死亡中孕育的生命——安德森小说中系列死亡现象之寓意分析

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⑨硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESIS其实是作者独具匠心之处，也意味着安德森对于死亡主题的探讨上升到了最高点。在第二部分和第三部分，作者是从整体上对安德森系列小说自成一统的死亡现象进行分析和归纳，分析由个别情况而见一般情况，从而揭示了安德森小说中死亡不仅只限于个别的、暂时的现象，而是逐渐上升到一个群体的、永恒的，且有不可逆转的必然性的现象。论文最后将重点探讨安德森小说之系列死亡现象背后的深层次意义，对死亡的高度关注贯穿了安德森创作生涯的始终，他通过对死亡的艺术描写表达了自己对社会现状、人生与未来的关注和思考。安德森写死亡之意未必在于死亡本身，他描写死亡是为了服务于生活。在孤独、无序、变异的现代社会，死亡未必是恐惧的代名词，它可以被作为～种存留人生价值的载体，帮助人们寻求一种避免在人格的沦丧、价值观的丧失的情况下虽生犹死的生存状态。关键词：安德森；死亡现象；生命；群体性；普遍性；永恒性；必然性 ⑨硕士学位论文MAS丁EWSTHESlSAbstractShe州oodAnders0ⅡisaclmowledgedbyFaulkneras“thefathcrofmygenerationofAmericanwriters”whosetnlthfulexploratiOnoftheordinaryAmeric柚lifchaseamedhimanendllringpIaceintheliterarycanon．InA皿defson’sworks，thedeathphenomenOnappearsfrequentlyaIldthethemeofdealhishislifelongdeVotionaIldforeVerObsession．Thepresentpaperisatentativeendeavor恤oughwhichtheseriesofthedeathphenomenaarecompared，geⅡemIized，analyzedandcategorized．Tbstanwith，thethesisgivesabdefin打oductiontoSherwoodAndersonasaIiteraryfigureandpoilltsouttheinadequacyintheliterarystudiesofhisthemeofdeath．1bsherwoodAnderson，lifeisaIlendlessjo哪eyn姐1ed“mis盯y”，withdeathastheonlydestination．MostofAnderson’simportaIltwOrksbeginwithacelebrationoflife’sfIlllnessbutcndwimanevOcationofdeath．HisshOrtfictionsalwaysfocusonasymb01thatalludestothecomplexwonderoflifea11dtllecerta蛔tyofdeath．WithaUthee肋ns，0nemaythinkthatthedeathphenomenoniIlAnderson’sfictionshasbeendearlyandwidelyuⅡderstood，llowever，tlleiIladequacyseemstIlecase．ThepreviousstudyofmedeaththemeonlysHmsthesu—laceofeVerysin91edeathphenomenonaIldOmytracesthesourcesOfeVerysjngleperson’sdeath．IllordertonlakeuptheinadequacyofthepreViousstudy'thepreseⅡtthesisisa11endeavortomal【eathomu曲studyo“he“deathfiction”ofSherwoodAndersonsoastoprovide也ereaderwithaInoreinsi出fulandcomprehensiVeaIlalysisOfAndersOn’sla增ebodyoftlle“deathfiction”．T1lesecondpanofmepaperwillfocusoⅡtheFowingprocess0fthedeaththemeinAnderson’sworks．IthasbeenfoundtIlat也emanifestation0fdeatll．whichisaⅡetemalthemeOfSherwOodAnderson，FowsmahⅡeandgainSfleshandbloOdalOngw妯Anderson’swritingexperience，justliketheprocessofthebearingofaf兀lit．In“Death”，whichAndersonwritesin1919，deathinlpressesthereaderasastorythatonlyhappenstoasingleperson．HoweVer，iIl‘‘皿eEgg，，，whichA工lderSonaccomplishesin1920，dealhhasbecomeaheritagethatcaⅡbepassed台omgeneratiOnt0generation．Theeggisasymbolofdeath，just“kethedeathisasymbolofmallkind．Atthispoint，deathhastranscendedthelimitofindividual’spersonalexperiencealldfinallybecomesauniversaltnlth，whichispracticalfortheentirehumanbeiIlg． ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESISIn“DeathintheWbods”and“BrotherDeath”．Anderson’s1if色longdeVotiOntOthememeofdeathseemstoarriveatthehighestpOint．111thetMrdpartofthisthesis，throu曲thecomparisonsmadeuponthethreerecognizableVersionsofthesamestory，wecanfindt11atAnderSonattemptstosetuptheimageofanoldwomanasanarchetype，asymb01，aprelude，abridge，throu曲whichAndersoncrownsdeathwithasenseofbeautvandeterIl主ty．111“BrotherDeath”，Anderso玎seemstoteIlusthatifonemustexperienceanemotionaldeathfarmoreterriblethanaphysicaldeath，itwillbeneccssaryforhimtobidfarewentothevainnessofhumanlifc．Death，attllismoment，becomestlleaccompanimentthatonemustexperiencetolivebetterandt11eonlymeansforonetoseekforameaningfulindividuallife．IIlaword，￡romE1izabetll’sdeathin“Death”，toTed’sdeathin“BmtherDeath”，thcphcnomenonofdeath，wllich叩pearssofrequentlyinAⅡderson’swritin盼hasgonebeyoⅡdmelimitofindiVidual’sself-cxperienceand掣owntoanetemal仃吡h，aIldhasgaineditssi印ificaIlcea11duIliVerSality．Nevertheless，Anderson’s舒eatllessgoesfarbeyondtllis．Alargespaceofthethesisisdevotedto血ediscussionofAnderson’ssparklinginsightandfealinten_【ion血theseemingly-simpledeatllphenomenon．Andersondoesnotwriteaboutdeathfordeath’ssake．Talkingabout也edeathphenomenon，AnderSonisactuallyconcemedwiththegeneralhumansituation．hacenaindegree，whenAndersonistal】【ing址)0utdeath，heisactuallyfall【ingaboutlife．Thoughcentered0nthethemeofdeath，hisstoryactuallyisanendeaVortOsearchforthepossibiIityfofameaningfulirldividuallifeinawoddofflltilityandfalseValues．IfoneisdepriVedoffreedom，naturc，pride，hOnor，compassionandifthesocjetyisfulloffalseValues，tyranny，misunderstanding，andlifecharacteristicoffcelingofdefeat，spiritualpoverty，10stidentity，deatllwillbecomeanintimate丘iendandac撕ngbrotheLInaworldofsheerwaste，to1iveistomakethesurrender；whileint王lemidstofdeath，onecanIiVefIlllyandmOremeallingfully．TheembraceOfdeathisthefinaIchOice，becauseaccOrdingtoAndersOn，“nolifebutagoodlife”and“lifcnotdeathisthegreatestadventure”．Keywords：Anderson；deathphenomen0Ⅱ；ljfe；community；universality；etemitycertainty ⑨硕士学位论文MASTERlSTHESIS华中师范大学学位论文原创性声明和使用授权说明原创性声明本人郑重声明：所呈交的学位论文，是本人在导师指导下，独立进行研究工作所取得的研究成果。除文中已经标明引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写过的研究成果。对本文的研究做出贡献的个人和集体，均已在文中以明确方式标明。本声明的法律结果由本人承担。学位论文作者签名：；P廖多眵日期：沙。z年箩月矽日学位论文版权使用授权书本学位论文作者完全了解学校有关保留、使用学位论文的规定，即：学校有权保留并向国家有关部门或机构送交论文的复印件和电子版，允许论文被查阅和借阅。本人授权华中师范大学可以将本学位论文的全部或部分内容编入有关数据库进学位论文作者鲐帜殇指导蝴虢I／7／日期：沙，‘年岁月弘1日7日期：乙硼争本人已经认真阅读“CALIS高校学位论文全文数据库发布章程”，同意将本人的学位论文提交“cALIs高校学位论文全文数据库”中全文发布，并可按‘‘章程”中的规定享受相关权益。同意论文提交后滞后：口半年；口一年；口二年发布。学位论文作者张桫殇日期：矽9缉广月1阳擎荤铣游 ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER．STHESISACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThisthesisisdedicatedtomy10Vinga11dbelovedmotherwhOhasgivenmeunsparinglOVeandsuppoft．I枷deeplyindebtedtoprofessorZengQingqiang，mysupervisor，forhisenli曲tenjngsuggestions，constantencollragementandgenerosityjIlsupplyingmewitht11enecessaryrelatedmate“als．IamVerymuchtha蛐lforhispainstakingreading-timeandunfailingpatienceinscrutinizinganydraftof出isthesisaⅡdfoIbjs主11sigll伍dcommentstowaTdsacademicresearch，whichhas911idedmethIoughev唧stageinmyinVestigation．TllisthesjSwouldnOthaVebeencorⅡpletedwi出outhiskiⅡdness，enduringsupportaIldprofcssionalassistance．Ials0wisht0acImowledgeherea10ng—standingdebtfOa11theteac蜘ngstaffoftheSchoolOfForeignLanguagesfortheirwonderfllllecturesforthebene6tofmyintdlectualgrowtll．Thanks，too，shouldbeexte珊dedtoⅡlyfriends，c_Iassmates，androOmmateswhosegoodsenscofhumor，optimisticattitIldetow盯dIifeaIldunselfishcontributionconstitutepanofmycorpus． ⑧硕士学位论文MASTER1STHESIS1．Introduction1．1TheinadequacyjnthestudiesofAnderson’sliteraryworbSherwOodAnderson，amaster0fwords，amanoftalentandsensitivity'isacknowledgedbvFaulhleras“thefatherofmygenerationofAmericanwriters”whoseworkshavefascinatedmewhoIegenerationaftertheFirstworldwar(quotedin常耀信，1990：328)．WhatWllitmallhadbeentotheAmericaⅡpoetrysearchingforitsownvoice，AndersonisthenewAmericaIlfictionilltheperiodaftertheFirstworldwar．nou曲Anderson’smomentof出oryisbrief，nomorethanadecade，andsadly，theremaillingyearsuntnhisdeatlliIl1940aremarkedbyasha工pdeclineinhisliterarystanding，yetsml，about肼he56“r晶oh如，whichremainSvitalwork，行eshandautllentic，aIldasmallnumberofstorieslike”TheEgg”aⅡd”1heMallWhoBecameaW0maIl”therehasrarelybeena11ycriticaldoubt．Eventoday，llis狮，I韶bHr品0hfoisstillregardedaSoneofthetop100popularbooksofthelastcentury．Thusinmissense，asthecelebfityoftheAmericanliterarysocietyatthebegillningofthelastcentury，AnderSonisalwaysathishei曲tofpopularityandappeal．He、Vritesabouttheissuespreoccupyinghinl—一aboutthedestinyofthemodempeople，aboutthetensioⅡbet、veenthepresentandpast，aboutthe10singst兀lg出eagainstachaIl西ngworld．Inhisseeminglysimpleprose，peoplemayseeaspark酎owinghereandthere，andhearanodebeingsungbehilldmelines．Andcrsonseeshimselfaspanofthe1iteTarytraditiOnofWhitman，Twain，aIldDreiser'menwhOhaveappreciatedthecommonAmedcall．His主n】1uencca脏ctsmanyoftheupcomingwdters，suchasHemiⅡgway'FaulkⅡeLSteinbeck，Fitzgerald，Wblfe，andSaroyan．ArevaluationOfSherwoodAndersonmustnccessarilvtakeaccouⅡtoft11eextraordinaryimpactmathemakcsuponAmericanliteratllrealmOstathisappear纽ce．Inspiteoft11ecrudityofIlisfirstnoVelstlleimpressionisgeneralthatanori酉nalanddistiIlguishedtalentjstobercckonedwith．ThisrecognitionextendedtoEuropeancritics，amongwhomM．FaycOmmittedhimselftothestatement访theRevuedeParis：“IbelieVethatSherwOodAndersonisoneOf七hegreatestwritersofmecontemporarywOrld，andthebestjnAmerica．”(quotedinPapinchalc，1992：98)ThisverdictmaybeaccountedforbyAnderson’spossession，intruerbalancelhaIlanyotherofhiscontemporaries，of ⑧硕士擘位论文MASTER，STHESlSthreequ“itiesmarkedbyMaeteflinckasrequisitesfor班eatl“erature：asuretouchuponmeworldOfoursenses；aprofoundintimationofthemysteTythatsunoundsthisislandofourconsdousness；aIldthelnerarytechniquecompreheⅡdedinthetemstyle(ibid)．She州oodAndeIson，whO，with嫩nes6“嗨0^io，chanedanewdirectioninAmericaIlfiction—吨vokingwitlllyricalsimplicityquietmomentsofepiphaⅡyintheliVesofOrdinarymenalldwOmen．ForseveralyearsaftertheFirstWorldWar，squadsOfyoungwriterscarriedc叩iesof啪n酣妇强鳓幻asthougllitwerethereco弘itionbadgeofanewfratemalordeT．AnderS0n’swOrksareconcemedwimthecOntrastbetweennlralsimplicityaIldurballcomplexity，whichthepeopIeofthatt：iIIlegenerallyobsessedwith，andwiththeneedforthoseparticipantsinthiscomplexity．ItisclearthatSherwoodAnderson，asperhapsnoOtllerwriterofthe“Ventiethcentury，embodiesaIldre丑ectsthemajnfactofAmericaculturalhiStorybellindthispastomltenSioⅡ：acomparativelysimpleaFarian1ifcovertakcnbyaⅡindustrialized，uIbaIlcivilizationofbawilderingma弘itudeandcomplex吼册珂船6“蝎mfDdistnlsthesetensionsintoa“momcⅡt”inwhichthesmaUtownanditsiⅡhabitaIltsarepojsediⅡaIluneasyequilibriumbetweenaIlagrarianpastandt11ethrealeningindustrialageahead(quotedinPapinchal【，1992：131)．HerethereadermeetsAnderson’snarratorsandcharacters，andencounterswhatwouldbellislifelongthemes：unlivedlives，loⅡcliness，thefnlstration0funfiUedpurpose，andtheemotionalbanhllptcyofmostpeople’sliVes．AIl0f也esememesandAndersoⅡ’scharactersarebcingstudiedhmensely．Withallthisattention，OnewOuldminkthat“hasbecnclearlyandwidelyllllderstood，howeVer，theinadequacyseemsthecase．DespitealItheeff’0rtsmadeuponA且derson’sworks，IstiIlfiⅡdaⅡinadequacyinthepreViousstudies．NosOonerdid趼订部6“，吕(№如makeitsappearaIlcethananumberofcriticallabelswerefixedonit：tIlereV0ltagaillsttlleVillage，theespousalofsexualfreedom，thedeepeningofAmericanrealism．Suchtagsmayoncehavehadthe打pOint，butbynowtheyseemdatedaIldstale．TherevohagairLstthevmage，aboutwhichAndersonwa5alwaysambivalent，hasfadedintohistory．OtheTwriteIswOuldsOonexceedtheespousalofsexualfreedominboldness．AsfortheeffOrtt0place聊甩鼬扫“，吕(MfDinatraditionofAmericanrealjsmnowseemsdubious．OllIyrarelyistheobjectofAnderSon。sstoriessocialVerisimiIitude，orthe”photographjllg”offamiliar印pearallces，inlhesense，say，thatonemjghtusetodescribeanovelbyTheodoreDreiserorSinclair2 @硕士学位论文MASTER，STHESISkwis．Onlyoccasionally'andthenwithaveryli曲ttouch，doesAndersontrytofillomthesodalarrangementsofhisima西narytown—althoughmefactthathisstories甜esetiIlamid-加nericaIlplacelikeWinesburgdoesconstituteanimpOrtantfo瑚atiVeconditiOn．Ybumightevensay'with011IyslightoVerstatement，that、袖atAnderSonisdoingin纠巧甩础“，吕O晚fDcouldbedescribedas”anti—realistic”．What’smore，afteratimetheattentivereadermustnoticejnthesestoriesarecurrentpattemofthemeandincident：almOsta11ofAnderson’snovelsbeginwitllacelebration0flife’sfullnesswhileendswithanevocationofdeath(quotedinPapinchal【，1992：109)．TheshortstoriesfocusonasymbOlmatalludestothecomplexwonderOflifeandthecenaintyofdeath．Sothephenomenaofdeathiss0oftenthet量lemeOfindiViduallifctreatedinAnderson’sshonstories，andisalsomeceⅡterofattemionofmany1iterarycritics’studies．HoweVer，mostofthetime，thestudyofthet11eme0fdeathinAndersOn’sworksonlyskjmsthesuIfaceofasin酉edeathphcnomenon．