撤销·回溯·复魅:托马斯·品钦作品中的事件

Undoing,Retroactivity and Enchantment:The Events in Thomas Pynchon’s Writings

由于托马斯·品钦在作品中穿插了诸多被边缘化乃至掩盖却又对历史进程产生重要影响的事件,一直以来针对历史意识和殖民话语的研究都是品钦研究领域的热点。事实上,就历史事件这一名词而言,相对于历史本身,品钦更关注事件在历史进程中的转折作用。品钦从历史出发,以事件为落脚点,直指在理性和技术的侵蚀和封闭下,现代社会已是“熵痕”累累,人们所面临的困境和殖民主义时期并无二致,却又无动于衷,习以为常。通过对特定被撤销历史事件的再现、对殖民主义熵痕的回溯,品钦试图引发读者对历史与现实之间关系的思考,以史为鉴,以期复魅。

Since Thomas Pynchon represented in his works a good many of marginalized events which exerted eventful influence on history,the studies on historical consciousness and colonial discourse have been the major focuses of Pynchon studies.In fact,when it comes to the notion of historical event,Pynchon attached greater importance to event than history.With history as the foothold and the event as the end,Pynchon suggests that the modern society has been eclipsed by entropy since we are slave for rationalism and technology.As a result of the fact,the contemporary people are leading a life with no big difference from the colonial period in which they are too accustomed and reluctant to make a change.By representing the undone historical events,retrospecting the entropic trace of colonialism,Pynchon means to arouse the readers to draw a lesson from history and reflect upon the reality,so that they can eventually become enchanted.