(doc) 《五号屠场》中战争创伤后遗症的表现与复原（

(doc) 《五号屠场》中战争创伤后遗症的现与复原（ 《五号屠场》中战争创伤后遗症的表现与复 原( 语文学刊?外语教育教学2011年第6期 PresentationsofWarTraumaSymptomsand RecoveryinSlaughterhouse?---Five oZhangXiangjing (LanzhouUniversity,Lanzhou,Gansu,730000) [Abstract]KurtVonnegut,awitnessoftheWorldWar?,createshismasterpieceSlaughterhouse—Fivebasedon histerribletraumaticexperienceofthefire—bombingoftheDresden.Thispaperattemptstoprovideanewperspectivefor theunderstandingofSlaughterhouse—FivebyinterpretingVonnegntandtheprotagonistBillyPilgrim?swartraumasymp- tomsandtheprocessesoftraumarecoveryinhopeofgivingacriticalresponset otheinhumanandcruelwarandaddinga littletoamorecomprehensiveassessmentofVonnegutinthefuture. [Keywords]KurtVonnegut,Slaughterhouse—Five,WarTrauma,Symptoms,Recovery [中图分类号】I106.4[文献标识码]A【文章编 号]1672-8610(2011)06-0053-04 I.Introduction KurtVonnegntJr.isoneofthemostimportantcontempora— ryAmericanpostmodernistnovelistsemergedinthe1960s.His bestachievementSlaughterhouse——Fiveisthefirstnoveltoa?? ehievewidecriticalandpopularacclaim.As”amilestoneofA- meric叽Postmederrlliterature”D]9lc0mplimentedbysoreecfit. ies,Slaughterhouse—Fivepublishedin1969,isnot,afterall, sodifferentfromhisearlyfictions.Shortandepisodic,itisalso asemi—autobiographicalnovelwhichisbasedonahistorically verifiableevent:thebombingofDresdenduringWorldWarII bythecombinedBritishandAmericanairforcesinFebruary 1945.AsaprisonerofWar,KurtVormegutnarrowlysu~ed thedestructionandlivedthroughitsgruesome~ermathasde- scribedinSlaughterhouse—Five.Eventhoughitbordersonsci- encefiction,itrevealsthehorrorandcrimeofthewaraswellas thecrazy,benightedandcrueltyofthehumanbeing. Mostofthecriticsbothintemationalanddomestichave madeathoroughstudyofSlaughterhouse——Fivefromtheperspec-- fivesofblackhumor,streamofconsciousness,anti—wartheme, absurdcharactersandsoonandsoforth.Recently,thereligion ?- orientedtransformationandnon——postmodernismfactorshave alsobeenstudiedbysomescholars.However,thereasonwhy scholarsandcriticshaveacknowledgedSlaughterhouse—Fiveto beVonncgut?smasterpieceisdueto”thecentralandmostdeep- lytraumaticeyent??,Dresdenfire—bombinginfluencesVon. negut?swritingofallhisnovels.Warhasalwaysbeenasignifi— cantsubjectforhim,butuntilSlaughterhouse—Fivehehasnev- errevealedhispersonalanguish.ThusSlaughterhouse—Five?s SUCCESSseemstocomeprimarilyfromVonnegut?spersonalin— volvementofthewar.Putitanotherway,theimportanceofthis bookliesinthatthewritercreatesthenovelbasedonhisperson- alexperiencesofwartrauma.Hence,thispaperattemptsto combinethetraumatheorywitllthenove1Slaughterhouse—Five tointerpretVormegutandtheprotagonistBilly?swartraumatic symptomsandtheprocessesoftheirtraumarecoveryrespective? ly,aimingatgettingamorecomprehensiveassessmentofVon— negutinanewaspect. ?.TraumaTheory nletermtrauma.astheOxfordEnglishDictionaryindi? cates,originallymeans”awound,orexternalbodilyinjuryin general”,butalsocansignify”apsychicinjury,especiallyone causedbyemotionalshock,thememoryofwhichisrepressed andunhealed”.L3jThatistOsay. traumarefersoriginallytoa ph)sicalwound,butlateritisrelatedtothementalwoundresul- tedfromtheemotionalstimulus.Itwasattheendofthe19th centurythatsomepsychoanalystsrepresentedbySigmundFreud begantobringthetraumaintothefieldofpsychologyandattempt tomakeascientificandsystematicresearchontrauma.Freudis thepioneerintraumastudiesandhistheoriesonpsychoanalysis providetraumastudieswithsolidfoundation.Inreferenceto Freud,theconceptiontrauma:”involvesaradicalrethinkingof tlleCallsalityandtemporalityofmemory.Thetraumaticincident isnotfullyacknowledgedatthetimethatitoccursandonlybe- comesaneventatsomelaterpointofintenseemotionalcri- sis.??