Symbols and meanings in Herman Merville’s Moby Dick
Often in great works of literature, symbols are incorporated to add depth. hese symbols make it more interesting to the reader by b y making connections from one idea to another. Herman Melville depicts a great number of characters and symbols in his !"th century novel Moby Dick. Melville uses symbols and religious undertones to develop plot, characters, and to give the reader a deeper interpretation of the novel. Melville’s story is filled whith biblical elements. he sheer magnitude of the sub#ect matter of Moby Dick offers a multitude of e$planations. %y studying the varied portraits of the biblical duration and their differences in Moby Dick, insights into Melville’s view of &od can be achieved. he l anguage of the biblical tale of 'onah is paraphrased in (all the waves of the billows of the seas), which in its biblical source is (all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.). me.). The whaling voyage itself links us to biblical areas where the whale symbol occurs and the symbol of the whale signifies the duality of the world, black and white, good good and evil, life and death. By studying the varied varied portraits of the biblical duration and their differences in Moby Dick, insights into Melville’s view of God can be estament times is clearly an apparent achieved. he mention of *hab as being a king in Old estament
interte$tual reference. One wonders if +aptain *hab is going to suffer a similar dreadful fate due to a vicious character trade. hus the reader’s perception of the character is purposefully influenced by a more detailed reference to the %ible. *other %ible. *other e$ample of biblical interte$tuality can be s een in the novels first line -+all me shmael- which is a direct reference to the story of Hagar and shmael, which symboli/es all who feel e$iled or outcast, as does the character shmael. he %ible offered Melville a wealth of characters to choose from in naming his 0uestor in search of universal truth.
Moby Dick abounds in religious symbols. he names of ma#or characters and not only have parallels or references in religion. 1hat is more, we can label the characters in two groups positive and negative. On the one hand, the biblical shmael 2&enesis !3!4!35 6!!7 ff.8 is disinherited and dismissed from his home in favor of his half4brother saac. he name suggests that the narrator is something of an outcast. n the novel, shmael speaks of no family or even a last name “Call me Ishmail 4chapter 4chapter ). 9urther, 9ather Mapple can be visuali/ed on the pulpit. He represents the leadership l eadership of the pastor. his implies that &od himself is the pilot of this ship. Other characters are 9edallah who seems to be a guru, :li#ah and &abriel. hey have such a prophetic rule. *lso, they try to advice the crew and to predict their fate. On the other hand, ;uee0ueg is the embodiment of the heathenism. He is covered with tattoos and he uses pagan ob#ects. n spite of these facts, he cannot hide his spiritual nature as shmail conclude ( You cannot hide the soul" 2+hapter !78.) 1ith regard to it, *hab is an ungodly man. He wants to be a god. he captain believes that M oby Dick represents evil. t may be true, but would say that *hab is rather a tortured soul
n Melville>s book we find some religious ob#ects used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. One representative symbol is ;uee0ueg>s coffin. his coffin symboli/es alternatel y life and death. he Istratoaie Lavinia Ursachi Camelia Preluca Preluca Ioana
coffin was made for ;uee0ueg when he was very ill but when he recovers it becomes a chest. he, when ?e0uod sinks, the coffin becomes shmael>s float, saving his life. ;uee0ueg dies for him and shmael is reborn on his coffin. So, here the coffin is symbol for life. ?e0uod can be an other symbol, it could send us thinking of @oahAs *rk. he ship ?e0uod is the container of the mythic consciousness of man. s the container of all forms of mith and organi/ed religions. %ut it is painted a gloomy black and covered in whale teeth and bones. t is, in fact, marked for death. *dorned like a primitive coffin, the ?e0uod becomes one. *nother religious ob#ect could be even the small ;uee0ueg>s idol named yoyo, for whom he builds ceremonial fires.
Moby Dick is saturated with 0uotations, titles, names and prophecies from the %ible. He uses biblical inerte$tuality and symbols to show his views on the *merican society.
Istratoaie Lavinia Ursachi Camelia Preluca Ioana
