试比较《老人与海》与《愚公移山》的异同

学号姓名班级PAGE4ATentativeComparisonbetweenTheOldManandtheSeaandMr.SimpleMr.Simple即中国古代寓言故事人物Mr.Simple即中国古代寓言故事人物“愚公”。此处处理为Mr.Simple，而非Mr.Fool。Mr.SimpleMovestheMountains即为《愚公移山》。[Abstract]TheOldManandtheSeabyEarnestHemingwayandMr.SimpleMovestheMountains,afamousChinesestory,havealotincommon.Thispaperismainlyacomparisonofthetwoworksintermsofthesetting,plot,characters,andtheme.Duetothedifferenttimesandculturalbackground,thetwoworksdifferinmanyways.Thispaperismainlyacomparisonandcontrastwithsomecasestudiesfromthetwoworkssoastoprobesomethingunderneaththesimilarities.KeyWords:TheOldManandtheSea,Mr.SimpleMovestheMountains,comparison试比较《老人与海》与《愚公移山》的异同[摘要]海明威的《老人与海》和中国古代故事《愚公移山》存在诸多相似之处。本文主要是对两部作品从背景、情节、角色和主题等方面进行的比较。由于不同的时代和文化背景，两部作品在很多方面均存在差异。这篇论文主要是采用两部文学作品的例子进行对比和比较，以探索它们相似之处下隐藏的东西。关键词：《老人与海》；《愚公移山》；比较1.IntroductionTheOldManandtheSea,whichwontheyear’sPulitzerPrizeanddirectlyledErnestHemingwaytobetheNobelPrizelaureatein1954,isoneofthemostinfluentialandfar-reachingnovelsintheworld.Mr.SimpleMovestheMountainsisafamousChinesefablefromLiezi-Tangwen即《列子·汤问》，我国古代先秦时期文学作品。.Differentintimes,countriesandsubjectmattersastheyare,thetwoliteraryworks,inaway,bearsomeresemblance.Anoticeableexampleisthesimilaritiesinthemaincharacters,namely,SantiagoinTheOldManandtheSea,andMr.SimpleinMr.SimpleMovestheMountains,sharesomewhatsimilarspiritualappeals,thatis,perseverance,optimisticattitudetowardslife,confidence,greatambitionandcouragetochallengethenature.Atentativeinvestigationintothetwoworkswillprovideuswithsomenewinsightsintotheirliterarycharms.即《列子·汤问》，我国古代先秦时期文学作品。Inthispaper,thecomparisonismainlycarriedoutintermsofthesettingofthestory,plot,characters,andtheme.Someelementsinliterarycriticismsuchasstructure,styleandatmosphereareomittedherefortheydifferalotintheseaspects.Besides,itisacompromiseforthesakeofthelimitedspaceinthispaper.2.SettingAnalysisTheOldManandtheSea,asthetitlesuggests,ismainlysetontheseaoveraperiodofthreedays.Theprotagonist,Santiago,isafishermanbyprofessionandlivesinasmallvillageinCuba.ThenovelincorporatesmanyfacetsofCubangeography,climate,andlandscape,which“influenceSantiago’scharacterizationasanimpoverishedmanwhoearnshislivingatsea”(Valenti,2008:25).ThesearemainlybasedonHemingway’sownexperiencesinCuba.Bycomparison,Mr.SimpleMovestheMountainsissetamongmountains.Thestorybeginswiththedescriptionofthemountains,whichimpliesthedifficultiesofmovingthemountains:“TaihangandWangwuaretwomountainswithanareaofsevenhundredlisquareandrisetoagreatheightofthousandsofren.TheywereoriginallysituatedsouthofJizhouandnorthofHeyang.”太行王屋二山，方七百里，高万仞。本在冀州之南，河阳之北。Bothofthetwoliteraryworksdepictsthemanconqueringthedifficultiespresentedinthenature.ButthedifferenceliesinthatSantiagohastoconquerthesea,whileMr.Simplehastomovethemountains.Onereasonleadingtosuchvariationmaybetheculturaldifferences.Comparativelyspeaking,theancientChinawasclosedandconservedwithdominanceontheself-suppliedfarming.FormostChinese,themountainsaremodestandstaid.ThusmanyancientChineseworksdealwithTobeginwith,theyarebotholdmanfromthebottomofthesocialclass.Santiagoissopoorthathehasnopotofyellowriceandfishtoeat.Evenasafisherman,“thesailwaspatchedwithfloursacksand,furled,itlookedliketheflagofpermanentdefeat”(Hemingway,1993:5).DespitenospecificaccountofthelifeofMr.Simple,wecaninferthatheisapoormanlivingintheisolatedmountainsatthebeginningofthestory.ButunlikeMr.Simplewhohasabigfamilyandneighborstohelp,Santiagolivesalonelylife.Exceptaboyheoncetaughttofish,hehadfewfriends.Itseemsthatfewpeoplecaredabouthim.Secondly,andmostimportantly,theybothpossesstheunconquerablespiritandobstinacyinfaceofthechallengeinlife.Santiagowasunfortunateinalmosteverythingabouthim,buthewasfullofhisoptimismandhopefulnessaboutthefuture,“Hiseyeswerethesamecolorastheseaandwerecheerfulandundefeated”(Hemingway,1993:5).Poorashewas,hedidnotcare.Hestilltalkedaboutthebaseballanddreamedofthelinesonthebeach,whichwerethesourceofstrengthandcourage,andcontinuedtosailoutfishingfarawayfromthelandinordertogetmorefish.Whilesailingforfishing,hehadonlyabottleofwaterwithhimandlessfoodgivenbytheboy.However,Santiagowassoconfidentthathefacedbravelytowardshisfateandtrouble.Heusedhisownspirittodefeatdifficulties.Whenhefoughtwiththemarlin,“‘Icouldnotfailmyselfanddieonafishlikethis,’hesaid.‘NowthatIhavehimcomingsobeautifully,Godhelpmeendure.I’llstayahundredOurFathersandahundredHailMarys.ButIcannotsaythemnow”(Hemingway,1993:75).Whenhefoughtwiththesharks,“Icouldnotexpecttokillthem,hethought.Icouldhaveinmytime.ButIhavehurtthembothbadlyandneitheronecanfeelverygood.IfIcouldhaveusedabatwithtwohandsIcouldhavekilledthefirstonesurely.Evennow,hethought.”(Hemingway,1993:99)Alltheserevealhispersonality,hisoptimisticattitudetowardslife.Thereaderscannotonlyseehisconfidence,hishope,andhisstrongwillinhischeerfulandundefeatedeyes,butseehisgreatambitionandcouragetochallengethenatureanddecidehisfateinhisnever-stoppingpursuitinthesea.Likewise,Mr.Simpleisblockedbythetwohugemountains.Hetookwithhimthreesonsandgrandsonswhocouldcarryaloadontheirshoulders.TheybrokeuprocksanddugupmoundsofearthwhichweretransportedtotheedgeoftheBohaiSeainbaskets.Fromwinterthroughsummertheyonlyreturnedhomeonce.参见原文：遂率子孙荷，担者三夫，叩石垦壤，箕畚运于渤海之尾……寒暑易节，始一返焉。Hisintentiontoflattenthemountainstriggeredthedoubtfromhiswife.Buthestillinsistedhisplan.TheoldmannamedZhisou即智叟。wasamusedbyhisactionandtriedtodissuadehim.ButtheanswerfromMr.SimplebereftZhisouofhisspeech.Indeed,Mr.Simple,asthenamesuggests,is“simple”enoughtodothe“stupid”work.Buthisactionreflectedhisambitionandperseverance,whichleavedeepimpressionsinthereaders’mind.Shortlyspeaking,thesuccessfuldescriptionof参见原文：遂率子孙荷，担者三夫，叩石垦壤，箕畚运于渤海之尾……寒暑易节，始一返焉。即智叟。Butthetwofigureshavetotallydifferentendings.Mr.Simple’sendingismythological,suggestingatotalcompleteness.Incontrast,Santiagolostthebattleagain.Hemingwayvisionofheroismisfutile,requiringcontinuouslaborforquintessentiallyephemeralends.Whattheherodoesistofaceadversitywithdignityandgrace,henceHemingway’semphasisonself-controlandtheotherfacetsofhisideaofmanhood.AsSantiagosays,“ManisnotmadefordefeatAmancanbedestroyedbutnotdefeated”(Hemingway1993:89).InHemingway’smind,tobeamanistobehavewithhonoranddignity:tonotsuccumbtosuffering,toacceptone'sdutywithoutcomplaint,andmostimportantly,todisplayamaximumofself-control.InHemingway'sethicaluniverse,Santiagoshowsusnotonlyhowtolivelifeheroicallybutinawaybefittingaman.Besidesthetwooldmen,theappearanceofsomeothercharactersalsobearssomeresemblance.ManolinandMr.Simple’ssonsandgrandsonsreflectthetwowriters’somewhatoptimisticviewofcompleteness;theindifferenceandalienationofotherfishermeninTheOldManandtheSeaislikeZhisouinMr.SimpleMovestheMountainsinthattheyaremeanfigureswhocouldnotunderstandtheman’sworthinessorambition.Allthesecharactersserveasthefoilstoamplifythegreatnessofheroismandmanhood.5.ThemeAnalysisThethemeofMr.SimpleMovestheMountainsiscanbeinterpretedasapraiseofthespiritofdown-to-eartheffort,confidence,perseveranceandbelief.Mr.Simpleisconfidentandheresolvedtofightagainstnature;hewantedtochangenatureratherthanbeconfinedbyit.Mr.Simpleisactiveinhisplan;heledhisoffspringandneighborratherthanpasstheprojecttotheheadsinthevillage.Mr.Simpleisperseverant;henevergaveuphisplaneventhoughhewaslaughedat,andhecamebackhomeonlyonceayear.Mr.Simpleisdown-to-earth;hecanchoosetomovehishouse,buthedidnot——hehasthesimplehopetopavewayforhisoffspringsothattheywillnotbeblockedbythetwomountains.TheOldManandtheSeaandMr.SimpleMovestheMountainssharealotofcommonthemes.ButwetendtointerpretTheOldManandtheSeawithmorethanonelayerofmeaning,mostofwhicharelackinginMr.SimpleMovestheMountains.Besidesthepraiseoftheunconquerablehumanspiritofdeterminationandgreatness,TheOldManandtheSeamayberegardedasthreevitalscenestoexpresstheexcitingbuttragicadventure,whichisperfectlymingledinhisfightingagainstthemarlin,thesharksandthesea.DifferentfromMr.Simple,Santiagoattachedgreaterimportancetopride,whichwasthesourceofhisgreatnessanddetermination.Whatismore,TheOldManandtheSeaisaparableofreligioussignificance,itsthemesupportedbythewriter’sunobtrusivehandlingofChristiansymbolsandmetaphors.ThereweremanydetailsaboutChristsuffering.TheauthorwasconsciousoftheoldmanusedasacomparisonforChristembodiment.Thegreatmarlinfishedbytheoldmanwastiedpainfullybythehookinthemouth.Intheprogressofpullingtheskiff,nowthefishalsobecametheembodimentofChrist.“‘Fish,’theoldmansaid.‘Fish,youaregoingtohavetodieanyway.Doyouhavetokillmetoo?’”(Hemingway,1993:79)Hecouldnotbutfeelsadandregardeditashisfriend.However,itisobvioustoadmitthattheoldman,theseaandotherthingsaremorethanwhattheyliterallymean.Santiago,amanofbravery,wisdom,dignityanddiffidence,iseitherahumanbeingoraspiritualbeing.Hehasthedoubleidentitieswithhumanityanddivinity,justasthenovelsays,“therearemanygoodfishermenandsomegreatones.Butthereisonlyyou.”(Hemingway,1993:17)Sea,asatraditionalmythicsymbol,suggestsamysterious,powerfulandhostileforce.Thesharksmainlystandforanydestroyedpower.Thetwoworksbothhavealotofcontrasts.InMr.SimpleMovestheMountains,thereisthecontrastbetween“cleverness”and“foolishness”(representedbyMr.SimpleandZhisou)即“智”与“愚”的对立，这里作者在命名时故意采用了与其品质相反的“智叟”、“愚公”等，增强其讽刺效果。,betweensinglenessandmass(representedbyhisownsingleinitiativeandtheresponseofotherpeople),betweenmanandnature,betweenthepresentandthefuture,andbetweentheinsideworldandoutsideworld(theinsideworldisblockedandtheoutsideworldisopenandcolorful).InTheOldManandtheSea,thereisalsothecontrastbetweenmanandnature,buthereHemingwaytriestoelaboratetheambivalentecologicalideathatontheonehand,natureisunconquerableandmanshouldlovenature;ontheotherhand,hecallsforthementaltriumphofmanovernature