A room papered floor to ceiling with bridal satins.

一座山將兩座湖泊分開。

The lid of an immense snuffbox.

一間房間，從屋頂到地板 掛著新娘禮服。

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

一個巨大的鼻煙盒蓋。

in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick."

這些看似無關的圖像，

On the surface,

帶我們到赫曼·梅爾維爾所著

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

《白鯨記》中的抹香鯨頭部裡一遊。

the white whale who bit off his leg.

表面上，這本書在講的故事

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

是亞哈船長為了尋仇 而要獵殺莫比敵，

and giant squid,

因為這隻白鯨咬斷了他的腿。

you shouldn't expect a conventional seafaring adventure.

雖然這本書的主打特色 包括海盜、颱風、

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

高速追逐，以及巨型烏賊，

of life aboard a whaling ship,

但別因此就預期會看到 傳統的航海冒險。

but also subjects from across human and natural history,

反之，這本書具有多層次的探討，

by turns playful and tragic, humorous, and urgent.

不僅討論捕鯨船上的個人生活細節，

The narrator guiding us through these explorations

還有從人類到自然史的各種主題，

is a common sailor called Ishmael.

時而好玩，時而不幸，

Ishmael starts out telling his own story

時而幽默，時而急迫。

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

引導我們進行這些探討的講述者，

by going to sea.

是一位平凡的水手伊什梅爾。

But after he befriends the Pacific Islander Queequeg

伊什梅爾一開始 是在訴說他自己的故事，

and joins Ahab's crew aboard the Pequod,

他準備要透過出海，來逃離

Ishmael becomes more of an omniscient guide for the reader

自己「靈魂所置身的 陰雨潮溼十一月天」。

than a traditional character.

但伊什梅爾在和太平洋島 居民魁魁格交朋友

While Ahab obsesses over revenge

並加入亞哈的船員，登上皮廓號之後，

and first mate Starbuck tries to reason with him,

伊什梅爾從傳統角色

Ishmael takes us on his own quest for meaning

變成更像是讀者的全知嚮導。

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

當亞哈被復仇沖昏了頭，

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

大副星巴克試圖要跟他理論時，

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

伊什梅爾帶我們踏上他自己的旅程，

who gained an unorthodox education working as a sailor

在「整個宇宙，也包含 其外圍地區」中尋找意義。

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

在他的敘述中，

He published "Moby Dick" in 1851,

即使是在最小的細節裡，

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

人生最大的問題都佔有重要的位置。

Nantucket, where the Pequod sets sail,

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，

was the epicenter of this lucrative and bloody global industry

他接受的非正統教育， 來自他年輕時擔任水手，

which decimated the world's whale populations.

歷經了一連串到世界各地的勞累航程。

Unusually for his time,

他在 1851 年出版了《白鯨記》，

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

當時美國的捕鯨產業達到高峰。

even taking the whale's perspective at one point,

皮廓號啟航之地南塔克特，

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

這是個有利可圖的殺戮產業的中心，

to the creature swimming below.

這個產業讓全世界的 鯨魚數目大大減少。

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

在那個時代，梅爾維爾的獨特之處在於

over and over again in Ishmael's vivid descriptions.

他並不避談這個產業的醜陋面，

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

一度還採用了鯨魚的角度，

becomes protective clothing for a crewman.

他推測船隻的巨大影子會讓

Chapters with titles as unpromising as “Cistern and Buckets”

在底下游泳的生物感到多麼害怕。

become some of the novel's most rewarding

伊什梅爾生動的描述，一而再再而三

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

呈現出作者本身對於捕鯨的熟悉度。

which leads to reflections on Plato.

在其中一章，鯨魚生殖器的皮膚

Tangling whale-lines provoke witty reflections

成了船員的保護裝。

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

名稱不起眼的章節， 如「水槽和水桶」，

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

是該小說中最值得一看的部分，

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

伊什梅爾把從抹香鯨頭部 取出鯨油比喻為助產，

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

這會讓人去反思柏拉圖。

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

糾纏在一起的鯨繩 會讓人產生機智的反思，

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

想到「總是存在的危險」 糾纏著所有凡人。

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

他會用到各種領域的知識，

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

如動物學、美食學、

One chapter is written as a playscript,

法律、經濟、神話，

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

以及各種宗教及文化傳統的教義。

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

這本書在撰文風格上的實驗性質 不亞於主題的實驗性質。

Chinese and Portuguese crewmembers call for a dance,

在一段獨白中，

and one young boy prophesies disaster.

亞哈用莎士比亞風格來挑戰莫比敵：

In another chapter,

「我乘著搖擺的船朝你而去，

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

你這摧毀一切 卻不屈不撓的鯨魚；

as the ship pitches and rolls in the midnight sea

我要與你爭鬥到最後；

and the casks rumble like landslides.

我從地獄之心刺殺你；

A book so wide-ranging has something for everyone.

出於仇恨，我將最後一口氣吐向你。」

Readers have found religious and political allegory,

有一章則是用劇本形式來撰寫，

existential enquiry, social satire, economic analysis,

皮廓號上各種人種的船員

and representations of American imperialism,

有時個別插話，有時齊聲說話。

industrial relations and racial conflict.

非洲及西班牙水手互相辱罵，

As Ishmael chases meaning and Ahab chases the white whale,

大溪地海員則渴望回家，

the book explores the opposing forces of optimism and uncertainty,

中國和葡萄牙船員邀請大家跳舞，

curiosity and fear that characterize human existence

還有一名男孩預言會有災難。

no matter what it is we're chasing.

在另一章中，

Through "Moby Dick's" many pages,

伊什梅爾用史詩風格 唱出取鯨油的過程，

Melville invites his readers to leap into the unknown,

船則在半夜的海上搖晃、擺動，

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

桶子則像山崩一樣隆隆作響。