wgolding.lordoftheflies-第2部分

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


　down　by　the　enemy　and　the　youths　are　left　without　adult　pany　on　an　unpopulated　Pacific　island。　The　environment　in　which　they　find　themselves　actually　presents　no　serious　challenge：　the　island　is　a　paradise　of　flowers　and　fruit；　fresh　water　flows　from　the　mountain；　and　the　climate　is　gentle。　In　spite　of　these　unusual　natural　advantages；　the　children　fail　miserably　and　the　adventure　ends　in　a　reversal　of　their　（and　the　reader's）　expectations。　Within　a　short　time　the　rule　of　reason　is　overthrown　and　the　survivors　regress　to　savagery。
　During　the　first　days　on　the　island　there　is　little　forewarning　of　this　eventual　collapse　of　order。　The　boys　are　delighted　with　the　prospect　of　some　real　fun　before　the　adults　e　to　fetch　them。　With　innocent　enthusiasm　they　recall　the　storybook　romances　they　have　read　and　now　expect　to　enjoy　in　reality。　Among　these　is　The　Coral　Island；　Robert　Michael　Ballantyne's　heavily　moralistic　idyll　of　castaway　boys；　written　in　1858　yet　still；　in　our　atomic　age；　a　popular　adolescent　classic　in　England。　In　Ballantyne's　tale　everything　es　off　in　exemplary　style。　For　Ralph；　Jack；　and　Peterkin　（his　charming　young　imperialists）；　mastery　of　the　natural　environment　is　an　elementary　exercise　in　Anglo…Saxon　ingenuity。　The　fierce　pirates　who　invade　the　island　are　defeated　by　sheer　moral　force；　and　the　tribe　of　cannibalistic　savages　is　easily　converted　and　reformed　by　the　example　of　Christian　conduct　afforded　them。　The　Cord　Island　is　again　mentioned　by　the　naval　officer　who　es　to　rescue　Golding's　boys　from　the　nightmare　they　have　created；　and　so　the　adventure　of　these　enfants　terribles　is　ironically　juxtaposed　with　the　spectacular　success　of　the　Victorian　darlings。2　The　effect　is　to　hold　before　us　two　radically　different　pictures　of　human　nature　and　society。　Ballantyne；　no　less　than　Golding；　is　a　fabulist　3　who　asks　us　to　believe　that　the　evolution　of　affairs　on　his　coral　island　models　or　reflects　the　adult　world；　a　world　in　which　men　are　unfailingly　reasonable；　cooperative；　loving　and　lovable。　We　are　hardly　prepared　to　accept　these　optimistic　exaggerations；　though　Ballantyne's　story　suggests　essentially　the　same　flattering　image　of　civilized　man　found　in　so　many　familiar　island　fables。　In　choosing　to　parody　and　invert　this　image　Golding　posits　a　reality　the　tradition　has　generally　denied。
　The　character　of　this　reality　is　to　be　seen　in　the　final　episode　of　Lord　of　the　Flies。　When　the　cruiser　appears　offshore；　the　boy　Ralph　is　the　one　remaining　advocate　of　reason；　but　he　has　no　more　status　than　the　wild　pigs　of　the　forest　and　is　being　hunted　down　for　the　kill。　Shocked　by　their　filth；　their　disorder；　and　the　revelation　that　there　have　been　real　casualties；　the　officer　（with　appropriate　fatherly　indignation）　expresses　his　disappointment　in　this　〃pack　of　British　boys。〃　There　is　no　basis　for　his　surprise；　for　life　on　the　island　has　only　imitated　the　larger　tragedy　in　which　the　adults　of　the　outside　world　attempted　to　govern　themselves　reasonably　but　ended　in　the　same　game　of　hunt　and　kill。　Thus；　according　to　Golding；　the　aim　of　the　narrative　is　〃to　trace　the　defects　of　society　back　to　the　defects　of　human　nature〃；　the　moral　illustrated　is　that　〃the　shape　of　society　must　depend　on　the　ethical　nature　of　the　individual　and　not　on　any　political　system　however　apparently　logical　or　respectable。〃4　And　since　the　lost　children　are　the　inheritors　of　the　same　defects　of　nature　which　doomed　their　fathers；　the　tragedy　on　the　island　is　bound　to　repeat　the　actual　pattern　of　human　history。
　
　2。A　longer　discussion　of　Golding's　use　of　Ballantyne　appears　in　Carl　Niemeyer's　〃The　Coral　Island　Revisited。〃　See　pp。　217…223　in　this　volume。
　3。See　John　Peter's　〃The　Fables　of　William　Golding〃　on　pp。　229…234　of　this　volume。　A　less　simplistic　view　is　offered　by　Ian　Gregor　and　Mark　Kinkead…Weekes　in　their　Introduction　to　Faber's　School　Edition　of　Lord　of　the　Flies　reprinted　on　pp。　235…243　in　this　volume。
　
　
