Why should you read “Moby Dick”? - Sascha Morrell

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

A mountain separating two lakes.

一座山將兩座湖泊分開。

A room papered floor to ceiling with bridal satins.

一間房間，從屋頂到地板 掛著新娘禮服。

The lid of an immense snuffbox.

一個巨大的鼻煙盒蓋。

These seemingly unrelated images take us on a tour of a sperm whale’s head

這些看似無關的圖像，

帶我們到赫曼·梅爾維爾所著

in Herman Melville’s "Moby Dick."

《白鯨記》中的抹香鯨頭部裡一遊。

On the surface,

表面上，這本書在講的故事

the book is the story of Captain Ahab’s hunt for revenge against Moby Dick,

是亞哈船長為了尋仇 而要獵殺莫比敵，

the white whale who bit off his leg.

因為這隻白鯨咬斷了他的腿。

But though the book features pirates, typhoons, high-speed chases,

雖然這本書的主打特色 包括海盜、颱風、

高速追逐，以及巨型烏賊，

and giant squid,

you shouldn’t expect a conventional seafaring adventure.

但別因此就預期會看到 傳統的航海冒險。

Instead, it’s a multilayered exploration of not only the intimate details

反之，這本書具有多層次的探討，

不僅討論捕鯨船上的個人生活細節，

of life aboard a whaling ship,

but also subjects from across human and natural history,

還有從人類到自然史的各種主題，

by turns playful and tragic, humorous, and urgent.

時而好玩，時而不幸，

時而幽默，時而急迫。

The narrator guiding us through these explorations

引導我們進行這些探討的講述者，

is a common sailor called Ishmael.

是一位平凡的水手伊什梅爾。

Ishmael starts out telling his own story

伊什梅爾一開始 是在訴說他自己的故事，

as he prepares to escape the “damp and drizzly November in [his] soul”

他準備要透過出海，來逃離

自己「靈魂所置身的 陰雨潮溼十一月天」。

by going to sea.

But after he befriends the Pacific Islander Queequeg

但伊什梅爾在和太平洋島 居民魁魁格交朋友

and joins Ahab’s crew aboard the Pequod,

並加入亞哈的船員，登上皮廓號之後，

Ishmael becomes more of an omniscient guide for the reader

伊什梅爾從傳統角色

than a traditional character.

變成更像是讀者的全知嚮導。

While Ahab obsesses over revenge

當亞哈被復仇沖昏了頭，

and first mate Starbuck tries to reason with him,

大副星巴克試圖要跟他理論時，

Ishmael takes us on his own quest for meaning

伊什梅爾帶我們踏上他自己的旅程，

throughout “the whole universe, not excluding its suburbs.”

在「整個宇宙，也包含 其外圍地區」中尋找意義。

In his telling, life’s biggest questions loom large, even in the smallest details.

在他的敘述中，

即使是在最小的細節裡，

人生最大的問題都佔有重要的位置。

Like his narrator, Melville was a restless and curious spirit,

梅爾維爾和他故事中的講述者一樣， 個性充滿好奇且靜不下來，

who gained an unorthodox education working as a sailor

他接受的非正統教育， 來自他年輕時擔任水手，

on a series of grueling voyages around the world in his youth.

歷經了一連串到世界各地的勞累航程。

He published "Moby Dick" in 1851,

他在 1851 年出版了《白鯨記》，

when the United States’ whaling industry was at its height.

當時美國的捕鯨產業達到高峰。

Nantucket, where the Pequod sets sail,

皮廓號啟航之地南塔克特，

was the epicenter of this lucrative and bloody global industry

這是個有利可圖的殺戮產業的中心，

which decimated the world’s whale populations.

這個產業讓全世界的 鯨魚數目大大減少。

Unusually for his time,

在那個時代，梅爾維爾的獨特之處在於

Melville doesn’t shy away from the ugly side of this industry,

他並不避談這個產業的醜陋面，

even taking the whale’s perspective at one point,

一度還採用了鯨魚的角度，

when he speculates on how terrifying the huge shadows of the ships must be

他推測船隻的巨大影子會讓

在底下游泳的生物感到多麼害怕。

to the creature swimming below.

