《缺席了,英语教师》中的二重唱意象

The Duet Image in Absent:The English Teacher

约翰·埃佩尔是当代津巴布韦文坛成就突出、叙事话语另类的殖民流散作家,其小说名作《缺席了,英语教师》中的白鸟和黑鸟二重唱意象构思巧妙,意蕴深刻。本文结合非洲的乌班图伦理与中国学者的意象观解读二重唱意象在“津巴布韦危机”语境下的丰富意蕴及其成因,认为这一审美意象成功捕捉到了契合时代呼声的种族和谐愿景,以及黑白种族互相成就、携手共建津巴布韦的共同体意识,是作家反对种族主义的注脚,更是他非洲局内人身份、主人翁精神、融入者情愫的体现。本文试图彰显中国学者主体性的分析和发现,并希望有助于丰富非洲区域国别研究,为中国等第三世界学者提升学术话语权带来启迪。

John Eppel,the contemporary Zimbabwean author is a unique Colonial Diasporic writer with outstanding literary achievements and unconventional narrative discourses.The duet image of a white bird and a black bird in his representative novel Absent:The English Teacher is ingeniously conceived and has profound implications.Using the framework of the African ethic of Ubuntu,and Chinese scholars'views on imagery,this essay analyzes the rich connotations of the duet image and delves into the causes of it in the context of"Zimbabwe Crises,"deeming that the image successfully captures the racial harmony vision and the awareness of community constructed by the joint efforts and mutual achievements of black and white,echoing the call of the current Zimbabwe society.The crafty design of the duet image illustrates well Eppel's separation from racism,and his identity as an insider,the spirit of master,and the emotion of integrator in Africa.The analysis and findings highlight the subjectivity of Chinese scholars,helping develop African studies,and also providing enlightenment for Chinese and other third-world scholars to enhance their academic discourse power.