wgolding.lordoftheflies-第49节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


ation；　but　when　by　some　magic　or　accident　civilization　is　abolished　and　the　human　animal　is　left　on　his　own；　dependent　upon　his　mere　humanity；　then　being　human　is　not　enough。　The　beast　appears；　though　not　necessarily　spontaneously　or　inevitably；　for　it　never　rages　in　Ralph　or　Piggy　or　Simon　as　it　does　in　Roger　or　Jack；　but　it　is　latent　in　all　of　them；　in　the　significantly　named　Piggy；　in　Ralph；　who　sometimes　envies　the　abandon　of　the　hunters　（p。　69）　and　who　shares　the　desire　to　〃get　a　handful〃　of　Robert's　〃brown；　vulnerable　flesh〃　（p。　106）；　and　even　in　Simon　burrowing　into　his　private　hiding　place。　After　Simon's　death　Jack　attracts　all　the　boys　but　Ralph　and　the　loyal　Piggy　into　his　army。　Then　when　Piggy　is　killed　and　Ralph　is　alone；　only　civilization　can　save　him。　The　timely　arrival　of　the　British　Navy　is　less　theatrical　than　logically　necessary　to　make　Golding's　point。　For　civilization　defeats　the　beast。　It　slinks　back　into　the　jungle　as　the　boys　creep　out　to　be　rescued；　but　the　beast　is　real　It　is　there；　and　it　may　return。
　
　
　
　
　
　〃A　World　of　Violence　and　Small　Boys〃1
　J。　T。　C。　GOLDING
　
　PROBABLY　he　will　agree　that　his　real　education　was　picked　up；　almost　by　the　way；　at　home。　In　those　days　when　the　radio　was　non…existent　and　the　cost　of　gramophones　prohibitive　the　only　local　music　was　the　town　band。　Bill　was　lucky　that　Mom　was　good　enough　to　acpany　Dad　through　Handel；　Mozart　and　others。　They　were　often　joined　by　an　ex…bandmaster　of　the　Coldstream　Guards。　The　walls　of　that　small　front　room　are　probably　vibrating　still。　Bill；　as　a　small　boy；　was　terribly　affected　by　Tosti's　〃Good…bye。〃　There　was　painting。　Dad's　own　paintings　of　scenery　in　Wiltshire　and　Cornwall　hung　on　the　walls　and　there　were　a　couple　of　books　of　cheap　reprints　of　the　great　ones。　There　were　books。　Chief　among　them　was　the　Children's　Encyclopaedia　and　of　course　Dad　had　access　to　the　School　Library。2　Bill　was　disappointed　when　he　got　to　school　to　find　he'd　read　most　of　the　library。　It　was　a　small　one。
　One　book　that　was　read　and　re…read　was　Nat　the　Naturalisf；　by　George　Manville　Fenn。　The　scene　was　set　somewhere　in　the　jungle　in　South　East　Asia。　Bill　could　quote　whole　pages　by　heart　and　it　often　acpanied　him　to　the　top　of　
　
　1。The　following　is　an　excerpt　from　a　letter　by　J。　T。　C。　Golding　（William　Golding's　brother）　addressed　to　James　R。　Baker　on　December　4；　1962。　The　letter　appears　here　by　permission　of　J。　T。　C。　Golding　and　James　R。　Baker。
　2。　William　Golding's　father　was　Senior　Master　of　Marlborough　Grammar　School。…Eds。
　
　the　chestnut　tree　in　the　garden。3　And　all　the　time　there　was　a　father　only　too　willing　to　give　a　logical　answer　to　a　small　boy's　questions。
