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Definition of Anthropomorphism
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human things (including objects, plants, and supernatural beings). Some famous examples of anthropomorphism include Winnie the Pooh, the Little Engine... read full definition
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human things (including objects, plants, and supernatural beings). Some famous examples of anthropomorphism include Winnie... read full definition
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human things (including objects, plants, and supernatural beings). Some famous... read full definition
Chapter 45: The Affidavit
Explanation and Analysis—Moby Dick:
The giving of names to whales by sailors in Moby-Dick is an example of anthropomorphism that draws attention to the ways in which the characters create personal narratives in their search for meaning. The whale is repeatedly presented as a symbol of unreadability, with its whiteness representing a blankness that is tantalizing for the men in its mystery. The naming of whales can thus be read as one response to this, with it representing an attempt to make the inscrutable somehow tangible.
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Chapter 88: Schools and Schoolmasters
Explanation and Analysis:
In Moby-Dick, whales are consistently anthropomorphized in ways that highlight the fine line that divides human from animal. In particular, Melville’s passages detailing the domestic lives of whales draw parallels with human behaviors in a way that can be read as a playful satire on the trivialities and animal instincts that dictate civil society.
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