英国儿童小说《国家》中的民族叙事和身份认同

National Narratives and Identity Formation in the Children’s Novel Nation

著名儿童小说作家特里·普拉切特的《国家》把当代英国儿童文学作品的后殖民书写向前更推进了一步,不但颠覆了英帝国的民族叙事话语,而且呈现了"主流"文化和"他者"文化复杂地进行碰撞、协调和交互的动态图,见证了作家对当代英国民族性问题的思考。小说主要采取双重聚焦的叙述手法,赋予男女主人公独立思考的能力和主动选择的权力。两人经历了自我反思、相互体认和自我发现的成长历程,通过相互交流、共同面对考验,重新认知了各自的民族身份,在对共同体的民族想象中实现了对新身份的认同。作为儿童小说,《国家》具有其独特的现实意义和价值。

The British children’s fantasy,Nation,by the famous writer Terry Pratchett,offers a postcolonial intervention in contemporary British children’s literature.It not only reverses the conventions of British imperial national narratives but also demonstrates cultural dynamics between the dominant group and its other,and shows how the author addresses the issue of nationality in the British society of multiple cultures.The novel,with its double focalization when it comes to representing the dialogue between different cultural positions,empowers the young protagonists to question their traditional national identities,to experience each other’s cultural practices,to redefine themselves and reclaim their identity within the new community of"Nation".