　Eventually　he　entered　Marlborough　Grammar　School　and　emerged　from　a　pretty　sheltered　life　into　a　world　of　violence　and　small　boys…and　not…so…small　boys。　Here　he　met　physical　violence　and　the　deliberate　infliction　of　pain　by　boys。　Also　he　noticed　the　tendency　of　small　boys　to　gang　up　against　the　weak　or　those　with　a　mannerism　that　put　them　out　of　step。4　Not　that　it　was　a　bad　school　for　bullying…　official　policy　was　hot　against　it　and　in　any　case　Bill　was　physically　well…equipped　enough　to　look　after　himself。　Many　others　will　have　noticed　all　this　but　the　effect；　in　this　case；　on　an　impressionable　ten…year…old　may　have　had　important　results。　The　conjunction　of　the　boy　in　the　jungle　in　Nat　the　Naturalist　and　the　school　playground　may　have　lain　dormant　for　years　until　some　later　experience　pushed　it　to　the　surface　as　Lord　of　the　Flies。　On　the　other　hand　the　explanation　is　so　obvious　and　easy　that　it　probably　isn't　true。
　During　these　last　years　at　school　another　writer；　I　think　of　considerable　importance　to　him；　entered　his　life。　This　was　Mark　Twain。　Not　Mark　Twain　of　Tom　Sawyer　and　Huckleberry　Finn　but　of　Roughing　It　and　Innocents　Abroad。　He　swallowed　these　almost　as　pletely　as　he　had　done　Nat　the　Naturalist。　The　humour　of　these　books　and　their　irreverence　towards　many　accepted　things　encour…
　
　3。　The　symbolic　significance　of　this　tree　is　made　clear　in　Golding's　autobiographical　essay；　〃The　Ladder　and　the　Tree；〃　The　Listener；　63　（March　24；　1960）；　531…33）。　The　essay　is　vital　to　an　understanding　of　the　basic　dialectic　which　is　dramatized　in　all　the　novels：　the　conflict　between　the　rational　and　the　irrational　elements　in　man's　nature　and　the　effects　of　this　conflict　on　both　the　individual　and　historical　levels。…Eds。
　4。　The　〃tendency〃　is　obvious　enough　in　Lord　of　the　Flies：　note　Simon's　position　in　Jack's　chorus；　Roger's　attack　on　the　〃litthins；〃　and　the　general　abuse　of　Piggy。　After　fear　drives　most　of　the　boys　into　the　hunter　tribe；　they　lose　all　capacity　for　dialectic　and　begin　sadistic　persecution　of　those　who　stand　outside　their　powerful　group。　In　Free　Fall　a　similar　pattern　of　behavior　appears　in　the　episodes　which　describe　the　rough…and…tumble　boyhood　adventures　of　Sammy　Mountjoy。…Eds。
　
　aged　his　own　scepticism。　It　was　an　attitude　he　was　already　adopting　toward　the　society　of　4000　people　around　him。　In　addition　he　had　a　father　who　weled　criticism　of　any　institution　under　the　sun；　though　any　deviation　in　personal　conduct　produced　a　muted　rumble　of　thunder。
　
　
　
　
　
　The　Fables　of　William　Golding1
　JOHN　PETER
　
　A　useful　critical　distinction　may　be　drawn　between　a　fiction　and　a　fable。　Like　most　worthwhile　distinctions　it　is　often　easy　to　detect；　less　easy　to　define。　The　difficulty　arises　because　the　clearest　definition　would　be　in　terms　of　an　author's　intentions；　his　pre…verbal　procedures；　and　these　are　largely　inscrutable　and　wholly　imprecise。　For　a　definition　that　is　objective　and　specific　we　are　reduced　to　an　〃as　if；〃　which　is　at　best　clumsy　and　at　worst　perhaps　delusive。
