梭罗《缅因森林》中印第安向导群像的文化信息

Cultural Information Contained in the Group Images of Indian Guides in Thoreau's The Main Woods

在长篇自然散文《缅因森林》中,梭罗在深入考察森林生态系统的同时,刻画了四个印第安向导的形像,通过这组群像透露出重要的文化信息:印第安人世代积累和传承的"印第安智慧"来自狩猎生活与森林生态系统的互动,又保障了森林的生生不息和印第安人的繁衍,是一种神奇的智慧;但是随着资本主义工业文明的侵入,森林和印第安人的传统生活方式遭到破坏,独立战争后一代印第安人身上的"印第安智慧"开始走向衰微。这组群像具有宝贵的文学和历史价值。

In his long nature essay The Main Woods, Thoreau portrayed four Indian guides while making an in-depth investigation of the forest ecosystem. The group images of these Indian guides contain important cultural information ： The ＂Indian wisdom＂, a kind of marvelous wisdom, which the Indians had accumulated and passed on from generation to generation, came from the interaction of the hunting life and the forest ecosystem ; in the meantime, it ensured evolution of the forest and reproduction of the Indians. With the invasion of the capitalist industrial civilization, however, both the forest and the traditional Indian life style were destroyed. The ＂Indian wisdom＂ had begun to decline in the generation after the War of Independence. Thus, their group images are precious for literary and historical studies.