英美文学论文.docx

英美文学论文.docx

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英美文学论文

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

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

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,Friday