《鲁滨逊漂流记》中殖民文化对殖民地文化影响解读.docx
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《鲁滨逊漂流记》中殖民文化对殖民地文化影响解读
摘要:
《鲁滨逊漂流记》是18世纪英国作家丹尼尔.笛福的代表作,是英国历险小说的源头,也是一部带有强烈殖民主义意识的文学作品。
它不仅生动地讲述了小说主人公鲁滨逊开拓荒岛的详细过程,也描绘了他驯服改造原始部族人“星期五”的手段和策略。
本课题着重以“后殖民主义批评”(易小斌,2004:
64-68)为视角,拟从历史文化背景、人物刻画以及话语分析入手,对《鲁滨逊漂流记》中所建立起的宗主国/殖民地,奴隶主/奴隶,白种人/有色人,中心文化/边缘文化,文明/野蛮,基督教/食人部族等二元对立的殖民话语体系进行解构,揭示蕴涵在作品中的殖民主义意识,并阐释鲁滨逊如何以枪炮为后盾,有计划地从语言和宗教信仰两方面对“星期五”进行赤裸裸的文化殖民,使其丧失了原有的民族文化身份,从而造成自我身份丧失的窘境。
本课题为读者重读经典开辟了一个新的视角,也为读者审视殖民者的文化统治提供了一个典型个案。
关键词:
《鲁滨逊漂流记》;殖民主义;殖民话语;文化殖民
Abstract:
DanielDefoeisagreatEnglishnovelistinthe18thcentury.RobinsonCrusoe,hismasterpiece,iseitherapioneeringEnglishadventurefictionoratypicalcolonialliterature.ItnotonlyisavividnarrativestoryaboutthesurprisingandadventuringlifeofRobinson,butalsohasthethemeofcolonismwhichisrepresentedonaseriesofbinaryoppositionalcolonialdiscourses:
thecolonialcountryandthecolony,masterandslave,thewhiteandthecolored,centralcultureandmarginalculture,civilizationandsavageness,Christianityandcannibalsandallthat.Withpost-colonialcriticismasitsvisualangle,thisthesissetsonthehistoryofEuropeancolonialism,analyzesthedescriptionofcharacters,narrativewordsandthegrowingprocessof“Friday”wholoseshisnationalcultureidentitytodeconstructthosecolonialdiscourses,exploresthestrategiesforcolonist’sculturalcolonizationtothosepeopleinthecoloniesandrevealsthedilemmaoflosingtheirnationalcultureidentity.Thisanalysisgivesusanewperspectiveinappreciationthisclassicalworkandatypicalcasestudyofhowthecolonistsexerttheculturalruleonthepeopleinthecolonies.
KeyWords:
RobinsonCrusoe;colonialism;colonialdiscourses;culturalcolonization
Introduction
Colonialismistheconsequenceofwesterncapitalaccumulation.ItoriginatesfromtheperiodsofDiscoveryandExplorationsince15thcentury.SomecriticsthinkthatitbreakstheseparationoftheOldWorldandtheNewWorldandalsoencouragestheexchangeofbothcultures.(李伯庚,2003)Actually,from15thto19thcentury,itisalonghistoryofexploitationandinvasionamongEuropeanpowers.TheyaremotivatedbythelureofwealthinAsia,thespicetradeinIndia,thegoldandsilverinAmerica,andtheslavesofAfricaafterreadingMarcoPolo’sTravels.(Spielvogel,281)Duringthisperiod,Europeancountriesgethandsomeprofitsandbecomegreatempires.EspeciallyforBritain,tillthereignofQueenVictoria,shebecomes“theEmpireonWhichtheSunNeverSets”and“theMistressoftheSeas”.(Clemen,2003)Onthecontrary,whattheybringtothepeopleinthecoloniesisravagingtheirland,mockingtheirgods,banishingtheirlanguages,decimatingtheirpopulationthroughdisease,andsubjugatingtheirchildrentoasubservientanddependentstatus.(Rogers,461-519)
However,incolonialliterature,allthedevilpracticesofthosecolonistshavebeenerased,instead,weoftenfindthemessagesconveyedeverywherethatthewhitesarespreading“civilization”tonon-westernersfortheyjustifiesthattheyareunderthecalloftheGodto“delivertheinferiorraces”and“civilizethesavages”.Factually,itisoneofpopularcolonialdiscoursesfortheirculturalcolonizationorinvasion.
