“高尚的野蛮人”与英国历险小说中的土著形象

The Idea of Noble Savage and the Image of the Natives in the Victorian Adventure Fiction

在英国历险小说中,土著大都被刻画成负面的"他者"形象,不过我们也能看到少数"高尚的土著"形象,他们淳朴、高尚、慷慨,勇于自我牺牲,亲近基督教,往往是欧洲人的助手和忠仆。究其缘由,可以发现,这些"高尚的土著"形象是欧洲文化传统中的"高尚的野蛮人"思想和英国殖民扩张时的现实需要相结合的产物,是另一种形式的种族主义思想的表现,目的仍然是为大英帝国的殖民扩张服务。在当今新殖民主义思潮暗流汹涌的语境里,了解这一点仍然具有很强的现实意义。

Generally speaking,the natives in English adventure fiction are mostly portrayed as 'the Other',evil,cruel,timid and idol-worshipping.However,we could also find some 'good' natives in these adventure works.Simple,pure,generous,self-sacrificing and in favour of Christianity,these 'good' natives are often faithful servants and assistants of the Europeans.Further research reveals that the image of these 'good' natives is the combined product of the European 'noble savage' tradition and the practical need of the English for faithful servants and assistants in their colonial expansion.As another expression of racism,the portrayal of these 'good' natives still serves the need of the colonial expansion of the British Empire.It is necessary to know all this when Neo-colonialism still persists today.