索尔·贝娄的《赫索格》中主人公自我身份的丧失与寻回
摘要
索尔·贝娄(1915—2005)被誉为是“主宰了战后20世纪美国文学”的著名犹太裔美国作家,他的创作生涯长达六十多年,而且著作颇丰、获奖无数:普利策奖、三届美国国家图书奖、1976年的诺贝尔文学奖等诸多殊荣都被毫不吝惜地授予这位人文主义大师。《赫索格》是他的代表作之一,一经出版立即在读者及评论届引起巨大反响,使他成功跻身主流作家行列并奠定了其在美国文坛的地位。
本文从“身份”的角度切入,探索主人公赫索格经受系列打击后失去自我身份,而后通过自省反思、与现实世界的斗争妥协重获自我身份的过程。
全文由五个部分组成。第一章追溯了美国犹太文学的发展情况,着力介绍了贝娄作为一个典型犹太裔美国作家的创作生涯及其对美国文坛的杰出贡献,并简要总结了国内外有关《赫索格》的研究和评论。
第二章从两个方面追寻了赫索格失去自我身份的缘由。首先从赫索格生活的二十世纪大背景出发,分析了这一时期美国社会经济、政治、思想文化领域的巨大变化对主人公命运发展轨迹的影响,阐释了赫索格这个执迷于十九世纪浪漫主义思想的理想主义学者,在这个新旧思想冲突交替、传统道德规范受到前所未有的冲击挑战的动荡时期,精神世界遭受巨大打击而陷入失落彷徨的境地以致迷失自我的社会原因。其次,由于赫索格对自己犹太后裔身份的刻意忽视是他迷失的自我身份的一部分,本章探索了犹太传统文化对赫索格潜移默化的影响,并通过讨论犹太传统文化的特性—同化与反同化来解释赫索格的孤立的边缘人境地。
第三章分析了赫索格将自己封闭在思想精神世界探寻现实生活中的秩序、真相以实现自我救赎的精神苦旅。个人生活中接连发生的不幸使赫索格觉得现实世界异常残酷,于是他将自己孤立起来,本章首先列举了赫索格与世隔绝的种种做法,评价了这些避世举动的利与弊,得出结论:重获身份离不开与外部世界的交流互动。归隐乡间的思想家赫索格开始在精神世界中寻求解决问题的良方。本章接着分析了赫索格如何借助回顾自己存犹太贫民窟度过的快乐童年,如何借助苦思冥想、与各种流派的思想争辩来重新认识自己并找回生活的平衡点的努力。
第四章讨论了赫索格通过达成自我与社会的妥协而重获身份、找回正常生活的过程。身份是人的社会属性,赫索格要重获自我身份必然要重返那个令他失望的不完美的现实世界,自我向社会妥协不可避免。本章首先分析了赫索格在思想观念上做出的妥协:他放弃了对事物“非白即黑”的评论标准,不再执迷于绝对真理,并能正视死亡、不再畏惧回避。其次,本章分析了赫索格在自我救赎之路上的重要一步—原谅他的敌人马德琳和格斯贝奇,因为赫索格惊奇地发现即使在格斯贝奇这个忘恩负义的小人身上也有人性的闪光点。至此,赫索格得以从仇恨愤怒中解放出来。本章最后讨论了赫索格如何通过走出自我封闭、与他人和社会交流互动,重返他生活的社会圈子从而重新获得自我身份、恢复正常。
结语部分简要回顾了赫索格身份失去和重获的过程。
Saul Bellow is a prominent Jewish American writer whose works "widely influenced American literature after World War II." In his writing career that lasts more than 60 years, Bellow has produced a substantial number of works, and has received numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prize, three times of National Book Award, Nobel Prize in 1976, etc.. Herzog is one of his major works, the publication of which draws tremendous attention from both readers and critics, and confirms his status as "major" American novelist.
This thesis sets out to approach this novel from the perspective of "identity", exploring how Herzog loses his self-identity after a series of heavy blows in his life and later recovers it by means of meditation and making reconciliation with reality.
The thesis consists of five parts. The first chapter traces the development of Jewish American literature, gives a detailed introduction to Bellow's life, career, and outstanding contribution to American literature, and briefly summarizes the researches and criticism on Herzog across the world.
The second chapter explores the causes of Herzog's loss of identity. First, the social context is studied to analyze the influences on Herzog's miserable personal experiences exerted by major changes that took place in economy, politics and culture in the 20th-century American society. The study of the social background provides a reasonable explanation as for what pushes Herzog, the idealistic scholar who is obsessed with Romanticism, into a bewildered and lost situation in this turbulent age when old and new thoughts confront, and traditional morals and values are unprecedentedly challenged. Then, as Jewish identity constitutes the identity Herzog has lost, the implicit influences on Herzog from Jewish culture and tradition are also discussed. And assimilation and anti-assimilation, characteristic of Jewish cultural tradition, is adopted to explain Herzog's marginality.
