（英语语言文学专业论文）悲剧性的胜利：从生态批评角度分析海明威作品.pdf

iii 悲剧性的胜利：从生态批评角度分析海明威作品 悲剧性的胜利：从生态批评角度分析海明威作品 2oo4 级英语语言文学专业研究生：方兴文 导 师：陆煜泰教授、陆小虹副教授 内容摘要 2oo4 级英语语言文学专业研究生：方兴文 导 师：陆煜泰教授、陆小虹副教授 内容摘要 自然是海明威生活和写作中的一个中心主题。 他热爱户外运动， 他笔下的人物也都生活在自然中并 对自然有着深切的感情。 海明威是如何看待自然的？他的作品中的自然， 是怎样的一个自然？围绕着人 与自然关系这一核心， 本文试图从生态批评的角度分析海明威的作品， 并在此基础上探讨海明威的自然 观。 生态批评是一种从生态学角度对文学艺术作品进行评判的批评流派，其着重点为人与自然环境的 关系，是一条审视文学与环境关系的新途径。生态批评的基本主张在于认为自然与文化互相构建，而自 然先于文化，因此生态批评家将文化归因于自然，以此表达对于地球母亲的敬意。 本文开篇简要介绍了几种不同的生态观点，这些观点对历代美国作家的自然观以及美国文学传统 都产生了重要影响。 随后文章阐述分析了美国文学及海明威作品中对自然与人这两个主题的呈现。 自然 在美国文学中具有重要地位。美国文化对自然有一种原始性的崇敬，又伴以欧式的浪漫主义田园想像。 与此相对映的是， 由于美利坚民族在成长过程中经历了与自然界的长期艰苦斗争， 抗击并征服自然也是 美国文学中一个常见的主题。 “硬汉”是美国作家喜爱的人物形象，其内涵随时代的不同而变化。 海明威擅长于描绘人与自然之间的密切联系，其作品深受美国文学传统的影响。但他并不仅仅局 限于追随传统，而是发展出一套复杂而深刻的自然观，由此超越了美国文学传统。他笔下的准则英雄都 生活在自然环境中，并视自然为其人生最大的挑战。怀着对自然爱恨交加的矛盾情感，他们在与自然的 斗争中实现其人生价值， 并在这种斗争中形成了独有的人生观： 优雅地战斗， 才能使自己立于不败之地。 海明威认为，自然对于人的意义是矛盾的它是圣洁与美德的化身，应该受到人们的尊敬和保护，然 而征服自然却又是人的权利之一。 海明威对人在世界中的地位的观点与其他美国作家迥然相异： 他把从 前美国作家笔下消极被动的人物形象变成了充满活力，意志坚强的“硬汉” ，他们以反抗自然的英勇行 为来求得与自然的平衡。对海明威来说，钓鱼和打猎并不仅仅是消遣娱乐，而是一种证明自我的方式。 优雅的失败与其说是耻辱，还不如说是荣耀。自然在经历了种种灾难与冲突后依然屹立不倒，应此理应 得到尊敬。 人与自然在经历一番冲突和斗争之后方能达到平衡。 然而这种求得平衡的努力常常以悲剧收 场， “硬汉”们将不可避免地变成悲剧英雄，因为他们心中对斗争与征服的渴求使他们命中注定将要毁 灭他们深爱着的自然。 文章的最后一部分对海明威的一些主要作品进行了生态批评解读，进一步探究了海明威笔下人物 对自然的悲剧性胜利。海明威的创作历程被分为三个阶段：早期阶段是两难困境的开始，这一阶段的一 篇重要文章是大双心河 。这篇文章记叙了尼克在复员回家路上的一次徒步旅行，文中的气氛平静而 惬意， 然而在平静的外表下隐藏着的却是冲突。 尼克这次旅行的目的是通过野营和钓鱼来证明他的能力， 以此恢复精神上的平衡。 故事中描写的自然温柔而怡人， 但却危机四伏， 而人与自然的冲突则永无止息。 在故事的结尾，尼克暂时避开了那个沼泽地，只是在未来的某个时刻，他仍然会回来征服它的。中期阶 段是两难困境造成的悲剧的浮现。 这一阶段创作的两部非虚构作品标志着海明威关于自然的悲剧美学的 iv 逐渐形成。在死于午后一书中，海明威发现了斗牛运动中的悲剧斗牛士的力量和勇气来源于公 牛，而只有杀死它，他才能获得这种勇气和控制感。因而他既是胜利者，又是失败者，而且他也不能阻 止自己毁灭公牛的冲动，他的命运是悲剧性的。在非洲的青山中，自然的热爱者和自然的毁灭者在 主人公身上合二为一， 而一曲赞颂自然美的牧歌则成为一场追猎自然珍宝的屠杀的伴奏曲。 在悲剧性的 毁灭冲动的驱使下，主人公无法坚守对自然的田园式崇敬，最后陷于对这场杀戮的忏悔中不能自拔。写 于晚期阶段的老人与海则是在大双心河与非洲的青山的基础上的一个飞跃。在这篇文章中， 主人公终于鼓起勇气去直面他的悲剧性命运， 圣地亚哥是海明威作品中第一个完全卷入人与自然的冲突 中的人物。他对自己的英勇自尊和道德缺陷都一目了然，他既是自己的毁灭性冲突的辩护者，又对其时 时加以自责。 他自己是否有权杀生的犹豫比海明威任何作品中的人物都要强烈， 但他最终还是杀死了那 条大鱼，把自己的自我利益放在了人与自然的和睦之前，尽管他知道这样做的结果是悲剧性的。 海明威如实地刻画了人类在面对自己赖以生存的自然时的困境。他的自然观本质上是以人类为中 心的。他无法抵抗控制自然的诱惑，尽管他热切地喜爱自然。但他的确认识到了人类的悲剧性命运，并 且揭示出人类的复杂的内心世界。 海明威作品的意义就在于它们真实地展现了人类的自尊和欲望是如何 与脆弱而美妙的自然相互作用的。 关键词：生态批评 海明威 自然观 悲剧 v a tragic victory: an ecocritical analysis of hemingways works postgraduate: fang xingwen supervisors: lu yutai, lu xiaohong abstract nature is a central motif in hemingways life and writing. he is a lover of outdoor sports and his characters live in natural environments and have a strong affection for nature. what is nature in hemingways mind? what does he tell us about nature through his writing? focusing on human-nature relationship, this thesis attempts to explore hemingways ecological view by analyzing his works from an ecocritical perspective. ecocriticism is the criticism from an ecological perspective on literary or artistic expression of human experience in the world, focusing on the relationship between humans and the environment. ecocriticism provides us a new way to look at the relationship between literature (art) and the environment. the key argument made by ecocriticism is that nature and culture constructs each other, and it is nature that precedes culture, thus ecocritics remember the earth by rendering an account of the indebtedness of culture to nature. this thesis begins with a brief introduction to different schools of ecological views, which affect american writers thoughts on human-nature relationship and therefore construct american literary tradition. after the introduction, this thesis goes on to examine the literary presentation of man and nature in american literature and hemingways works. nature plays an important role in american literature. there is a primitive respect for nature in american culture, blending with european pastoral imagination about nature. at the same time, the fighting with nature is a familiar motif in american literature due to americans longtime struggle with nature. “tough guy” is a favorite type of character for american writers, with different connotation at different time. hemingways writings, featuring a close connection between man and nature, are a natural offspring of this literary tradition. but hemingway is not merely a follower of this tradition. he also surpasses it in terms of the delicacy and intricacy of his ecological views. he tends to put his code heroes in natural environments, with nature as the biggest challenge for them forever. regarding nature