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wgolding.lordoftheflies-第44部分
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The fourth hunt is an electrifying success; a mayhem acplished with no twitch of conscience; no element of pretense。 The boys discover a sow 〃sunk in deep maternal bliss;〃 〃the great bladder of her belly 。 。 。 fringed with a row of piglets that slept or burrowed and squeaked。〃 What a prize! Wounded; she flees; 〃bleeding and mad〃; 〃the hunters followed; wedded to her in lust; excited by the long chase and the dropped blood。〃 The sow finally falters and in a ghastly scene Jack and Roger ecstatically consummate their desires:
Here; struck down by the heat; the sow fell and the hunters hurled themselves at her。 This dreadful eruption from an unknown world made her frantic; she squealed and bucked and the air was full of sweat and noise and blood and terror。 Roger ran round the heap; prodding with his spear whenever pigflesh appeared。 Jack was on top of the sow; stabbing downward with his knife。 Roger found a lodgment for his point and began to push till he was leaning with his whole weight。 The spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a high…pitched scream。 Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands。 The sow collapsed under them and they were heavy and fulfilled upon her。 The butterflies still danced; preoccupied in the center of the clearing。
The fifth hunt; moving us even closer to the unbridled impulses of the human heart; is a fine amalgam of the third and fourth。 This time Simon is at the center of the hideous circle; yet the pursuit is no more make…believe than it was with the heavy…teated sow。 Simon is murdered not only without punction but with orgiastic delight。
The final and climactic abhorrence is the hunt for Ralph。 Its terror will not be celebrated here; suffice it to say that one refinement not present in the Simon episode is added …a stick Roger sharpens at both ends。 It had indeed been used for the sow; with one point piercing the earth and the other supporting the severed head; but its human use had not yet been tested on that island paradise。
Such being Mr。 Golding's art and conviction; it is little wonder that some readers have judged him offensive; revolting; depravedly sensational; utterly wicked。 He has been impelled to say that many human beings; left unrestrainedly to their own devices; will find the most natural expression of their desires to lie in human head…hunting。 Those who affirm that man is made in God's image will be given some pause; but upon reflection they will probably interpret the novel as a portrayal of the inevitable and ultimate condition of a world without grace。 Those who affirm that man is basically and inherently good…and being better…may simply find the novel a monstrous perpetuation of falsehood。
Golding's main offense; I suppose; is that he profanes what many men hold most precious: belief that the human being is essentially good and the child essentially innocent。 Yet his offense; as well as his genius; lies not in any originality of view or statement but in his startling ability to make his story real; so real that many readers can only draw back in terror。 I would strongly affirm; however; that Golding's intention is not simply to leave us in a negative state of horror。 Lard of the Flies has a tough moral and religious flavor;2 one which a study of its title helps make clear。
The term 〃lord of the flies〃 is a translation of the Hebrew word 〃Baalzebub〃 or 〃Beelzebub。〃 The Baal were the local nature gods of the early Semitic peoples。 In II Kings 1:2 Baalzebub is named as the god of Ekron。 All three Synoptic Gospels refer to Beelzebub; in Luke 11:15 he is called 〃the chief of the devils。〃 In English literature among those who refer to him are Christopher Marlowe and Robert Burton; though it is left to Milton to delineate his character at some length。 Weltering by Satan's side he is described as 〃One next himself 'Satan' in power; and next in crime; /Long after known in Palestine; and nam'd Beelzebub。〃 His subtle services to the great Adversary of mankind are well known。 To disregard the historical background of Golding's title3 or the place of the Lord of the Flies within the novel is to miss a good part of the author's intent; it is; indeed; to leave us with nothing but horror。
2。Thomas M。 Coskren; O。 P。; in 〃Is Golding Calvinistic?〃 America; 109 (July 6; 1963); 18…20; also speaks to this point at length。 The essay is reprinted on pp。 253…260 in this volume。… Eds。
3。 Golding seems to attach no particular significance to the historical Beelzebub but to regard him as simply another manifestation or creation of the human heart。 (See James Keating and William Golding; 〃The Purdue Interview;〃 p。 192 in this volume。) It is difficult to see how the 〃historical background〃 for the title enhances understanding of Golding's basic fable; although it certainly figures as a due to the theme。…Eds。
At the conclusion of the fourth hunt; after the boys have hacked the multiparous sow; they place its head on a stick as a sacrificial offering for some reputedly mysterious and awesome beast…actually a dead parachutist who had plummeted to the ground; now unrecognizable as his body rises and falls each time the wind fills the parachute and then withdraws from it。 Meanwhile Simon; whose love for his panions and desire to protect them instill a courage extraordinary; leaves them to search out the darksome creature。 He finds himself confronted by the primitive offering; by 〃the head grinning amusedly in the strange daylight; ignoring lie flies; the spilled guts; even ignoring the indignity of being spiked on a stick。〃 As he is impelled to stare at the gruesome object; it undergoes a black; unholy transfiguration; he sees no longer just a pig's head on a stick; his gaze; we are told; is 〃held by that ancient; inescapable recognition。〃 And that which is inescapably recognized by Simon is of primordial root。 Its shrewdness and devastation have long been chronicled: it is on center stage in the third chapter of Genesis; it gained the rapt attention of Hosea and Amos and the prophets who followed them。
