南方畸人的挽歌——论奥康纳《救人就是救自己》的悲剧书写

The Elegy of the Southern Abnormal People:Tragic Writing inO'Connor's The Life You Save May Be Your Own

《救人就是救自己》是美国南方文学代表作家玛丽·弗兰纳里·奥康纳的短篇小说,具有浓厚的悲剧色彩。从人物设置角度而言,身心残缺的史福特利特、嫁女心切的老妇人露西奈尔和聋哑女孩小露西奈尔等畸人,制造和承担了悲剧事件,反映并推动了社会的道德滑坡;起伏波动的故事情节不断调动着读者的情绪,使读者对史福特利特的态度由怜悯到称赞,再至愤慨,最终转化为悲剧谢幕时的感伤;巧妙运用的象征手法,营造了压抑的氛围,增强了故事的悲剧性。该小说映射了美国南方传统社会被北方工业化、商业化和世俗化浪潮淹没的历史背景。被异化的南方畸人陷入了身份危机,他们既是混乱时代的受害者,也是悲剧蔓延的推手。

The Life You Save May Be Your Own is a short story by Mary Flannery O'Connor,a representative writer of the American Southern literature.It has strong tragic overtones.In terms of character setting,the physically and mentally crippled Mr.Shiftlet,the old woman Lucynell who is eager to marry her daughter and the deaf and mute girl little Lucynell and other abnormal people create the tragic events and bear the consequences.The story reflects and promotes the moral decline of society.The fluctuating storyline constantly arouses readers'emotions,rendering readers'attitude toward Shiftlet from pity to praise,then to indignation,and finally transforming into sentimentality at the end of the tragedy.The clever use of symbolism creates a depressing atmosphere and enhances the tragic nature of the story.The story reflects the historical background of the traditional society of the American South that has been overwhelmed by the wave of industrialization,commercialization and secularization in the North.The alienated southern abnormal people are caught in an identity crisis,and they are both the victims of the chaotic times and the drivers of the spreading tragedy.