as their friend and enemy at the same time, they realize their value of life in their struggle with nature, and form a set of rules in the struggle: fight gracefully, and then youll never be beaten. in hemingways opinion, nature has a paradoxical significance to man: its a symbol of both sacredness and sacrifice, it should be respected and protected but man has the right to intrude on it. compared with other american writers, hemingway envisions mans role in a different way. he turns inactive man into energetic, strong-minded “tough guy”, a man who maintains his balance with nature through heroic acts against the earth. in this sense, for hemingway, fishing and hunting is not only a recreation, but a way of self-proving. a graceful vi defeat means not shame but honor, while nature is worth respecting just because it goes through all the disasters and conflicts without being defeated, and man and nature achieve a balance between them by warring and conflicting against each other. but this endeavor for balance often leads to tragedy, and the “tough guy” characters are always tragic heroes, because the impulse for fighting and struggling inside man decides that they are doomed to destroy the same nature that they love most. the last part of this thesis further explores hemingways characters tragic victory over nature by analyzing some of hemingways major works. hemingways writing career is divided into three periods. the early period is the beginning of a dilemma. a major work about nature in this period is big two hearted river, which writes nicks hiking trip on his way home from the war. the atmosphere in this story is largely quiet and easy, but under the quiet surface, conflicts exist all along. nicks aim in this trip is to prove his competence and regain his mental balance, which is achieved by camping and fishing. the natural environment described in the story is gentle and comforting, but danger always exists, and the conflicts between man and nature would never end. nick temporarily avoids the swamp, but at some time in the future, he would come to face it. the middle period sees the looming of a tragedy caused by the dilemma. two non-fictional works of this period mark the formation of hemingways esthetics of tragedy on nature. in death in the afternoon, hemingway discovers the tragedy of bullfight: the matador kills a bull, from which he draws his energy and strength, and by killing it, he gains power and the sense of control. he is both the winner and the loser at the same time, but he cannot stop doing it, his fate is tragic. and in green hills of africa, a nature-lover blends with a destroyer of nature in the same person, and a pastoral lyric on the beauty of nature coincides with the killing of precious animals. the protagonist is unable to cling to his initial pastoral reverence for nature, and turns into a remorseful killer when he is overwhelmed by the tragic destroying impulse. written in the later period, the old man and the sea is a great leap from big two hearted river and green hills of africa. here the protagonist finally gets the courage to face his tragic fate, santiago is the first character completely caught up in the conflicts between man and nature in hemingways works, he knows both his heroic pride and his moral defects at the same time, and he is at once a defender and a criticizer of his own killing impulse. the hesitation on whether he has the right to kill is stronger in him than any other characters in hemingways works, and he kills the fish at last, putting his self-interests before the harmony of man and nature, although he knows the result would be tragic. hemingway truthfully depicts mans dilemma when facing nature on which his life depends. his ecological view is essentially anthropocentrical. he cant resist the temptation of mastery, although he is an earnest lover of nature. but he does realize the tragic fate of man, and he vii reveals the intricate inner world of human beings. the significance of hemingways works lies in the fact that they provide a truthful and authentic way to see how the pride and desire of man would interact with the wonderful but vulnerable nature. key words: ecocriticism, hemingway, ecological view, tragedy ii acknowledgements first and foremost, i would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors, professor lu yutai and professor lu xiaohong ,for