Implications And Edification Of The Seas In Robinson Crusoe, Moby Dick And The Old Man And The Sea

This thesis employs a comparative analysis to study Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Herman Melville's Moby Dick and Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea simultaneously. Up to now, there are many theses, which are related with the three novels. The research focus is on the analysis of the protagonist's image. The research scope, as a result, is very narrow.For the first time, this thesis renders a threefold comparison for the three novels. This comparison is a broad and multi-directional research, covering a variety of fields: implications of the seas, human spirit, social background and the writing vogue relate to the theme. Through the systematic comparison, we not only grasp the general and individual characteristics of three novels, but also, more importantly, we can have a general command of them besides discovering some associations in the literary context of British and American literature.The body of this thesis falls into five chapters.Chapter One briefly introduces three novels. The plots of three novels are simple without many ups and downs. The image and surroundings description become the primary parts of three novels. Three novels occupy a very important position in British and American literature.Chapter Two is related to the settings of three novels. As the settings of three stories, the seas connect three seemly heterogeneous novels together. In three novels, the seas are invested with different connotations. Respectively, they are natural and mysterious; super-powerful and divine; humane and unfathomable. The characteristics of the seas are contrary to each other, revealing almost all characteristics of the ocean.Chapter Three addresses the images of three protagonists based on the interaction between man and the sea. By the comparison, we discover the progress of man's development in the aspects of mind, recognition, wisdom, emotion, etc. In the meantime, we find a common point of them: they are generally positive and challenging. When facing the natural force, all of them did not surrender but plucked up themselves to contest the outside force. To render such an in-depth analysis is to disclose the meaning, value and motivation of man's existence. In Robin Crusoe, man's existence meaning is lying in the labor. In Moby Dick, man's existence meaning is embodied in the man's exploring course. In The Old Man and the Sea, man's existence meaning is materialized the in the pursuit of the righteousness and the in-born duty. Additionally, one noteworthy point in this chapter is a dialectical consideration on the relationship between man and nature: ideally, man and nature should exist harmoniously : man's subjective efforts are to get rid of limitations and slavery of nature, but it does not mean that man will fightwith nature to let nature become man's slave.Chapter Four is devoted to analyzing three novels from the social angle with respect to the seas. Three protagonists in the novels without exception are far from the society. But they have different pursuits and have different fates. In Robinson Crusoe, Robinson Crusoe's isolation from the society and immurement on the island is the unavoidable consequence of his strong pursuit for independent life style. In a large measure, he is a mirror of the initial stage of the capitalism. In Moby Dick, Ahab, out of his desire to explore and conquer the super-powerful force in nature, voyaged al the oceans in the world along with his subordinates to seek a huge white whale. Ahab's such behavior is just a representation of man's subjective efforts to challenge his own limitations at the uprising stage of the capitalism. In The Old Man and the Sea, the old man oared a boat to go fishing, departing from the land, deep in the ocean. This departure from the society is in fact because of the alienation and inhumane surroundings of the society, in which the materialistic civilization progressed in a great leap with the loss of man's spiritual pivot.Chapter Five mentions the writing techniques of three novels based on the theme. The writing techniques of three novel...