Forinstance，“Deathinthew∞ds”isusuallyreco弘izedaStheshonstorywr“er’soutstandiⅡgwork．ThefactthatitwaSalS0AnderSon’sownfavoriteaIldthathelabored0veritIongertllaIlovcr柚yotllerstorysuggestsasweUttlatitbestexempIifjeshistheoryaⅡdpmcticeofshortfjction．Quiteproperly’anthologistshaVeselectedittof印resentAndersonmoreoftenthaIlanyothertale．HereonewouldthinkthatthedeathofmeoldwomanhasbecnthOrouglllystIldiedandfIlllyundcrstOOd；howeVer'thecontraryseemsthecase．ThenotesiIl0nereceⅡtantllOlogy，unfonlmatelyall-tootypicany，statethatit“packsthellistoryofan锄elessoldwOmanintOaseriesofincidents．ByadOptingthepointofViewofanimpressi0ⅡableyoungbOy，AndersonendowshisnaHatiVewithsuspensea11dinnocence⋯．Thedeatllofthe01dwomanbecomcsasymbol0fbothwasteandmercy．”AsidefIomthequestionableinterpretationofthetbeme，thefactthatthenarrat研isnOtaboybutaman，and也ecuriouslapseinrememberingthathernameisGriInes，thiSdescriptiOncomm“sthefrequentmisreadingofthestoryasasynchronicpresentationofMrs．Gdmes’1ifcanddeath(quotedinPapinchak，1992：119)．AnotherimportantshortstoryofAnderson，“BrotherDeath”，containsperhapsmemostsuccessf【llexpressiOnofthethemeofdeaththatdominatesallAnderson’slaterworks．Despitecountlessstudiescenteredonit，itstillneedsfurtheranddeeperanalysisin也edeathphenomenonthathauntsa110fthecharactersinthestory．Thenotesinonerecentanth0109ystatesthat“1t【；‘BrotherDeatll”]scmtinizesthepower出盘erentialthat3 @硕士学位论文MAS丁ER，STHESISexistsinrelationshjpsbetweenfamilymembers，concludingthatanindiVidualcanexperjenceaIlemotionaldeaththatisfarmoreterriblethanphysicaldeath．”(ibid)ActuanHaccordingtoAndersonhimself，“Itjs，I’mprettysure，oneofthefineststoriesI’veeverdone，andIevendaresayoneofthe丘nestandmostsi印ificantanyonehaseVerdone．’’(Anderson，1926：56)A且derson’sconfidenceabouthavingachieVedhisgoalof‘‘realinte群ity”in“BrotherDeath”suggeststhatthestoTymayr印resenthish培hestaccomplishmentin1iterarycareer．FromthisOnemayseethatdeathisaforeVeTobsessionofSherwoodAndersDn．Hedevotesallhis1ifetimeinthedescriptionofdeathphenomenonandtheexplorationinitscause．Inaword，from臃l甜6“，品D矗抽to2强g丹m坤^。，珐eEgg，andt王1entoD翻施加所P"砀od品theremustbesome】【indofdeathineachstory，forcx锄ple，deathofashopke印er，deathofapa石cnt，death0faIl01d、∞man，deathOfayoungboy，orcvendeathOfthechicken．ItseemsthatthedeathphenomenatraveldifferentOrbitsaIIdarriVeatsimilardestjllations，buttllecoⅡtraryseemsthecase．Itish-IlethatallofAnderS0n’sstoriesrevcalMsinsightsiⅡtonot01llyt11echaractersthatliveinmiseryanddieinoblivion，butalsothecause，thecertaintyandtheepipkmyofdeath．Neverthelcss，thosedeathphenomenadifferalot．One’suⅡderstandingoftheseries0fdeathphenomena粤owsalongwiththereadingexpcrienceandonemayrealizethatthereismorethanone虹ndofdea血，sothesecmin舀y—simnardeamphenomenacanbegeneralizedalldputintodifferentcategories．Simultaneously，thoughAndersOn’sshonstoriesmajnlyconcemst11edeatll0facertainperson，acertaincOmmuIlityoracertainspecies，theyarealsoofconcemtomanHnd，t0usaIl，tothedestiny0fthemodemman，Amcricanornon-American，actualizedbythed珀Ferentdeatllphenomena．This，mostprobably，iswherehis盯eatnesslies．1．2Anderson’slif电experieⅡce，thesociaJbackgroundandhisthemeofdeathOnSeptember13，1876SherwoodAnderSonwaSbomt0I柳inM。andEmmaSmithAⅡdersoninCamden，0hio．Hewas也eirthirdchild．}IischildhOodaIldyouthinayde，atownwithperh印sthreethousandsouls，werescarredbyboutsofpoverty(Schevill，1951：31)．Thecountrywasthenexpenenc王ngwhathewouldlatercan”asuddenandd ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESISalmostuniversalIumingOfmenfromtheOldhandi汀aftstowardsoⅢmodemlifeofmachines．”(觚derson，1926：43)Soduringa11hisli】．eheislongingforthepleasuresofpre．industrialAlTlericaIlsociety．WhenhewaSyoung，hisparentsledatransientlife，movingfromoneplacetoanotherafterwork．HisfatherhadservedintkUnion炯yanddeclined丘omthesaddlery—and—hamessbusinessintooddjobsofhouse—andsign-painting．Andersonattendedsch0010nlyinte加jttently，whilehelpingtOsupporthisfamilybyworkingasanewsboy，housepainter，stockhandler，aIldstablegroom．Thef抽ilvwasforcedt0move矗0moneplacetoaIlothershonlyafterSherwoodwasbombecausehisfather’ssmallbusinesshadfailed．They血allysettledpeHnaIlentlyinClyde，OhiOin1884．TheincomewaSrarclyadequatew“houtmeaddedhclpOf也echildren’si11come．Dueto也edifficulties，AnderS0Ⅱ‘sfatherbegan埘nkingheavilyandhismotherdiedin1895．She州oodwaseagertotakeonoddjobsandeamedtllename”Jobby”．1n1896，AndersonlefIClydeforChicago，whereheworkedasamanuallaborer．Afterthewar，heagainfollowedhisbrotllerwhohadtakenajobasananistfoftheCrowellPublishingCompanyinSp咖班eld，Ohio．InSeptembero“900，AnderSonattendedthewittenbergAcademy．Eamingllisfood柚d10d酉ngasa”choreboy”attheartists’boardiIl曲ouse，thou曲illtheanists’boardjnghouseAndersoneⅡcolllltercdahighlyculturedenvironment如dithasdoncsomegoodtoyoungthefuture—writer，whatleftmostwaSstillmiseryaIldbitteⅡlcsswhichcanbeshown血AJlderS0n’slater、^，orks．TherestlesschildhoodleavesAndersonashadOwforawholelifetime．Forhim，theMiddleWestrevealsOnalaTgescaletherestlesss试ving，thefrustrationofun6lledpurpose，whjchissOof【enthetheme0findiViduallifetreatedi11hisshonstories(schevill，1951)．whatheexperiencesontlleshabbywagonduringthejoumeyofmovinghereandthere，withIhehopethatlifecouldbebetterinanotherplace，assemblesw汕tlleullllappyexperienceoftllelittleboyin“TheEgg”．In聊肥如“∞0^曲AndersOnalsOshOwsperfectcommandofthesmall—towⅡstuf：ffamiliartohjmfromhisyouth．∥跏巴曲“，品(聃曲representstheproblemthatAndcrsOncOnsciouslysethimself．Hisownexperience，unllsuallyrichandVaried，gavehim1lisgnpontheactualworldinwhichhewasto1iVesoabundantly．“ImagiIlationmustfeeduponreal主ty0rstaⅣe’’jsasentencefromhiSnoteswhichinef＆ctrecursagainandagain．InAnderson’swOrks，onemaymeetsuchcharactersasanoldwomanwhoiseverhardlyenou曲fed，or也emiddle-agedcouplewhoselifelongs佃唱酉eforabctteTlifeprovestobeafailuTe，ora5 @硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESISschoolteacherwhoseattemDttobreakdownthewallofhumancontactendsinf兀lstration．AlIOftheir1ifeexperiencehaVesometllingcommonincorewitllAnderson’schndhoodexperience—lifeisanendlessjoumeywhosestanpointanddestinationarebothnamed“misery’，-一andbecOmesthebestillustratjonOfSherw00dAnderson’sIiterarydevotion．InAndersOn’sIime，eVerythingisunde唱oiIlgdr锄aticchange．T1le01dworldisfadngthethreatOfanewordeLIntheforewordtOhisvolumeofshonpoems，Mid．AmericanChants．A丑dersonmediatesontllisthreat：InMiddleAmericamenareawakening．“keawlcwardandunIrainedboyswebegiⅡtot岫towafdmaturityaIldwiIhoufawalceningwehungerforsun，but血011rto、粕sandfieldstherearefewmemoryhauntedplaces．HerewestandinfoaringcilysIreeIs，onstc删ngcoalhe8ps，iⅡntheshadow0ffaclodes丘Dmwhichcomesonlylhe鲥ndiIlgro缸ofmachiⅡes．WbdonotsiⅡgbutInutterinthedarlmess．OurlipsarecrackedwitlldusIaIld埘thlheheatOffufllaces．W色butmuttcrandfeelourw8ytowardth。promiseofsong．(quotedjnP印jⅡchal【，1992：6)Theentirev01umeofpOemsllllderscoresthee饪ect0furbaIlizationandindus缸alizationont11epeopleofAmerica．WhatcomesalongwitIltheindustrializationandmaterializationisthecollflictbet、veenthemralandthe111．ban，complexitya11dsimplicity'presentandpast，andthenbecomesthecenterofattentioninA卫derson’s1aterworks．Anderson’sVerydesireto90outofthe缸lstmt主onsalldpressuresOfmachine-Americaandtore—enterwhatheseesastherestorativerealmsofsensationandsimplicitythusistouchedalldbeingr印eatedlyexploredinhiswritiⅡgs．TlliscanbebestillustIatedinhisOwnexperienceinthesmnmefOf1919．Hewenttothelittleresonto啪ofEphra缸，Wisconsin，onmeGreenBaysideoftheDooTCOulltVPeninsula．oneaftern00nlateinJulyheclimbedadifftoamoss—coveredledgeOveIlookinggreeⅡBay．HefeltrenewedandatrestandwishedthathecouldstayonatEphraimaloneformonths，butalrrlostsymbolicallyfactorysmokefromatownmilesacrosstheBavfaintlvdjscoloredthesky．IfhecouIdonly百veupthesuperfidalbattlefora}iving，hewrotetoa丘iendthateVenjng，hewouldhaVetIlestren舀hthiscom试gyeartodothin昏moresubtleanddi￡Eicultthananythinghehaseverdone．Chicagotowhichheretumed0n6 ⑧硕士学位论文MASTER'STHESISAugust1madehimpsychicallyillbycontrastwiththewoods，hiI王s，andharboratEphraim．Thec“ypeople，eventhechildre】1，lookedoldand、Ⅳe缸ytohim；thelinesofthebui】dingswereugly．ForthefiVedaysjustproceeding，ChicagohadeVenbeenconvulsedwithraceriots，whichwasinsharpcontTastwiththepeaceflllcoumyside(Rideout，1953：123)．PerhaDsnoaltemativetothethrilldisOrderofinchlstrialcivilizatiOnhadsoseductiveaIlappealtoSherwoodAnderSOnasaretumtothepfimitiVe．“Itmaysoundchildish，butmenwillhavetogobacktonatllremOre．1’heywillhaVetOgotothefieldsandtherivers．Therewillhavet0beanewreligiOn，morepagan⋯ThereaderandstudentofAndersonencountersuchstatementsfI-equentl只Onerecallshisdes州ptionofhowthethemeofMarchingMenappealedto“’myratherprimitiVenaturc”’，aIldhislettcrtoa衔eⅡdclaimingthat“hOrsesandNegroesseemtobethetwothingSjnAmericathat舀vemethemostasceticpleasure⋯．wepaysometlling⋯foroursillyminds，don’twe?”(础de，1953：129)ManypeoplelabelAⅡdersonasaprimitivistaⅡdapaStoralist，howeVer，what1wouldclaimhereisthattheprimitivistlabelasithasbeensocasuallyappliedtOAnderSonfailstoencompasst11eauthor’slargermOtivcsandmethods，anddistonshismOstsi弘ificanttreatnlentofPrimitiVisticmatedals．Thescmaterials-一jncludjngmeljfeofttlesenses，nature，chjldh00d，thesubconscious，aIldforAndersonandhisage，thcNe伊O—arc，ofcourse，seenfrequentlyinAnderson’swork．Buthisuseoft11esethemesandsubjectsis，forthemostpan，uncharacteristicofdoctrinaireprimitivism，inwhichthekeyelementisatotalrejectionoforescape丘omcivilization．Rather，Anderson’srepresentatiVenoteisoneofastrug舀etowaTdresolutionbetweeⅡthecharacteTandathreateningsOdety．Therefore，m姐yofAnder∞n’sworksareconcemed讯ththeconⅡastbetweennlralsimplicityaIldurbancomplexity，aIldwimtheneedformosepanicipaIltsinthiscomplexity．Some0fhisnovelsexpressthepastoraltensionsbetweencountryandcity，quietlldeandsllrillness，andtllediseases0fcomplexityandartificiality．IIlllismostwideIy—readstories，Andersonevokesadepressedlandscape，suchasW仇韶6“rgC确如，inwhichIOstsoulswanderaboutjnawastelandandmaketheirnj埘ngappearancesmostlyinthedarknessofni曲t．～lmenleadt11eirlivesbehiⅡdawallofmisunderstandingtheyhaVethemselVesbuilt，柚dmostmendieinsilenceandu工1110ticedbellindthewalls．Narrow，intense，almostclaustrophobic，theresultisab00kaboutthe7 ⑨硕士学位论文MASTEⅣSTHESISunlivedlives，theextremestatesofbeing，fhec01lapseofmenandwomenwhohaVelosttheirpsychicbearingsandnowhOVer，atbesttolerated，attheedge0fthelittlecommunityinwhichtheylive，then，arebedrivencrazybythedespairingrealityalld1iVeameaningfllllife，andeventually，diein0blivion．ThepresentpaperisatentativeendeaVorthroughwhichtheseriesofseemin舀y—sinlnardcamphenomenaarecompared’generalizedandcafe90rized．TheauthorofthjsthesjsmainIvconcentratesonthefourstoriesselected丘omthecollectionof珊nes6“璐∞fD，强g州“唧^D，旃8豫，andD叩腩跏加已MlD出，Viewingthemasthebesti11ustrationofAnderson’screativee勖ns．hisinnOvationsinthefieldofshonfiction，t11elinksbetweenAndcrsOn’sfictjonandhislife，aⅡdthemanifcstatjonOfhisthOughtsaboutdeath．Thepresentp印eralsOincludesexccption丘omAndersOn’snotebook，coveIageandessaystomakesurethatthisstudywouldbecomparativelycomprehensiveandr印fesentatjVe．ItshouldproVeeIlli班teningforallyonewhodeshsade印erunderstandingofSher、^700dAnderson’sthemeofdeath．觚erabriefintroductionto触Ison’slifeexperieIlce姐dtheinadequacyhthcliterarystudies，thisthesiswmfocusonthegrowingprocessofthedeamt11emeinAnderson’sworl(s．nhasbeenfbundthatmemanifestationofdeath．whichisanetem“也emeofSherwoodAnderson，铲0wsmatureandgainsneshandb100dalongw“hAnderson’sⅥ，ritingexperience，justliketheprocessofthebe撕ngofa肌it．IIlfhethjrdpartOfthepaper’theaumOroft11isthesjswjllhaVeafllrtlleranalysisOfmefIIIlcycleAndersondeliberatelydrawsduringhiswritingcareer．