斯坦贝克作品“动物化倾向”再认识——斯坦贝克作品中的人与动物

On Steinbeck's "Animalizing Tendencies" ——the relationship between man and animal in Steinbeck's works

囿于特定的时代眼光和批评视野,20世纪中期美国文学评论界普遍认为,约翰.斯坦贝克的作品赋予人类以动物般的特性,将人降至动物的水平,因此作品带有"动物化倾向"。本文试图在新的时代语境中,通过文本细读,深入分析他作品与动物结缘的原因:即基于作者生物学的实践和知识以及非目的论的哲学思维。作者认为,被某些批评家贬低为"动物化倾向"的文本实际上是还原了人类作为动物世界一部分的这一事实真相,这在一定程度上,有力地反拨了对人在自然界的地位的过分夸大。论文认为今天他的作品在全球仍持续受到关注,恰恰是因为他作品的这一"动物化倾向"。

Due to the constraint of certain historical insight and critical vision,in the mid-20th century,John Steinbeck had been severely criticized by the contemporaries for his animalizing tendencies in his works for he reduced humans to the level of animals,endowed human with animal＇s characteristics.Through close reading,this paper attempts to analyze,in the historical context of the new era,both his non-teleological thinking and biological thinking which account for the animalizing tendencies,arguing that the so-called ＂animalizing tendencies＂ in his works actually restores the truth that human beings are only part of nature,thus weakened the overwhelmingly exaggerated role of human beings in the world.The author believes that it is the ＂animalizing tendencies＂ that win Steinbeck continued attention around the world in the new era.