原文作者：赏析

　　舍伍德·安德森（sherwood anderson， 1876～1941），美国小说家、诗人、剧作家和散文家，出生于俄亥俄州克莱德镇。他最著名的作品是出版于1919年的短篇小说集《小镇畸人》（winesburg， ohio），其他作品还包括长篇小说《穷白人》（poor white）、《黑色的笑》（dark laughter）、自传性小说《讲故事人的故事》（a story teller’s story）等。其作品多以小城镇为背景，描写小市民的惶惑情绪，带有自然主义和神秘主义色彩。安德森在美国文学史上占有很重要的地位，对欧内斯特·海明威和威廉·福克纳都产生了一定影响。
　　excerpts1）
　　young george willard2） got out of bed at four in the morning. it was april and the young tree leaves were just coming out of their buds. the trees along the residence streets in winesburg are maple3） and the seeds are winged. when the wind blows they whirl crazily about， filling the air and making a carpet underfoot.[论文网]
　　george came downstairs into the hotel office carrying a brown leather bag. his trunk was packed for departure. since two o’clock he had been awake thinking of the journey he was about to take and wondering what he would find at the end of his journey. the boy who slept in the hotel office lay on a cot4） by the door. his mouth was open and he snored lustily5）. george crept past the cot and went out into the silent deserted main street. the east was pink with the dawn and long streaks of light climbed into the sky where a few stars still shone.
　　beyond the last house on trunion pike in winesburg there is a great stretch of open fields. the fields are owned by farmers who live in town and drive homeward at evening along trunion pike in light creaking wagons. in the fields are planted berries and small fruits. in the late afternoon in the hot summers when the road and the fields are covered with dust， a smoky haze lies over the great flat basin of land. to look across it is like looking out across the sea. in the spring when the land is green the effect is somewhat different. the land becomes a wide green billiard6） table on which tiny human insects toil up and down.
　　all through his boyhood and young manhood george willard had been in the habit of walking on trunion pike. he had been in the midst of the great open place on winter nights when it was covered with snow and only the moon looked down at him； he had been there in the fall when bleak winds blew and on summer evenings when the air vibrated7） with the song of insects. on the april morning he wanted to go there again， to walk again in the silence. he did walk to where the road dipped down by a little stream two miles from town and then turned and walked silently back again. when he got to main street clerks were sweeping the sidewalks before the stores. “hey， you george. how does it feel to be going away？” they asked.

　　the westbound train leaves winesburg at seven forty-five in the morning. tom little is conductor. his train runs from cleveland to where it connects with a great trunk line railroad with terminals in chicago and new york. tom has what in railroad circles is called an “easy run.” every evening he returns to his family. in the fall and sp

ring he spends his sundays fishing in lake erie. he has a round red face and small blue eyes. he knows the people in the towns along his railroad better than a city man knows the people who live in his apartment building.
　　george came down the little incline from the new willard house at seven o’clock. tom willard8） carried his bag. the son had become taller than the father.
　　on the station platform everyone shook the young man’s hand. more than a dozen people waited about. then they talked of their own affairs. even will henderson， who was lazy and often slept until nine， had got out of bed. george was embarrassed. gertrude wilmot， a tall thin woman of fifty who worked in the winesburg post office， came along the station platform. she had never before paid any attention to george. now she stopped and put out her hand. in two words she voiced what everyone felt. “good luck，” she said sharply and then turning went on her way.
　　when the train came into the station george felt relieved. he scampered hurriedly aboard. helen white9） came running along main street hoping to have a parting word with him， but he had found a seat and did not see her. when the train started tom little punched10） his ticket， grinned and， although he knew george well and knew on what adventure he was just setting out， made no comment. tom had seen a thousand george willards go out of their towns to the city. it was a commonplace enough incident with him. in the smoking car there was a man who had just invited tom to go on a fishing trip to sandusky bay. he wanted to accept the invitation and talk over details.
　　george glanced up and down the car to be sure no one was looking， then took out his pocket-book and counted his money. his mind was occupied with a desire not to appear green. almost the last words his father had said to him concerned the matter of his behavior when he got to the city. “be a sharp one，” tom willard had said. “keep your eyes on your money. be awake. that’s the ticket. don’t let anyone think you’re a greenhorn11）.”
　　after george counted his money he looked out of the window and was surprised to see that the train was still in winesburg.

　　the young man， going out of his town to meet the adventure of life， began to think but he did not think of anything very big or dramatic. things like his mother’s death， his departure from winesburg， the uncertainty of his future life in the city， the serious and larger aspects of his life did not come into his mind.
　　he thought of little things—turk smollet12） wheeling boards through the main street of his town in the morning， a tall woman， beautifully gowned， who had once stayed overnight at his father’s hotel， butch wheeler the lamp lighter of winesburg hurrying through the streets on a summer evening and holding a torch in his hand， helen white standing by a window in the winesburg post office and putting a stamp on an envelope.
　　the young man’s mind was carried away by his grow

ing passion for dreams. one looking at him would not have thought him particularly sharp. with the recollection of little things occupying his mind he closed his eyes and leaned back in the car seat. he stayed that way for a long time and when he aroused himself and again looked out of the car window the town of winesburg had disappeared and his life there had become but a background on which to paint the dreams of his manhood.
　　1. 节选部分为该小说集的最后一篇《离别》，描写了瓦恩堡小镇的年轻人乔治·威拉德离开小镇的情景。Www.11665.cOM
　　2. george willard：乔治·威拉德，小说中瓦恩堡小镇的一位年轻记者
　　3. maple [?me?p（?）l] n. [植]枫树
　　4. cot [k?t] n. （可折叠的）帆布床
　　5. lustily [?l?stili] adv. 用力地，使劲地
　　6. billiard [?b?li?（r）d] adj. 台球（戏）的
　　7. vibrate [va??bre?t] vi. （声音等）萦绕，回荡
　　8. tom willard：汤姆·威拉德，小说中乔治·威拉德的父亲，经营着新威拉德旅馆。
　　9. helen white：海伦·怀特，小说中瓦恩堡小镇一位银行家的女儿，乔治·威拉德心仪的女孩
　　10. punch [p?nt?] vt. （用打孔器）在……打孔。
　　11. greenhorn [?ɡri?n?h??（r）n] n. 缺乏经验的人；新到一地的人；易受骗的人
　　12. turk smollet：特克·斯莫利特，小说中瓦恩堡小镇的一位伐木老人
　　作品欣赏