In“DeathintheWoods”a11d“BrotherDeath”．Anderson’s1ifelongdevotiont0thethemeofdeathsecmstocometotheMghestpoint．IIl“DeathintheWoods”，dea血isimbuedwithasenscofbeautyandetemityintheoldwOman’sdeathanddeathisbeautifIllbecauseithasitsOwncompleteness．In“BrotherDeath”，deatllgraduallygaillsitscenaintyandbecomessOmcthingonemuStexp茁iencetoliveabetterlifcandtheomymeansforonetOseekforameanjngfIllindividuaIlife．hIaword，fromElizabetll’sdeathiⅡ“Death”，toTcd’sdeathin“Bro七herDeath”，thephenOmenonofdeath，whichaPpearSsofrequennyjnAnderS0n’swritingsIhasgonebeyondthelim“ofindividual’sself-expeTiencetoanetemaltmth，andhasgajnedicssignificanceanduniVerSality．Nevcrtlleless，AⅡderson’sgreatnessgoesfarbeyondhisseriesofdeathstOries．Thefourthcha口terwilIdiscussaboutAnderSOn’s掣eatnessthathas90nebeyondtheseemin醴y·similardcathphenomena．附kingabout8 ⑨颈士学位论文MASTER’STHESISthedeathphenomenon，hismajorconcemisalwayswiththegeneralhumansituation．Inacenaindegree，whenAndersonistalkingabOutdeath，heisactuallytalkingaboutlife．ThoughcemeIed0n_【he也eme0fdeath，hisst甜yactuallyisatentatiVeendeavortosearchfor恤epossibilityfoIameaningfulindiViduallife，thatis，ifoneisd印riVedoffreedom，nature，pride，honor，compassionandlivesinasocietyfulloffalsevalues，tycanny'misunderstandin岛deamwillbecomehisintimatefrierldaIdhiscaringbmtheLTheembraceofdeathisthefinalchOice，because“nO1ifebutagoodIif色”and“Ijfenotdeamisthe掣eatestadventurc”．9 @硕士学位论文MASTER1STHESIS2．TheProcessoftheBearingofa“Death’’FIrIlitSherwood加狙erson咒peatsdeathasarecurringphenomenonfrequentlyinhisworks·However，Anderson’sdeathsubjectisnotstaticorquiet，jnstead，itisgrowing1ikeafruittTee，fiIstlyasanindivi“al’spropeny'thentoaheritagewhichcaIlbepassedonfrOmgenerationtogenemtion，justIiketheprocessof山egrowingofabigtreefromasmallseedtoa1uxur王ousshadenourishingwithfnlits．2．1Deathoftheindividual2．1．1EUzab“h7sDeath砌孽s6“噶∞幻establishesAnderson’s幻neasagreatmanofletterS．“Death”，theshonstOIyinthecollection，canbetakcnasastartingpointinmewIiter’sliteraIyca工eeIoftheexplorationinthethemeofdeath．JustasitstilleiIldicates，“DeatIl”tellsastoryofunlived1ivesinadecayingwond．Similartomanyomer1iteraryworksofSherwoodAnderson，thepresentstorybe百Ⅱswitllacelebmtionoflife’sfullnessandconcludeswimtheevocationofsheerdespa打，whichjsmanifestedbythemaincharacter’sdeathattheend0fthestory．Tlleideaofmelifclostisevencarefullyforeshadowedinmefirstpara掣aph：ThestairwayleadinguptoDoclorReefy。so饿ce，j11theHe￡merB10ckaboVetheP村isDry(如odsstore，wasbucd曲lylighted．Atthehead0fIheslairⅣayhuI培a1ampwithadirtychi砌eythatwasfasteⅡedbyabracketlolhewall．nel枷phadatinrenector，brownwithmstandcoVeredwithdust．Thepeopkwhowentupthestairwayfollowedwiththeirfcetmefeetofmanywhohadgonebefore．CAnderson，1997：196)Thepeople“w-howentupthestairway”aIldthepatientswhogotoseeDLReefy'includingmeheroilleinthestory，E1izabethWillard，actuallyarea笋0upofpeopleliVingina、Ⅳastelandnlledbydull，conVentionalfellOwmen，exiledfromtherealityandthecommunity．AlthoughElizabeth，oneofDLReefy’spatient，isbutforty—five，“someobscurediseasehadtakenthefireoutofherfigure．”(ibid)ButwhatpeopIecanseedoes10 @硕士学位论文MA5TE副STHESISnotnecess撕lycoincidewithwhatthingsshouldbeoractuallyare．Thoughthetallfi罢rureofElizabeththehotelkeeper’swife“hadbeguntodroopandisdragitself1istlesslyabout”(ibid)，thedcepestpartofherisstilllivinginheryouthwhenlifcisfuuofwonderand“somethingshesou曲tblindly'paSsionateIy”(ibid)．OnemaydefinemisasathemethatAndersonst““nglydevelopsinhjsstOries：thwanedpotentialsandrepresseddesires．QuitenaturallyshemeetsDLReefy，ortoputitmoreaccurately，thetwopeople’smindsmeetandfindsomethingincommon：Inthebigemptyofficet11emanandlhewomansatlookingateachotlleraIldmeywereagooddealalike⋯somethillginsidethemmeaⅡt出es8mething，w柚tedthesamerelease，wouldhaveleft恤esameimpressionon出ememoryofanolllooker．沁derson，1997：197)“ReleaSe”lsakeywOrdtotlleunderstandjng0ftllestory．1tlsthereleasetromloneliness，sOlitude，repfessionandmisunderstaIldjn岛whichneedspeople’sdete衄inationtobreakdownthewallsoffhstratedcommunication．FinallywhenhcrmindmeetsDr．Reefy’s，she丘ndstheexjt．Then“adrcam，halfdead，naredsuddenlyintolife”(Anderson，1997：198)．SoeVerytimeshecomestoseetlledoctorthehotelkeeper’swifcfcelsrenewedandstrengthenedagainstthedullnessofherdayS．Hermoughtsmnawaytohergirlhoodwithitspassionate10Ⅱ舀ngforadveⅡtureandsherememberstheannsofmenthathavehddherwhenadventurewasapossiblethingforher．InDr．Reefy’swords，“thegodscameintotheofficeandIIhou曲tnoonel【newaboutthem．ThenIfoundt11atthiswomanElizabethknew，thatsheworshippedalsotlles锄egods．”(AⅡderson，1997：197)Naturally，toDoctorReefy，whowitlloutrealizingwhatwaShappeⅡiIlghasbegllIlIolovehcr，t11erecomesanOddjllusion—hethinksthatasshetalksthewoman’sbodyischan舀ng，thatsheisbecomingyounger，strai曲tef，aIldstronger．HerecOmesthemosttouchingsceneofthebriefmomentwhenthetwOpeoplefeelaneedtorecrcateIhestirringofvitalitywhenhjs1ifetoucheshers：Toherwh01ebodymerewasaswing，arhythmthatintoxicated11im．Whenshec锄cand衄ltonthenoorbesidehiSchairhetookher血tohisamsandbegantokissheIpassionately⋯‘‘Youdear!YouloVelydear!"hemufteredaJldtlloughth亭heldinhisarms ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESISnottheIired．outwomanofforty·onebutalovelyandinnoceⅡtgirlwhohadbeenablebysomemiracletoprojecIherseIfoutofthehuskofthebodyofthetired-outwoman．㈨derson，1997：203)However，t}lehackneyedfairytale-1ikeendjng“net、vope叩le1iVedh印pilyafterWards”failstoshowupinthisstory．Just1ikethefire、vorksdisappearatthemostbrilliantmoment，ElizabethdiesallofasuddenandbringsDr．Reefy7sIove·makingtoanend．Thereadermayfinditridiculousbecallsethesuddendeathisoutofallexpectationsandthedirectcause0fherretreatjngisthesoundsmadebysomeone’s“heaVyfeettr锄pjnguptheofficestairs”．Accidentalitseemstobe，necessitviSstiⅡthereason．：ThesickwomanspenIlhelastfewmon血sofhcrlifehIlllge血gfordeath．舢ongtlleroadofdeathshewent，seeking，hungerin昏Shepersonifiedthefigureofdeathandmadehimnowas仃ongblack_hairedyout王1nInningoVerhmS，nowastemquietmanmarkedaⅡdscanedbyt11ebnsiness0fliVing．1nthedarknessofherrOomsheputoutherh蛆d，tllmsting“劬munderthecoVersofherbed，andshettloughtthatdeathlikealiViⅡglhingputouthishandtoher．”BepaticⅡl’loVe∥shewhispered．”＆印yourselfyoungandbeauti“a11dbepaⅡent．”沁defson：1997：204)AnderSonhasobservedthat，inWinesburg，loVcisnotsomethingthatcanbringpeoplenewlife，instead，inMOron’swords，“10veandsexualattractiontwistedpeople，beatuponthem，offendistortedanddestroyedtheirlives”．Theremi曲thavebeenaValuableloVebe柳eeⅡElizabeth强dDr．Reefy，butnomatterhowpeoplehuⅡgerforameaIlingfullifeandatrue10Ve，no丘1litcallbeexpectediIlWinesburg，0hjothewastelalld，wherepeopIearedistortedbetweenthetwocontraStingforcesofthreatellingindustrialageandana掣arianpaStandthemeaningfulhumanc0Ⅱtactbecomesimpossible．WinesburgisawastelandruledbyconventionalpeopIeandthereis10vealwaysthreatenedbytheconVentionalworld(Rideout，1953：127)，representedherebythetownspeople’spossiblernisunderstandiIlgtowardstheirlove，whicharemeoVcrwhelmingdestructiVeforcesarrayedagainstthem(砌deout，1953：128)．Elizabetlliscena协thatthcTeisaVerytenderdelicatethingwithinher，whichshefindslhesame2 ⑨硕士学位论文MASTEⅣSTHESISlhjnginDr．Reefy’sinnerbeing，butitistheri曲tthingthatmenandwomenareafraidt0let1ive．T0“llthedelicatethingwithinisapassionmatobsessesmankind．AllmenandwomentrytodOit．Firsttheyl【illmemingwithinthemselVes，andthentheytryto“llitinothers(Papinchak，1992：46)．soherinnerbeingisonitSwaytobedestroyed．Consequently，shec枷estheseeds0fIovewithiIlher，butt量lereisnoharvest．Sheispregnantwithpromises，butthereisabortion(Papinchak，1992：24)．nisiswhyElizabethdiesallofasudden．whichisalsothewriter’sawarenessofcertaindisillusiollIllent．Thedirectionofthestoryandseemill西yromanticlovemustgotowardalettinggoofthedre锄．JustaS1JSu吐thestorybe酉nswithacelebrationofl讧e’sfullncssandconcludeswiththeevocationofsuddendeath．Thereaderstartsreadingwithabeljefinlhehappyendillgand抽isheswithsorriness．ItisarIeIegyinw血ich也eusuaIorderisreVersed．HoweVer，AnderSonheresuccessfullyreachesbeyondpamosands砸kesa仃agicnote，sowhenoneTeadsthestoTy，hellimself，likethestory，alsoprecedesfomi弘orancetobowledgc．2．1．2DeathofIndividualWetakeE1izabeth’sdeathasastartillgpointinA丑dersOn’s“fclongexplorationinthethemeofthedeathbecausedeath，at血ismomem，happcnstoanindiVidualOnly，whiletotheonloOkers，“istoosubtleforthemtoperceiveitstnlemeaIling．AⅡdfort量leothercharacterS，itisstillsovagueathou曲tthattheycouldhardlyunderstand．E1izabetlldiedonedayinMarchin山eye盯whenhefsonGeorgebecameeighteen，aⅡdmeyoungmnhadbutlittlesen∞ofⅡ他meaningofherdea也．0nlytimecOuldgivehiIllthaI．(Anders彻，1997：205)Deathmeansnothingtohiln，exceptforthesceneof“herlyjngwhjtealldstillaIldspeechlessinherbed”(ibid)，whichhecouldseewimhisowⅡeyes．Inthissense，toyOungGeOrgcWillard，jfhismo也er’sdeathiscomparedtoaletterwrittent0him，itist00intelligiblet0recognize；jfitisapieceofmusiccOmposedforhim，itistoOfarawaytobeheard．WhattheenergeticyoungmanhungerSforissOmethjngconcrete，vividalld1iVing，andsomethingcanbesmelt，felt，loved，touched，andevenkissed．ThenOtion0f13 ⑨顾士学位论文MASTER’STHESISdeathcannotgetholdhimandheis“infacealittleannoyed”(Anderson，1997：206)thathismotherwoulddiedonthesamedaywhenhereceivesanOte疔omhis10Verforadate：}毛eclosedhiseyesaⅡdimaginedmatlheredyouⅡg1ipsofHelcⅡwhnetouched11isownlips．Hisbodytrembledandhishandsshook(ibid)Thoughafterawhjlehe100ksguiltybecauseitoccurstohimthathismothermayobservehimandreadhismiIld，yetwhenheputSouthishandt0touchhismother’sbody：HiScouTagefailedandhe，likeDr．Reef)，，tumedoutandwentoutoftheroom⋯hisbodyshookwim埘曲tanduncenainty．㈨derSon，1997：207)“Death”，duringtllisperiodinA皿derson’sstor主es，isaccompaniedby{rightanduncenajnty．DeathisrestrictedOIllytoElizabeth’spersonalcxperience．ToE1izabeth，iⅡthemidstofdeath，shelivesmorefully．NOwsheisdeadandshehaseventuallyfulfillcdherdreamofrcleaSe，thereleasethat“afterallcamet0herbuttwiceinherlifc，inthemomentswhcnherloVersDeamandDoctorRcefyheldherintheir锄s’’(Anderson，1997：208)．HoweVer，whatcreepsoVertheyoungmaIl’smindisnotllillgexcept丘i曲taⅡduncertainty，whilethetnlemeaⅡing0fdeathistobepickedupslowly，long啦e刑ards．WithtimeandexpeIience，hemayfindit．ButwhatElizabcthtriestoconveythroughherdeath，ifshehashadatry，failstohaVeitsworkhere．TbthepeOpleaIDundher，eVenherbeloVed0nes，deathisstillsomethingassociatedwith丘ightandunccnainty．2．2DeathoftIlecom舢nityExceptforthestoriesin纠锄eJ6“，昌C地面takenasawhole，‘‘TheEgg”，jnhjssecondsefiesoftales，劢eni“，印^矿疏eEI孵，jsrankedasoneofAⅡderSon’smostacconlpIishedandsignificantshortstories．LjkemanyotherAⅡdersonstories，itisaboutthetragedyofunliVedlives，presentedherebythedesperatee￡的rtofabrokenmantopreseⅣesomesortofhumanrelationsh主pt11rougllthepe—．0HnanceofatrickandtoriseintheworIdbyru肌ingachickenfarm，wheredeathisadailyvisitor，andarestauraIlt，14 @硕士学位论文MASTEWSTHESISwherethedeadchickensareexhibited．ThetwobusjnessendeavOrsworktOgetherand1eadtothefamily’sdOwnfallandthenarratofslifclongattempttounderstalldwhatlifeisallabout．2．2．1Death0fthechickenAmovingtouchofnostal西ain“my’’remembranceofthethiIlgspastandatouchingpathOsofsadnessthatthesimpIe01ddayshaVegoneneVertoretumf}equentlyappearin“TheEgg”．nestorybe酉nswiththenamtor’sreminiscenceofthegood01ddayswhenfatherisstillacheerfIll，l【indlyandsimplef细hand．Hecelebrateshisweekendintheusualwaypeopleofhisclasscelebrateit：OnSaturdayeVeniIlgSdriVeshis0wnhorseintotownforfarn：lhand’ssodalinteIcourse，州nksseveral醇assesofbear'siⅡgssongswhilethumpjng西assesonthebar，around10o’clock“Vesbackhomeandgoestobed，“quitehappyinllispositionin1ife”．ButwhentheAmericanpassionforgettillgup抽thewofIdtakespossessionofhimaIldhjswife，lifeunfoIdsatotallydi任ercntpaget0them．