Chapter 47 42．scary white

We are all well aware that, of all Captain Ahab's feelings for Moby Dick, hatred is overwhelming. As for other sailors, their feelings towards the white whale are very complicated. Except for some superficial factors, everyone has an unspeakable terror in their hearts. No one can tell the exact source of that terror, but it is shrouded by this thing all the time. I tried to describe the psychology of this horror, although it is difficult to do so. Close your eyes and think about what about Moby Dick scares you the most. is its white. Before white was associated with Moby Dick, it was really a beautiful and admirable color.

White marble, white camellias, white pearls, how pleasing to the eye! In many countries, white is a sacred and inviolable color, an awe-inspiring and inviolable god that people worship spiritually. The ancient Pigou country wanted to worship the white elephant as a symbol of their supreme royal rule. In the twelfth century, the Duchy of Hannover in Germany featured snow-white war horses on its national flag. The heirs of the Caesar dynasty made this color the color of the royal family. There are countless examples above, which are enough to show how much people love white since ancient times.

White is full of joy, and the Romans believed that white marble symbolized happy days. White is full of nobility and purity, it is the symbol of the bride. White is full of dignity and is the seat of inviolable laws and kingship. White is full of wisdom and is the embodiment of thought and talent. The supreme kingship, the god who dominates the spirit, the pure and beautiful bride, these things that are most admired and worshiped in the world, are all associated with white. When things reach a certain level, its positive side will often evolve to produce negative effects. Not sure if this is the culmination of a thing, or its deterioration.

Out of the blind admiration of white, the bad consequences of white are produced. For example, we want to wrap a dead person with white silk and put him in a tomb built with white marble. In this way, white is immediately associated with ghosts and ghosts, and people immediately see the other side of white, which is sadness, terror and disgust. In this way, white creates shadows in people's minds. When people saw white, besides the original respect, they also began to have doubts about it. As a result, all real and unreal melancholy and fear are covered with a white coat. Just imagine, in all the legends, the appearance of ghosts and gods has never been connected with white, and it has almost become a fixed pattern.

Thus, white has evolved into a color that is both majestic and terrifying, joyful and melancholy, pure and disgusting. Therefore, there are also some things that make people shocking with the help of the majesty and power of white. Snowy polar bears and snowy sharks are two examples. No matter how dangerous they are to people, just judging from the superficial impression of the two of them, they are already terrifying and disgusting. All people at sea are taboo to see them, and avoid them like ghosts. However, what is mentioned here is only the adverse effect of white in the environment on people, but what is more important is the psychological impact of white on people.

It is this that determines the great effect that Moby Dick has on the minds of the sailors. In the eyes of the sailors, then, the many whites became something magical which made them fear and cringe. A ship is approaching a foreign port after a long wandering. At this time, it is night, and you are called up and ordered to watch on the deck to prevent the big ship from crashing into the rocks. In this lonely night, you stand on the deck and look around, the sea around you is milky white, and the waves are jumping around you, like countless white bears surrounding you. At this time, your mind will feel tense all of a sudden, and you will feel that there are countless white ghosts seducing your soul. At this time, the danger of the reef is almost nothing.

A similar feeling will also appear when you see the continuous snow, you will immediately think of what will happen if you get lost in this white world. You will be terrified of the dangers you may encounter. However, there are so many scenes dominated by white, so our nerves become very fragile and fragile. The magic that white has on human beings, we will never be able to understand them, is like a mystery that only foretells and verifies ominous omens. We can't figure it out, but it frightens us all the time. They seem light and light, but they weigh heavily on our hearts, making us feel powerless because of their existence.

We avoid them, even yield to them. The white whale is the most outstanding representative of this white.