The third chapter marks out Herzog's spiritual journey to explore truth and order after he retreats to complete solitude. A series of devastating incidents in his personal life makes Herzog believe the world is highly depraved and intolerably brutal, and thus he decides to detach himself totally from it. In this chapter, Herzog's actions of self-imprisonment are first listed and evaluated, and a conclusion is reached that communication and interaction with the outside world is indispensable for his recovery of self identity. The secluded scholar then sets out to work for solutions for his problem in his interior world. The rest of this chapter thus focuses on how Herzog regains self-identity and equilibrium in his life through introspection of his happy childhood in the Jewish ghetto, meditation and contention with different schools of thoughts.
The fourth chapter is devoted to the research on Herzog's recovery of sanity, self-identity and his return to normal life by making reconciliation with reality. As identity is human being's social attribute, to recover his identity Herzog must go back to the disappointingly imperfect world, which makes his reconciliation with society unavoidable. This chapter first examines the reconciliation Herzog makes in terms beliefs and outlooks: he stops judging people against standards of black and white; he is no longer obsessed with the absolute truth; he is able to positively accept death's existence and confront it rather than evading it. Then the chapter analyses a great leap Herzog makes on his way of salvation—forgiving his enemies. The discovery of sparkles of love and care from ungrateful Gersbach sets Herzog free from bitter hatred and intense anger. The end of the chapter discusses Herzog's regain of self-identity and harmonious life by abandoning self estrangement, resuming interaction with others and returning to his community.
The last chapter briefly summarizes the complicated process of Herzog's loss and recovery of self-identity.
本文从“身份”的角度切入,探索主人公赫索格经受系列打击后失去自我身份,而后通过自省反思、与现实世界的斗争妥协重获自我身份的过程。
全文由五个部分组成。第一章追溯了美国犹太文学的发展情况,着力介绍了贝娄作为一个典型犹太裔美国作家的创作生涯及其对美国文坛的杰出贡献,并简要总结了国内外有关《赫索格》的研究和评论。
第二章从两个方面追寻了赫索格失去自我身份的缘由。首先从赫索格生活的二十世纪大背景出发,分析了这一时期美国社会经济、政治、思想文化领域的巨大变化对主人公命运发展轨迹的影响,阐释了赫索格这个执迷于十九世纪浪漫主义思想的理想主义学者,在这个新旧思想冲突交替、传统道德规范受到前所未有的冲击挑战的动荡时期,精神世界遭受巨大打击而陷入失落彷徨的境地以致迷失自我的社会原因。其次,由于赫索格对自己犹太后裔身份的刻意忽视是他迷失的自我身份的一部分,本章探索了犹太传统文化对赫索格潜移默化的影响,并通过讨论犹太传统文化的特性—同化与反同化来解释赫索格的孤立的边缘人境地。
第三章分析了赫索格将自己封闭在思想精神世界探寻现实生活中的秩序、真相以实现自我救赎的精神苦旅。个人生活中接连发生的不幸使赫索格觉得现实世界异常残酷,于是他将自己孤立起来,本章首先列举了赫索格与世隔绝的种种做法,评价了这些避世举动的利与弊,得出结论:重获身份离不开与外部世界的交流互动。归隐乡间的思想家赫索格开始在精神世界中寻求解决问题的良方。本章接着分析了赫索格如何借助回顾自己存犹太贫民窟度过的快乐童年,如何借助苦思冥想、与各种流派的思想争辩来重新认识自己并找回生活的平衡点的努力。
第四章讨论了赫索格通过达成自我与社会的妥协而重获身份、找回正常生活的过程。身份是人的社会属性,赫索格要重获自我身份必然要重返那个令他失望的不完美的现实世界,自我向社会妥协不可避免。本章首先分析了赫索格在思想观念上做出的妥协:他放弃了对事物“非白即黑”的评论标准,不再执迷于绝对真理,并能正视死亡、不再畏惧回避。其次,本章分析了赫索格在自我救赎之路上的重要一步—原谅他的敌人马德琳和格斯贝奇,因为赫索格惊奇地发现即使在格斯贝奇这个忘恩负义的小人身上也有人性的闪光点。至此,赫索格得以从仇恨愤怒中解放出来。本章最后讨论了赫索格如何通过走出自我封闭、与他人和社会交流互动,重返他生活的社会圈子从而重新获得自我身份、恢复正常。
结语部分简要回顾了赫索格身份失去和重获的过程。
Saul Bellow is a prominent Jewish American writer whose works "widely influenced American literature after World War II." In his writing career that lasts more than 60 years, Bellow has produced a substantial number of works, and has received numerous awards, including Pulitzer Prize, three times of National Book Award, Nobel Prize in 1976, etc.. Herzog is one of his major works, the publication of which draws tremendous attention from both readers and critics, and confirms his status as "major" American novelist.
