论《英国病人》中民族身份的后殖民叙事

Post-colonial Narration of National Identity in The English Patient

民族身份的实质是对民族关系的界定。与殖民文学和反殖民文学不同,后殖民文学摒弃了二元对立叙事模式,而采用含混叙事模式探索民族身份,界定民族关系。加拿大著名作家迈克尔.翁达吉的小说《英国病人》以二战为背景,对英国、加拿大、匈牙利、印度之间的民族关系及文化关系进行探讨比较,委婉含蓄地揭露帝国主义的罪恶,探索东西方民族和睦相处、平等交流的可能性,折射了多元文化背景下流散作家对当今世界地缘政治的洞察和对世界和平的期盼,堪称后殖民文学经典。

The nature of national identity is national relation. Unlike colonial and anti-colonial literature, post-colonial literature gives up binary opposition, but adopts ambivalent narration in inscribing national identities. Taking the Second World War as its setting, The English Patient, written by Michael Ondaatje, is an exploration of the national and cultural relations among England, Canada, Hungary and India. Using ambivalent narration, it mildly expresses a criticism against imperialism and probes the possibility of equal commanication between the East and the West. It reflects the insight of a diaspora writer into contemporary world geopolitics, a hunger for worht peace, thus setting up a good model of post-colonial literature.