　The　distinction　itself　seems　real　enough。　Fables　are　those　narratives　which　leave　the　impression　that　their　purpose　was　anterior；　some　initial　thesis　or　contention　which　they　are　apparently　concerned　to　embody　and　express　in　concrete　terms。　Fables　always　give　the　impression　that　they　were　preceded　by　the　conclusion　which　it　is　their　function　to　draw；　though　of　course　it　is　doubtful　whether　any　author　foresees　his　conclusions　as　fully　as　this；　and　unlikely　that　his　work　would　be　improved　if　he　did。　The　effect　of　a　fiction　is　very　different。　Here　the　author's　aim；　as　it　appears　from　what　he　has　written；　is　evidently　to　present　a　more　or　less　faithful　reflection　of　the　plexities；　and　often　of　the　irrelevancies；　of　life　as　it　is　actually　experienced。　Such　conclusions　as　he　may　draw…he　is　under　much　less　pulsion　to　draw　them　than　a　writer　of　fables…do　not　appear　to　be　anterior　but　on　the　contrary　take　their　origin　from　the　fiction　itself；　in　which　they　are　latent；　and　occasionally　unrecognized。　It　is　a　matter　of　approach；　so　far　as　that　can　be
　
　1。　This　article　first　appeared　in　the　Kenyon　Review；　19　（Autumn；　1957）；　577…592。　It　is　reprinted　in　part　here　through　the　courtesy　of　the　Kenyon　Review　and　the　author。
　
　gauged。　Fictions　make　only　a　limited　attempt　to　generalize　and　explain　the　experience　with　which　they　deal；　since　their　concern　is　normally　with　the　uniqueness　of　this　experience。　Fables；　starting　from　a　skeletal　abstract；　must　flesh　out　that　abstract　with　the　appearances　of　〃real　life〃　in　order　to　render　it　interesting　and　cogent。　1984　is　thus　an　obvious　example　of　a　fable；　while　The　Rainbow　is　a　fiction。　Orwell　and　Lawrence；　in　these　books；　are　really　moving　in　opposite　directions。　If　their　movements　could　be　geometrically　projected　to　exaggerate　and　expose　each　other；　Lawrence's　would　culminate　in　chaotic　reportage；　Orwell's　in　stark　allegory。
　。　。　。　＇The　distinction＇　has　a　particular　value　for　the　critic　whose　concern　is　with　novels；　in　that　it　assists　him　in　locating　and　defining　certain　merits　which　are　especially　characteristic　of　novels　and　certain　faults　to　which　they　are　especially　prone。　Both　types；　the　fiction　and　the　fable；　have　their　own　particular　dangers。　The　danger　that　threatens　a　fiction　is　simply　that　it　will　bee　confused；　so　richly　faithful　to　the　plexity　of　human　existence　as　to　lose　all　its　shape　and　organization。　。　。　。　The　danger　that　threatens　a　fable　is　utterly　different；　in　fact　the　precise　opposite。　When　a　fable　is　poor…geometrically　projected　again…it　is　bare　and　diagrammatic；　insufficiently　clothed　in　its　garment　of　actuality；　and　in　turn　its　appeal　is　extra…aesthetic　and　narrow。　Satires　like　Animal　Farm　are　of　this　kind。
　It　will　be　said　that　any　such　distinction　must　be　a　neutral　one；　and　that　the　best　novels　are　fictions　which　have　managed　to　retain　their　due　share　of　the　fable's　coherence　and　order。　No　doubt　this　is　true。　But　it　also　seems　to　be　true　that　novels　can　go　a　good　deal　farther'；　without　serious　damage；　in　the　direction　of　fiction　than　they　can　in　the　direction　of　fable；　and　this　suggests　that　fiction　is　a　much　more　congenial　mode　for　the　novelist　than　fable　can　ever　be。　The　trouble　with　the　mode　of　fable　is　that　it　is　constricting。　As　soon　as　a　novelist　has　a　particular　end　in　view　the　materials　from　which　he　may　choose　begin　to　shrink；　and　to　dispose　themselves　toward　that　end。　。　。　。　The　fact　is　that　a　novelist　depends　ultimately　not　only　on　the　richness　of　his　materials　but　on　the　richness　of　his　interests　to