内心的战争——浅析“二战”背景在小说《一个人的和平》中的象征意义

The War Within——A Brief Study on the Symbolic Level of the Function of World War II in the Novel A Separate Peace

小说《一个人的和平》中,"二战"背景若隐若现,不断逼近德文校园和学生们。它有很多象征意义:代表纯真不再,成年期的到来;最重要的是,代表刚刚走出天真的人们把人生想成战场,寻找根本不存在的敌人。正是这些象征意义烘托与强化了小说的主题与名字:至纯至善的菲尼拒绝相信有人会成为他的敌人,他创造了"一个人的和平"。通过分析"二战"在贯穿故事始末、表现主题成分以及主要人物内心刻画等三方面所蕴含的象征意义,更好地理解了作者的写作目的与表述主题。

In the novel A Separate Peace, the background of the World War II constitutes a looming presence, constantly pressing on Devon and drawing closer to the boys. Its symbolic meanings are numerous ： it represents a loss of innocence, the coming of adulthood ; and most importantly, the way that human beings, out of ignorance, regard the world as a hostile place and look for enemies where none exist. It is these symbolic meanings that set off by contrast and enhance the theme and the title of the novel ： Finny, the champion of innocence, who refuses to believe that anyone could be his enemy, creates the ＂separate peace＂ for himself. The thesis attempts to analyze the function of World War II in the novel A Separate Peace on a symbolic level from three perspectives ： the development of the story, the expression of the motifs and the characters＇ depiction, thus to understand the writing goal and the expressed theme better.