two hearses, the second of which will be made only from American wood, and that he will be killed by hemp rope. Ahab interprets these words to mean that he will not die at sea, where there are no hearses and no hangings. A typhoon hits the Pequod, illuminating it with electrical fire. Ahab takes this occurrence as a sign of imminent confrontation and success, but Starbuck, the ship’s first mate, takes it as a bad omen and considers killing Ahab to end the mad quest. After the storm ends, one of the sailors falls from the ship’s masthead and drowns-a grim foreshadowing of what lies ahead.Ahab’s fervent desire to find and destroy Mo by Dick continues to intensify and the mad Pip is now his constant companion. The Pequod approaches the equator, where Ahab expects to find the great whale. To his expectation, Ahab finally sights Moby Dick. On the first day, the whale overturned a boat; on a second day, it swamped another. When the third day came, Ahab and all his crew managed to plunge a harpoon into it, but the white whale carried the Pequod along with it to its death. All on board the whaler got drowned expect Ishmael, who survives to tell the tale.1.3 Background InformationIn the 19th century, American optimism is a commonplace. All of American had seen that the United States depended on the UK. Especially they have expended theirterritory from more than two million square kilometers to over nine square kilometers. So American took pride in their achievements. The Atlantic makes American far away from the European countries’disputes. They made good use of this geographical advantage and abundant natural resources to develop economy, increase wealth and purse Hegemonism. Therefore the phrase “Capital Accumulation” emerged. American was urged to build wealth to stimulate their capitalistic development. And the whaling could meet their demands and produce a large fortune for their capital accumulation. In addition, American believed that the God was in special favor of American. Under this background romanticism also came into being.And at that time, American was in a young, vibrant and vigorous development period. Every American was proud of their national independence. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a era of individualism, and everyone managed to purse their own independent and create success through diligent work. And American lived in a comfortable without a sense of tragedy. There is nothing but a sense of optimism. No one struck up a discordant tune to this optimistic position except a few main writers, Herman Melville was one member of them.Chapter 2 Symbol and Symbolism2.1 The Introduction of SymbolThe word “symbol” comes from the Greek verb symballein, “to put together,”and the noun symbolon “sign”“token” which originally referred to a half-coin that the two parties to an agreement carried away as a pledge for its fulfillment. In the simplest sense, symbol associated with anything that stands for or represents something else beyond an idea conventionally. However in literary usage, a symbol is especially evocative kind of image; that is, a word or phrase referring to a concrete object, sense, or action which also has some further significance associated with it. Its application to literature with a clearly defined meaning, contrasting it with allegory and it occurred first in Germany in the late eighteen century.And symbol is one of those words that are usually used in a confusing manner. The confusion is increased by different scholars using the words to mean very different things. Most obviously, General Semantics use symbol to designate what other writers call a “sign”. A symbol is a sign that has further layers of meaning. In other words, a symbol means more than it literally says. The more profound the symbol is, the greater the complexity of the layers of meaning.Dr. Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin defined this literary term as：“A symbol is representation of an idea, thing, concept, or quality. A symbol is an object, which stands for something else; it is a word, which while signifying something specific, also signifies something beyond itself. With a symbol we have to infer the meaning and associations.”(Lentricchia and McLaughlin, 1995:5)In literary works, it is important to remember that a word would mean more than what the writer consciously intends to convey. Thus, when a writer intends to express certain meanings by means of symbols, the meaning he or she express will exceed what was consciously intended. Furthermore, symbols are used when a writer wants to express his understanding of something in his mind and it is not directly observable in the daily life. At that time, the writer has to use a symbol to convey his comprehension of something abstract by using objects and words from the familiar world. The writer starts with an object in the real world and makes it symbolic by loading it with a meaning which is not explicitly stated.It is human being’s ability that manipulates symbols to allow them to explore therelationships between ideas, things and concepts beyond the explorations of any other species on earth are capable. The ability to interpret symbols is essential for a full understanding of a work. In a larger degree, Herman Melville was adept in suing symbols to reflect complex objects and characters’ inner world in Moby Dick.2.2 The Introduction of SymbolismSymbolism originated in France, and originated with a group of French in the 19th century, spread to painting and the theatre. When comes to symbolism, we naturally think of Charles Baudelaire, he created the open-ended symbols and brought the invisible into being through the visible. And in terms of symbolism, Dr. Frank Lentricchia and Thomas McLaughlin concludes, “Symbolism is the systematic use of symbols to represent or allude to something. In the most literal sense, all languages are symbolic. In a narrower sense, symbolism is the use of iconic figures with particular conventional meanings.”(Lentricchia and McLaughlin, 1990:75) And symbolism tends to broaden reader s’perceptions, giving the meaning to objects beyond its concrete use or intended meaning. Symbolism is the representation of ideas by using symbols and symbolism is a common literary and artistic expression skill. It was widely used in the European and American literature in the 18th to 19th century.Usually symbolism works under the surface to tie the work’s external action to the theme. In the early development of the fictional narrative, symbolism shows the literal event and its allegorical counterpart a one-to-one correspondence. Symbolism operates without consciousness. It means that readers would accept its input without really understanding how it works. As Barnet points out, “when we read, we may feel that certain characters and certain things in the story stand for more than themselves, or hint at larger meanings.”