Spatial Concepts In Herman Melville's Typee And Billy Budd

One of the most distinguished American Romanticists in the nineteenth century, Herman Melville (1819--1891) makes monumental contributions to the independence and development of indigenous American literature. His uniqueness lies in his idiomatic American English and stirring plots deviating from the conventional forms. His peculiar narrative structure takes the lead in the formation of modern narration.In recent thirty years, the trend of re-reading Melville's writings triggers the heated echo and contention in the academic circle. In particular, Melville Revival in the U.S. substantially stimulates Melville studies to be more prosperous. The theories foreign scholars resort to can be summarized as: colonialism, imperialism, archetypal criticism, gender study and so on, in addition to the newly-rising feminism and New Historicism. Compared with the systematic and multi-dimensional research abroad, domestic situation is immature. Scanty attention has been paid to Melville's writings except for Moby-Dick. As a result, there is ample room for Chinese intellectuals to go deeper in the exploration of Melville.It is generally accepted that sea acts as the invariable motif throughout Melville's entire writing career. Sea is endowed with different connotations at different stages. With reference to the significance of sea, this thesis aims to make full use of the space theory advanced by Henrie Lefebvre to fathom the spatial embodiment in Typee and Billy Budd, delving the relations between the geographic position, literary reflection and the contorted human nature under power mechanism. The thesis thinks that the spatial concepts of postcolonialism in Typee are incarnated in the ceaseless conflicts between Western narration and Oriental culture, the loss of colonizer's supremacy and the ultimate escape from the anticipated paradise. The analytical construction in Billy Budd is built upon the absolute authority and the loss of human nature in the hierarchical vessel, where the captain manipulates everything from the mental activities to the lives. Warship is the microcosm of the power mechanism under hierarchical institutions. Articles of War guarantee the maximum of power, the minimum of human rights by this peculiar space to impress, deprive and suppress the common sailors. From Typee and Billy Budd, Melville discloses how power can use the vessel as its carrier to conceal the abnormality and to wreck the innocence in the sea complex. In these two works, Melville creates allegorical symbolism, innovative narration and structure by the confrontation between power and human nature. His consideration is embedded in his sympathy and solicitude for the oppressed, in the confined voice in a ranking space. It can be seen that the aftermath caused by the abuse of power is a permanent concern of Melville.