wgolding.lordoftheflies-第56部分

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at　threatens　a　fable　is　utterly　different；　in　fact　the　precise　opposite。　When　a　fable　is　poor…geometrically　projected　again…it　is　bare　and　diagrammatic；　insufficiently　clothed　in　its　garment　of　actuality；　and　in　turn　its　appeal　is　extra…aesthetic　and　narrow。　Satires　like　Animal　Farm　are　of　this　kind。
　It　will　be　said　that　any　such　distinction　must　be　a　neutral　one；　and　that　the　best　novels　are　fictions　which　have　managed　to　retain　their　due　share　of　the　fable's　coherence　and　order。　No　doubt　this　is　true。　But　it　also　seems　to　be　true　that　novels　can　go　a　good　deal　farther'；　without　serious　damage；　in　the　direction　of　fiction　than　they　can　in　the　direction　of　fable；　and　this　suggests　that　fiction　is　a　much　more　congenial　mode　for　the　novelist　than　fable　can　ever　be。　The　trouble　with　the　mode　of　fable　is　that　it　is　constricting。　As　soon　as　a　novelist　has　a　particular　end　in　view　the　materials　from　which　he　may　choose　begin　to　shrink；　and　to　dispose　themselves　toward　that　end。　。　。　。　The　fact　is　that　a　novelist　depends　ultimately　not　only　on　the　richness　of　his　materials　but　on　the　richness　of　his　interests　too；　and　fable；　by　tying　these　to　a　specific　end；　tends　to　reduce　both。　Even　the　most　chaotic　fiction　will　have　some　sort　of　emergent　meaning；　provided　it　is　a　full　and　viable　reflection　of　the　life　from　which　it　derives；　if　only　because　the　unconscious　preoccupations　of　the　novelist　will　help　to　impart　such　meaning　to　it；　drawing　it　into　certain　lines　like　iron　filing　sprinkled　in　a　magnetic　field。　Fables；　however；　can　only　be　submerged　in　actuality　with　difficulty；　and　they　are　liable　to　bob　up　again　like　corks；　in　all　their　plain　explicit…ness。　It　may　even　be　true　to　say　that　they　are　best　embodied　in　short　stories；　where'　economy　is　vital　and　〃pointlessness〃　（except　for　its　brevity）　paratively　intolerable。
　***
　Lord　of　the　Flies；　which　appeared　in　1954；　is　set　on　an　imaginary　South　Sea　island；　and　until　the　last　three　pages　the　only　characters　in　it　are　boys。　They　have　apparently　been　evacuated　from　Britain；　where　an　atomic　war　is　raging；　and　are　accidentally　stranded　on　the　island　without　an　adult　supervisor。　The　administrative　duties　of　their　society　（which　includes　a　number　of　〃littluns；〃　aged　about　six）　devolve　upon　their　elected　leader；　a　boy　of　twelve　named　Ralph；　who　is　assisted　by　a　responsible；　unattractive　boy　called　Piggy；　but　as　time　passes　an　independent　party　grows　up；　the　〃hunters；〃　led　by　an　angular　ex…choir　leader　named　Jack　Merridew。　This　party；　soon　habituated　to　the　shedding　of　animal　blood；　recedes　farther　and　farther　from　the　standards　of　civilization　which　Ralph　and　Piggy　are　straining　to　preserve；　and　before　very　long　it　is　transformed　into　a　savage　group　of　outlaws　with　a　costume　and　a　ritual　of　their　own。　In　the　course　of　one　of　their　dance…feasts；　drunk　with　tribal　excitement；　they　are　responsible　for　killing　the　one　individual　on　the　island　who　has　a　real　insight　into　the　problems　of　their　lives；　a　frail　boy　called　Simon；　subject　to　fainting　fits；　and　after　this　more　or　less　intentional　sacrifice　they　lose　all　sense　of　restraint　and　bee　a　band　of　criminal　marauders；　a　threat　to　everyone　on　the　island　outside　their　own　tribe。　Piggy　is　murdered　by　their　self…constituted　witch　doctor　and　torturer；　the　secretive　and　sinister　Roger；　and　Ralph　is　hunted　by　them　across　the　island　like　the　pigs　they　are　accustomed　to　kill。　Before　they　can　kill　and　decapitate　him　a　naval　detachment　arrives　and　takes　charge　of　all　the　children　who　have　survived。