TlllefirstventureiⅡtowhjcht11ecouplegoesischickcnnisiⅡ吕andt王leytryitwithOutthenotionofthemaIlyatld仃agicthin黟thatcaIlhappcntoachjcken．GenerallywhenalljdeainregardstogettiIlgupint11eworldcomesiⅡtopeople’shead，eVerythingjustbecomespossibleaIldabriglltfuturejsriglltatthecomer．ButwhatcaIlbeexpectedwhentheeggisconcemed—0smistllenewedjtjOnoftheOld-fasllioⅡcdspoiled-mnk—taI卜fmmtheeggOnewouldhavethechicken，thenmoreeggS，tllenmorechickcns，thensomemoney’tllenabiggerf栅，thenabiggerhouse，thenf细eandgrealness—_justlikewhattIlemaidenhasdre帅edofbeforeshebrokchermilkbotIle．Thesimilartragedytakesplaceinthechickenfann：Itisbomoutofanegg，livesforafewweeksasatinyflu玲让峨suchasyouwillseepicturedonEastercards，thenbecomeshideouslynaked，eatsquantitiesofcomandmealbougmbyt11esweaIofyourfatller’sbrow，getsdiseasescalledpip，cholera，andolhern帅es，stallds100l(iI培w“hst“pideyeSatthesuⅡ，becomessickanddies⋯IfdiseasedoesnotkinlhemtheywailuntilyourexpecIanonsarethoroughlyarousedandthenwalkundert11ewhoelsofawagon—cogosquashedanddeadbacktotheirmakeL(血derson，1985：1056、 ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER’STHES【SAfterthechickensarebomoutoftheeggs，theyliVenomorcthana如wweeks．Theymaydieatanytimeinanyplace，inawOrd，underanycircumstances．HoweV盯，ifthedeadisadeadpastwhichnevercomesback，theymaywinthefinalsuccessandprosperity．Yetasthenarrator0bserves：“smallchickens，justsettingoutonthejoumeyoflifc，100ksobrightandalertandtheyareinfactsodreadfIlllystupid．”(AⅡderson，1985：1057)Andthenhecomestotherecognition：“1hehenslayeggsoutofwhichcomeotherchickensandthedreadfIllcycleisthusmadecomplete．”(ibid)Inthissense，death，inthisstage，acquiresas缸弘ificancebecauseithastranscendedanindiVjdual’srestrictionandbecomeacyclewhichcaIlbecalledbackaIldreplayagainandaga曲．2．2．2ThefhinIreOfthesecOndbusinessendeavOrNomatterhowfrequently“I”castanostalgic醇ancebackwardat“akitldofpaStoral901denage”whenlifeisah印py，innocent，simple，secureandegglessaffa址ttlesecondeggisstillbeingbom．Thenarrator，SmemoryoftllesecondfamilybusinessisnomOrepositiVeeitlleLHis“iIlcurably锄bitious’’motherhas‘‘theideathatarestaurantwouldbepmfitable”．Sothefamily，“atinycaravanofhOpelool【ingforanewplace丘omwhichtostaronitsupw盯djoumeythrou曲lifc，”(ibid)opensarestaurantinBjdwell，0hio．Buttheir1ittlerestauralltisseldomvisited，thefathcr'be∞mesalittlefeverish血hisallxietytoplease也evisitorsandhatchesaschemewhichheisSure试UbmgcIlsto】【nerstohisrestaurant，aIldf锄eandfortunetollim．Hisgreatesttreasure，t110selittlemOnstrousmmgsthatarebomwithfourle轳，twopahsofwings，铆oheadsOrwhatnot，canbecalleduponthestageatthemoment．hlthefather’sopinjOn，ifhetakesmesedeformitiesaboutthecountyfaiTshewilldefillitely鲈ow矗chbyexhibitiIlgthemtootherfa兀Ilhandsbecause“peopleIiketoloOkatstfangeandwondeIfulthings”．Nowhedecidestobringthesebottledaberrationstotherestauranttoatt柏ctcustomeIS．andⅥrhenanAmericanspiritstrikeshismind，“therewasnodoubt，lurkjngsomewhereinllim，atouchofthesp试toftheshowman”(AⅡderson，1985：1058)．AttheVerybegiIlningfather’seagemesstOpleasehiscustomer，youngJOeKane，ironjcally'makesJoefeelthat“therestaurantkeeperisapparentlydisturbedbyhispresenceandhethinksofgoingout”(ibid)．ThenfhthertriestoattractJoethecustomerwiththetrickofstandinganeggonnsend．Whenthatfails，tllefatherdisplaysthe“pOultrymOnstrosities”，Ksmostvaluabletreasure．Joesti王ldoesnotpayattention，sothe16 ⑧硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESISfather，ina“spiritofdesperatedete皿ination”，attemptstoheataIlegginapaIlofVinegarandslideitintoabottle．Theweightoftheentirestorybears0nmisdesperatesceneasthefatherstrIlgglestojustifyhislifeandtoredeemhisfaithinjustjce．Ofcourse，theeggbreaks，andinhiswrathfulacl∞wledgInentoftheutterfnlstrationOfhisarnbitions，thefatherhurlsanothereggatthecustomer，whoisneeingtllisdramaofabsurdity．Fatherisenragedand昏vesaroarofanger．“Therewasaha睢jnsalleinhiseyes”，thenhe，whencIyinglikeaboy，dIopsonhiskneesbesidemOther'inwhosearInsonlymayheseekrefugeandcompassiOn．Theeggbringsllimt0hissecondfOnuneandhelpstobuildthesec叫ddream，butwhentheeggbreaks，thedreamevaporates．neeg舀、VhichsuggestshopeaIldanewlife，nawonlysuggestsdeathanddesperation．ThepTo簪essionhascomeful】circle．2·2．3DeathasaheritageBothOfttletwobusinessendeavorsprovetobeasheerfailure．ThecOnsequenceOftheirdesperatee肋rthasbeenfo】陀shadowedbytlletiue，“劢e打fE‘唧^D，历eE船”，whichgivesanironicalsi印i矗caIlcetothevolume．InthenaⅡatoT’swords，aneggminsone’simpulseiⅡlife．Chickenr缸singfailsbec卸sedeathiss0打equentavisitort0thecllickenfa棚，sowhenachickenisbOmitissOeagertOgobacktoitsMakeLTherestauraIltprovestobewofsebecauseitsmashesfatllef’slasthopcintopieces．ne锄bitionsofthecharactersaret王1wanedbyshattereddreamsbasedonafalsehopeofanegg-Anegginmestoryisamultistablesymb01，which，asin“Deam”，isiⅡdicatedbythetitle(quotediIlPapinchak，1992：115)．Attheverybeginning，aneggissometMngiⅡspjfingandembraving，whichisassOciatedwithvitaIity，newlifeaⅡdthebinhofasmanchjcken，a11d0nwhichfatherbaseshisdre锄s．SoitisasymbolofAmericaIldreaⅡ1ofsuccess．Butitistoo丘a舀le，tooweak，andsoeasytogetbroken，asnissoeasyforachickentocatchdiseaseaIlddie．Aftermechickendies，aneggwjlldefinitelyhaVenothjngtodowith“newlifc”0r‘‘Vitality”．Asaresult，tlleegg兀Iinsthecouple’sfirstbusiness．ThenalittlerestaurantissetupinBidwe“Ohiothewasteland，justlikeachickenbomOutofaIlegg．T1lefathers，togetherwithhjsbottledchickengrotesques，sitsbehindthecounter，waitingforhisre印ectablecustOmerswhomheissoeagertOentenain，withthehopeofthatalittletrademightgrowupintoabigtradeandbring17 ⑨硕士学位论文MASTERtSTHESISfortunetohim．Unexpectedly，thjngshappeninanoppositedirection．FirsthisValuabletreasure，the1ittlebott王edhideousmonsters，disgustshisOnlycustomef，andthenhisegg—vinegar-bottlepe订0咖ancefrightensllimaway．Thisisthe1aststrawthatbreakstllecamel’sback．FOrmesecondtime，aneggruinsfathcr’sbusinessand1eadshimtOthefinaldownfall．Inthisrespect，anegg，whichisoriginallyassociatedwitllfen主1ityaIldvitality，nowbecomesasymbolofdea也．Thehealthychickenbomoutofaneggiseasytodie，needlesst0saythosepoultrymonstmsities，whogOquicHybacktOthehandoftheirmakerafceramomentoftremblingaIldstnlggliIlg．Fathor，wh0isthesaddestLususNaturaeeVerbomoutoftheeggoftheAmericandream(ibid)，isofnoexc印tiona11disdestinedtogotothedestinationnamedfaihreffomtkVerybe酉衄ingwhenhesetsoutonajoumey．HoweVer'ifthestoryjuststopsatthispoint，jtmightnotbeabletoenjoythefameasthe“America芏lmasterpieceoftragedy”．Theentirejokeisnotyetplayedom．ShonIyafcerbegiIlIliIlghisaccount，tllenamtorhadcautionedhimselftotelltlletalecOrrectly'sothatitwillcenterontheegg，notthehen：MuchmaybedonebysimpIeambiⅡ0uspe叩Iew血oownafewhens．DoⅡotbe1edastraybyit．Itwasnotwrittenfofyou⋯DOnotfeadandbelievetllelitcraturethatis嘶ttcnconc哪iⅡgt11ehen．ItwasnolwIinenfo‘you⋯Lhowever，digress．Myt“edoesnotprimarilyconcemi乜elfw浊thehen．IfcoⅡec岫toldit诫ncenteronⅡleegg．(Anderson，1985：加57)HoweVer，attheendofthestory，thenarratorisstillobsessedwiththequestion0fegga11dhen：1wonderedwhyeggshadtobeandwhyfromt11eeggcametllehenwhoagainlaidnleegg-Th。questioⅡgotintomyblood．nhasst酊edthere，limagiⅡe，becauseI锄thesoⅡofmyfather．Atanyrate，theproblemremainsunsolVedinmymiⅡd．Andthat，Iconclude，isbutanolhereVidenceoflhecompleteand血alIriumph0ftkegg～alleastasfarasmyfamilyisconcemed．(Anderson，1985：1064)18 ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESISThesignificanceinthiscombinationofothenViseemptytmismsispatent．WhatmakesitmegreatestwOrkofSherwoodAndersonandaclassic0fAmerican1iteraturealso1iesintllisseeminglyunsolveddOubtbutacfuallyanacl(Ilowledgedawafenessofthecycle0fnature．GiventhatthecOurseofmenaⅡatiVecorrespondstothecycleOfeggandhenaIldegg，theAmericandreamfirstlyisthehen，0utofwhichfatllerisbom．Since“IammesonOfmyfather"，theeggthustransfomsint0thesonandhenthefather．Thestory'“correctlytold”，findstheboynarratoratitscenter．“Jntllelongnjghtswhentherewas1ittletodO，famerhadtimetot11ink”，ashehascommiltedt王lroughhistale，“‘rhatwasllisundoin91)．Similarly'inthedosinglines，itisthesonwhoisthillkiⅡgandwhoisundone．Intll招sense，thestory’scomrollingmetaphOr’raisingchicken，isdirectlycomparedtoraisingchildrenandtheultimatedestiniesofadulthood(Papinchak，1992：40)．TheTearehe璐也atlaidtheeggjustliketh盯earep龇entswhohavebabies．Theboy，asimilitudeoftheeggandas)rnecdocheofhiscommullity，stalldiIlgbe押eenthestatesofinnocenccalldexperience，youthandmaturity'a伊arianpastaIldcityfIIture，isarcpresentatiVeofmemodcmwodditself(quotediⅡPapjnchak，1992：132)．nlerecOgⅡitionofthefactthathehimselfmustalsofollowllisfather’sstepsnotonlymasksllisprimaryrealizationofhisowndest_iIlybutsuggestshisHfemusthenceforthleadhimawayf如mchildhoodiIlnocenceint0anawedworldwheredeathissofrequentavisitorandsointimateafdend，andwhichisliketlleheritagethatcaIlbepaSsed丘0mgcnerationtogeneration!ThegeneratiOnalmySteriesattheendofthestoryarenotresOlved，buttheendlessnaturalcycle，whichistlle“final伍umphoftheegg”，∞ntinuesforthenarratorandhisfellowmen．Theemer出gawarenessofthenarratorsuggcstSasweuthatdeath，丘啪thedeath0fthechicken，也eevaporationoftheAmericandre蜘，totheboy’sfinalrecognition，has把anscendcdthelimitoftheindividual’spcrsonalexperienceandbecomesauniversalphenomenon，whichistruefor也eentiIehumanbeing．19 ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER，STHESIS3．DeathasaFuUCircleIntheprcviouschapter，deatbiscomparedtoaluxurioustree．h1thissense，wemaydrawaparallelbetweenawriterandagardener，oranorchardman．ButasingletreedoesnOtmal【eaforest．Onlyafter血ereareenou曲fruittreesintheorchanmaIl’sorchard，andonlyafteraseasonoffllllblOssOmandabumperharvest，canhebecomeasuccessfulorchardmall．AndonlywhenwhatthewfiterwritesisimbuedwjthasenseOfuniversality，eternityandcompleteness，caIlhearriveatauniVersalplaIlea11dachieVea眦jversalmeaIling．3．1TheuniVersalityandeteHIityofdeatll“DeathintheWoods”isusuallyrel：o印izedastheshOrtstorywritcr’soutstaIldingwork．ThatitisalsoAnderson’sownfavoriteaIldthathelabOrsoVeritlongerthanoveranyotherstOrysuggestsaSwelltllatitbestexemplifieshjstheofyaIldpracticeofshortfiction．Quitepropedy'anthologistshaveselectedittorepresentAndersonmoreoftenthaIlanyothertale．nisastoryofallOldwomallaccompaniedbythegiganticdogswhOdiedaIOneinawood0nawinterday，usingasnarratoragrownmanlool【ingbacktoamemorableiIlddentinhisboyhoodtwentyyearseadier．OnewinterdayMTs．Gfimes90esintotownwithherusualcompaIliOns，agmupoffollrdogs，totradeafeweggs．SheshouldcreepoVerafence，climbahillandatlastgetthroughwoods．shechoosesashoncutsothatshemaybeabletogetbackbeforedarkness．Whensheistootiredt0walkon，shesitsdowntorestatthefootofatree，settingherpackagainstthetreetmnk，andfallsaslcep．Theweathertumsanditbeginstosnow．Theoldwomanopenshereyes，woIryingalittleab饥nthebadweather．“Butwhenyouareaboutsocold，youcan’tgetanycolder．”(Anderson，1985：1045)Andwhenshecan’tfeelcolderanylonger，deathhasbeen0nhiscarriagetopickupher．3．1．1TheuniversalityofdeathThestoryisconsideredoneofAnderson’sbestworksbothbylhecriticsandthewriterhimself'whoaddsthat“‘‘wasoneofthestories1wrote，tllrewaway，a11drewrote20 ⑨硕士学位论文MASTERtSTHESISmanytimes．’’(quotedinFerguson，1980：143)Inapassageinwhichhecomparesthegestationofastorytopregnancy，“thetellingofthetale．．．【to]thecuttingofttlenatalcord，”(ibjd)Andersonthenremarksthafhewould1jketointroducealldteUthestofyof“theoldwomanaccompaniedbythe百gaIlticdogswhodiesaloneinawoodonawinterday．”(ibid)Theuniversalityofdeathcanbebestillustratedfhroughthecomparisonofthethreedif!f'crentversions0fthesamestoryaboutthedeathofaIloldwoman．RecOgnizableVersionsOfthestoryappeariIltllreeworksunpublishedduringAnderson’s1ifetime：“忍r括ⅣD渤oD护(1921)；“而腩er爿6，口．Iz口肌?