评《老人与海》中海明威写作风格和手法 |
Contents Abstract Abstract(Chinese). ⅠOutline Topic:ThroughTheOldManandtheSeadisplayHemingwayuniquewritingstyleandtechnique. <Ⅰ>Introduction <Ⅱ>LanguageStyle 1.AnalysesofthelanguageStyle 2.TheformingoftheLanguageStyle 3.TheinfluenceoftheLanguageStyle <Ⅲ>TheWaytoUseFacts <Ⅳ>Conclusion Note Bibliography Abstract BeingdistinguishedfrommanygreatestAmericanwriters,Hemingwayisnotedforhiswritingstyle.Amongallhisworks,TheOldManandtheSeaisatypicalonetohisuniquewritingstyleandtechnique.Thelanguageissimpleandnaturalonthesurface,butactuallydeliberateandartificial.Sometimesthesimplestyleismadealittledifferent.Thedialogueiscombinedwiththerealisticandtheartificial.Thesimplicityishighlysuggestive,andoftenreflectsthestrongundercurrentofemotion.Occasionally,theauthorusessomefiguresofspeech.Hemingway’sstyleisrelatedtohisexperienceasajournalist,hislearningfrommanyfamouswriters,andmostimportantly,hisconscientiouseffortinlookingforastyleofhisown.Theinfluenceofhisstyleisgreatallovertheworld. TheOldManandtheSeaisfulloffacts,mostofwhichcomesfromHemingway’sownexperience.Sothewaytousefactsisaveryimportantwritingtechniqueinthisnovel.Thefactsinthenovelareselectedandusedasadevicetomakethefictionalworldaccepted.Intheforepartofthenovel,theyareusedtoshowthequalityofSantiago’slife,andarenarratedsimplyandnaturally;whileinthelatterpartofthenovel,theyareusedfrominsideSantiago’sownconsciousnessandformpartofawholeschemeofthenovel. Keywords:Facts;Simplicity;Artificial;IcebergTheory 中文摘要 在众伟大的美国作家中,海明威以独特的写作风格而著称。在他所有的作品中,《老人与海》最能体现他独特的写作风格和手法。这部小说语言看似简洁自然,其实包含了作者的精心揣摩和润色加工。有时为了突出某一部分,作者会采用长句代替短句。文中的对话内容真实、贴近生活,而表达形式则经过了艺术加工。小说简洁自然的语言背后隐藏了深刻的意义和感情。文中还运用了比喻、拟人等修辞手法.还名位的这种独特风格与他当过新闻记者的经历有关,同时他兼菜各家之长,自成一体,形成了自己独特的创作方法和艺术风格。这种风格对整个世界文坛产生了重要的影响。 《老人与海》这部小说中运用了大量的事实,他们大多来自于作者亲身经历。海明威对这些事实精心选择,从而吸引读者的兴趣并使读者有一种身临其境的感觉。小说一开始用大量事实描写了主人公生活的环境,叙述风格简洁自然,未加任何感情色彩。随着情节的发展,大量的事实主要被运用于主人公的心理活动之中,而不是主要由作者来叙述。同时,这些事实构成了整个小说体系中不可缺少的一部分。 关键词: 事实;简洁;加工;冰山理论 Hemingway’sWritingStyleandTechniquesinTheOldManandtheSea Introduction TheOldManandtheSea(1952)comesroundatthefinishofHemingway’swritingcareer.Withitsvividcharacterization,itssimplelanguage,andtheprofoundimplicatingitcarries,itstandsoutasoneoftheexcellentbooksHemingway’sformerstatureastheword’spreeminentnovelistafterHemingway’sunsuccessfulnovelAcrosstheRiverandintothetrees(1950).TheOldManandtheSeaearneditsauthorthePulitzerPrizeinfictionfor1952,andwasinstrumentalinwinninghimtheNobelPrizeforLiteraturetwoyearslater.ItisashortnovelaboutSantiago,anoldCubanfishermanwhohasgonefor84dayswithoutcatch.Thereforetheboy,Mandolin,whousedtosailwithhim,isforcedtoleavehimandcatchinanothership.Theoldmaninsistsonfishingaloneandatlast,hehooksaneighteen-foot,giantmarlin,thelargesthehaseverknown.Butthefishisverypowerfulanddisobedient.Ittowstheoldmanandhisboatouttoseafor48hours,withtheoldmanbearingthewholeweightofthefishthroughthelineonhisback.Theoldman,withlittlefoodandsleep,hastoenduremuchpainandfightsagainsthistreacheroushandcramp.Tohisgreatexcitement,onhisthirddayatsea,hesucceedsindrawingtheweakenedmarlintothesurfaceandharpoonsit.Onhiswayhome,helashesmarlinalongsidehisboatbecauseitistoobigtobepulledintotheboat.But,unfortunately,thecomeacrosssharksindifferentnumbersforfourtimes.Theoldmanfightstokillthesharkswithasmuchmightandmanyweaponsashecansummon,butonlytofindagiantskeletonofhismarlinleftafterhisdesperatedefense.Atlast,Santiago,havinglostwhathefoughtfor,reachestheshoreandstrugglestohisshack.Hefallsintosoundsleep,dreamingofAfrica,andthelionsagain.Hisstrugglewinshimmuchrespect. AmongmanygreatAmericanwriters,Hemingwayisfamousforhisobjectiveandterseprosestyle.AsthelastnovelHemingwaypublishedinhislife,TheOldManandtheSeatypicallyreflectshisuniquewritingstyle.ThispaperaimstodiscussthewritingstyleandtechniquesinTheOldManandtheSea.Ofcourse,Hemingwayhasusedmanytechniquesinthisnovel,suchasrealism,thecreationofsuspense,monologue,etc.Andthispaperfocusesespeciallyonthelanguagestyleandoneoftheimportanttechniques-thewaytousefactsinthisnovel. Hemingwayisfamousforhislanguage.Withmuchcareandeffort,hecreatedaveryinfluentialandimmediatelyrecognizablestyle.“Thestylehecreatedinhisearlywork,suchasInOurTimeandTheSunalsoRises,wasalmosttoogood.Likethestyleofcertainpainters,ittendedtobecomeamanner,ratherthanaflexiblewayofrespondingtoexperienceandconveyingfreshinsightsthroughwords.”1Amongallhisworks,TheOldManandtheSeaisthemosttypicalonetohisuniquelanguagestyle.Itslanguageissimpleandnatural,andhastheeffectofdirectness,clarityandfreshness.ThisisbecauseHemingwayalwaysmanagestochoosewords“`concrete,specific,morecommonlyfound,moreAnglo-Saxon,casualandconversational.”2Heseldomusesadjectivesandabstractnouns,andavoidscomplicatedsyntax.Hemingway’sstrengthliesinhisshortsentencesandveryspecificdetails.Hisshortsentencesarepowerfullyloadedwiththetension,whichheseesinlife.Wherehedoesnotuseasimpleandshortsentence,heconnectsthevariouspartsofthesentenceinastraightforwardandsequentialway,oftenlinkedby“and”. Inhistaskofcreatingrealpeople,Hemingwayusesdialogueasaneffectivedevice.Itispresentedinaform“asclosetothedramaticaspossible,withaminimumofexplanatorycomment.”3HereisanexamplechosenfromTheOldManandtheSea: ‘Whatdoyouhavetoeat?’theboyasked. ‘No,Iwilleatathome.Doyouwantmetomakethefire?’ ‘No,Iwillmakeitlateron.OrImayeatthericecold.’ Herewecanseethatsuchinterpolationsas“hesaid”havefrequentlybeenomittedandthewordsareverycolloquial.Thusthespeechcomestothereaderasifhewerelistening.Hemingwayhascapturedtheimmediacyofdialogueskillfullyandhasmadetheeconomicalspeechconnotative. ButitisgoodtonotethatHemingway’sstyleisdeliberateandartificial,andisneverasnaturalasitseemstobe.Thereasonsareasfollows.Firstly,insomespecificmoments,inordertostandoutbycontrastandtodescribeanimportantturningpointorclimax,thestyleismadealittledifferent: Hetookallhispainandwhatwasleftofhislonggoneprideandheputitagainstthefish’sagonyandthefishcameoverontohissideandswamgentlyonhisside,hisbillalmosttouchingtheplankingoftheskiff,andstartedtopasstheboat,long,deep,wide,silverandbarredwithpurpleandinterminableinthewater.5 Thelanguageinthisone-sentenceparagraphisdifferentfromotherpartsofthenovel.KennethGrahamhascommentedthatthesentencebuildsupitspartsinacarefullylaborioussequence-“allhispainandwhatwasleftofhisstrengthandhislonggonepride”.Itemulatesthemovementoftheexhaustedmarlinandthephysicalstrainoftheoldman.Anditmountstoaheavycrescendointheveryun-prosaicinversionofadjectives-“long,deep,wide”-endinginthevirtuallypoeticcadence,“interminableinthewater.”6 Thedialogue,too,iscombinedwiththerealisticandtheartificial.Usuallythecontentcontainsandtheexpressioncontainstheartificial.InTheOldManandtheSea,thelanguagestyleisverypeculiarfromHemingway’sotherwritings.ThisisbecausethenovelisanEnglishversionoftheSpanishthatSantiagoandMandolinwouldspeakinreallife.