As Simon and the Lord of the Flies continue to face each other; the nature of the latter is clearly and explicitly set forth in an imaginary conversation which turns into a dramatic monologue。 The head speaks:
〃What are you doing out here all alone? Aren't you afraid of me?〃 Simon shook。
〃There isn't anyone to help you。 Only me。 And I'm the Beast。〃 Simon's mouth labored; brought forth audible words。 〃Pig's head on a stick。〃
〃Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill〃 said the head。 。 。 。 〃You knew; didn't you? I'm part of you? Close; dose; close! I'm the reason why it's no go? Why things are what they are?〃
A moment later; the Beast goes on:
〃I'm warning you; I'm going to get angry。 D'you see? You're not wanted。 Understand? We are going to have
fun on this island。 Understand? We are going to have fun on this island! So don't try it on; my poor misguided boy; or else…〃
Simon found he was looking into a vast mouth。 There was blackness within; a blackness that spread。
〃…Or else;〃 said the Lord of the Flies; 〃we shall do you。 See? Jack and Roger and Maurice and Robert and Bill and Piggy and Ralph。 Do you。 See?〃
Simon was inside the mouth。 He fell down and lost consciousness。
The 〃ancient; inescapable recognition〃 is that the Lord of the Flies is a part of Simon; of all the boys on the island; of every man。 And he is the reason 〃things are what they are。〃 He is the demonic essence whose inordinate hunger; never assuaged; seeks to devour all men; to bend them to his will。 He is; in Golding's novel; accurately identified only by Simon。 And history has made clear; as the Lord of the Flies affirms; that the Simons are not wanted; that they do spoil what is quaintly called the 〃fun〃 of the world; and that antagonists will 〃do〃 them。
Simon does not heed the 〃or else〃 imperative; for he bears too important a message: that the beast is 〃harmless and horrible。〃 The direct reference here is to the dead parachutist whose spectrally moving form had terrified the boys; the corpse is; obviously; both harmless and horrible。 But it should also be remembered that the Lord of the Flies identified itself as the Beast and that it too might be termed 〃harmless and horrible。〃 Simon alone has the key to its potential harmlessness。 It will bee harmless only when it bees universally recognized; recognized not as a principle of fun but as the demonic impulse which is utterly destructive。 Simon staggers on to his panions to bear the immediate good news that the beast (the rotting parachutist) is harmless。 Yet he carries with him a deeper revelation; namely; that the Beast (the Lord of the Flies) is no overwhelming extrinsic force; but a potentially fatal inner itching; recognition of which is a first step toward its annihilation。 Simon bees; of course; the suffering victim of the boys on the island and; by extension; of the readers of the book。4
4pare Donald R。 Spangler; 〃Simon〃 on pp。 211…215 in this volume。…Eds。
IV
To me Lord of the Flies is a profoundly true book。 Its happy offense lies in its masterful; dramatic and powerful narration of the human condition; with which a peruser of the daily newspaper should already be familiar。 The ultimate purpose of the novel is not to leave its readers in a state of paralytic horror。 The intention is certainly to impress upon them man's; any man's; miraculous ingenuity in perpetrating evil; but it is also to impress upon them the gift of a saving recognition which; to Golding; is apparently the only saving recognition。 An orthodox phrase for this recognition is the 〃conviction of sin;〃 an expression which grates on many contemporary ears; and yet one which the author seemingly does not hold in derision。
Lecturing at Johns Hopkins University in the spring of 1962; Golding said that Lord of the Flies is a study of sin。 And he is a person who uses words with precision。 Sin is not to be confused with crime; which is a transgression of human law; it is instead a transgression of divine law。 Nor does Golding believe that the Jacks and Rogers are going to be reconstructed through social legislation eventuating in some form of utopianism…he and Conrad's Mr。 Kurtz are at one in their evaluation of societal laws which; they agree; exercise external restraint but have at best a slight effect on the human heart。 Golding is explicit: 〃The theme 'of Lord of the Flies'〃 he writes; 〃is an attempt to trace the defects of society back to the defects of human nature。 The moral is that the shape of a society must depend on the ethical nature of the individual and not on any political system however apparently logical or respectable;〃
William Golding's story is as old as the written word。 The figure of the Lord of the Flies; of Beelzebub; is one of the primary archetypes of the Western world。 The novel is the parable of fallen man。 But it does not close the door on that man; it entreats him to know himself and his Adversary; for he cannot do bat against an unrecognized force; especially when it lies within him。
Is Golding Calvinistic?1
A more optimistic interpretation of the
symbolism found in Lo
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