爿L跏co跏，，盘鲫卯f，'；aIldtherecemlydiscovered丘agment“ADeatllintIleF0rest”．ThreepublishedVersionsexist：aspanof死，?一^舭批酣f@f^加Dod；asaseparateshortstoryjnAmericaIlMercury；aⅡdfinaUyin1933inthevolumeD已口肪所珐e肋Dds(ibid)，whichisollrfocustoday．Thou曲allbasedonthes锄estory，thethreeversionsactuallydiffergreatly．111eversionofthe01dwoman’sstoryin‘恸胁已r爿6旭^口m”iscloset0thatofmesketchinthe‘j只口r妇Ⅳo据扫DD_】}”；inbothmeemphasisisonthebnltalized1ifcofme01dwomall，t01dwithcompassionforaⅡparticipants，wllileth6oldwomaIl’sdeathissomewhatignored．T1le6rstsentenceofthestOryannouncesthedeathbluntly：“ItwaSDeccmberandsnowingwhenMrs．meMaⅣin—weknewherasM盯MaⅣin—diedinthelitnehOllowinthecenterofGrimes’woods，abouttwomilessouthofourOlliotown．”(quotedj11P印inchal【，1992：184)However，intlleversionof“DeatIliIlmeWoods”，meintroductionoftheoldwomanchangesalot：Shewasanoldwomanandlivedona纽mnearthetowninwhichIlived．舢lcountryandsmall-townp∞plehaveseens扯ch01dwomen，bmnooneknowsmuchabout也em．SuchanoldwomancomesintotowndrivinganoIdwom_0uthorseorshecomesafootcarryingabaskeI．Shemayo啪afewhens壮dhaveeggstosell．Shebringstheminabasketandtakesthem吣agrocer．皿lefeshetfades也emin．Shegetssomesahpmkandsomebeans．．．TheoldwomanwasnothjngspeciaI．Shewasoneoft11enamelessoⅡesc量lath盯dlyanyoneknows⋯(A皿derson，1985：1041)The01dwomallhaschallgcd曲mMrs．Il[eMarvintoawomallwho“a11coun田andsmall—townpeoplehaveseen⋯butn0oneknOwsmuchabout．”，andwhohas2l ⑨硕士学位论文MASTERlSTHESISnothingspedal，being“oneofthenamelessonethathaI(ilyanyoneknows．”(ibid)Theoldwoman’slifeexperienceasabOundgjrIisals0deliberatelycenteredandamplytoldinthefirstpartofthestory，“shewasayoungtllingthenandscaredtodeath”(AnderSon，1985：1042)．“What“eThappened，sheneversaidany也ing：thatwasherwayofgettingaloⅡg．．．ithadn’tshockedtheoldwomaⅡ，notmuch”(ibid)，becauseshehasgotpastbein2shockedearlyinlifc．Shewasj11treatedbytheGe肌anwhOseesherashisrightflllconquest，andhiswifewhotacitlycondonestheTapeasawayofkeepingthegirlboundtotheirserviceforlife．Butiftlledepictionofthewom姐asabound百rlrestsonlyatthislevel，what1eaves血thereader，smindwiUbenothingbutsheermercyonherasasin毋ebound昏dofpoVerty．HoweVer，acc0Tdingtothewriter：SuchboundchndrenwereoftenenoughcmellyIreaIed．Theywerechndrenwh0hadnoparents，slavesreany．TherewereVeryfeworphanhomeslhen．Theywere1egaUyboundiIltosomehome．Itwasamatterofpure1uckhowitc蛐eout．(ibid)Thercfore，nleyoung百disomyoneofthethousandsofboundchildren，whoarc“oftenenougllcnlellytreatedj'柚dare“childrenwhohadnopafenfs，slavesreaIly”．Inthisrespect，a“bo岫dgirI，’iS蛐aIlalogIIeforan“oldwoman”，andaIlothernaIIleforsOmanynamdesspeoplewh0ina11countryandsman—tOwnareseenbyothcrsbutwillneverbenoticed．Sheisoneofthenamelcssonesexceptformecommonn锄esharedbya11peopleofherclass．ItiScharacteristicofher，butatthes锄etiInenotrestrictedtoheronly．Inthissense，Mrs．G血nes，firstasaboundgirlthenasanoldwoman，擎aduallychangesiIltoasymbol，arcpresentatiVe，aprelude，andanarchetype，throughwhichthenarratorperceiVesthemystenesoflife，andafoundation，whichtheadultnarratorbaseshisstoryandconclusionon，andslowlygainstheuniVersalsi印ificance．MaybethisisthereasonwhythebOyfcelsdissatisfiedwithhisbrother’sstory．缸farashisbfotherisconcemed，whathewitnessesisthet兀lth；wlIileintllebOy’ssubc0Ⅱsdous，anoldwomaIl’sdeathisofnoimpOrtancetOan01llOokeLbutifherdeathbecomesasymbol，thewOmanherSelfsuddenlyacquiresitssigni丘cance．SowhatactuallyhappensmayhavetakenaplaneandarrivedatauⅡiverSalmeaning．Therefore： ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESISThewholethin吕thestoryoftheoldwoman’sdeam，wascomeasIgrew01derlikemusicheardfromfaro旺ThenoteshadIobepickedupslowIyoneatatime．Somethinghadtobeunderstood⋯Ishannottrytoemphasizetllepoint．Iamo山explainingwhylwasdissatisfiedthenandhavebeeneversince．IspeakOfthatonlyIhaCyoumayunderstaⅡdw：hyIhavebeenimpelledtoIrytotellthesimplest。ryoVeraga主Ⅱ沁derSon，1985：1049)ObviouslyAIlderson’smethodistohavethetalerideonitsowⅡmelting；itisthec10siIlgsentence0fthelastsection，whcTethefacticityofMrs．Grimes’stoTyhasevanesccd，thatrcvealitsmeaning．ThestoryofMrs．Grilnesrepresentsthemystery0flifcandtheuniversaltnlthforthecVcleof1ifeaIlddeath．htIle矗nalsense，howeveLwhatthcstoryisaboutisnotthe咖blembuttheⅡeedtoreteUthestory，overaIldOv盯againbecausewhatthenarratorseeksforisnotameaningitselfbutaIlIliversalmeaniⅡgandtheattem口ttOsearchforameanstounderstandit．Thefmestorynevercnds；itisafigIlrethate11laFgcsasitfilIswiththeexperienceofone’s1ife．3．1．2Theetemi略ofDeamIntlleversionof“ADeathilltheF0rest”．AndersOntreatstlleoldwoman’sdeathalmostentirelyasitconcerIlsthena玎atorasayoungbOy．Wit王lthebeginning“nwasapoorlMestorya妣ra11．”(quotedinPapinchak，1992；14s)，thestoryobviouslyshowsthatatttlisstagetllenarrator，asayoungboy，callnotperceivethesigllifican∞intheoldwomaIl’sdeath；iⅡtheendofthestory，thenarratordismissesthedeat王1assomemingbeyondaboy’scapacitytoundcrstandandimmediateIyshiftshjsattentiontothedeathasthecauseforagatheringofthetownsmeⅡaIldhisopportunitytoholdsomeone’sexpenshecoat．EⅣenfortheaduhs．m“ADeathintheF‘)rest，，，meoldwOman’sdeathisnotdeeplysigIlificaIlt．Itoccursasaninternlptiontotheto啪’sh印pypreparatiOnforchristmasandenjoymentofwinter．Therearepara静aphspersonifyingthetown：meretumhomeofafewgirlsrichenoughtohavebeenawayatboardingschoolandofBenLewismakesmenarratorfeel“One’stownputtingitsnoseupinthea打lil(eafinepOinterdog”(ibjd)．Therearealsodescriptionindetans：whatmanyofthetownsmenaredoingas“thingsgobangthen，likeputtjngaljghtoutinaroom”，whereastheoldwoman’slifeaIldthemallnerofherdeath，‘justasplainasthou曲therehadbeenaIleyewitnesstoherdeaththeretoteuthetale，”(ibid)areVerybrienysummarized．whatimpressesme ⑧硕士学位论文MAsTEⅣSTHESISnarratorisjustthe“white，halffrozenlittleoldfigure，pitchedaliulef01ward，”(ibid)andthe‘packofbjguglydogs”(ibid)；hejma百nes“thestillnessofdeathcomingsoftly，nightandthec01d’’(ibid)，butcomments，“myboy’smindcouldn’t孕aspitthen，”(ibid)thengoesonto垂vedetailsofBenI七wis’spanicipationiIlmoV血gthebodyaIldhandinghimmecoatt0hOld．hIthisstory，itistheboyaspartofthetown，indeed，thetownitselftllatisthecemerofthestory(Fer911son，1980：146)．HOwever，in‘‘DeathjⅡtheWoods”，thedeathistreatedinamuchmoreimpressiVem枷er．Thenewsoftheoldwoman’sdeathjsspreadoVerthetownbyahuntcr，whOfakesheraSabeautifulyounggid，withherfaceburjedin也esnow．Itbrin萨townspeOpletothew00ds，wherethenamtorcxperjencesas仃；mgefeelmgnotatallassociatedwitbdeath：MybodytrembkdwithsomestrallgemyslicalfeeIingandsodidmybrolher。s．1tmighthavebeen也ecold．Nei也eIofushad“erseenawoman’sbodybefoTe．ItmayhavebeeⅡthesnow，djⅡ百ogtothe劬zennesh，山atmadeitlooks0whileaⅡdloveIy，sol汝omarble．(AndesoⅡ，1985：1047)Peoplearestanled，bafnedandpuzzled．SecretcommeⅡtsarewhisperedinthecrowds，around“thebareyoung·lool【ingshoulders”．AblacksmimtakcsO￡fhisovercoatandspreadsitoVerthenakcd鲥ish—looHngfigIlre．Thereisnonoise．Theinlmediateimpactofmedeathsceneontheboyissomethingl呔eawe，whichmakeshimstaIldtheresilentlyandsullenly．Sodoeshisbrother，justlikeHe珊aniIl“TheMaIlwhoBec枷eaWOm柚”，“afcelingIiketllefingcrofG0druIlll曲gdownyourbackandbunlingyOuclean”(quotedinPapinchak，1992：46)over∞mesthem．ThereadermaynotethatthebumingfmgerofGodisate“or，butitiSmorethanaterr0Lltrestsonlyonafe耐ulleVel，itwillbefarfrombeinglikesomething“s0completehaSitsownbe&uty”(Anderson，1985：1048)，andtheboywillⅡotbedissatisfiedwithwhathisbmthertel】s：YOuseeitisIikeIychat，whenmybmtllert01dthestOr)，，山atnightwhenwegothomeandmotllerandsistersat1islenin舀Ididnotthillkh。gotthepoint．Hewastooyoungandso @硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESISwasI．AthiogsocompletehasitsownbeauIy⋯IkepIsilenIa11dwenttobedearly．Itmayhavebeen1wasnotsatisfied祈lhthewayhetoldil．(ibid)TheinabilityOftheolderbrothertotellthestOryProperIyincreasesthesense0fthestIangeeff色ct．ButasamystifiedspectatOrandaninnocentadolescent，theboyhimselfcannotsort0utthesenseandmemeaningofhisstrangefceling．HDwever，insp“eOfall七hestrangemysteries，subtJeandcOmplexfeeling，whattheboyexperiencesmostacutelyissomethingbeautifIll：1heoldwomandiedsomyandquieⅡy⋯血eshoulderswefesonaⅡowandIhcbodysoslightthatindeath“100kedlike血ebodyofsoⅡlecharmingyouⅡggirl⋯sowh“eandlovely，solikemarble．(ibid)ItisbeautifIllbecauseofitScompleteness．Beingcompletesuggests血eaccomplishmentofatask，therealization0fagoal，thcfulfilllnentofanaim，andafullcycle，whichhasthes锄eshapeastlle“OValminiaturerace—track”thedogsmakearoundmeoldwOman’sbody．Theemphasisofthebeautyin“scomplctenessiseVenmoreappaIentwhenweexamineo也ercompantivelysmallbut曲ponantchangesamOngthethreepublishedverSions．Inmesentcnce‘Thewomanwh0diedwasonedestinedtofeedanimallifc”．thephrase“destinedtofeed”hasr印laced“whofcd”，“animallif色”hasreplaced“aIlimals”，preparingforthesubsequentadditi0Ⅱofmeideathat“shewasfeedinga11imallifcbeforeshcwasbom”，acompletionofthecyclcwhichendswithherfeedillgheraIlimal}ifeatheIdealh(Ferguson，1980：149)．Thesi弘ificantchangesofthewords“loVely”and“chamiIlg”areaddedtothedescriptionofthebodyisanotherevidencetoshowt11ewriterdeliberatelyemphasizesthebeautyinthecompleteness．Accord血gtothewriter(orthenaHator)，theoldwomandoesnotlookoldanymoreinherdeath，butsoyoung，sowhite，soloVely，likeacha皿iⅡgyounggirI．Nor】naIly，adeadbodyhasnothingtodowithsomethingch锄ingandlovely，needlesstosayanoldwOman’sbodyButhereinthesnowywoods，withsona玎owtlleshoulderandsowhjtemeskin，thengureisprettygidish-like，andhasthes锄efcaturesofanewly-bombaby：softand @硕士学位论文MAS丁ER’STHESISwhite，lovelyandslight．TheamlogybeMeenthedeadoldwomalla11danewly-bombabysetsupthestory’scontrollingmetaphor：thelifejoumeyoftheoldwomanislikeapassage，fromhermother’sutemsthestanillgpointtotheetemalembraceoftheⅡaturcthedestination，thatmakessocompleteacyde，andsoetemalascene(ibid)．AtllingsocompletehasitsownbeautyaⅡdisimbuedwithasens60feter工1ity．T11estoryofMrs．Grimesrepresentsthemysteryoflife，whichgraduallyemergesasatnlthandenlargesinmean曲gwitlltheexperienceofone’slifc．Thusthedistallcedperspectiveof出eadultnarrator，along惭thknowledgegainingoVertilne，enables1limtOseethewoman’slifeanddeathasafllUcydeoffeedinganimallife，afIlllcydematchjngthedogs’ritualisticcircleandrepresentiIlgarctumtopri】[110rdjalori酹ns(Ferguson，1980：148)，allofwhich乒aIltthedeathoftheoldwomallwithcompleteness，beautyandetemity．3．2ThejnevjtabnityandcertaintyofdeathDe口疏咖腑e肋D出publishedin1933stalldsoutasAnderSon’smasterpieceparallelingthebrillianceofthestoriescollectedinhisbest-knownbook胁邸6“，昌0慨iD．AndersonisespeciallypleasedwimthebookaIldheexplainst0FcrdinalldScheVill，“IdidwaIltt11ebook，dedicatedto0urfriendshipaIldmyesteemforyouandyOurmind，tohaverealinte孕蚵”(quotedinFergllson，1980：141)AnderSon’sconfidenceabouthavingachievedhisgoalof“fealintegrity”inDe口髓新腩e肪D出suggeststhatthevolumemayrepresentthebestofhjscreatiVity．ObviOuslythevol啪eisunifiedbythethemeOfdeathbecauseofthe16stOriesintheVoIume，10touchuponthethemeofdeath，withthestory“DeathintheWbods”the商晤tand“BrotherDeatll”thelast．’Ihoughmostcriticsadmire“DeathiⅡtheWbods”asOneofhisbestshonstories，yetAnd盯son，alwaysconcemswiththe“baf：￡lingquestionoffo瑚achicvedornotachieved”(ibid)，takesspecialpainswitlltheb00k’whenheperceivesunevennessinthequaljtyofthestories，hechoosestO“throwOuttwOorth托e”andwritesanewstorytocompletethevolume，“BrotherDeath”，astorywhichinhisownopiniOnmay“makethebook，I’mprettysure，oneofthefineststoriosI’veeVerdone，andIevendaresayone0fthefinestandmostsignificantanyonehaseVerdone．”(ibid)AndersonalsojndicatesthatthisarTangementishisintention．m“DeathintheWOods”，the01dwoman’sdeathisd印icfedinapoigllanttone，whichsuggeststhewriter’snegatjveattjtudetowardsdeath．