Abstract

Moby-Dick is Herman Melville’s masterpiece. Many people criticized it at first. However, with the rapid development of social economy, the relationship between man and nature became worse and worse. The global ecological crisis made more and more people be aware of the ecological values in the novel and start to focus on its natural ecological opinions. This thesis discusses the relationship between man and nature in Moby-Dick from the perspective of Natural Ecology. The first chapter introduces Herman Melville, Moby-Dick and recent studies about the novel at home and abroad. The second chapter gives an introduction about Natural Ecology. Chapter 3 discusses the unbalanced relationships between man and nature by analyzing Ahab and Starbuck. Chapter 4 analyzes Ishmael’s harmonious relationship with nature and reveals Herman Melville’s natural ecological opinions. The last chapter is the conclusion. Positive natural ecological opinion is helpful in building a harmonious society.

Key words: Herman Melville; Moby-Dick; Natural Ecology; the relationship between man and nature

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction-1

2 Natural Ecology-2

3 Unbalanced Relationships-4

3.1 The Relationship between Ahab and Nature-4

3.2 The Relationship between Starbuck and Nature-6

4 Balanced Relationship-8

4.1 The Relationship between Ishmael and Nature-9

4.2 Herman Melville’s Ecological Perspective-10

5 Conclusion-11

References