　The　central　fact　in　that　pattern　is　one　which　we；　like　the　fatuous　naval　officer；　are　virtually　incapable　of　perceiving：　first；　because　it　is　one　that　constitutes　an　affront　to　our　ego；　second；　because　it　controverts　the　carefully　and　elaborately　rationalized　record　of　history　which　sustains　the　ego　of　〃rational〃　man。　The　fact　is　that　regardless　of　the　intelligence　we　possess…an　intelligence　which　drives　us　in　a　tireless　effort　to　impose　an　order　upon　our　affairs…we　are　defeated　with　monotonous　regularity　by　our　own　irrationality。　〃History；〃　said　Joyce's　Dedalus；　is　a　nightmare　from　which　I　am　trying　to　awake。〃　5　But　we　do　not　awake。　Though　we　constantly　make　a　heroic　attempt　to　rise　to　a　level　ethically　superior　to　nature；　our　own　nature；　again　and　again　we　suffer　a　fall…brought　low　by　some　outburst　of　madness　because　of　the　limiting　defects　inherent　in　our　species。
　If　there　is　any　literary　precedent　for　the　image　of　man　contained　in　Gelding's　fable；　it　is　obviously　not　to　be　found　within　the　framework　of　a　tradition　that　embraces　Robinson　Crusoe　and　Swiss　Family　Robinson6　and　includes　also　those　island　episodes　in　Conrad's　novels　in　which　the　self…defeating　skepticism　of　a　Heyst　or　a　Decoud　serves　only　to　illustrate　the　value　of　illusions。7　All　of　these　offer　some　version　of　the　rationalist　orthodoxy　we　so　readily　accept；　even　though　the　text　may　not　be　so　boldly　simple　as　Ballantyne's　sermon　for　innocent　Victorians。　Quite　removed　from　this　tradition；　which　Golding　invariably　satirizes；　is　the　directly　acknowledged　influence　of　classical　Creek　literature。　Within　this　designation；　though　Golding's　critics　have　ignored　it；　is　an　obvious　admiration　for　Euripides。8　Among　the　plays　of　Euripides　it　is；　The　Bacchae　that　Golding；　like　Mamillius　of　The　Brass　Butterfly；　knows　by　heart　The　tragedy　is　a　bitter　allegory　on　the　degeneration　of　society；　and　it　contains　the　basic　parable　which　informs　so　much　of　Golding's　work。　Most　of　all；　Lord　of　the　Flies；　for　here　the　point　of　view　is　similar　to　that　of　the　aging　Euripides　after　he　was　driven　into　exile　from　Athens。　Before　his　departure　the　tragedian　brought　down　upon　himself　the　mockery　and　disfavor　of　a　mediocre　regime　like　the　one　which　later　condemned　Socrates。　The　Bacchae；　however；　is　more　than　an　expression　of　disillusionment　with　the　failing　democracy。　Its　aim　is　precisely　what　Golding　has　declared　to　be　his　own：　〃to　trace　the　defects　of　society　back　to　the　defects　of　　human　nature；〃　and　so　account　for　the　failure　of　reason　and　the　inevitable；　blind　ritual…hunt　in　which　we　seek　to　kill　the　〃beast〃　within　our　own　being。
　
　4。　Quoted　by　E。　L。　Epstein　in　his　〃Notes　on　Lord　of　the　Flies。〃　See　below；　p。　277。
　5。　Ulysses　（New　York：　The　Modem　Library；　1961）；　p。34。
　6。See　Golding's　remarks　on　these　novels　and　Treasure　Island　in　his　review　called　〃Islands；〃　Spectator；　204　（June　10；　1960）；　844…46。
　7。Thus　far；　attempts　to　pare　Golding　and　Conrad　have　been　unsuccessful。　See　Golding's　remarks　on　Conrad　（and　Richard　Hughes's　High　Wind　in　Jamaica）　in　the　interview　by　James　Keating　on　p。　194　in　this　volume。　See　also　William　R。　Mueller's　essay；　p。　251。
　
　The　Bacchae　is　based　on　a　legend　of　Dionysus　wherein　the　god　（a　son　of　Zeus　and　the　mortal　Semele；　daughter　of　Cadmus）　descends　upon　Thebes　in　great　wrath；　determined　to　take　revenge　upon　the　young　king；　Pentheus；　who　has　denied　him　recognition　and　prohibited　his　worship。　Dionysus　wins　as　devotees　the　daughters　of　Cadmus　and　through　his　power　of　enchantment　decrees　that　Agave；　mother　of　Pentheus；　shall　lead　the　band　in　frenzied　celebrations。　Pentheus　bluntly　opposes　the　god　and　tries　by　every　means　to　preserve　order　against　the　rising　tide　of　madness　in　his　kingdom。　The　folly　of　his　proud　resistance'　is　shown　in　the　defeat　of　all　that　Pentheus　represents：　the　bacchantes　trample　on　his　edicts　and　in　wild　marches　through　the　land　wreck　everything　in　their　path。　Thus　prepared　for　his　vengeance；　Dionysus　casts　a　spell　over　Pentheus。　With　his　judgment　weakened　and　his　identity　obscured　in　the　dress　of　a　woman；　the　defeated　prince　sets　out　to　spy　upon　the　orgies。　In　the　excitement　of　their　rituals　the　bacchantes　live　in　illusion；　and　all　that　falls　in　their　way　undergoes　a　metamorphosis　which　brings　it　into　accord　with　the　natural　images　of　their