苏珊·桑塔格的小说《死亡匣子》的显微术式叙述

The Microscopic Narrative in Susan Sontag's Death Kit

在小说《死亡匣子》中,为了契合主人公的职业身份和敏感气质,苏珊.桑塔格创造了一种显微术式叙述。首先,就文本格式而言,排版上的缩进、括号和首字母大写的限定词的频繁出现,以及不完整或片段式句式的大量使用,成为醒目而密集的显微术式叙述标记,成功打造出类似将叙述对象置于显微镜下操作和观察的效果。其次,"显微镜"和"失明"既是作品中不断凸显的典型隐喻,也是作家反复采取镜头化处理的表现,高度强化了主人公对于痛苦和黑暗的感受。再次,作家在杂乱无章的情节表象中巧设链接,实现事件、地点和人物之间的叠合与重复,使故事成为对主人公生命与死亡的显微探察。由此观之,作品所呈现的主人公的阶段性生命只是一段被延展、放慢或高倍数放大的弥留之际的狂想之旅。

Susan Sontag creates a microscopic narrative in Death Kit so as to correspond with the hero＇s profession and personality.Firstly,in text format,the frequent use of parentheses,of modifiers starting with capital letters,of incomplete or fragmentary sentences,as well as the numerous indentations,are the microscopic narrative markers,which successfully produce an effect similar to that of microscopic operation and observation.Secondly,＂the microscope＂ and ＂blindness＂ are not only the recurrent and typical metaphors in the novel,but also one of the writer＇s means of continuous lensing treatment,thus intensifying the hero＇s feelings of unhappiness and darkness.Thirdly,the seemingly disorderly plot embodies intricate links that reveal the overlapping and repetition of incidents,places and characters,so that the story is in fact a microscopic examination of the hero＇s life and death.In light of all this,it can be concluded that the hero＇s life stage as presented in the novel is just a prolonged or amplified journey into fantasyland as he lay dying.