“SincewearemeanttorealizethatSantiagoandMandolincouldnotpossiblyspeaklikethis,sinceEnglishisnothistongueanyway,wearemorelikelytoacceptotherartificialitiesofthedialogue.Usingthedeviceofapretended‘translation’,whichwouldbeboundtostiltinanycase,Hemingwaycan‘poetize’thedialogueashewishes.”7Thespeakersaredistancedfromreaderstoacertaindegree.Andwhiletheirlanguagetakingonakindofepicdignity,itdoesnotloseitsconvincingness.Evenslightlystrangeexchangeslikethefollowingbecomefairlyacceptable.Forexample: ‘You’remyalarmclock’,theboysaid. ‘Ageismyalarmclock’,theoldmansaid.‘Whydooldmanwakesoearly?Isittohaveonelongerday?’ ‘Idon’tknow’,theboysaid.‘AllIknowisthatyoungboyssleeplateandhard’. ‘Icanrememberit’,theoldmansaid.‘I’llwakenyouintime.’8 Thesimplesentencesandtherepeatedrhythmshitattheprofunditiesthatthesurfaceofthelanguagetriestoignore.Itssimplicityishighlysuggestiveandconnotative,andoftenreflectsthestrongundercurrentofemotion.Indeed,themorecloselythereaderwatches,thelessroughandsimplethecharactersappear.InDeathintheAfternoon,Hemingwayusesaneffectivemetaphortodescribehiswritingstyle: Ifawriteroftheproseknowsenoughaboutwhatheiswritingabout,hemayomitthingsthatheknowsandthereader,ifthewriteriswritingtrulyenough,willhaveafeelingofthosethingsasstronglyasthoughthewriterhadstatedthem.Thedignityofmovementofanicebergisduetoonlyone-eighthofitbeingabovewater.9 AmongalltheworksofHemingway,thesagaofSantiagoisthoughtasthemosttypicalonetothisIcebergTheory.Theauthorseldomexpresseshisownfeelingsdirectly,nordoeshemakeanycommentsorexplanations.Onthecontrary,hetriestonarrateanddescribethingsobjectivelyandblendhisownfeelingsharmoniouslytothenaturalnarrationanddescriptionthisgivesreadersapicturescompression,fromwhich-the1/8oftheicebergabovewater,theycanlearntheimplyingmeaningandfeelingsoftheauthor-7/8oftheicebergunderwater.WhenHemingwaysaidofthisstory,“Itriedtomakearealoldman,arealseaandrealsharks”,hethenwentontosay,“ButifImadethemgoodandtrueenoughtheywouldmeanmanythings.”10Sothisnovelhasagreatandsignificanceconveyedbyacompressedaction.Thecoreofthenovel’sactionisfishing.Tothehero,fishingisnotsimplyofcontestinlife.Itcontainsprofoundphilosophicmeaning.Inaddition,twodetails-thebaseballmatchandthehandwrestingwiththeNegro,likefishing,symbolizethecontentioninlife.Theycompensateandenrichtheinnermeaningofthemainplotoffishing.Sothesimplicityofthenovelishighlysuggestive. Occasionally,theauthorusessuchfiguresofspeechasmetaphor,personification,etctodescribedetails.Hemingwaylikestousnaturalthingstomakemetaphors.Forexample,hedescribesSantiago’seyesas“thesamecolorastheseaandwerecheerfulandundefeated.”11Themetaphorrevealsthattheoldmaniscloselylinkedwithnature.Atthebeginningofthenovel,asimileisused:“thesailwaspatchedwithfloursacksand,furled,itlookedliketheflagofpermanentdefeat.”12HereSantiago’seyesarecontrastedwiththepatchedsail,whichsymbolizedefeat,asrevealsSantiago’sunyieldingcharacter. SoHemingwayhasformedofnarrativeanddialogue,thoughnaturalandsimpleonthesurface,isactuallydeliberatedandartificial.Itcombineselementsthatarerealisticwithelementsthatarestylizedandheightened. HowHemingwayhasformedsuchawritingstyle?Thereasonisrelatedtohisownexperiences.