their careful and instructive guidance. professor lu yutai offered me great help at the preparatory stage of my dissertation, professor lu xiaohong read through the thesis and gave me a lot of advice. without their constant encouragement and help, i could not have completed this thesis. i am very indebted to professors donald junkins, zhang shuning, liu yuhong, zhou liangren, liu shaozhong, chen jitang, tang gaoyuan and he ruirong for their lectures from which i have benefited so much in my m.a program. my heartfelt thanks are also extended to my family, especially my parents, without whose encouragement and support i would not have been able to finish my studies here. 1 partintroduction : the content and significance of ecocriticism ecocriticism, also known as green studies, is the criticism from an ecological perspective on literary or artistic expression of human experience in the world, focusing on the relationship between humans and the environment. it contains “nonhuman as well as human contexts and considerations”, which makes it a challenge to “much postmodern critical discourse as well as to the critical systems of the past.” (love, 2003: 1) ecocriticism is a relatively young subdiscipline, entering into academic scene in the late 1980s. it draws on a large and diverse range of academic disciplines, and employs a wide variety of approaches and aspects of culture. ecocriticism provides us a new way to look at the relationship between literature (art) and the environment. the fact is that nature has been so marginalized in our time that its existence is hardly noticed, just as glotfelty remarks in the ecocriticism reader: “race, class and gender were the hot topics of the late twentieth century, but you would never know that the earths life support systems were under stress. indeed, you might never know that there was an earth at all” (glotfelty, 1996: xix). with the fast development of human society, the division between man and nature are getting wider than ever, it seems that natural world fades out of peoples cultural concern altogether. only when people realised how serious a problem the environmental crisis would be did they start to rethink the relationship between nature and culture, and ecocriticism is one of the most important results of this reconsideration. the key argument made by ecocriticism is that nature and culture construct each other, and it is nature that precedes culture, thus ecocritics remembers the earth by rendering an account of the indebtedness of culture to nature. 2 part: ecological views affecting american literature 2. 1 pastoralism and primitivism pastoralism means an ideal harmonious relationship between man and nature, that is, living a simple, humble life aiming at restoring a peaceful coexistence with nature. for centuries, pastoralism has been an important ecological view in western culture. it originates from the arcadian tradition of ancient greece and rome, from the greek and roman pagans, especially from virgils eclogues and georgics“a compelling idyll of contentment and peace” (worst, 1985: 9), with satyrs, nymphs, the goat-god pan piping on his flute, and the shepherd feeding his sheep and protecting them from harm. basically, pastoralism puts ecological equilibrium on a foremost position, although man still plays a more important role in this relationship, but the limited and self-controlled desire in a pastoral life is not likely to break the equilibrium. in spite of the remarkable role pastoralism plays in european continent, its primitivism that intrigues americans literary imagination more frequently. the reason is obvious, a young country with a vast amount of forests, mountains and deserts, american is a country growing out of wilderness, where there is no place for the shepherd to play his flute, but its a heaven for hunters and explorers. primitivism attracts writers attention from the very beginning of american literature. washington irving, james fenimore cooper, henry david thoreau and mark twin, are all the names closely linked with the wild natural world in american. primitivism and pastoralism share the same motif of escaping human civilization and returning to nature, but the nature they refer to is quite different. the pastoral nature is domesticated and humanized, suitable for a long-settled cozy life, whereas primitivism holds an attitude of reverence and humility