　　《小镇畸人》可以算得上是一本形式迥异、内容怪异、主题奇异的书。从形式来看，全书包含22篇相对独立的故事，短的故事只有寥寥几页，长的可达四个章节。故事与故事之间并无显著关联，能够把它们联系起来的，只有俄亥俄州瓦恩堡小镇这个地理概念和小说中的小镇报社记者乔治·威拉德这个年轻人。从这一点上来说，《小镇畸人》在结构上并不像一般小说那样完整、连贯。作者安德森原打算将此书命名为《怪癖者之书》（the book of the grotesque），最后在出版商的劝说下舍弃了该书名，只是把它作为开篇引言的题目。但纵观全书，这一概括倒确实贴切，因为每个故事都讲述了小镇居民过去的一段怪异历史或现在的一场奇异历险：一个因为不能自控双手而被驱逐的老师、一个不断将想法写在纸条上又揉成一团扔掉的医生、一个在雨夜裸奔的女人、一个隔着教堂窗户的破洞窥视女邻居的牧师……这些“畸形”居民的怪异行为对故事发展并没有起到显著的推进作用，其对“畸形”居民本人和他人所造成的影响更是晦暗难言，这使得整本书的主题显得似谜一般。在小说的结尾，威拉德坐上了离开小镇的火车。然而截至此刻，镇上的居民何以如此“畸形”？这种种“畸形”的、不“成功”的人生范例在威拉德这个年轻人的生活中又具有何种意义？或者说威拉德在离开之际从“畸形”的小镇和小镇的“畸形”居民身上获得了怎样的启示？这些疑问吸引并挑战着每一个走进这个“畸人”小镇的读者。
　　《小镇畸人》出版于1919年，由于内容和主题一反传统，一经出版便被视为一本“不道德的、丑陋而肮脏的”书。事实上，在俄亥俄州确实有一个名为瓦恩堡的小镇，当地牧师为了使真实的瓦恩堡小镇与安德森笔下的“畸形”小镇划清界限，还专门撰写了《俄亥俄州霍尔姆县瓦恩堡镇的真实历史》一文。看到牧师发表的文章后，作为回应，安德森在致牧师的信中不无骄傲地写道：“在小说出版之前，我的确不知道俄亥俄州的瓦恩堡确有其地。然而在我看来，您小镇上的居民大可不必觉得比我笔下的居民高人一等，而我也并不打算代表我笔下的居民向他们道歉。诚然，书中人物没有一个算得上成功人士，既没有银行家，也没有企业家……而我在书中想要探索的正是这些纯真而普通的小人物，尤其是不那么成功的一群人们，在我们这个时代、在我们这个国家到底经历着怎样的生活，并且在经历了生活的种种之后，如何依然保持了体面和真实。我下笔的时候丝毫没有要拿他们开玩笑或让他们显得荒唐丑陋的意思，成千上万的读者们也都是怀着同情和理解的心情在看这些故事。”在另外一封给友人的信中安德森写道：“我身边许多人持有的普遍观点，比如‘爱能够无限延续’或者‘成功即幸福’，在我看来，并不像是人生的真相。”在安德森笔下，平凡人的真实似乎比大人物的真实更具有普遍意义，失败者的真实比成功者的真实更具有“返璞归真”的意味，而试炼过的真实比想象中的真实更令人心生敬意。在小说集中这个充满了平凡人和失败者的小镇里，误解、情欲、孤独、失落、沟通与交流的不畅——这些人生中固有的因素和情境让这些小人物的心灵受伤、结疤，他们的生活因此受阻，人生由此变得“畸形”。然而这种造就“畸人”的力量并不局限于某一时、某一地，正如安德森所写的那样，“爱情、生命中温柔和绝望的瞬间，它们降临到贫穷又悲惨的人们身上，也降临到富有又成功的人们身上。”相比想象中的真实，经过试炼和体验后的“畸形”的人生真相可能略显悲凉，却更加质地坚实，也更容易在较深的层面上与生命达成和解。
　　在《小镇畸人》的结尾，作为一个生长于这些“畸形”平凡人中的年轻人，也作为一名以发现、倾听、记录、传播为职业的记者，乔治·威拉德乘上了离开小镇的列车。这看起来是一场离别——告别别人的“失败”故事，迎接自己的崭新未来——但其实是真正回归的开始。年轻人也许只有走进真实的世界，参与生命中的种种历险，独自面对和担当孤独和失败的重量，才能够逐渐理解那些早年在小镇上耳濡目染的“畸人畸事”，才能够明白“畸人”的存在源自人生本身的不完满。而安德森笔下的“畸人”之所以被人们铭记，大概就是因为每一个经历过生命的缺憾却依然直面生活的人，都可以把自己视为这个平凡小镇的一员。
　　作者安德森1876年出生于美国俄亥俄州，从八岁到十九岁一直在该州的克莱德小镇度过。这个小镇后来成为《小镇畸人》中瓦恩堡小镇的主要原型。由于父亲生意失败，安德森从小就开始打工贴补家用，14岁辍学。走出小镇后，他做过劳力，参过军，后考进大学，之后在一家广告公司做撰稿人，再后来娶妻生子，自己创办了公司。36岁的某一天，安德森离开了家人和公司，独自来到芝加哥，开始了写作生涯。当他在租住的狭小房间中写下《小镇畸人》系列的第一篇故事时，既骄傲欣喜，又满心谦卑，因为通过讲述生命中不可言说的缺憾，他听到了自己人生的召唤。他可能离开小镇多年，然而小镇却一直在他的心底，未曾改变。