“Hisuseofshortsentencesandparagraphsandvigorousandpositivelanguage,andthedeliberateavoidanceofgorgeousadjectivesaresomeofthetracesofhisearlyjournalisticpractices.”13Afterleavingschoolat17,hewenttotheKansasCityStar,whichwasoneofthebestnewspapersinAmericaatthattime.Heservedasitseagerandenergeticreporter.Asajournalist,Hemingwaytrainedhimselfintheeconomyofexpression.Heoncesaidthat,duringhisworkinginStar,hehadtolearntousesimplesentences,whichisveryusefultohim;andthattheexperienceofworkingasajournalistwouldnotdoharmtoayoungwriter,insteaditisveryhelpfulifhecouldcastitofftimely.Helaidstresson“speaking”withfactsandobjectedgroundlessconcoctioninwriting.Hisdescriptionsofdetailsarefulloffactuality,andareaspreciseasnewsreports. TheinfluenceofHemingway’slanguagestyleisgreat.Inthelatterpartofhislife,Hemingwaywasknownas“PapaHemingway.”14ItrefersmainlytohiscontributiontothedevelopmentofanewwritingstyleinAmerica-thecolloquialstyle.Hissimpleword,shortsentencesandvividlycolloquiallanguagepurityAmericannovel.InEngland,whichMissStormJamesondiscussing“TheCraftoftheNovelist”intheJanuary1934issueofTheEnglishReview,sheadvancedanexplanationofHemingway’spopularity: Itisthissimplicity,thisappealtoourcrudestinterests,whichexplainsHemingway’ssuccess…InEnglishatleasthissuccesshasbeenlargelywiththeintellectuals.Thyhavepraisedhissimplicity,hisdirectness…15 WhenHemingway’sdeathwasreportedon3July1961,theobituaryinTheTinespronouncedpontifically: Nohistoryoftheliteratureofourtimewillbeabletoignorehisachievementorhisfar-reachinginfluence…hislastmasterpiece,TheOldManandTheSea,heremainedasolitarybothinachievementandstyle…16 AndHemingway’sinfluenceasastylistwas“neatlyexpressedinthepraiseoftheNoblePrizeCommitteeabout‘hispowerfulstyle-formingmasteryoftheart’ofwritingmodernfiction.”17 Apartfromthelanguagestyle,whichTheOldManandtheSeaisfamousfor,thewritingtechniquesinthisnovelarealsoworthpayingcloseattentionto.Averyimportantoneofthemisthewaytousefacts.Themaineventsofthestoryseemtobebasedonarealincident,whichisdescribedbyHemingwayinanarticleaboutfishingintheGulfStreaminEsquireforApril1936.Sothenoveloffullfacts,suchasthehabitoffish,thetechniqueofcatchingmarlin,theweather,thesea,andsoon.Butthepowerofthenovelliesinthewaytousethesefacts. Firstlythefactsareselected.“Hemingway’soldman,boy,sea,fish,andsharksarenotsomuchbuiltupinourminds,detailbydetail,factsbyfacts,asdriveintoourmindbytheforceandthesympathywithwhichtheauthorhimselfsharesintheirimaginaryexistence.”18Likeanyrealist,hereliesonselection.Whenthegiantmarlinfinallysurfaces,histail“washigherthanabigscythebladeandaverypalelavenderabovethedarkbluewater.”19Sargassoweedisbleachedandyellowbyday;Tunaaresilverwhentheyjumpoutifthewater,butblue-backedandgold-sideswhenswimming.Hemingwayneverdescribedthemwithexcessively,butchoosesomeeffectiveones.Heusesthemwithasenseofhowcolorsshiftandchangeintheirrelationship.Withoutselection,therecanbenointensity,andcompression. Secondly,thefactsareusedasadevicetomakethefictionalwordaccepted.Thenovelisnotsimplyamanualforustostudythetechniquetocatchafishorhowtosurviveinaboat.Theauthortriestoimplicatepeople’simaginationinwhatishappeningbyappealingtoourloveofpracticalknowledge.Thisshows“thefactsarefundamentallyadevice,atechniqueofreassuringoursenseofeverydayvalues.”20Sotheycanhelptomakeusacceptmorereadilywhattheauthorhasinventedandmademoredramaticthanineverydaylife.Stilltaketheuseofcolorasexample: Thecloudsoverthelandnowroselikemountainsandthecoastwasonlyalonggreenlinewiththegray-bluehillsbehindit.Thewaterwasadarkbluenow,sodarkthatitwasalmostpurple.Ashelookeddownintoithesawtheredsiftingoftheplanktoninthedarkwaterandthestrangelightthesunmadenow.21 Thesefactsshowreaderstheprocessoffishing,whichmostlycomesfromtheauthor’sownexperience.Fromthesefacts,whicharevivid,preciseandterse,readerscanlearnalotabouthowtocatchafishandcanalsofeelasiftheythemselveswerecatchingafish.Thentheywillhavethesensethatwhattheauthordescribesisrealandbelievable.Therefore,asKennethGrahamhassaid,manyfactsinthenovelaboutfishingandabouttheseahaveadoublefunction:theysatisfypeople’ssenseoftherealword.AndthisiswhatunderliesHemingway’sfamousstatementthathisintentionwasalwaystoconveytothereader“thewayitwas.”22 Allinall,Hemingway’slanguageinTheOldManandtheSeaissimpleandnaturalonthesurface,butactuallydeliberateandartificial.