(Barnet, et al. 2002: 195) It may be clear that the author has mentioned certain items or ideas in order to induce readers to think more deeply about something.In a word, symbolism is important component in literature and plays a great role in many works. Many famous writers would like to use symbolism as a rhetorical device central to the meaning of their works, for instance, Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and James Joyce’s Ulysses.In many works, symbolism was more an international ideological trend. Symbolists believe that art should apprehend more absolute truths, which could only be accessed indirectly. Therefore they describe senses from nature, human activities, and all other real world phenomena in a highly metaphorical and suggestive manner. And they provide particular images or objectswith esoteric attractions. In Moby Dick we would see attractive symbolism. And with the help of symbolism, we can understand many complex objects’ meanings.2.3 The Function of SymbolismIt is not uncommon that symbolism is used to express meanings to abstract objects beyond what are actually being described. The plot and action take place in a story can be considered as one level, while in the writing the symbolism of some certain things act on another level to enhance the understanding of readers.Symbolism can help readers to grasp the themes of works represented on a physical level. A simple example might be occurrence of a storm at critical point while there are conflicts or high emotion. Similarly a transition from day to night, or spring to winter, could symbolize a move from goodness to evil or hope to despair. Flowers can symbolize youth or beauty.While not everything in a novel has necessarily symbolic meaning. A garden landscape is just a garden…but when it is contrasted with a bustling city, at which point the garden could symbolize tranquility, peace or escape, it means that we have to estimate depend on specific situations. In Moby Dick, there are many abstract objects, but it is not so difficult to grasp its meanings under the help of symbolism.Chapter 3 The Symbols in Moby Dick3.1 Ahab HimselfIt is widely known that Herman Melville has created a character, Captain Ahab, who dared to fight against the nature in Moby Dick. Ahab, he is not only a hero but also an evil person. To some extent, Ahab is a King Lear type person, and he is somebody many people really look up to. Furthermore, Ahab is discerned with wisdom, but conceived and egoistic. In the novel Ahab is the opposite of Moby Dick. But what does Ahab symbolize? Whether is he the embodied principle of devil or a resistant hero bravely on earth? Whether is he a fanatic, who wanted to become a dominator and opposed the power of nature in vain or a hero who had the courage to fight for devil violently and explore the secrets of nature?It is obvious that Ahab only take his personal revenge into consideration. In other words, Ahab went his own way, he ignored other ship-owners’and have not took sailors’ lives seriously. What’s worse, Ahab took actions to his sailors with carrot and stick. Ultimately, all sailors were drowned by sea except Ishmael, who told the story about Moby Dick. Therefore it is said that the symbol of devil, Ahab, who was more wicked than Moby Dick. He stood for the wicked and black part of human nature consciousness.It is available for us to see what Ahab has done has not based on his morality and reason but affected his instinct impulsion. All of that inevitably resulted in the final tragedy. According to Ahab’s narrow psychology, the event that Moby Dick bit one of his leg was a sort of malicious intention, and Moby Dick intentionally made an enemy of him. So he must throw his hat into the ring and pursued his psychological balance.On one hand, Captain Ahab is the symbol of devil. His tremendous overconfidence or hubris, leads him to defy common sense and believe that he can enact his will and remain immune to the forces of nature like a god. In his eyes, the nature can be conquered on condition that he tries his best On the other hand; Ahab is a warrior, who fights for devil and destiny bravely. He is a sophisticated in sailing and he acts decidedly. Furthermore, Ahab is brave and battle wise. Faced with powerful Moby Dick, he never chooses retreat. And Ahab sailed for more than forty years by means of his lofty soul and pristine mind. It can say Ahab is the king of sea. OnceAhab fell flat on his face but he never was afraid of failure. At the end of the novel, Ahab proceeded without hesitation and perished with Moby Dick together like the character Samson Agonistes of Milton’s writing.So Ahab has multiple and contradictory personality in Moby Dick. Exactly Ahab is the embodiment of good and devil, beauty and ugliness. To some extent, Ahab is not only a sufferer but also a victimizer. In other words, he is as much a victim as he is an aggressor. In Moby Dick, symbolism is used to suggest human can never be defeated but Ahab shows his contempt for nature at the cost of his live.According to the critic M. H. Abrams, such a tragic hero “moves us to pity because, since he is not an evil man, his misfortune is greater than he deserves; but he moves us also to fear, because we recognize similar possibilities of error in our own lesser and fallible selves.”3.2 The Spirits of Ahab3.2.1 Exploring the Final TruthHerman Melville did analyze and explain the action that Captain Ahab hunted down Moby Dick. And he thought that the action is a kind of spirit of pursuit and exploration. Moreover Melville has endowed multiple symbolic meanings on this spirit. First of all, the spirit of exploring the final truth, as for Ahab Moby Dick is like a wall that approached him but he couldn’t see it. And he struggled to break through only to a failure. Ahab just felt the unpredictable power of this wall. Despite others were awful of Moby Dick, Ahab still insisted on chasing. It is necessary to prove that Ahab was trying to find out the answer of truth, isn’t it? Nevertheless Ahab didn’t realize that he was not capable to break through because human’s abilities were confined by the limited knowledge, and that wall might was the symbol of the final truth.Taking Ishmael as an example, he discovers that whale has incredible multiplicity meanings throughout history. Over the course of the novel, Ishmael takes multiple approaches and makes use of nearly every discipline known to man in his attempts to understand the essential nature of the whale. However, including art, taxonomy and phrenology, fails to give a reasonable account. The frequent references to the limits of observation Ishmael often talks about (men cannot see the depths of the ocean, for example), suggest human knowledge is always limited and insufficient.3.2.2 The Spirit of Self-identityIn the whole novel, Herman Melville has designed the delicate relationship。