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In this novel, the author Melville describes the white whale in nearly human terms, giving the great whale a sense of wit, tactic, intelligence and grandeur. To the Captain Ahab, Moby Dick is more than an opponent, despite his dogged persistence, and in fact the power of Moby Dick appears altogether invincible. From the novel we can see the figure of the whale was endowed with the personification of power and strength, as Stubb says in the inn, “If God where to be any fish, he would be a whale” ( Melville 78) , the quote demonstrates that the whale owns a great deal of power. It is evident that to confront the whale is much like confronting the Nature or God, because the white whale is actually the sacred, mysterious and invincible embodiment of the ocean in nature. To Ahab, however, the whale represents all that is evil in the universe. “Aye, it was Moby Dick that tore my body and soul until they bled into each other”, this quote, by captain Ahab, portrays that the whale not merely having the power to destroy human’s physical field but also having the power to ruin man’s mental realm.
2.3 The Symbolic Meanings of Moby Dick
As one of the figures in this novel, Moby Dick plays an important role and has many deep symbolic meanings. From educator Jin and Qin’s book we can know that “some western critics considers that the white whale is a symbol of evil (Jin & Qin 46). In fact, in the story the author Melville portrayed the whale as a mysterious, hostile and destructive beast which is unconquerable. It is the awful mystery of universe. But such evil is not just actually in form. So to some extent, we can interpret the white whale as the huge mode of production of capitalism. In the novel the author creates a mysterious atmosphere and shows the human’s incompetent in face to their destiny. On the one hand, the novel represents the author’s own anxiety and worry to the development of capitalism productivity and the contradictory in the new society. On the other hand, the author conveys his sympathy and care to the fate and circumstances of people at his time. To the author Melville, Moby Dick also symbolizes the invincible nature, especially the ocean. From analyzing the book, we can find there is a hint theme in this novel, which is the relationship between human and nature. As far as the author concerned, this world has an invincible power which can dominate human’s fate, and such strength is coming from nature. Melville’s description of the changes of the sea showed this invincible power. In his portrays, the sea sometimes tranquil and peaceful, endowing the crew nice images, while in the twinkling of an eye it even can lift tremendous billows, making the crew dizzy. Because of the nature’s fathomless changes, human doesn’t have the power to fight against it, which doomed man’s failure of fighting against the nature.
In the novel, the author also spends a lot of ink portraying the whiteness of the whale, which means that the color is significant. For example, the author describes the whiteness of the whale through the mouth of the narrator Ishmael.
In many natural objects, whiteness refines and enhances beauty, as in pearls, or confers special qualities such as innocence or purity. There is an elusive quality that causes the thought of whiteness to heighten terror, such as the white bear of the poles or the white shark of the tropics. Among humans, the Albino is considered shocking and loathed, while the whiteness of a corpse is a distinguishing and disturbing feature. In its most profound idealized significance it calls up a peculiar apparition to the soul. White is portentous because it is indefinite, not so much a color as the visible absence of color. (Melville 213)