【摘 要】在《老人与海》主人公桑提亚哥身上,海明威寄托了他对人性的深刻理解和信念。他简朴,贫困而不寒酸,谦卑而不低贱,动作之中自有一股尊严,令人敬仰。在他身上,不仅凝聚了海明威主角模式卓绝的特质---压力下的冷静和优雅风度以及产生这种优雅感的自我控制力,还显示出了一种阔远宁静的心理素质。如果说桑提亚哥在其行动中显示了尊严,在遭到失败后继续保持不败的精神则显示了他的硬汉本色。
【关键词】老人与海;桑提亚哥;尊严;优雅;硬汉
一、内在力量
桑提亚哥是位以打鱼为生的古巴老渔夫,他历经风霜饱受艰难,岁月的流失在他身上留下了深刻的痕迹。他已连续84天没钓到一条鱼了,前几十天有一小孩陪着他出海,由于他的失败和背运,那个小孩被父母逼着跟另外的渔船钓鱼。如今老头孤独无援,厄运缠身。但他老而不衰,苍老的容貌与他充满活力的内心形成了鲜明的对比。海明威在描写桑提亚哥这一人物时,通过描述他的体貌和眼神,体现出了老人外表的苍老与内在的力量:
The old man was thin and gaunt,with deep wrinkles in the back of his neck. The brown blotches of the benevolent skin cancer the sun brings from its reflection on the tropic sea were on his cheeks. The blotches ran well down the sides of his face and his hands had the deep – creased scars from handling heavy fish on the cords. But none of the scars were fresh. They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert.
Everything about him was old except his eye and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.
在桑提亚哥身上,两种势均力敌的抗衡力量形成了这个人物的极大张力,同时强化了读者对这一人物的期望和人物本身的真实感:一是桑提亚哥连续八十四天的背运以及那条像“永久失败的旗子”的破船帆和他那“未被打败的”眼神相对峙;二是他那伤痕斑斑的肉体和他那双清澈愉快的眼睛相对峙。这种对峙使读者对人物产生新的期待,同时也为人物的行动展开了广阔的心理空间和环境空间。此外,“失败和背运”在别人看来是“永久的”(permanent),但对桑提亚哥却没有造成什么影响,他依然相信他还会有好运。他还可以凭借自己丰富的经验和精湛的技巧捕到一条真正的大鱼:
The old man said, "I may not be as strong as I think." "But I know many tricks and I have resolutions.”
老人的口气豪迈而自信,他十分清楚自己体力上的弱势,但他也十分相信自己在意志和经验上的优势。他的话简短有力,没有多余的词,没有附加的解释,同时也坚定了小孩和读者对他的信念。
除了老头那双充满活力的眼睛,海明威还通过小孩曼诺林的眼睛让读者看到桑提亚哥身体上其它有力的部分,从而使读者期待而不幻想,把注意力集中到桑提亚哥身上,他有力的肩膀,壮实的头颈无一不显示出他所蕴含的力量:
They were strange shoulders,still powerful although very old,and the neck was still strong too and the creases did not show so much when the old man was asleep and his head fallen forward.
也正是这种老而不衰的体力构成了桑提亚哥支撑自信的基本力量之一。作为一个经常处于与大自然力量相抗争状态的渔夫,他知已至深,十分清楚自身的优势和胜算;对于他要面对的大鱼,他亦知彼至深,懂得如何运用技巧和耐力赢得一场公平的战斗。他对自己的能力不抱幻想,也不狂妄地自我吹嘘。只是等待机会证实自己的能力,所以,他对曼诺林的称赞反应并不十分强烈,只是淡淡的一句 “Thank you. You make me happy. I hope no fish will come along so great that he will prove us wrong.” 显示出一个知已知彼的钓鱼高手在临战前的冷静和镇定,话说得虽少,却字字千钓,自有一股震人心魄的力量。
桑提亚哥的行动正如他的言语一样,简洁而精确,没有多余的动作。他的每个动作似乎经过精确计算,决不多浪费一点精力。如他脱衣睡觉的动作,轻捷而实用,读起来让人如身临其境:
He rolled his trousers up to make a pillow,putting the newspaper inside them. He rolled himself in the blanket and slept on the other old newspapers that covered the springs of the bed.
他简朴,贫困而不寒酸,谦卑而不低贱,动作之中自有一股尊严,令人敬仰。海明威在这一人物身上寄托了他对人性的深刻理解和信念。无论环境多么困苦艰难险恶,无论一个人的地位高低,保持人的尊严是最重要的。这种尊严不会由于财富的多寡,运气的大小而增减,它是真正美好的人性必不可少的一部分,Young指出这种认识境界也是海明威本人所能达到的高度,也是他这一作品最成功之处。
“The knowledge that a simple man is capable of the decency, dignity, and even heroism that Santiago possesses and that his battle can been seen in heroic terms is itself perhaps the greatest victory that Hemingway won.”
二、硬汉本色
如果说桑提亚哥在其行动中显示了尊严,在遭到失败后还继续保持不败的精神则显示了他的硬汉本色,他与小孩曼诺林的友谊则显示了他性格中温暖的一面。他的忠诚和激情通过他的行动表达出来,如他独自一人在海上的时候多次提到小孩曼诺林,使人感觉到他对友谊和帮助的渴求。
但桑提亚哥这一人物的性格并非不存在任何缺陷,如他允许自己和曼诺林不断重复那段关于子虚乌有的米饭和鱼网的对话,暴露了他性格中非理智的一面:
“What do you have to eat?” the boy asked.
“A pot of yellow rice with fish. Do you want some?”
“No. I will eat at home. Do you want me to make the fire?”
“No. I will make it later on. Or I may eat the rice cold.” “May I take the castnet?”
“Of course.”
实际上他们既没有米饭和鱼,也没有鱼网,但两人每天都要重演一遍这段共享的谎言,显示两人各自不同的心态。曼诺林出于怜悯和虔敬去主动维持它。而桑提亚哥则由于情感上的弱点而放纵自己的幻觉。但这一缺陷并未使人物显得可鄙,反而使他显得可亲可爱,更近人性。因为如果一个人物过分完美或过于理智,就会失去其真实的基础,形象就不够丰满圆润,海明威对这一情节的安排则巧妙地避免了人物塑造的过分完美倾向。
桑提亚哥雄心勃勃,做好了出海捕一条真正大鱼的一切准备。一天清晨,他独自划着船驶向大海深处,当天中午便钓到一条硕大无比的马林鱼。这条大鱼拉着他和他的船向北向东连续游了两天两夜。桑提亚哥竭力拉紧钓线,以巨大的耐力和大鱼相持。到了第三天近中午时,他才把大鱼拉上水面,用渔叉刺死了它。但鱼身比船还长,他不得不把鱼拴在船边带它回家。接着发生的事使他后悔钓到这条大鱼,结伴而来的鲨鱼追逐着血腥,一口一口地把他那一千多磅重的鱼咬去。当他回到自己的渔港时,船边拖着的只是一副空空的鱼骨。老人和鱼的这场争斗赢得的很艰苦,也输得很艰苦。