Finally，in“Bmther ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER，STHESISDeat}l”，tIlrou曲mecomparisonbetWeenTed’sdeath，inwhichTedwinshisforeVerfreedom，withtheelderbrother’slivingdeath，whichaccordingtothenarratorisa“moresubtleandterribledeath”，thewriterseemstotellusmatanindividualcanexperienceanemotionaldeaththatisfarmoreterriblethanaphysicaldeath．IIlaworldofhatred，jealousyandloneliness，toliVeistomakethesurrender；whjleinthemidstofdeathonecanlivefIlnyandmoremeallingfIllly．3．2．1Ted’sdeathIftheprecedingshortsto打esillustratethebodyofAndersoⅡ’soriginalgeniusinthegenrc，thelaststOryint11iscOnection，“BromerDeath”stalldsasacoda．“BrotherDeath，’essen“allyisaparablc，whichfocusesonmesymboloflhefamily0aktreesaIIdthetreestumps(quotedinPapinchal【，1992：120)．IIlMary’sfamily，snentbatllesaresec陀tlygoingonaboutwhettlerornOttocutdowntheshadeoaktreesinmefamilyyard．Asa“1andⅢaIl”，J0hnGrcythefatherc咖otabidet11eoalctreesatthebackofhishousebecause“theymaketoomuchshadc．ThegraSsdoesnot舯w”．IfthegrasscallnOtgrow，thenthecamecallnot擎azeaⅡdJ0hnGreycaIlnot0btainmOrepossessions，whichtohimrepresentpoweLGrey，howeVer'isaloneiⅡllisdesiretocutdowntlleoaktrees．Don，the18一ye盯一oldeldestson，廿lreatenstowalkof￡thef姗andneverretIlmifhisfatherdestroysthetree．ThereadermaytllinkmatDondoesthisoutofsOme目D0dintention；howcveT，theeldcstsonhimselfhasnodearideaabout11isreactiOnstowafdshisfather’scorDmand：Therewasasuddenquicknash0fdeteⅢlilla墩minDon·evenperhapssuddendeterminadontostandbythemotheT-eVenpeThapssomethingelse-afeehngintheyoungDonoutoft11eAspillwahlbloodinhim—forthemomenItreelovesupersedinggrasslove．gfassthatwouldfattensteers．mdeIson，1933：塾l纽；』垃h!生塾Q越§g西亟：坠曼地Q也生压皇§曼h￡婪±丝±Si皇量里曼P星塑昼坠!s[坠g!鱼b丛Q型也塑也!Q!b曼!：亟皇垦啦照避)Despitethebrotherandmother’sprotestagainsttllefather，scommand，TedandMarymostprobablyaIetheonlypeople缸thefamilywhohOldasincereaf!￡ectiontowardstheoalctrees．Asaresultofachjldhooddisease，Tedsu彘rs舶m“ahean1ikelyatanymomenttostopbeatin舀leavinghimdead，cutdown1ikeayoungtree．”(ibid) @硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESISBeingoverprotective，therestofthefamilyspoils1色d’sjoyinlif色withthewamingsofnott0leanltodriveoneOfthet、vofamilycars，dimbatreetofindabird’snest，nlnaracewithMary．ThuswhataniInportantrolethe仃eesplayinTed’sl诜becausetheyof艳r1色dpreciouschaIlcesto“r主skinga11forjoy”!Oneofthetreeshas“agreatlimbthatcamedownneartheground”，s0t11atTedandMarycOulddimbintoitandoutonanotherlimbintoitsbrothertree，wheretheycanfindanestofbirdsaIlddiscoVersOmeotherwondeIsinthewOIld．hthe蜘lthetreesunfoldanOtherbea嘶fIllcllildishsceⅡetotlletwo1ittlethin2s：Whenothe『nBes，atthe丘ontandsideoft11ehouse，hadshedtlleirleaves，blood-redleavesstmclIlllgtometwooaks．Theywereli】(edryb100don掣aydays，bulonotherdays，when山esunc枷eout，the仃eesnarnedagainsIthedistanlhills．Theleavesclun岛whispe血gand脚kiⅡgwhenthewiⅡdblew，soIhatt11etreesthemselVesseemedcarryiⅡgonaconversa虹on．(Anderson，1933：塾鲤；f地：星垒珏单坠§g盥：垂￡型坠Q堕型!呈曼￡塾星堕±丝±墨照型旦曼P垫j查丝娶终[星堕世i§塾2￡￡Q地￡型竖￡Q也§!：垂§§也!照!丝IHOweVer，botllOfDon’spmtestagainstthecommandandTed’saf琵ctiontowardsthetreemeetthecrisisiIl盘DntOfthei玎ationalitvaILdtvrannvofthefather．硼KoaktreesarccutalldoⅡlysturnpsarcleft．Donleavesinexasperation，butllisrebellionagaillsthisfather’swilllastsonlyforabriefmoment．Afewdavs1aterhecomesbackhomeinsubmission．ButtoTed，jtisashockhecouldnevcrrecoveLAvearortwoafterthe0aktreeshaVebeenrcducedtostumps，TeddiessilentlyduringtIlenightinhisbedwithoutanyomens．Deathasac船uaIVisitoragainappearsinAⅡderson’smostimpOrt缸tstory．3·2·2’11IetnestllmpsasasymbolofdeathIIl“BrotherDeath”，A丑dersonusesacreativeandwisefemale，MarVGrey’asthece蚰alconsciousness(Ferguson，1980：154)．Unlike也eyoungboyin“Deathin也eWoods”，Maryisalreadymatureatfouneen．Atthetimetlleincidentsofthestorvbegin“．．．shewasbothach丑danda掣ownwoman．ThewomansideofherkeptpOpping0utatunexpectedmoments”(AⅡderson，1933：hl主P；左尘垒!曼曼皿P丛墨g!i鱼：卫曼!也Q蛩!星巫垦业曼Es±型茎±墨墼蜒重丛2曼p旦啦曼壁!￡』!蛰g!is型￡!Q受l鱼曼型垫￡Ql鱼曼!堕曼堑照：塾￡班1)．ShedoesnotperceivetheworIdasjsolateddetails；instead，sheisreasoning，millking，inducinganddedudng．She @硕士学位论文MASTE甜STHESISisnon甜veobseⅣerOfthetree—afifair；instead，shehasgonebeyondwondertOunderstanding．ItisalSosignificamthatMaTyisnotmcIelyapassiVeobserverOfherbrother’slifeanddeath；sheparticipatesinthemand曲itiatesaction．CFerguson，1980：156)Thisstory，inacertaindegree，actuallyisarecordofayoungwomanwisebeyondheragegradllallycreatesmemeaⅡingofherbrother’sdeathwhenshegainsexperienceinyears．Attheverybeginnin岛Mary’s“whynot?I’dlil【etoknowwhynot?”(ibid)setS骶keynOte0ftheentirestOryinwhichthetreestumpsbecomearichsymb01．Whcntheclassiccon丘DntationofwillsoccursbetweenDon柚dhisfather'MaryperceiVesjtnotasabattleoverwhetherthetreeshouIdbecutornot，butaplayforPossessionofpowcrwithinthefamilyandachanceforDontoaSsenhimself．hMaIy’sm锄oTy'afIeIDonrealizesthatthisisaplaythatmefatllerdirectsandjntentionallyo行erstohim，hecomesbackhome．Y0llIlgMaryistheOⅡlyeyewinlesstOthescene，whichisconfusingandstraIlgeenou曲forachild：‘‘Wbll，”血efatllersaid．Ifhefelttriumphant，hedfdnoIshowhisfeeliⅡg．“WiU，”saidthesoⅡ．“Ihavecomeback．”“Ycs，Isee，”thefathersa地“皿ey盯ecut咖gcom，“Hewamdtowardstlleballldoor姐dt11enstopped．“Itwillbeyourssoonnow，”hcsaid，“YoucaⅡbebossthen．”HesaidnomofeaⅡdbothInenwentaWay’thefathertowards山edistaⅡtfieIds孤dthesontowardsthehouse．Marywasafterwardsquitesuret11atnothiⅡgmorewaseversaid．0蜘erson，1933：hctp：／／ph．c棚pus酊d．ne恤ome瓜achers+＆+sla印eparnllents，En91isll／Crowthe帕rotheLdeath．html11mefatherwhoapparentlywinsshouldhavefelttriumphant，aIldtllesonshouldhaVefcItfrⅡstratedwithdefeatedfeeling．Butthecontraryscemsthecase．T11eyoungMarystanswonderingaboutit，attemptingtounderStandtheevent，tofindreasonsforit’t0integrateitwimherpreVjousknowledgeandher1ifcexperjence．KnowledgeandunderStandingcomeslowIy．TheadultMhrydiScoverSinretrospectthatherelderbrothercomesbackwithsome也ingdeadforeverinhi工11，just1ikethetreestumps—-onlywhensomethjngdiescaⅡhewinwhathewants： ⑨硕士学位论文MAS，rER’STHESIS‘‘whenitisyQurs，youcanbeboss．’’Itwastoomuchforthech皿．KnowledgecoInesslawly．Itmeam：“Y0uwinbeincomm柚d，aⅡdforyou，inyourtIlm，itwi】1beneces蛆rytoassert．”“Suchmenasweareca衄otfoolwitlldelicateslu正Somem即aremeanttocommandandothersmustobey．Ybucanmaket11emobeyinyourtLlrn．1hereisakilldofdeatll．somethillginyoumustdiebeforeyoupossess蛆dco哪and．”(ibid)’I色ddles，buttheeIdestsonstillliveS，justlil【ethetreesarecutbutthestumpsarestillleft．Forthetreestumps，thereisnohopeofrcgeneration．WhatislcftisonlythelifcleSsdeadwood，kIlee-hi曲toanot-too-tallmanandcutquitesquarelyacross，representillglheendOfoneera．ForyoungDon，thereisn0possibiljtyOfrestOriⅡg1ifetohissenselessexistence．Hesucccssfllllyassertshimselfatthccostofthesacri6ceofhissympathy'lOVeaIld蛳1dh00dillIlocence．nestumps，w出chhavetllememoryofatreebutactuallyhasnothiⅡgtodowjtha仃ecanymorc，isatnlesymbOl，whjchcallbetakentostandforthesterile1iVesofDonwhomakematerialsuccessiIl山eirgoalaIldlivealiVingdeathfarworsethantherealdeath1色dexperiences(FeIguson，1980：156)．3．2．3ThecertaiⅡtyofd蟪thThemostcmdalmOmentwOuldbethefamilvconfrcmtationbetweenthefa也erarnthesonoverwhcth盯thetreesshouldbecutornot．FoTthefather，itisaplavt0showllispossessionofpOwcr；forDon，itisachallcetoassenMmselfalldpreparehimselfforaqual墒edheiroftheGrey’swealth；butforTcdandMary'itmeaIlsafareweIltochildhoodiIlnocence，alostparadiseforth锄toriskanforjoyaildbrin擎tllemasuddenfeelingofisolation．Thereforewhenbot王lOfmeeldestsonandt11emottler“c1100setosubmit，，tothefathcr’styranIlyandirra廿onality，Marynoticesacuriouslysedous0ldIookon’red’syoungface：TherewaseVen⋯akindofcontempIforboththefaIher如dbrotheLasthoughheIIlighthavebeen8ay血gtohiIrISe酢一hecouldn’treallyhavebeensayiIlgit—hewas啪young：“well，we’Usee．ThisissomethiIlg．These‰lishones—myfath甜蛐dmybTotheT，Imyselfhaven’tlongtone．I’1lseewhat】can，umile】dolive．”(Anderson，1933： @硕士学位论文MASTE辩STHESIS鱼!垃；世吐：生a堡P望59煎鱼：卫宝i也Q婴!￡壁旦些!!垡±盘±S!A堑墅￡坠§受翌￡卫堡厘卫醴i5h匿!业也!!也!噬塾§!：垂星堑b：bl婴1)Thou曲forTedthereisacleaIlyacknowledgcdawarenessaboutthetragedyofhisowndestiny，yetwhathediscoversintheinnerwoddofhisfatherandbmtherismemOstpaillfulrecognitionfofhim，sohe“willseewhatI[he】can”(ibid)andisabIetoseeth螂lghhisfather’svainness．Atthiscmdalmomentwhenthedecisionistobemadet0cutthetrees，hehasgonebeyondhisyearsaIldcometOtherealizatiOnthatthetreesmeandi虢rentmingstOhimandtohjsbrot王1erandfatheLDuringhisshOrt1jfetimetheFeatestjoyandfirstimpulseis“riskiIlgallforjonandthe仃eeisagoodpannerforhinltoriskalIforjoy．Therefore，toTed，thetreeisatmesymbolof丘eedom，whichsuggestsfertilityameaningfulIifcanda目eatsourceOfhappjness．Thetreemeansa10tiⅡTcd’slifc．EspeciallyduringthelastdaysinhisIifewhenthereisanewinclinationinthe胁ilytokeephaIldso任himandatendencytogiVehimnewroominIife，hewinsllis舒eatestjoyaIldfreedom．Butmebesttimeismcfastesttolapse．WhenmetrcesarecutandOnlysmmpsarelefc，Tcddies．AftcrhaViⅡgbeenrisl【ingcnougllforjoyinhisshortl讧etime，hedjesinObliViOnoftheOthcrpeOple．However，in也edenouementofthestOry，whentheadultMaryIecallsalloftheseinIetrospect，shefeelsthatthereisacurioussenseoffreedom；sOmetllingthatbelongst0himthatmakesitso900d，a口eathappinesst0bewithhim．Mary’s抽alt110ughtabouthisbrotller’sdeatllist11at：CTed)⋯haVingtodiehis|dndofdeatll，heneverhadlomakethesurfenderhisbrotIlerhadmade-tobesureofpossessions，success，histinletocommalld-wouldneverhavetOfacethemoresubIleandterribledealhthathadcometohisolderbrotheL(ibid)ThetreesmeanalottoTeda11dhisl主feisimbuedwith行eedom，hope，meaIling，happinessaIldfertilitywithme廿ees．ButwhenIhetfeesarccutaIldonlystumpsareleft，lifcwillbecomeaheedlesswallderingaIldalifelessstump，whichisatrllesmbolOfthesterile1iVesthefatlleraIldtheeldestson1ive．nlerefore，accordingtoMary'thereisacenajntyandnecessityofTed’sdeathandTbd“hastodiethiskjndofdeath”sothathedoesnotneedto“facethemorcte玎ible”livingdeathhjselderbrotherfaces．Inthissense，theTeis，0bviously，morethaIlonel【indofdeath．ForDOnGrevOne ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESISkindandfbrtheyoungerbrother1．edanother一-oneliterallydeadandonemetaphoricallyso．WithoutfaithandbelieveDonnolongcrfeelssecureandhappyandhopeflllinhisworld；hencethefeelingofgloomanddespair．NowforDon，1ifeisameanin醇essandfh“1eafj[撕f，inwhichahomeIessa订desn彻gedfeeljngandasenseofdoomwjllhaunthimforawhOlelifctime．IncontrarytoTed’ssuddendeatll，DonmustcontiIluetodielittledeaIhseverydayfortherestofhislifc．111thissense，for11ed，“embracingbromerdeath”islheonlywayt0aVo讯amoreterribledeath．Like“DeathintheWoods”，t11isstoryisalsobeautifulbecauseOfitscompleteness．Butitisnotacompletenessirna昏nedbyanobsenrerofsomeoneelse’slife；itisacompletenessexperiencedbythecharacters(Fergllson，1980：157)．Theirconceptthatdeathistheaccompalliment，thef11lfiUeroflifehastheauth0I“yofdirecttnlth，not0fmym．Thena玎ator0fthisstoryisnon硝ve0bserveroflife；shehasgOnebe)帕ndwondertounderstanding．A且dthestoryhasbecomesa咖thfulrccordOfayoungwomanwisebeyOndheryears鲈aduaUycreatingthemeallingofherbmther’sdeath．Thepoi印aⅡttoneofthetillestory‘‘DcathintlleWoods”inthe∞llectionDe口曲加me肋Ddsjsals0fullyrealizedin“BrotIlerDeath”，thecondudingstory．WimtheimageofthecherrytreeinCheldloV’sorchard，“twDoakstumps，l【IleehigIltoanot-to—taIlmanaIldcutqllitesquarelyacross”，thestOryseemst0endwimtllesoundsOfChekhov’sbrokenharpstringsomewhercinthedistanceandthestrokesfaIawayinthe0rchard(Papinchak，1992：43)．IIlfheseechOescanbeheardthemusicoflife’stellillgmomentsthattmscendmoftalityandt王leodeofdeathfortllesakeofitsllniversality，etemityalldcertainty． @硕士学位论文MASTER。STHESIS4．“feinDeath’sEmbraceFromthestudiesof也edeamphenomenaintheⅣeviouschapter，wemayknowthatAnderson’sdeathphenomenonisgrowinglikeatree，andacquiresthes锄eprocessofthebearingofthefmit：nrstlyalittleseedisbeingsown，thenasmallshootsproutsout，铲0wsintoabigtree，andafteraseasOnoffullblossOm，the由JitsbegintogrowinclusterSandweighthebranchesdown．