This thesis sets out to approach this novel from the perspective of "identity", exploring how Herzog loses his self-identity after a series of heavy blows in his life and later recovers it by means of meditation and making reconciliation with reality.
The thesis consists of five parts. The first chapter traces the development of Jewish American literature, gives a detailed introduction to Bellow's life, career, and outstanding contribution to American literature, and briefly summarizes the researches and criticism on Herzog across the world.
The second chapter explores the causes of Herzog's loss of identity. First, the social context is studied to analyze the influences on Herzog's miserable personal experiences exerted by major changes that took place in economy, politics and culture in the 20th-century American society. The study of the social background provides a reasonable explanation as for what pushes Herzog, the idealistic scholar who is obsessed with Romanticism, into a bewildered and lost situation in this turbulent age when old and new thoughts confront, and traditional morals and values are unprecedentedly challenged. Then, as Jewish identity constitutes the identity Herzog has lost, the implicit influences on Herzog from Jewish culture and tradition are also discussed. And assimilation and anti-assimilation, characteristic of Jewish cultural tradition, is adopted to explain Herzog's marginality.
The third chapter marks out Herzog's spiritual journey to explore truth and order after he retreats to complete solitude. A series of devastating incidents in his personal life makes Herzog believe the world is highly depraved and intolerably brutal, and thus he decides to detach himself totally from it. In this chapter, Herzog's actions of self-imprisonment are first listed and evaluated, and a conclusion is reached that communication and interaction with the outside world is indispensable for his recovery of self identity. The secluded scholar then sets out to work for solutions for his problem in his interior world. The rest of this chapter thus focuses on how Herzog regains self-identity and equilibrium in his life through introspection of his happy childhood in the Jewish ghetto, meditation and contention with different schools of thoughts.
The fourth chapter is devoted to the research on Herzog's recovery of sanity, self-identity and his return to normal life by making reconciliation with reality. As identity is human being's social attribute, to recover his identity Herzog must go back to the disappointingly imperfect world, which makes his reconciliation with society unavoidable. This chapter first examines the reconciliation Herzog makes in terms beliefs and outlooks: he stops judging people against standards of black and white; he is no longer obsessed with the absolute truth; he is able to positively accept death's existence and confront it rather than evading it. Then the chapter analyses a great leap Herzog makes on his way of salvation—forgiving his enemies. The discovery of sparkles of love and care from ungrateful Gersbach sets Herzog free from bitter hatred and intense anger. The end of the chapter discusses Herzog's regain of self-identity and harmonious life by abandoning self estrangement, resuming interaction with others and returning to his community.
The last chapter briefly summarizes the complicated process of Herzog's loss and recovery of self-identity.
引文
Bellow, Saul.Dangling Man.New York :Avon Books, 1980.
Bellow, Saul.Henderson the Rain King.New York :Viking Press, 1959.
Bellow, Saul.Herzog.Harmondsworth, Middlesex :Penguin, 1984.
Bellow, Saul.Humboldt's Gift.New York :Avon Books, 1976.
Bellow, Saul.Mr.Sammler's Planet.New York :Viking Press, 1970.
Bellow, Saul.The Adventures of Augie March.Harmondsworth, Middlessex :Penguin Books, 1984.
Bellow, Saul;Howe, Irving.Herzog Saul Bellow / Text and Criticism Edited by Irving Howe.New York :New York Viking Press 1976.
Bloom, Harold.Saul Bellows Herzog / Edited and with an Introduction by Harold Bloom.New York :Chelsea House, 1988.
Bothwell, Etta K..Alienation in the Jewish American Novel of the Sixties.RioPiedras :Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1980.
Bruccoli (ed.), Mary."Dictionary of literary biography", Documentary Series, vol.3 (Detroit :Gale Research Co., 1982), p.62.
Cahan, Abraham.The Rise of David Levinsky.New York :Penguin Group, 1993.
Casty, Alan."Post-loverly love :a comparative report, " Antioch Review, 3/1966, p.402.
Cronin, Gloria L.;Goldman, L.H.Saul Bellow in the 1980s :a Collection of Critical Essays.East Lansing, Mich. :Michigan State University Press, 1989.
