《美国文学选读》(第3版)索尔

第24单元索尔•贝娄

24.1复习笔记

I.Introduction to author（作者简介）

1.Life（生平）

Saul Bellow was about the best-known writer of his generation.He was born into a Russian Jewish family in Canada,he grew up in Chicago.His first book, Dangling Man,was published in1944,and for over a half a century,he wrote a good number of novels,short stories and plays,and won a good number of awards. His career reached its exciting climax in1976when he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature.

索尔·贝娄(1915—2005)是当代美国最著名的小说家。他出生于加拿大一个俄国犹太移民家庭。他在芝加哥长大。他的第一部小说《摇来晃去的人》发表于1944年。在接下来的半个多世纪，他创作了大量的长篇小说、短篇小说和剧本，赢得了众多的奖项。1976年他的创作事业到达巅峰，他同时被授予普利策奖和诺贝尔文学奖。

2.His Themes（主题）

Saul Bellow’s basic themes are essentially Three-fold:first,he views contemporary society as a threat to human life and human integrity.Then living in such an environment,people tend to become paranoid,high-strung,and impotent, and so lose their sanity.Finally,there is the quest motif,a quest for truth and values,

difficult,excruciating,but successful in a way.

索尔·贝娄的主题主要是如下三方面：首先，他认为当代社会对人们的生活和独立人格是个威胁。因此，生活在这种环境中，人们容易偏执多疑、精神紧张、虚弱无能以至失去理智。最后，他的作品中总会有追寻真理及价值观的主题，追寻的过程是困难的、痛苦的，但最终结果却是成功的。

3.Major works（主要作品）

Dangling Man(1944)《晃来晃去的人》

The Victim(1947)《受害者》

The Adventures of Augie March(1953)《奥吉·马奇历险记》

Seize the Day(1956)《只争朝夕》

Henderson the Rain King(1959)《雨王汉德森》

Herzog(1964)《赫尔索格》

The Last Analysis(1965)《最后的分析》

Mosby’s Memoirs(1968)《莫斯比的回忆》

Mr.Sammler’s Planet(1970)《塞姆勒先生的行星》

Humboldt’s Gift(1975)《洪堡的礼物》

The Dean’s December(1982)《院长的十二月》

More Die of Heartbreak(1987)《更多人死于悲痛》

The Bellarosa Connection(1989)《贝拉罗莎暗道》

A Theft(1989)《偷窃》

Something to Remember Me(1991)《以此记住我》

Ⅱ.Selected works（选读作品）

◆Looking for Mr.Green《寻找格林先生》

Looking for Mr.Green is Bellow’s representative short story.The quotation at the very beginning of the story points out the story’s theme—“Whatever thy hand findeth to do,do it with thy might…”In the story,the protagonist Grebe goes through many difficulties and hardships to find the man who should get the check. Bellow thought that although people cannot change his fate,he can surpass the alienated environment by some way with his humanity.Grebe’s endeavor to find Mr.Green shows his rich humanity and his strong will and firm resolve to search for identity and surpass the alienation.At the same time,Bellow shows great sympathy for the lower class,especially those blacks.

《寻找格林先生》是贝娄的一篇代表性短篇小说。篇首引语点明了文章的主题——“凡你当做的事，要尽力去做……”故事中，主人公格利伯不畏困难，竭尽全力去寻找应领取救济支票的格林先生。贝娄认为，尽管人不能改变自己的幸运，但凭着他的人性，他能以某种方式超越异化的环境。格利伯寻找格林的努力显示了他丰富的人性以及他寻找自我、超越异化的强烈愿望和坚定意志。同时，贝娄对下层人，尤其是黑人表示了深切的同情。

24.2课后习题详解

1.Each of the characters in the story—Grebe,Raynor,the janitor,Staika,the Italian grocer.Field—either explicitly or implicitly embodies a certain attitude toward life.