A Day’s Wait
Ernest Hemingway
“人生的意義就在于一種精神,即敢于承受痛苦,蔑視死亡”。
這篇《一整天的等待》講的是一個九歲的男孩,由于不了解“華氏”(Fahrenheit)和“攝氏”(Celsius)換算方法,誤以為自己快要發燒燒“死”了。小說形象、具體、細致地刻畫了在“一天的等待死亡”過程中,小男孩所表現出來的不畏死神的勇氣。
海明威力求生動而精確地表達印象深刻的重大尖銳時刻,表達那種“對事物真諦的頓悟”的經歷。有讀者認為,在這篇小說中,“父親象征了知識和力量,兒子則象征了天真和無知”。可以說這是從一個視角來詮釋該處的象征意義。但我以為海明威在這里的筆墨并不是著重于表現兒子的“天真和無知”,而是著重于他面對死亡所表現出的勇氣以及對父母的體諒。他具體形象地把一個九歲的小孩,壓抑情感的過程,刻畫得淋漓盡致。這些對壓抑的情緒的描寫在本篇小說中隨處可見。
He came into the room to shut the windows while we were still in bed and I saw he looked ill. He was shivering, his face was white, and he walked slowly as though it ached to move.
’What’s the matter, Schatz?’
’I’ve got a headache.’
’You better go back to bed.’
’No, I’m all right.’
’You go to bed. I’ll see you when I’m dressed.’
But when I came downstairs he was dressed, sitting by the fire, looking a very sick and miserable boy of nine years. When I put my hand on his forehead I knew he had a fever.
’You go up to bed,’ I said, ’you’re sick.’
’I’m all right,’ he said.
When the doctor came he took the boy’s temperature.
’What is it?’ I asked him.
’One hundred and two.’