“Thelanguageisrarelyemotional.Rather,itcontrolsemotions:itholdsthemin.”23TheformingofthisdistinctstyleisrelatedtoHemingway’sownexperience.AndtheinfluenceofthisstyleisnotonlywithinAmericabutalsoallovertheworld.Thefactsinthenovelareselectedandusedasadevicetomakethefictionalworldaccepted.Unlikeothernovelistswhoaddallegoricalmeaningstotheirfacts,Hemingwayusesthefactssimplyandnaturally,withoutanyemotion.Inthelatterpartofthenovel,insteadofbeingnarratedbytheauthor,thefactsareusedfrominsideSantiago’sownconsciousness,andformpartofawholeschemeofthenovel.Besideswhathavebeenmentionedabove,othertechniquesinTheOldManandtheSea,suchasrealism,monologue,thecreationofsuspenseandsoon,arealsoverysuccessful.AlltheseshowHemingway’ssuperbartisticattainmentsasaNobelPrizewinner. Notes: 1.KennethGraham,“commentary”inYorkNotes:TheOldManandtheSea,(Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1991),p41 2.ChangYaoxin,“Chapter14”inASurveyofAmericanLiterature,(TianJin:NankaiUniversityPress,1987),p304 3.MaryA.Campbell,“StudyGuide”inTheOldManandtheSea,(Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1998),p126 4.ErnestHemingway,TheOldManandtheSea,(Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1998),p8 5.Ibid,p83 6.KennethGraham,“commentary”inYorkNotes:TheOldManandtheSea,(Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1991),p42 7.Ibid,p45 8.ErnestHemingway,TheOldManandtheSea,(Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1998),p20 9.ErnestHemingway,DeathintheAfternoon,(NewYork,1932),p138 10.Times,13December1954. 11.ErnestHemingway,TheOldManandtheSea,(Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1998),p2 12.Ibid,p1 13.ChangYaoxin,“Chapter14”inASurveyofAmericanLiterature,(TianJin:NankaiUniversityPress,1987),p295 14.A.E.Hotchner,PapaHemingway,(NewYork:RandomHouse,1966),p1 15.RogerAsselineau,ed,“Hemingway’sEnglishReputation”inTheLiteraryReputationofHemingwayinEurope,(NewYork:NewYorkUniversityPress,1965),p15 16.Ibid,p10 17.ChangYaoxin,“Chapter14”inASurveyofAmericanLiterature,(TianJin:NankaiUniversityPress,1987),p305 18.KennethGraham,“commentary”inYorkNotes:TheOldManandtheSea,(Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1991),p25 19.ErnestHemingway,TheOldManandtheSea,(Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1998),p79 20.KennethGraham,“commentary”inYorkNotes:TheOldManandtheSea,(Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1991),p29 21.ErnestHemingway,TheOldManandtheSea,(Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1998),p26 22.KennethGraham,“commentary”inYorkNotes:TheOldManandtheSea,(Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1991),p29 23.PeterB.High,“Chapter11”inAnOutlineofAmericanLiterature,(NewYork:LongmanInc.,1986),p147 Bibliography: 1.ChangYaoxin,“Chapter14”inASurveyofAmericanLiterature.TianJin:NankaiUniversityPress,1987 2.KennethGraham,“commentary”inYorkNotes:TheOldManandtheSea.Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1991 3.ErnestHemingway,TheOldManandtheSea.Beijing:worldPublishingCorporation,1998 4.崔道怡等编.《“冰山”理论:对话与潜对话》工人出版社,1987. 5.刁绍华.《海明威》.辽宁人民出版社,1980. 6.傅景川.《二十世纪美国小说史》.吉林教育出版社,1996 |