to a real untouched, uncontaminated wild nature. wildness has a sacramental value towards primitivism, its the promise of abiding by the covenant between humanity and the earth, and its the base on which primitivism depends. primitivism is a relatively new ecological view compared with pastoralism, because when hunting was the only way of production, theres no noticeable distinction between wilderness and civilization. only after the transition from palaeolithic hunting era to neolithic farming era did the division come into being, and primitivism is all the time constrained until in the eighteen century, theres a surge of primitivism as a reaction against pastoralism and the impending industrial civilization, so primitivism is always a principle of how to deal with a hostile world: in ancient times, hunters try to face the beasts bravely, whereas nowadays, its the industrial beasts that we have to face.(garrard, 2004: 60-61) 3 2.2 rationalism and rational ecological view rationalism is the philosophical idea that regards logical reasoning and observation as the primary and the adequate method for gaining knowledge. rationalism emphasizes the self-sufficiency of reason. it proposes an objective thinking, refusing any intervening of emotion and feeling. one example of this is the introduction of mathematical methods into philosophy. rationalism is an influential philosophy especially in the seventeenth and eighteenth century, thus derives the rational ecological view which held an eminent position in the eighteenth century. rational ecological view has three main assumptions based upon rationalism: an integrated order embedded in nature rational ecological view assumes that there is an integrated order embedded in nature which works like a delicate machine. its just because some parts of the machine break down if something goes wrong. this theory gives people the impetus to make technological innovation, but looking nature as a machine is misleading and harmful, for unlike the parts in a machine, many resources in nature are irreplaceable and non-renewable. a benevolent nature it is generally agreed that nature is benevolent in order to make human being living better as they wish in the age of reason, which makes people feel freely in exploiting natural resources at an astonishing speed. practical value of nature rationalists believe natures practical value is what people should get. its a gift to man from god, and mankind has the right to make profits from nature. ecology is just a means to conquer the natural world. the most remarkable representative of this thought is francis bacon, the famous english scientist, who called for “the enlargement of the bounds of human empire, to the effecting of all things possible” (worst, 1985: 51). 2. 3 christian ecological view a human-centred ecological view one essential innovation that christianity has made to human thought is to see ourselves as the centre of the world with the right, even the duty, to conquer, subdue and have dominion over nature. compared with most of primitive religions, christianity is a more human-centred religion. its a monotheistic religion, since there is only one god in christian belief. generally speaking, religions in the world have undergone a process of developing from polytheism to monotheism; polytheism believes there are many gods, while monotheism only believes in one god. polytheism provides greater chance of harmonious and peaceful living, whereas monotheism promulgates both internal and external friction. according to christian belief, the natural world is the work of god, who blesses human beings 4 as the superior being and gives them the duty to care for the well-being of land and all other creatures. in contrast to this view, polytheistic religion believes refer to the natural world as an independent being or set of beings, which includes human beings, and under the influence of many different gods. early scientific thoughts were significantly affected by this human-centred view and reinforced it in turn. for centuries, scientists and common people believed the earth is the centre of the universe a theory strongly endorsed by christianity. then copernicus proposed heliocentric theory, giving a heavy blow to the church, for if the earth was not the centre of the universe, man could not be as important as we perceived before. after that, more an