谁是美国人——《血色子午线》与19世纪中期的美国国家身份意识

Who is American:Blood Meridian and American Identity in the Mid-19th Century

科马克·麦卡锡的小说《血色子午线》重新审视了19世纪中期美国国家身份的话语逻辑。从种族主义、性别意识和文明论角度加以构建的天定使命观塑造了19世纪中期美国人的国家身份意识,为美国领土扩张提供了正当性话语,成为当时美国人理解自身及与外部世界关系的关键。小说涉及的美墨战争、私人军事冒险和印第安人头皮猎杀等暴力行径为探究麦卡锡对文明、国家、帝国和种族的态度提供了重要线索,也为理解当下美国与世界的关系写下注脚。

In Blood Meridian,Cormac McCarthy reexamines the discourse of American identity in the mid-19th century.Constructed from the perspectives of racism,sexism and civilization,the ideology of Manifest Destiny helped shape American identity in the mid-19th century,provided legitimate discourse for westward expansion,and became the key for Americans to understand their national identity and their relations with rest of the world at that time.The Mexican-American War,filibustering and scalp hunting involved in this novel provide an important clue to McCarthy’s attitude towards civilization,nation,empire and race,and also a footnote to current relations between the United States and the world.