The document discusses Herman Melville's novel Moby Dick and the themes of man's struggle with evil and injustice. It analyzes Moby Dick as a symbol of evil/nature and Ahab's quest for revenge against the whale as a symbol of man's desire to destroy the source of evil. The conclusion emphasizes that trying to counter evil with evil will only perpetuate the cycle, and that individuals should focus on changing their own attitudes and perspectives rather than trying to change the entire world.

1. AMERICAN LITERATURE 11th Form

2. THE PROBLEM OF THE
STRUGGLE WITH THE
EVIL AND INJUSTICE
BASING ON THE
MATERIAL OF THE
NOVEL “MOBY DICK” BY
HERMAN MELVILLE.

3. Romanticism
Romanticism is the theory,
practice and style of the
romantic art, music and
literature of the late
18th and early 19th
centuries, usually
opposed to classicism.
Romanticism
characterizes by peculiar
attention towards human
and peculiar endeavor of
national originality.

4. Movements of Romanticism
I. Early or Universal [Универсальный] (XVIII-
XIX centuries); Novalis, W. Blake.
Characteristic features: 1. There was no such
sharp contrast between reality and ideal.
2.There was a focus on
the stylistic and genre synthesis.
II. Folk Romanticism [Народно-фольклорный]
(XIX century); W. Scott, Wordsword,
T.Shevchenko.
Features: Nature is much more important than
cult. Folklore is a part of nature.
There was a great interest to the
culture of past centuries. (ballad, tale, lyric)

5. III. Byronic Romanticism [Байроничный
романтизм](10-30th of XIX century); Byron,
Pushkin, Lermontov.
Features: At that time predominated total denial
of existed reality.
There was a forthcoming of a new type
hero- rebel-hero.
IV. Fantastically-grotesque R.[Гофманский/
Гротескно-фантастический Р.] (20-60th of
XIX century); Гофман, Шамиссо, Гоголь,
Edgar Allan Poe.
Features: The basic interest was concerning
social, philosophical and psychological aspects of
life. There came a problem between the outer
and the inner world of a human.

6. V.Walterscottish Romanticism Historical
[Вальтерскотовский Исторический] (30-70th
of XIX century); Walter Scott, F. Cooper, A.
Pushkin.
Features: It was a time of the reproduction
historical events. When authors depicted past
they were sure that they could find some
keynotes for understanding current troubles of
their time.
VI.Utopian Romanticism; (30-40th of XIX century)
[Жорж Санд, Шарлота Бронте].
Features: For that time it was important to
idealize the main hero, who always was ready for a
self-sacrifice just for the sake of others. There
always came an optimistical keynote and of course
positivism.

7. Characteristic features of the works
for that period:
• There was a gap between reality and ideal (the
dream of the poet, writer);
• It was important to transfer all the attention to
the sphere of subjective, personal;
• Authors emphasized an eminent interest to the
inner world of the main hero;
• There was always an admiration of something
fantastic, strange, irrational.

8. Herman Melville (1819-1891)
• “Typee”(1846)
• “Omoo”(1847)
• “Mardi”(1849)
• “Moby Dick”(1851)

9. “Moby-Dick” or “The White
Whale” (1851)
Melville composed the first
American prose epic,
“Moby-Dick”. The plot of
“Moby-Dick” deals with the
ceaseless conflicts
between good and evil, of
nature’s indifference to
man “visibly personified
and made practically
assailable.” Melville makes
this conflict live for us not
by putting it into simple
statements but by using
symbols – that is, objects
or persons who represent
something else.

10. THE THEME: Human’s
struggle with evil. [The
whale’s attack
symbolizes evil; nature;
in the religion – it is
deserved punishment
for sins.]
THE IDEA: Here is
depicted the
statement of the idea
that human is bonded
with the universe;
philosophical sense.

11. SYMBOLS IN THE NOVEL
Moby-Dick
A fair punishment for sins
Nature (for Melville) Evil (for Ahab)
(the attack of whale)

12. TO RESPOND EVIL ON EVIL –
MEANS TO CIRCLE ALL THE
TIME.

13. EVIL OFFENCE
MORAL DESIRE TO DESTROY
DESTRUCTION OFFENDER
REVENGE

14. • HOW TO ROOT OUT EVIL
WITHOUT LOSING
HUMANITY?
• IS IT REALLY POSSIBLE TO
STRUGGLE WITH EVIL?
• HOW TO STAY A HUMAN IN
ANY SITUATION?

15. MAYBE IT IS IMPORTANT TO START
FROM OUR OWN ATTITUDE ?
• TO TRY FORGIVE OUR OFFENDERS;
• TO KEEP IN MIND THAT REVENGE ISN’T A
LIFE PURPOSE;
• TO LEARN FROM OTHERS MISTAKES;

16. WHAT IS EVIL?
IS IT THE SAME FOR
EVERYBODY?

17. WITHOUT EVIL AND
INJUSTICE WE WOULDN’T BE
ABLE TO VALUE ALL GOOD
THAT WE HAVE!
INJUSTICE GOOD
JUSTICE EVIL

18. CONCLUSION
DON’T TRY TO CHANGE
THE WORLD ALL
AROUND YOU, BUT
TRY TO CHANGE
SOMETHING IN
YOUR INNER
WORLD!
DON’T THINK ABOUT
THE LOSSES THAT
YOU HAD, THINK
OVER THE
VICTORIES THAT
YOU WILL HAVE.