卡佛小说中“威胁感”的制造技巧

An Analysis of Writing Skills of the Power of Menace in Carver's Short Stories

在卡佛短篇小说中读者经常会体会到"威胁感"(menace)。"威胁感"有两个方面的表现:第一,小说中人物的境况,遭遇与命运昭然若揭,但是又未能定义,很多时候读者能够从小说中感受到一种表象即将被揭穿或逆转,人物关系受到威胁,或者这种关系中暗藏着一种暴力;第二,未能定位的时间,环境,情节,话语使读者缺乏安全感。制造这种威胁感的技巧主要有:(1)场景上的"静"与话语上的"动"的对比;(2)小说时间,环境,情节,话语的模糊,省略和空缺;(3)小说中对话的多义性等。

Readers would feel the power of menace in Carver＇s short stories. Here, Menace could be understood in two aspects： Firstly, the destiny of the characters could not be completely defined or fixed, and the reader could feel that some secrets would be uncovered or the relations of the characters could be seriously threatened; secondly, the flexible plan of time, locations, plot and discourses leave the readers uneasy. This paper intends to explore the writing skills to produce menace, including the comparison between the quietness of the scene and the violence of the conver- sation; the intentional eclipse of the time, plot and discourse; and the multiple meanings of the conversations.