Dutton, Robert R..Saul Bellow.Revised edition.Boston :Twayne Publishers, 1982.
Glenday, Michael K..Saul Bellow and the Decline of Humanism.New York :St.Martins Press, 1990, c 1989.
Gold, Micheal.Jews without Money.New York :PublicAffairs, 2004.
Gurock, Jeffery.American Jewish History.New York :A Bibliographical Guide Library of Congress Catalogue, 1983.
Hall, James.The Lunatic Giant in the Drawing Room.Bloomington :Indiana University Press, 1968.
Harap Louis, In the Mainstream : the Jewish Presence in Twentieth-century American Literature.New York :Greenwood Press, 1987.
Hyland, Peter.Macmillan Modern Novelists :Saul Bellow.London :Macmillan Education Ltd., 1992.
Kiernan, Robert R.Saul Bellow New York :The Continuum Publishing Company, 1989.
Kramer, Michael P.;Wirth, Hana Nesher.Jewish American Literature.Shanghai :Shanghai Foreign Langue Education Press, 2004.
Kulshrestha, Chirantan.Saul Bellow :the Problem of Affirmaion.New Delhi :Arnold-Heinemann, 1980.
Kunitz(ed.)Stanley.Twentieth Century Authors, First Supplement.New York :H.W.Wilson Company, 1995.
Malamud, Bernard.The Magic Barrel.New York :Avon Books, 1980.
Marcus, Steven."Reading the Illegible :Some Modern Representations of Urban Experience" in Versions of the Modern City.Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.
Marlin, Irving.Saul Bellow's Fiction.Southern Illinois University Press, 1969.
Michel, Pierre.;Schraepen, Edmond, Notes to Henderson the Rain King.Place Raid Solh, Beirut :Immeuble Esseily, 1981
Miller, Roth.Saul Bellow :A Biography of the Imagination.New York :Martin's Press, 1991.
Nault, Marianne.Saul Bellow : His Works and His Critics : an Annotated International Bibliography.New York :Garland, 1977.
Newman, Judie.Saul Bellow and History.London :Macmillan Press, 1991.
Pifer, Ellen.Saul Bellow against the Grain.Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990.
Quayum, Mohammad A..Saul Bellow and American Transcendentalism.New York :Peter Lang Publishing 2004
Roth Philip.Goodbye Columbus.New York :Vintage, 1994.
Rovit, Earl.Saul Bellow :a Collection of Critical Essay.New Jersey :Prince-Hall, Inc.,1975.
Samuel,Maurice."My friend,the late Moses Herzog" Midstream,4/1966,p7.
Vogel,Dan."Saul Bellow's vision beyond absurdity," Tradition,4/1968,p 65-79.
Wilson,Edmund."Review of dangling man",Partisan Review 11/1944,p78,81.
Wilson,Jonathan.Herzog:the limits of ideas.Boston:Twayne Publishers,1990.
Yudkin,Leon I..Jewish Writing and Identity in the Twentieth Century.London:Billing and Sons Limited,1982.
顾晓明:《犹太-充满“悖论”的文化》,杭州:浙江人民出版社,1990.
胡碧媛:“犹太文化与犹太身份:美国犹太文学人物剖析”,《南京邮电学院学报》,1999 年,第 2 期,35-40.
李征武:“迷惘与探索-浅析《赫索格》”,《外国文学研究》,第 1 期,1998,118-119.
刘洪一:《走向文化诗学:美国犹太小说研究》,北京:北京大学出版社,2002。
乔国强:“当代美国犹太文学的文化解读”,《四川外国语学院学报》,第 1 期,2000 年,23-26.
汤烽岩:“论犹太文化与美国犹太文学”,《青岛海洋大学学报》,1991 年,第1 期,84-88.
张群:“‘身份':美国犹太人的困惑-论美国早期犹太小说的主题”,《国外文学(季刊)》,2001 年,第 1 期,27-30.
Bellow, Saul.Henderson the Rain King.New York :Viking Press, 1959.
Bellow, Saul.Herzog.Harmondsworth, Middlesex :Penguin, 1984.
Bellow, Saul.Humboldt's Gift.New York :Avon Books, 1976.
Bellow, Saul.Mr.Sammler's Planet.New York :Viking Press, 1970.
Bellow, Saul.The Adventures of Augie March.Harmondsworth, Middlessex :Penguin Books, 1984.
Bellow, Saul;Howe, Irving.Herzog Saul Bellow / Text and Criticism Edited by Irving Howe.New York :New York Viking Press 1976.