HOweVeLwhat1wouldliketoclaimhereisthat，thou曲deathappearsIatherhequentlyiⅡ加Lderson’swoIks，yetthewrit钉doesnotwr“eabOutdeatllonlyfofdeath’ssake．Heredeath，quiteunexpectedly，isimbuedwitllaspirit，apower，astrengm，andhasbecomeabridge，mmughwhichonemayrealizeameallingfulindividualljfcinawoddOffIltmtyaIld脚sevalues．4．1TheⅡIysteryofBmtllerD∞tll粕dn地eⅡIbracingofBmtIlerDeatll】ustaswhathasbeenmentiOnedbefore，BrOmerDeathisaparabIe．Asaparable，theremustbeamysteryhiddenbehindthctme．Thereadermaythinkitqueerthattheau也or昏VeshisbestShonstorysuchamysteriousnanleandhemayraiseaquestion：whoisBrotllerDeath?Ifthereisabrother，hemustbesomeoneimimateandlovable，butwhoisthebrOther?Orputitinamoreexactway'whydoestheauthorcaUhim“Brother’’?Whatdoestheauthormeanbyt11en砌eofBrotherDeath?ISitTcdhimselforsomeoneelse?ThemysteryoftheBrotherDe础canbeexplainedfromTed’sdiseaseandhis1ifeexperience．TedsufferSl如m，aSaresultofachildhooddisease，“aheanlikelyatanymomenttostopbeating，leaVinghimdead，cutdo、vnlikeayoungtree．”(Anderson，1933：地兰P；』垃塾：￡A丑P避鲥4：卫纠hQ里￡』!￡49鱼塑±垒±§!堑型坠￡幽韭塑￡Ⅱ!型亘n醴is班￡：殴班!h§亚b!Ql照墼：墨曼垦也：鱼!丑!)SotherestofmefamilyisoVerprotective，notallowinghimtoleamtodriveoneofthe卸ofamilycars，climba雠et0fmdabird’snest，nlnaracewithMary'oranythingelseaboyloVcstodObutseemstobedangerous．However’whenTcdisforbiddentodoaIlythingheenjoysandcrazesfoLtheover-】)rotec血essprovestobehurtfulandintimidatjngtohim．Thusthechndrenbegintonotice“peopleinyourownfamnyare1ikelyatanymomenttodostrange，sometimeshurtfulmingstoyou．’’(ibid)In33 @硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESIShisfamilymany“silentbattlessecretlygO0n”，inwhichthecentralsilentbattleisgoingonbetweentheattemptsofeVef)协OdyinthefamilytoprotecthimfromaIlyexperiencesoflifcthatwouldspeedhisdeathandthepmtestofthe14一yea卜OldsisterMary．Mary，mostprobably，istheonlyoneinthefamilywh0hlowshowpeople’soVer-tendemesshurtsandinfuriatestheboy．ThesensitiVewomanseemst0uⅡderStandlifcbetterthanherelders：“IfheiStohaveafewyears0flife，theyshaUnotspoilwhatheistohave．Whyshouldtheymakehimdie，0verandOver，day出erday?”SosureissheoftheValidityofherownperceptionsthatsheguardsTed丘omtheoVcr-protectjVenessof出erestofthe细【Ilily，shestandsuptoherInotheI，whospoilsTcd’sjoyinlifewithherwamings：shegotsuddenlyVeryoldandang珥Themo山erandtIledaughtersIoodloo虹nga‘eachotheLlhewomallne删ngfiityandthechndofiouneen．nwasgettingeverymhginlhefamilyrcversed．Maryfeltthatbutfeltshehadtodosometlling．“Ybush01lldhavemo珥sense，MotheL”shesaidse面usly．Shehadgonewhite—her邱s仃embled．“Y0umustn’tdoit蛐ymore．Don’tyoueVcrdoitagain．”(ibid)WhatMarysaysheremthefamnyconf如ntationbetweenheraIldhermotherisclearenough：siⅡceTedmaydropdeadata11ymoment，qllicl【Iy，suddenly，thenwhyshouldtIledangerofsuddendeathbebmu曲tagaina11dagailltohisattention?ThereareValuesiIllife，woⅡdcrsinlifc，alldenjoyablethingsinlifeforachildtodo．Maryseemstotellhermotherandthereadcr：life，whatisitworth?Isdeathtllemostterriblcthin空?SincetheVeryimminenceofhisdeathwarrantshisriSkinganforjoy，embraciⅡgdeathistheonlywayforTedtolivebetteraIldmaybecomehjsi11timaIebrotheLDeathisnotnecessarjlyalwaysanenemy．Itdepends．ncanbecomea丘iend，abrother'aIldakindofstren舒handpower．uVingTed’sway，risk证gallforjoy，istheonlywaytoavoid“也emoresubtleandterribledeath”iIllifewhichis山echoiceoftheir01derbrotheLwhosacrificeshisindependencetoshareintllematerialismandsuccessofhjsparents．AfterthecOn_￡rontationbetⅣeenthemotheraIldthedaughteLthereisanewinclinationin出efamilytoke印haIldsoffTcdaIldanewroomgiventOthet、volittlechiIdrenandthechjldrencandoeVerythingtheycouldtoe11joylif色：playingintherain，takingo￡Fshoesandnlnningi11anorchard，jumpingintotheriVerandshirkillgwith1aughtertillthe1astmOmentTedliVes．Atthismoment，Tedisnotafraidofdeath：onthecontrarv'heknows ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER，STHESISclearlylhatheisi工lthea唧sofdeath．Tbacertaindegr∞，heislongingfortheintjmateembraceofbromerdeathwhilesimultaneouslyheenjoyshistherestofhis1ifetotheutmost．nis，mOstprobably，isthereasonwhyyearslatelwhentheadultMarydiscoV镪inretrospectthat‘‘beforeTeddiedduringthenightinhisbed，therehadbeenacuriOussenseof行eedOm，somethingtllatbelongedtohimthatmadeitgood，a酽eathappmess，tobewithhiIll”(ibid)．OnemayfindthatMary’swisdomcOincideswiththemottoAndersonascribestOSOcrates“Nolifcbutthe留00dlifc”，andtOAⅡderson’schojcefortheinscriptiononhis铲ave：““fenotdeathisthegreatadventure．”(quotediIlPapinchal【，1992：155)maIlesscntiallychaotic，meanin出essandimpotentworld，deathisnotthemostterribleming，jtmybecomeacaringaIldintiInate疗iend，justlikeabmther'aIldiIlthjssense，embracingBrotllerdeathis山eonlychoiceforpeoplet0liVeameaⅡingfIlllifewhoareactuallylivillginsterilityandfutility．4．2DeathastheirOwnchoiceWhen0nereads“DeathintheW00ds”，quitenaturalIyhemaydrawthecOndusiOnthattheoldwomaIldiesofunbearablecoldⅡessandhungcr，or，inaIlotherword，herdeathisnotOfhero帅choice．H0wever，afterathoroughandcarefIlIstudy，IhaveatotallydifferentdiscoVeryiIltllccauseoftheOldwoman’sdealh．IIl“DeathiⅡtheW00ds”，thcOldwoman’sdeathandherlifeisnarrated铷mtheperspectiveOftheadunnarrator．Thefocusofthestoryhasbeenshifted丘omthetownsmen’sreactiont0deatht0thedescription0fthesceneofdeafhandtheboy’spreViousimpressionsabouttheOldwOmall’slifc．AsaneyewitnesstotllesccneoftheoldwOmall’sdeathandacarefulobsenrerofhermisery，theboykeepsonbroodiⅡgaboutthemeallinghiddeniIltheseemin百y-nonnaldeathphenomenon，towhichhe，asa“puzzledaIldbamedspectatorstandiⅡginaweofallChemysteriesOf1ifc”，hasnofixedanswersbutwitlltimeaIldexperiencemay血m“．Sothedeathscenewhich，inmeboy’sownwords，is“the仃agmentsthathadtobepjckedupslowly，longafterwards”，jus¨ikemusicheardf|omfaToff--_thenOteshadtObepickedupslowlyoneatatime，is锄plyt01dinpagesandmentionedoVeraⅡdoVeragajninthebOy’s1aterconfessiOns．111thissense，thedeathoftheoldwomaninthefinalVersion，intensifyillgthemysticalIlatureofexperienceaIldits ⑨硕士学位论文MASTEWSTHESlSeffectuponthena玎atorasaboy，becOmesthebOy’slifelongattempttoperceiVeitstmesignificancefrOmboyhoodtOadulthood．Aswemaysee，thesceneoftheOIdwoman’sdeathisabundantlytolda11damplydepicted．ThemostjInpressive，incredible，uncannybuttouchingscene，besidesthewomanherself，shouldbetheritualceremonyholdaroundherbythe百ganticdo舻：TheybegaⅡtoplanruIlIlingincirclesinlhecleadng．RoundandrouⅡdtheyraneachdogknoseattlletailoftheⅡextdog．Inmec王eafin＆underIhesnow·1adeⅡtreesand咖dertlle、vin仃ymoontlleymadeastrangepicture，runninglhussnently，inacircletheirr岫inghadbeateni11thesoftsnow．Tkdogsmaden0sound．ney舢arouⅡdandaroundinthecircle．㈨derson，1933：h盟卫；出卫h：塑里哩坠§g西亟韭§型照Q堡￡fl曼垒宝照墼苎±星±墨!堑型坠璺P堑丝曼壁垒』曼Ⅱ照i§h篷虫班!b§吐盟!h￡￡：女§4鱼：h￡虫!)Theboy1【nowsthisbecause，alongwimahunter，sometownspeople，alldhisbrother，hehasseen“theovalinthesnow，1jkeamiIliaturerace-track，wherethedogshadmn”(ibid)，wh戤listhereferenceonwhichhisimaginatioⅡabouttheritualceIemonybased．Butbeingaboy，heisnotsurewha“tmealls，ormaybejtmeaⅡsnothingatalltOhim．HOwever，laterinhislifeheeveⅡtuallyunderstandsthesignific柚ceoftIlescenewhenhe“hadahalf-uncannymysticaladVenturewithdogsinanminoisfoIestOnadearmoon—litwinternight”(ibid)：WhenIgrewt0beamaIl，becauseonceina、voodsiIlminois，onanotllerwinIernight，Isaw8packofdogsactjustlike也at．Thedogswerewa主tiogformetodieas也eyhadwailedfortheoldwomaⅡthatnightwhen1wasachild，butwhenithappenedlome1wasayoungm蛆andhadnointen虹onwhaleVerOfdying⋯Theoldwomandiedsoftlyandquieny(ibid)Todieornottodie，beingdeadorstillbeingalive，inaverystrictscnse，isthe0IlIyd倚晤rencebetweentheexperienceofthe01dwomanand‘‘my”experience，anditnowalsobecomesthekeypointtotlleunderstandingOfmeOldwoman’sdeath，which岫narratOrgraduallyperceivesthroughagesuntilinhjsadulthOodwhenhehasthesame ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER'STHESISexperience．InoneofthosedistinctivelystyledAndersOnsentencesofprepositiOnalphrasesandadjectivalclauses，theanswerislaidbareaIldashivergoesthrou曲thereader：“Inthewoodsjnthelateaftemoon，whenthetreesareallbarea11dthereiswhnesnowOnthe罂ound，whenallissilent，somethingcIeepystealsoVerthemindandbody”(ibid)．WhatcreepsovcT也emindof也eboy擎owntoaduhhoodismeSuddenunderstandingofwhyMrs．GrimessubconsciOuslytakesdeathasherfinalchoice：ThewomallwhodiedwasonedestinedtofeedanimalIife．Shewasfeedinganimallifebeforeshewasbom，asachnd，aSayoungwomanworkingontllef姗ofmeGeman，aflershemarried，whenshegrewoldandwhenshedied．ShefedaIlimallifei11cows，iIlchickens，inpigs，inhorses，indogs，inInen．HerdaughIe“addiedinchndhoodaⅡdwithheronesonshehadnoanicuIaterelaIions⋯Shedidn’tmindmuch：shewasusedIonwhateverhappened⋯(ibid)Butwhenshedies，shelookslikesomethmgsolovely，sli曲t，beautifIll，证nocent，so1ikemarblc，whiteandsof【a11dquiet，andas丘eshaSababy，representinga“returIlap曲ordialorigins”．nis，quiteprobably，ist11everyreasonwhy“whenithappeⅡedtome1wasayoungmanaIldhadnointentionwhateverofdyhg”，but“theoldwomandjedsoftlyaIldquietly”(ibid)．Tbtlleoldwoman，deathismuchmoresi四访cantthaIlherlife．OfcoursemisisnotwhatmenarratorunderstaIldswhenhefirstseesthebody0fMrs．Gdmes；onlyinhisadul也00dwhenthesamethinghappenstohinl，withtheunderstandingOfdeathassOmethinguniverSalandetemalandwiththel【nowledgeoftheoldwomall’slifeasaboundgirl，asbnltalizedwifeandmother，asaperS0ntotallyisolatedfromhumancontact，doeshec叫etoteHnswitlltheoldwoman’schojce．FortheoldwOman，hefdea也ismoreimportaIltth柚heIlifc，whichalso足ainssOmesignj丘cancctoherlifcwhenshechoosesdeathasthedestiⅡationofherlifeioumev．Deathisthe0ldwomall’schoice，anddeathisalsoAnderS0Ⅱ’schoicefortheoldwomall．Andersonchoosesdeathasthedestinationofherlifcjoumeyandmakeshefthesymbolofdeathand，inthenamtor’swords，‘‘athingsocompletehasitsownbeauty”．37 @硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESIS4．3ThemeaningfulindiViduallifeindeath4．3．1TheindividuaIIifeiⅡadramaticaⅡychangingworId“hnaginationmustfeeduponrealityorstafve”isasentencefrom』虹derson’snOtesthatine圩cctrecllrsagainandagain．硪sunusuallyrichandV盯iedexperiencegiVeshimhisgripontheactualwoddinwhichheistolivesoabundantly．TherestlesschjldhoodleavesAnderS0nashadowforawhole1ifetime．Fofhim，theMiddleWestrcvealsonalargescaletherestIessstriving，the自lstra垃0nofuⅢh【fnledpurpose，wllichissoOftenthethemeofindividuallife仃eatedinhisshortst埘es．Besidesmis，aswhathaSbeenmcntionedbcfore，iⅡAnderson’stime，ever”hingisundergoingdr锄aticchange．WhatcomesalOnEwimthei11dusmalizationandmaterializationistheconflictbetweeⅡthenlralaIldmeurb柚，complexityaIldsilIlpljdty'presentandpast，aIldtllenbecomesthecenterOfattentioni11Anderson’s1aterworks．AⅡderson’sverydes打etogOoutofthef兀lstrationSandpressures0fmachine—Americaandtorc-enterwllatheseesasmerestor“verealmsofsensationandsimPlic“ythusistoucheda11dbeingrepeatedlyexploredinhiswritings．Asananisthisaimisconstalltlytoeme唱efromthechrysalisstageofrealismintothewiⅡgedcareerofjma百mtion．Fori11staIlce，hismostimponantcoUectiOn，胁咖“，gm如，showsperfcctcommandofthesmall一townstu盘‰iliart0him蜘mhisyouth．胁甜6“倡D厅面，isa讥ltllfulexplorationofhOwthcsmalltowninllabitaIlts，orinAnderson’swordsthe“乒otesques”，liVeinanuneasyequ丑ibri啪betweenana星聊iaIlpastandthemreateningindustrialageaheadaIldsearchforthemlthforawh01elifetime．WhenthesmalltownsarcsweptintOthemodemindustriallifc，pers0ⅡalitiesaswellastownsareineVitablytouchedbymenewi11dustrialjsm．Sotheold·fashionedheroesnowaretakenplacebyacommunityof“grotesques”，whoselonelinessandsoHtudeareby—productsofthematerialismandindustrialjsmofmeendofthatcenturyaIldtheearlydecadesofthetwentieth．