　It　is　obvious　that　this　conclusion　is　not　a　concession　to　readers　who　require　a　happy　ending…only　an　idiot　will　suppose　that　the　book　ends　happily…but　a　deliberate　device　by　which　to　throw　the　story　into　focus。　With　the　appearance　of　the　naval　officer　the　bloodthirsty　hunters　are　instantly　reduced　to　a　group　of　painted　urchins　led　by　〃a　little　boy　who　wore　the　remains　of　an　extraordinary　black　cap；〃　yet　the　reduction　cannot　expunge　the　knowledge　of　what　they　have　done　and　meant　to　do。　The　abrupt　return　to　childhood；　to　insignificance；　underscores　the　argument　of　the　narrative：　that　Evil　is　inherent　in　the　human　mind　itself；　whatever　innocence　may　cloak　it；　ready　to　put　forth　its　strength　as　soon　as　the　occasion　is　propitious。　This　is　Golding's　theme；　and　it　takes　on　a　frightful　force　by　being　presented　in　juvenile　terms；　in　a　setting　that　is　twice　deliberately　likened　to　the　sunny　Coral　Island　of　R。　M。　Ballantyne。2　The　boys'　society　represents；　in　embryo；　the　society　of　the　adult　world；　their　impulses　and　convictions　are　those　of　adults　incisively　abridged；　and　the　whole　narrative　is　a　powerfully　ironic　mentary　on　the　nature　of　Man；　an　accusation　levelled　at　us　all。　There　are　no　excuses　for　placency　in　the　fretful　conscientiousness　of　Ralph；　the　leader；　nor　in　Piggy's　anxious　monsense；　nor　are　the　miscreants　made　to　seem　exceptional。　When　he　first　encounters　a　pig；　Jack　Merridew　is　quite　incapable　of　harming　it；　〃because　of　the　enormity　of　the　knife　descending　and　cutting　into　living　flesh；〃　and　even　the　delinquent　Roger　is　at　first　restrained　by　the　taboos　of　〃parents　and　school　and　policemen　and　the　law。〃　Strip　these　away　and　even　Ralph　might　be　a　hunter：　it　is　his　duties　as　a　leader　that　save　him；　rather　than　any　intrinsic　virtue　in　himself。3　Like　any　orthodox　moralist　Golding　insists　that　Man　is　a　fallen　creature；　but　he　refuses　to　hypostatize　Evil　or　to　locate　it　in　a　dimension　of　its　own。　On　the　contrary　Beelzebub；　Lord　of　the　Flies；　is　Roger　and　Jack　and　you　and　I；　ready　to　declare　himself　as　soon　as　we　permit　him　to。
　The　intentness　with　which　this　thesis　is　developed　leaves
　
　2。A　discussion　of　the　relationship　between　Ballantyne's　novel　The　Coral　Island；　published　in　1857　in　England；　and　Lord　of　the　Flies　occurs　in　Carl　Niemeyer's　〃The　Coral　Island　Revisited；〃　College　English；　22　（January；　1961）；　241…245。　Reprinted　in　this　volume；　pp。　217…223。…Eds。
　3。　As　an　illustration　of　this　argument；　note　Ralph's　actions　when　the　boys　attack　Robert　as　the　substitute　pig；　p。　106　and　when　Simon　is　killed　as　the　beast；　p。　141。…Eds。
　
　no　doubt　that　the　novel　is　a　fable；　a　deliberate　translation　of　a　proposition　into　the　dramatized　terms　of　art；　and　as　usual　we　have　to　ask　ourselves　how　resourceful　and　plete　the　translation　has　been；　how　fully　the；　thesis　has　been　absorbed　and　rendered　implicit　in　the　tale　as　it　is　told。　A　writer　of　fables　will　heat　his　story　at　the　fire　of　his　convictions；　but　when　he　has　finished；　the　story　must　glow　apart；　generating　its　own　heat　from　within。　Golding　himself　provides　a　criterion　for　judgment　here；　for　he　offers　a　striking　example　of　how　plete　the　translation　of　a　statement　into　plastic　terms　can　be。　Soon　after　their　arrival　the　children　develop　an　irrational　suspicion　that　there　is　a　predatory　beast　at　large　on　the　island。　This　has　of　course　no　real　existence；　as　Piggy　for　one　points　out；　but　to　the　littluns　it　is　almost　as　tangible　as　their　castles　in　the　sand；　and　most　of　the　older　boys　are　afraid　they　may　be　right。　One　night　when　all　are　sleeping　there　is　an　air　battle　ten　miles　above　the　sea　and　a　parachuted　man；　already　dead；　es　drifting　down　through　the　darkness；　to　settle　among　the　rocks　that　crown　the　island's　only　mountain。　There　the　corpse　lies　unnoticed；　rising　and　falling　with　the　gusts　of　the　wind；　its　harness　snagged　on　the　bushes　and　its　parachute　distending　and　collapsing。　When　it　is　discovered　and　the　frightened　boys　mistake　it　for　the　beast；　the　sequence　is　natural　and　convincing；　yet　the　implicit　statement　is　quite　unmistakable　too。　The　inprehensible　threat　which　has　hung　over　them　is；　so　to　speak；　identified　and　explained：　a　nameless　figure　who　is　Man　himself；　the　boys'　own　natures；　the　something　that　all　humans　have　in　mon。
　This　is　finely　done　and　needs　no　further　ment；　but　unhappily　the　explicit　ment　has　already　been　provided；　in　Simon's　halting　explanation　of　the　beast's　identity：　〃What　I　mean　is　。。。　maybe　it's　only　us。〃　And　a　little　later　we　are　told　that　〃However　Simon　thought　of　the　beast；　there　rose　before　his　inward　sight　the　picture　of　a　human　at　once　heroic　and　sick。〃　This　over…explicitness　is　my　main　criticism　of　what　is　in　many　ways　a　work　of　real　distinction；　and　for　two　reasons　it　appe