乌托邦建构的悖论:从《上来透口气》看乔治·奥威尔的文化保守主义倾向

The Paradox of Utopia:The Cultural Conservatism in George Orwell's Coming Up for Air

《上来透口气》是乔治·奥威尔在“二战”前夕发表的小说,旨在构建一个以家庭生活和乡村文化为核心的乌托邦,以重塑民族身份的统一性,但这一构想并未成功。本文从奥威尔对社会阶级和民族文化的理解两个方面入手,探讨其乌托邦建构失败的原因。首先,以主人公保灵为代表的下层中产阶级很难形成独立的身份政治。其次,奥威尔的思想中存在小英格兰主义的倾向,与他主张的社会变革之间存在根深蒂固的矛盾。促使奥威尔走向反乌托邦写作的原因,除了外在的政治因素外,还有作者本人在社会阶级和民族文化认知上的保守主义倾向。

Coming Up for Air is a novel written by George Orwell just before World War II.The novel aimed to create a utopia centered around family life and rural culture in order to rebuild national identity.However,this ambitious vision ultimately fails.This paper delves into the factors contributed to Orwell's unsuccessful endeavor,examining two aspects:class and national culture.Firstly,it is challenging for the lower-middle class,represented by the protagonist George Bowling,to establish an autonomous identity.Secondly,Orwell's thoughts exhibit a tendency towards little Englandism,which inherently contradicts his advocacy for social transformation.Orwell's conservative leanings regarding social class and national culture propel him towards anti-utopianism in his later works.