The author’s first-hand familiarity with whaling is evident

伊什梅爾生動的描述，一而再再而三

over and over again in Ishmael’s vivid descriptions.

呈現出作者本身對於捕鯨的熟悉度。

In one chapter, the skin of a whale’s penis

在其中一章，鯨魚生殖器的皮膚

becomes protective clothing for a crewman.

成了船員的保護裝。

Chapters with titles as unpromising as “Cistern and Buckets”

名稱不起眼的章節， 如「水槽和水桶」，

become some of the novel’s most rewarding

是該小說中最值得一看的部分，

as Ishmael compares bailing out a sperm-whale’s head to midwifery,

伊什梅爾把從抹香鯨頭部 取出鯨油比喻為助產，

which leads to reflections on Plato.

這會讓人去反思柏拉圖。

Tangling whale-lines provoke witty reflections

糾纏在一起的鯨繩 會讓人產生機智的反思，

on the “ever-present perils” entangling all mortals.

想到「總是存在的危險」 糾纏著所有凡人。

He draws on diverse branches of knowledge, like zoology, gastronomy, law, economics,

他會用到各種領域的知識，

如動物學、美食學、

法律、經濟、神話，

mythology, and teachings from a range of religious and cultural traditions.

以及各種宗教及文化傳統的教義。

The book experiments with writing style as much as subject matter.

這本書在撰文風格上的實驗性質 不亞於主題的實驗性質。

In one monologue, Ahab challenges Moby Dick in Shakespearean style:

在一段獨白中，

亞哈用莎士比亞風格來挑戰莫比敵：

“Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale;

「我乘著搖擺的船朝你而去，

你這摧毀一切 卻不屈不撓的鯨魚；

to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee;

我要與你爭鬥到最後；

我從地獄之心刺殺你；

for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.”

出於仇恨，我將最後一口氣吐向你。」

One chapter is written as a playscript,

有一章則是用劇本形式來撰寫，

where members of the Pequod’s multi-ethnic crew chime in individually and in chorus.

皮廓號上各種人種的船員

有時個別插話，有時齊聲說話。

African and Spanish sailors trade insults while a Tahitian seaman longs for home,

非洲及西班牙水手互相辱罵，

大溪地海員則渴望回家，

Chinese and Portuguese crewmembers call for a dance,

中國和葡萄牙船員邀請大家跳舞，

and one young boy prophesies disaster.

還有一名男孩預言會有災難。

In another chapter,

在另一章中，

Ishmael sings the process of decanting whale oil in epic style,

伊什梅爾用史詩風格 唱出取鯨油的過程，

as the ship pitches and rolls in the midnight sea

船則在半夜的海上搖晃、擺動，

and the casks rumble like landslides.

桶子則像山崩一樣隆隆作響。

A book so wide-ranging has something for everyone.

這本書無所不包，適合所有人。

Readers have found religious and political allegory,

讀者可以找到宗教和政治上的寓言、

existential enquiry, social satire, economic analysis,

存在主義的疑問、 社會諷刺、經濟分析，

and representations of American imperialism,

還有美國帝國主義的表述、

industrial relations and racial conflict.

產業關係，以及種族衝突。

As Ishmael chases meaning and Ahab chases the white whale,

隨著伊什梅爾追尋意義， 以及亞哈追尋白鯨，

the book explores the opposing forces of optimism and uncertainty,

這本書探討了相反的力量，

如樂觀與不確定性、

curiosity and fear that characterize human existence

好奇與恐懼，

不論我們追尋什麼，

no matter what it is we’re chasing.

這些都是人類存在的特徵。

Through "Moby Dick’s" many pages,

梅爾維爾透過《白鯨記》的諸多篇幅

Melville invites his readers to leap into the unknown,

邀請他的讀者縱身跳入未知當中，

to join him on the hunt for the “ungraspable phantom of life.”

加入他，一同獵殺

這「無法理解的人生魅影」。