DanielDefoeisagreatEnglishnovelistinthe18thcentury.RobinsonCrusoe,hismasterpiece,iseitherapioneeringEnglishadventurefictionoratypicalcolonialliterature.ItnotonlyisavividnarrativestoryaboutthesurprisingandadventuringlifeofRobinson,butalsohasthethemeofcolonism.Withpost-colonialcriticismasitsvisualangle,thispapersetsonthehistoryofEuropeancolonialism,analyzesthedescriptionofcharacters,narrativewordsandthegrowingprocessof“Friday”wholoseshisnationalcultureidentitytodeconstructthosebinaryoppositionalcolonialdiscourses:
thecolonialcountryandthecolony,masterandslave,thewhiteandthecolored,centralcultureandmarginalculture,civilizationandsavageness,Christianityandcannibalsandthelike,exploresthestrategiesforcolonist'sculturalcolonizationtothosepeopleinthecoloniesandrevealsthedilemmaoflosingtheirnationalcultureidentity.
I.ColonialDiscourses
Incolonialliteratures,thecolonialdiscoursesareprevailing.Especiallyduringtheperiodofcolonialismandimperialism,thosenovelistspreferredtoproduceasuccessionofpowerfuldiscoursesasausefulapproachtospreadingcolonism.Thewesternersweregoodatcreating“thewhitemythology”andconstructingimaginative“others”.InOrientalism,EdwardSaidpointedout,
“thelong-termimages,stereotypesandgeneralideologyaboutthe‘theOrient’asthe‘Other’,constructedbygenerationsofWesternscholars,whichproducemythsaboutthelaziness,deceitandirrationalityofOrientals,aswellasthereproductionandrebuttalincurrentdebatesontheArab-Islamicworldanditsexchanges,particularly,withtheUnitedStates.”(Seldenetal.,223)
RobinsonCrusoeisatypicalcolonialliteraturethathasathemeofcolonismwhichisrepresentedonaseriesofbinaryoppositionalcolonialdiscourses:
thecolonialcountryandthecolony,masterandslave,thewhiteandnon-white,centralcultureandmarginalculture,civilizationandsavageness,Christianityandcannibalsandotherdiscourses.WiththeconfidenceofBritainImperialism,Robinson,therepresentativeofthosecolonistscontinuouslyclaimedhimselfasthecivilizedman,hiscultureasthecentralculture,thushehadthecompetenceofenslaving“theother”andspreading“civilization”to“theinferiorrace”.
A.MasterandSlave
WehavelearnedfromtheEuropeanculturethattheRenaissancederivedfromandroseinItalyandthenspreadtootherEuropeancountries.Withthecoreof“Humanism”,itadvocated“HumanRight”and“Liberty”.Yet,itaswellsupportedslaverysystemandtheevilslavedeal.SincetheRenaissancewasanageofeconomyrevival,too.Thosecapitalistsgainedlucrativeprofitsfromtheslavedeal.What’smore,KarlMarxhadeverclassifiedslavedealasoneessentialfactorofcapitalaccumulation.(阿勃拉莫娃,1983:
2)Thus,“HumanRight”and“Liberty”wereonlyconfinedtotheWestthatwasconsideredas“theCenteroftheWorld”.Masterandslavewasacommondiscourseincolonialliterature.Thosescholarsoftenconstructed“thewhitemythology”andtreatedwesternersas“themaster”of“theother”intheirworks.
