言说无法言说的恐怖主义:论厄普代克的《恐怖分子》

Speaking the Unspeakable Terrorism: On John Updike's Terrorist

恐怖主义本身是一种言说行为,但恐怖主义对受害方来说往往是不可言说的。厄普代克的《恐怖分子》言说不可言说的恐怖主义,从而招致西方学界的有意无视乃至恶评。形成鲜明对照的是,它在中国评论界却得到了一致好评,但往往将主人公艾哈迈德误读为一个"弃恶扬善"、"回归理性"的恐怖分子。从西方恐怖主义小说的书写传统以及中西双方对恐怖主义的不同体认来探究缘由,厄普代克既非像西方论者所说的"同情恐怖分子",也非国内学人所言描写了一个迷途知返的羔羊,而是旨在批判美国的物质主义和消费文化。恐怖主义产生的原因复杂,小说表明它既源于美国主流社会信仰丧失对族裔青年造成的冲击,又因为边缘群体深切的异化感和孤独感使他们渴望认同,从而在伊斯兰教之类宗教组织中寻求归属感。对《恐怖分子》误读的原因可能在于没有用"诗性的思考"来对待厄普代克"诗性的思维"。

Terrorism itself is an act of speaking,but it is unspeakable for the victims or the potential ones.John Updike’s Terrorist speaks the unspeakable terrorism,thus incurring intentional neglects,even abuses,in the Western academia.In contrast,the novel enjoys almost unanimously positive appraisals in China,among which,however,exists misreading,regarding the protagonist Ahmad as a terrorist who"goes from evil to good",and"returns to the rational"finally.Observed from the conventions of writing terrorism novels in the West and different experiences of both Westerners and Chinese people,by writing Terrorist Updike neither"empathizes with a potential suicide bomber"as some Western critics claim,nor describes a stray lamb who retracts from the wrong path.Instead,he intends to criticize the materialism and consumerism in American society as he usually does,and explore the possible reasons for terrorism from the perspectives of both American mainstream society and Muslim community.Terrorist demonstrates the complicated reasons,among which are the impact of the loss of belief in American mainstream society on minority groups,the profound sense of alienation and isolation of the marginal communities,and their craving for identity,thus seeking for the sense of belonging in such religious organization as Islam.The misinterpretations of Terrorist may result from failure in thinking poetically about Updike’s"poetic thinking"in the novel.