Bloom, Harold.Saul Bellows Herzog / Edited and with an Introduction by Harold Bloom.New York :Chelsea House, 1988.
Bothwell, Etta K..Alienation in the Jewish American Novel of the Sixties.RioPiedras :Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1980.
Bruccoli (ed.), Mary."Dictionary of literary biography", Documentary Series, vol.3 (Detroit :Gale Research Co., 1982), p.62.
Cahan, Abraham.The Rise of David Levinsky.New York :Penguin Group, 1993.
Casty, Alan."Post-loverly love :a comparative report, " Antioch Review, 3/1966, p.402.
Cronin, Gloria L.;Goldman, L.H.Saul Bellow in the 1980s :a Collection of Critical Essays.East Lansing, Mich. :Michigan State University Press, 1989.
Dutton, Robert R..Saul Bellow.Revised edition.Boston :Twayne Publishers, 1982.
Glenday, Michael K..Saul Bellow and the Decline of Humanism.New York :St.Martins Press, 1990, c 1989.
Gold, Micheal.Jews without Money.New York :PublicAffairs, 2004.
Gurock, Jeffery.American Jewish History.New York :A Bibliographical Guide Library of Congress Catalogue, 1983.
Hall, James.The Lunatic Giant in the Drawing Room.Bloomington :Indiana University Press, 1968.
Harap Louis, In the Mainstream : the Jewish Presence in Twentieth-century American Literature.New York :Greenwood Press, 1987.
Hyland, Peter.Macmillan Modern Novelists :Saul Bellow.London :Macmillan Education Ltd., 1992.
Kiernan, Robert R.Saul Bellow New York :The Continuum Publishing Company, 1989.
Kramer, Michael P.;Wirth, Hana Nesher.Jewish American Literature.Shanghai :Shanghai Foreign Langue Education Press, 2004.
Kulshrestha, Chirantan.Saul Bellow :the Problem of Affirmaion.New Delhi :Arnold-Heinemann, 1980.
Kunitz(ed.)Stanley.Twentieth Century Authors, First Supplement.New York :H.W.Wilson Company, 1995.
Malamud, Bernard.The Magic Barrel.New York :Avon Books, 1980.
Marcus, Steven."Reading the Illegible :Some Modern Representations of Urban Experience" in Versions of the Modern City.Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.
Marlin, Irving.Saul Bellow's Fiction.Southern Illinois University Press, 1969.
Michel, Pierre.;Schraepen, Edmond, Notes to Henderson the Rain King.Place Raid Solh, Beirut :Immeuble Esseily, 1981
Miller, Roth.Saul Bellow :A Biography of the Imagination.New York :Martin's Press, 1991.
Nault, Marianne.Saul Bellow : His Works and His Critics : an Annotated International Bibliography.New York :Garland, 1977.
Newman, Judie.Saul Bellow and History.London :Macmillan Press, 1991.
Pifer, Ellen.Saul Bellow against the Grain.Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, 1990.
Quayum, Mohammad A..Saul Bellow and American Transcendentalism.New York :Peter Lang Publishing 2004
Roth Philip.Goodbye Columbus.New York :Vintage, 1994.
Rovit, Earl.Saul Bellow :a Collection of Critical Essay.New Jersey :Prince-Hall, Inc.,1975.
Samuel,Maurice."My friend,the late Moses Herzog" Midstream,4/1966,p7.
Vogel,Dan."Saul Bellow's vision beyond absurdity," Tradition,4/1968,p 65-79.
Wilson,Edmund."Review of dangling man",Partisan Review 11/1944,p78,81.
Wilson,Jonathan.Herzog:the limits of ideas.Boston:Twayne Publishers,1990.
Yudkin,Leon I..Jewish Writing and Identity in the Twentieth Century.London:Billing and Sons Limited,1982.
顾晓明:《犹太-充满“悖论”的文化》,杭州:浙江人民出版社,1990.
胡碧媛:“犹太文化与犹太身份:美国犹太文学人物剖析”,《南京邮电学院学报》,1999 年,第 2 期,35-40.
李征武:“迷惘与探索-浅析《赫索格》”,《外国文学研究》,第 1 期,1998,118-119.
刘洪一:《走向文化诗学:美国犹太小说研究》,北京:北京大学出版社,2002。
乔国强:“当代美国犹太文学的文化解读”,《四川外国语学院学报》,第 1 期,2000 年,23-26.
汤烽岩:“论犹太文化与美国犹太文学”,《青岛海洋大学学报》,1991 年,第1 期,84-88.
张群:“‘身份':美国犹太人的困惑-论美国早期犹太小说的主题”,《国外文学(季刊)》,2001 年,第 1 期,27-30.
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