Foranother,DanielDefoe,theauthorofRobinsonCrusoe,wasoriginallyamerchantwhowasconcernedmoreaboutowninterests.DanielDefoeoncesaid:
“Tradeisthewealthoftheworld.Trademadethedifferencebetweenrichandpoor,betweenonenationtoanother.”(Jackson,82)InthisshortbutsignificantstatementDefoeexpressedthemainideasofthemercantilisticsystemthatBritainwasdevelopingattheendofthe17thcentury.TheEnglishmercantilespiritbeganduringtheElizabethanAgewhenEnglandrealizedthattradegeneratedwealth.Inhiseyes,aswellasinRobinson’seyes,slavedealwasnothingdevilbutonetermsoftradethatcouldbringhandsomeprofits.
1.SellingXuryandBuyingBlackSlavestoWorkforHisPlantation
InRobinsonCrusoe,DefoenarratedthatRobinsononcebecameaslavehimselfoftheMoorsbutlater,whenhewasafreeman,hesoldalittleboyandboughtaslaveforhisplantation.RobinsonalsoexplainednonchalantlytohisfriendsinBrazilthatblackslavescouldeasilybeboughtontheAfricancoast.
AsXuryoncebeingenslavedwithRobinson,later,thelittleboywasenslavedtoRobinsonagainunderthethreatofbeingthrownintotheseawhenRobinsonescapedfromslavery.Somecriticswouldarguethat“askinghimswearotherwisethrewhimintosea”hadnoviciousintentionbutforprudence.Inaddition,RobinsonhadeverpromisedthathewouldmakeXuryagreatmanifXurywouldbetruetohim.Nonetheless,wehadlearnedthatthefateofXurywasoncemoresoldtothecaptainwhohelpedthemoutoftrap.Defoedescribedthat“Robinsonwasreluctanttogivetheboytothecaptainatfirstforhewasloathtoselltheboy'sliberty,butafterbeingofferedamedium,thecaptainhadhimbecausehewouldgivetheboyanobligationtosethimfreeintenyearsifheturnedtobeaChristian.”(Defoe,26)Ittoldthatitwasthecivilizedreligiousfaith—ChristianitythatdeliveredXuryandhisliberty.Herewasanotherexpressionofthewhite’smythology.Meanwhile,Xurywaswrittentobewillingtogotohim,whichreducedthedevilpracticeofslaverysystem.Asamatteroffact,athistimes,hehadnorighttodecidehisfateandincolonialliterature,“theother”wasalwaysdescribedasvoiceless.Hence,itjustifiedfortheslaverysystem.
2.EnslavingtheSavage—Friday
WiththerisingofBritainEmpire,Britishpeoplewereconfidentintheirraceandculture.(陈兵,2006:
71)Theybelievedthattheyweresuperiorto“theother”.TheyheldthefaiththatGodwasontheirsideandcalledthemtodeliverthesavagesandcivilizethem.
Consequently,enslavingthesavage—FridaywasoneessentialstepinRobinson’splantorealizethetask.Furthermore,theformerpartofthenovelprovedthatowningaslavewasreasonable.Fridaylivedinaprimitivetribewiththenatureofman-eatingandalsoavictimofthebloodycustom.Robinsonrepresentedthe“CivilizedWesternMan”,whodroveawaytheIndieswithadvancedarms—gunandpowder,andthenhewasjusttodeliverFridayfromthecannibals.WhenhemetFriday,hesaidFridaywasmeanttobehisservant.HeclaimedthathewouldmakeFridayleada“happy”life.Inordertothankforhisdeliverance,Fridaybecamehisservant.Butfromthatmoment,thelibertywasdeprived.Fridayhadlefthishometownandhisrelativesforever.Hewasforcedtosuffertheextremelyagonyofhomesickandmissingrelatives.Asweknow,Fridayw