Chapter 2 Translation sequence 2.Ahab and Moby Dick

The protagonist Captain Ahab and Moby Dick, the white whale, are a pair of sharp contradictions. This contradiction represents the strong conflict between human beings and nature. Measured by the relationship between man and nature, the occurrence of this conflict is objective, inevitable, and unavoidable, and it is a very vivid manifestation of the relationship between man and nature. Captain Ahab is the representative of man in front of nature, sent by man to conquer nature. He is an ordinary person, but he has the virtues of being firm, strong and unmoved by fame and fortune that ordinary people don't have. But at the same time, we also find all kinds of bad deeds in him, such as crazy, selfish and self-willed, which make us have a bad impression of this image. Comprehensive three-dimensional understanding.

From his virtues, he is almost a god, which makes people believe and inspire; from his dark side, he is getting closer and closer to Moby Dick and becomes a demon, which makes people feel disgusting and terrible. Because of this, Captain Ahab is a real and powerful person, and only he can complete the mission entrusted by mankind to exterminate the white whale. For Ahab, this mission was sacred and historic. The process of human beings conquering nature is composed of countless processes like killing white whales, and each process has Ahab as its leader. This leader is none other than Ahab.

For Ahab was as powerful and majestic as a god, and yet truly a man. It is impossible for human beings to rely on divine power to conquer and transform nature, that is just a good wish called myth. Ahab took up the mission of attacking nature, which won the respect and love of all brave people, and he caused the panic and even hatred of the cowardly people who shrink before nature. As a result, the contradictions of human beings have arisen and intensified step by step, second only to the contradictions between man and nature. In the process of conquering nature, human beings must resolve internal contradictions and overcome their own weaknesses. Only in this way can they succeed in the contest with nature.

The process of Captain Ahab's extermination of the white whale includes the above factors. "The Pequod" is a high-level generalization of human society itself, and a microcosm of the human condition at that time. The process of Captain Ahab's extermination of the white whale is a condensed process of human beings conquering nature, and it is one of countless life-and-death struggles. Moby Dick, the white whale, is the representative of nature, and of course it is also the most outstanding representative of the natural camp.Moby Dick is a symbol of a force of nature, a physical embodiment of an equally powerful nature.

Nature consisted of the mighty Moby Dick, and innumerable mediocre others, as man consists of the mighty Ahab, and innumerable mediocre Starbucks, Stubbs, and Flasks. Nature is rich and magnanimous. It is the reliance of human beings, the treasure house on which human beings depend for survival, and the parents of human beings. Without it, human beings will cease to exist. Nature is stingy, it has never offered anything to human beings, and everything human beings get from it is realized by asking or even plundering. Therefore, human beings can't figure out whether nature is human's benefactor or enemy, or whether it is sometimes a benefactor and sometimes an enemy. This point, I'm afraid it can't figure it out itself, so there are so many contradictions.

However, as far as the big whale is concerned, the conflict between nature and human can only be life and death, because the way of human behavior on the big whale only reflects the most cruel and inhumane side of nature. There are only desperate resistance and insidious revenge for human beings. In such countless contradictions, countless conflicts arise. Moby Dick acts as the chief of the natural world, claiming to be the patron saint of nature, so the conflict between Ahab and Moby Dick is inevitable. In the conflict between nature and human beings, the outcome is crucial, it affects the future of the world, and nature also determines the fate of human beings and nature.

As a result, Ahab and Moby Dick died together. What does this mean? Neither human nor nature can conquer the other. They are like the two poles of the earth, relying on and complementing each other to maintain the operation of the world. Whether human beings and nature should be enemies or friends, there is no answer to this question. The dead Ahab and Moby Dick couldn't solve this problem, and modern people don't know if they can. How human beings face nature is a topic that human beings will always face, and it is a key to whether human beings can maintain themselves.