ThepersOnAndeIsoncallsa“grotesque”issOmeonewhOhasi11te叩01atedtlletnlthsoftheworldintoanindiVidualcredo，orsomeonewhostiIlstaysinthegoodolddaysthatisbeillgforcedawaybyamachine_era(P印inchal【，1992：5)．Heidentifieshimselfabsolutelyw仙fixedschematicways0fdOing，feeling，a11dthin】dn吕IIleVitably，sucha丘gure“distOrtstheinnerselfanditspotentialities，sjncetheinnerhastheunexercisedcapacitytodemons缸atearangeofVinuegreaterthananyexperienced38 @硕士学位论文MASTEⅣSTHESlSs王tuationcouldafEord，ordemandofit．Ideally，whatheinsistsonshouldbetheri曲tOrderoftheworld．IfheistoOperSistenttohisowntnlth，helhenbecomesagrotesque．SOthe掣oteSques，obsessed“byamaIlIleIism，anidea，oraninteresttothepointwheIeheceasest0beManintheidealsense，”discoverinsteadthat“thewOrldisconlplex，thateviland900dareinseparable⋯thattheirsimpleidealsareinadequate⋯aIldmatwhat印pearsonthesu血ce，whatjscommonlydescribed，isnotthetn】eandinwardreality，’．T1lerefore，inadramaticallych卸百ngwodd，agrotesque’s01dValuesaⅡdtnlmsareactually0utofdateaⅡdca曲otcOmetote瑚swiththenewone．Inacommllllity0fgrotesques，peoplearecutofffIDmeachotherandeVenfromthemselVes，andlifcbecOmesasheerwaste．Whentlleyarecut0fffromtheoldwO订dyetcannOtcometotennstothenewwOrldeimer，therewiUbenopossibilityforthemtoliveameaIlingfullifeanymore．Forthem，deathismeonlydestinationfortheirlifcjoumey．Therefore，peoplewiIllivei11mjserya11ddieinoblivion．Withallthee勖nsmadeuponmosecharacteIsandevents，惭ne曲“rgJ0^focanbercgardedasthemosttnlthfIlltestimOnyAnderSonhaseVerbometotlleprovhcialllnlived1ivcsunderthcinflucncesofurbanizationandindus试alization．Whenhisverydesirctopresemaltemativet0thefmstrationSa11dpressuresofanurbaIlizedAmericafails，deaththusbecomesarecurringphenomenoninAnderSon’sstories．hlthestoryof“Death”ofmecollcction珊n时6“，錾(聃如，thOughElizabethfeelsaneedtorecreatethestirringofVitalityinthebriefmomentwhenherlifctouchesDr．Reefy’s，yetshediesaIlofasudden，thenever”hingdies、)lritllElizabeth’sdeam．ThefactabOuthowpeoplearecaughtinthediseasesofcomplexityandanifidalityandhowtheirstmggleendsinf|ustrationisalsoexpIoredjnAIlderson’sstories，astheambitionOfthemiddleagedcOuplein‘‘TheEgg”endsinthccyclewKchassembleswithtllefactthat“AchickenisbomoutOfanegg⋯getsdiseases⋯allddies⋯Onehopesforsomuch肋mac11ickenandissodreadfIIllydisilIusioned．”Similarly，in“DeathintheWoOds”，Andersonals0explofeshowpeopleliveinlOnelinessandsolitudeanddieinoblivionthIou幽thelifeexperienceanddeathofM工s．Grimes．SoitisatⅥ∞rkhere：deathisarecurringphenomenoninAnderson’sworks，astheminiatureOfthesociallifehAⅡdersOn’stime，aⅡdallcontributingtoAnderson’slifclongexplorationtOamealljngfIllindiViduallifcofthemodemmenwhOarecaughtbetweenthemralsiInplicitya11durbancomplexityiⅡadramaticallychan百ngworld． @硕士学位论文MASTER’STHESIS4．3．2ThepossibilityforameaningfullifeindeathItistnlethatmaⅡvofAndersOn’sworl(Sareaboutthelost1ives，llnfulfilledpurpose，thecolla口seOfmenandwomen，a11dareconcemedwiththecontrast柚dteⅡSionbeMeenacomparativelysimpleagrariaIl1ifeandanindustrialized，urballcivilization0fbewildeIiⅡgmagnitudeandcomplexity，butwhat1wotlldclaimhereisthatitjstllroughthedescIiptionofpeople’s1ivesthathismajorconcemsareembodiedandrenected．Someofhismostimponantstoriesdefineandcxplorewhatisalwaysforllimthecriticalquestion：IsthereapossibnityforameaIlingfulindiViduallifcinaIlurballizedsodety?IftheanSweIispositive，t11enwhatisthepossibility?IIltllissense，t110ughdeatllisarecllⅡingphenomenoniⅡAnderson’sworks，yetAndersondoesⅡotwriteaboutdeathonlyfordeath’ssal【e，nordocShisgrcatnesslieoIllyinhisdcpictioⅡofdeathphcnomenon。ActuallyAndcrson’sstrengttlliesinhisfailhinmanandman’swilltoo髓ra“sp试tedresistaIlcetotheforcesof0urtime”．hspiteOfthefactthatmanyofhisworksfocusonthemiserablelivesaIldtlledeathphenomenon，heisinesseⅡceaffimlativelyhumanistic．灿heseesit，mou曲manisfmstratedwi血thedile咖abetweenpastandpresent，sinlplicityandcomplex“y，tolivetonottolive，yetmanhasthepowertolivethroughfms仃ationandfeelingOfdefcat，managesto铲applewithdestmctiVehistoricalpressurcs，andstrivesfor“cenaindurableh岫柚goods”—tnlth，freedomaIldwisdom．Thou曲thewretchednessofhisexistenceissoove州helmingthatmallcanhardlystnlgglet11rought}lemireOfdespair，yetheshouldhaVeat1eastsufficientpowertOovefcomeignomi工1yandtomaimainhisowndignity．bthissensc，Anderson’sstoryusuallyendsindisastersbutends0nana自日力【IlaIivenote．ItisⅡotnecessarilyahappyeⅡdiIlg，butitisanendingthatcallsforhopemOrethandespair．ThusalthoughElizabethWillarddiesallofasuddcn，yetinthemjdstOfdeath，she1ivesmorefully，becauseshehasflllfilledhcrdrealllOfrelease．thereleasethat“af【eralIcametoherbuttwiceinherlife，inmemOmentswhenher10versDeatha11dDOctorReefyheldheriIltheira肌s”．ThenthereisMaryandTed，who，Ihou班，areseldomunderstoodbythepeoplearoundthem，rema_i11stllelaugllingcreatures，“foreverrisingup”a11dshirkingwithlaughters．ThewoddinwhichTedandMaryfindthemselvesisaharshoneandtheirpastoralidealneVercomes仃1le．FromthecllildhOodonwardtherehaveexistedforcestryingtomaⅡipulatetllem，andTed’slifchasbeenaconstantrejectionofanyeffbrtstoplacehiminacertainpigeonhole．Hehasgottodiscoverhisown“identity’’anddefineit @硕士学位论文MASTE斟STHESISinhisownterms．HewantstobecOmewhathewouldlikehimselftobea11drunsawayfmmanythjngthatpinshimdowⅡinanestablishedmodeoflife．SaiⅡtlyinhisinnocenceandsimplicity，andfenikasagainstthemeanh昏essexiStenceofpeopleli妣址圮fatheIaⅡdDon，herepresents，togetherwithMary，are协Vigorating1ife—{romwhichstemsfIOma11unquestioningaffirInation．Butwhenthe仃ees盯ecut，hisdIeamsofameaningfullifediewiththetreesandlljsef幻nsprovetobeafailure．Whatislamentabletohimisthefactthatmodemityisdailyencroachingupontradition，andlifeisfastdecliningmtocheapmaterialism．SoTedjustcannotbringhimselftocometote玎nswiththepresent，whichis，tohim，purposeless，futile，anddevo埘oftheVaIuesthatmal【ehislifcworthliving．NowthatthewOrlddOesnotallowhimtoliveashepleasesa11disunabletosetneforafategoodenough，itwillbequitenamralforhimtocometomefinalrcalizationthatheisbomtobeavicIimofmesocialforcesfIDmwhichhecannotgetaway．M0demciVilizationhasmadeitvirtuallyimpOssibletokeepone’si11dividualityaIldVital“ya11dtoliveameaning“lifc．Death'atthiSmoment，canbecalleduponthestage如thenameofanintimate丘icnd，asheltcrtokeeponeoutofsuffeIing，andtheonlywaytoavoid“themoresubtleandteHibledeath”thatmostpeOplcexperience．Ted’sdeathof：ferSaⅡexampleofanegati0Ⅱofmepresent．11laseⅡse，Ted’sValuesystemmaypresentAnderson’sownideaofaIlidealwayOf1ifc．This，undOubtedly，iswhatAndersOntriestoconVeymroughhis“deathfictions”．Heseemst0demonstratethatpride，honorandcompassionarewhatmanhas10standmustrecovertOachieVereVitalization．AIldersonwould1iketohelptorevivetllenaturalmaninhumanbeingswhichmOdem1ifeconstantlyendeaV0rstosmother．ItishjsbeliefthatmanmaydiscoverhistnleidentnyandretrieVellisinnatecapacityt0acceptandcndureifhekeepsoffmodemin协lsionupOnttlenaturalmanwitll主Ⅱh曲sel￡IⅡaword，Andersondoesnotwriteaboutdeatll，heisactuallywritingaboutlife，anddeVoteshimselft0searchingforthepoSsibilityt0realizeameaningfulindividuallifcjnanurbanizedsocietyfilledwitllthwartedemOtions，represseddesires，frustratedlives，distortednatures，andpeople“eachwithanllingl【indofpassi0Ⅱwhichdistonstheirpersonalities”．WhatA丑dersonistallcingaboutconcemsnOtonlyhowpeopleliveinthe聊忍已占6“增(聊虹butthehumansituationingeneraI，or，i11aⅡot王lerword，AndersonrootshjsstoriesinasmaUplacetoreachtheplaneofuniversalmeaning．41 @硕士学位论文MASTER，STHESIS5．C0nclusionDespitevariations，thestories的m珊以钌扫“喁O俺如to劢enm，咖0，确已E昭andfinallvtoD已拉施加腩PwDD出traveldif诧rentorbitsandarriveatsimilardestinations，withthemoststrikingcorrespondencejnthemutualconcemwiththedeathphenomenon．Thereadermay触dthatalnlostallofAnderson’sstOriesfocusonasymb01thataIludestOthecomplexwOnderof1ifeaIldthecenainfy0fdeath，beginningwithacelebrationof1溉’sfIllhessbutendingwimaⅡeVocationofdeath．DeathisauniversalphenomenonthathauntsAndersonduringhiswritingcareeLInAnderson’sworks，whetherhebeginswitllacelebrationoflife’sfIlllnessoradiscoVcryofaneedtorecreaIethestirringOfvitalityilllife，hisstoryalwayshasanendingthatconcIudeswithsOmeone’sdeath．HoweVer’deathiIlhisworksisnotsomethillgstatic，instead，“keepsongrowing．FoIinstance，in也eshortstoryof“Dea也，’，衄ly恤eheroineElizabe也tal【esdeathastheloVerwhoshe“wantssoeamestly，’(A11derson，1989：204)．Herson，GeorgeWillard，hasbut1ittlesenseOfthemeaningofhismother’sdeatll．ThenotionOfdeathcallIlotgetholdofhimormakeaIlysenset011im．SoatthismOment，deathisstillrcstrictedtoallindiv讪ualscnse．T1len，in“TheEgg”，dcathhas，inacenaindegree，traIlscendedtheiⅡdividualityandbecomeaheritagewhichcanbepassedOn丘omgenerationtogeneration．In“DeathintlleWoods”，deathisOnitswaytOachieveitsowncompleteIlessaIldeVentuaUygainitspeculiarbeautyaIldetemity．FiIlally，in“BrotherDeath”，fromthestoryoftheGfey’sfarnily，whcrc“littleisolatedgroupsarefbⅡnedwithinthelargerFoup，jealousies，concealedha仃eds，silentbattlessecretlygoingon”(AnderSon，1933：丛!p；鲍鱼：￡§堡P竖碰4：照￡!也Q皿§凰堑鱼￡毡±量±墨!a堑墅垒Pa丛亚§坠!彭垦Bg!壅型￡地塑尘曼型坠!Q坐曼L4曼堑h：h!堑!)，andtllelifestoryofTcd，Andersonseemstotellthereader也atifanindividualnmstmakethesurrendertobesureofpOssessions，successandhistimetocommand，andifhemustexpefienceanemotionaldeaththatjsfarmOreterribletllanphysicaIdeatll，therewillbealliIlevitabilityandcertaiⅡtytobidfarcwelltotheVainIlessofh岫anlife，Deam，qujtenaturally，attllismoment，canbecaIledupOnthestage．Bccause“Nolifebutthegoodlife”iswhatshouldbechefishedandhOldon．Whenthepossibiutyofa900dlifeisslimenough'themean主ngoflifewmexistonbindeath．Itisatworkhere：deaththephenomenonappearsratherfrequentlyinAndersOⅡ’sworks，42 ⑨硕士学位论文MASTER'STHESISwhereas，contrarytowhathavebeenstudiedbeforc，AnderSon’sdeathsubjectisnotquietorstatic，instead，itisimbuedwithasenseofvitalityanda铲owingpower；“originates，develops，beenrichedandeventuanybecomesmaturejustastheprocessofhowafruittreegrows打omaseedtoaIuxuriantshadeflourishingwithfIOwersaIldfhit．Nevertheless，Anders仰’s孕ea妞essgoesfarbeyOndhisseriesofdeathstories．1hlkingaboutthedeathphenomenon，hismajorconcemisalwayswit王lthegeneralhumansituation．Inacertaindegree，AndersoⅡdoesnotwriteabOutdeath，whathec∞cems括peo—e台脓．强ougbcenfefcd衄曲c出eme0fdea如6蠡＆由nacmafjyfSatentativeeⅡdeavortosearchfortllepossibilityforameaIlingfIllindiViduallife．If0neisdeprivedof丘eedom，nature，pride，hon0r'cornpassionandifheis1iVinginasocietyfIllloffalsevalues，tyIanIly，misunderstandin舀andifhjslifeiScharacteristicoffcelillg0fdefcat，spiritualpoverty，lostidentity，dcathwillbecomehisintimatehiendaIldacaringbrother．This，mOstprobably，isIhereasonwhydea山isalovertoElizabethWillardandanintimateBIO也erDeathto1色d．ThecmbraceofdeamisthefinalchOicetobotllofth锄．111thissense，deathisnotonlythechoiceofElizabeth，TedandMrS．Grimes，butalsoAnderson’sownchoice，because“nolifebutagood1ife”and“lifenotdeatllisthe掣eatadventure”．JustasAnderSonthinksmatshonstory“shOuldbewrittenthattheynowtOwardstheirinevitabIeendasmajesticallyandpowerfullyaSMjssissippithegreatriVernowsdowⅡtothegulf，’，hisseriesofshOrtstoricswhichfocusontheth锄eofdeathwoIktogctllertoreVealAndefson’sinsiglltilltoⅡotoIllytllelivesofquietdesperationthecharacterSsilentlyleadbutthesinlilarchoicetheyintentionallymal(eandthes锄edestinationtheyfinally哪iveat．Inshort，ourdebttoAnderson，forhisexploratiOnaⅡdiIlIlovationinmethemeofdeath’isremarkableandimmeasurable．HopefllUythisthesisshouldproVeenlighteningforanyonewhodesiresadeeperunderstandingOfSherwOOdAndersOn’sthemeofdeath，however，thisisnotanexhaustivestudyduetOtheliIllitaIionsofmylalOwledgeandthe1ack0“herelevantmaterialsavajlable．A丑yonewhoexpectsmorewillhaVetogofIlrtherafield．AsAndersonthelitemryfigtIreisfarmoreall-embracingthanwhatwecouldexpectandcTiticalevaluatio璐aIestillbeingmade． 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