[4] In1980,duetothesustainedpoliticalcampaigningbyViet— nalnveterans,thepost—traumaticstressdisorder(iTSD)ofthe medicalandpsychiatricprofessionswasfirstincludedinthedi. agnostic”Canon”,thuscontemporarytraumastudiescometo thrive.Sincethen,moretheoristssuchasDominick,CarthyCa一 [作者简介】张祥晶,女,山西临汾人,兰州大学外国语学院硕士研究生, 研究方向:英美文学. 一 53— 语文学刊?外语教育教学2011年第6期 thecenterofBilly?s.Nomatterhowthespace scenealternates,Billywilldefinitelyburyhismemoryinthe nightmarethatcallnotbegottenridof.Binyissufferingfromthe pain,experiencingtheembarrassmentof”timedisorder”, “flashbacking”andreenactinghislifeexperienceinanuncon. trolledandcompellingwayinwhichreadersareeasilytoldfrom thenarratoratthebeginningofthenovelthat”Billyisspasticin time.??【6]”Hehascomeunstuckintimebuthasnocontrolover whereheisgoingnextandneverknowswhatpartofhislifeheis goingtohavetoactinnext.BiUy”acts”hislifeexperiencebut hisrepetitionof”acting”isbeyondtheabilityofhiscontro1.In additiontothis,Billycouldn?tthinkasanormalperson,there? fore,hehasatimejourneytoandfroandhasbeenlivingbe— tweenpastandpresent,realityandillusory.Therealconnotation ofhistimetravelanddleexperienceontheplanetofTralfama- doreareillusionsanddelusionsofBilly?spost—traumaticsymp- tomscausedbythewar.Billy?smuddle—headedpsychological worldreflects,tosomeextent,theimmensetraumawarbringsto thepeople. IthasbeenemphasizedinTraumaandRecoverythathuman being?sself—defensesystemwillkeepalertafterthehappening ofthetraumaticevents.Itseemsthatthevictim?smindisina hyperarousastate.soforhimthedangerorthetraumaticevents havethepossibilityofrecurringatanytimeandplace.Livingin suchasituation,thevictimiseasilyfrightenedandsensitivee— yentothetrivialstimulus,whichisalsooneofthesymptomsof Post—traumaticStressDisorder.Suchasymptomisalsoexhibi- tedinBillyasthefollowingsentencequotes:”Asirenwentoff, scaredthehelloutofhim.HewasexpectingtheThirdWorld Waratanytime.Thesirenwassimplyannouncinghighnoon.It washousedinacupolaatopafirehouseacrossthestreetfrom BiUy?soffice.???? AnotherexpressionofPest—traumaticStressDisorderisthe frequentflashbackingofthetraumaticmemory.Themusicheard byBillyintheswimmingpoolwhereheisnarrowlydrownedhas beenmentionedseveraltimes,suchasthemusicalperformance heardinhisdaughter?sweddingandthequa~etheardafterthe bombing.ThetraumaticmemoryrecurssofrequentlytoBilly?s ?ndthathisnormallifeisalwaysdisturbed.whichbecomesa hintforeshadowingofhislaterbreakup. OfparticularsignificanceisBilly?schangeofconsciousness resultedfromdepressionandnumbnesswhichisalsoanexpres— sionofthePost—traumaticStressDisorder.Theunavoi. dable dangerssometimesarisesnotonlyhorrorandangerbutalsode? mchedstate.OneoftheexpressionsofBilly?sdepressedsymp- tomsdescribedinthisnovelishisnumbemotion,likethePost— traumaticStressDisordermentionedabove.OwingtoDresden?s traumaticexperiences,BiHyhasbecomeinsensitivetothedeath andmisfortunearoundhim.Thephrase”Soitgoes”whichisre. peatedateveryreferencetodeath,beitchampagneorcivilians, isthemosteffectivemeanstoconveyBilly?sapparentindiffer- enceaboutanydeath.ForBily,thereasonthatappropriatere— sponsestodeathdonotexistisduetotheDresdenexperiences, therebyhispaincouldnotbeeasedeffectively. IV.RecoveryfromTrauma Sincethepost—traumaticsymptomshasgotincisivelyand vividlyperformanceinVonnegutandBilly.Traumatheoristsem? phasizethatthementalwoundsofvictimsshouldberecovered throughwitnessandnarrativememory.Sowhetherthevictims canrecoverfromthetraumaandhowtheyshouldwalkoutofthe traumaticmemorieswillbecomethefollowingquestionstobedis— CUSSedinthispaper. 4.1RecoveryofVonnegut?strauma Asthetraumatheoristshavesummarized,thecureofpsy? chologicaltraumamainlyadoptsthe”divulgestherapy”.Von— negut?straumarecoveryiscarriedoutthroughtraumanarrative toreleasehisrepression.That?swhywriterscanreleasetheir sorrowfulandunbearablememoriestocurepsychologicaltrauma byliterarycreation.Whencomparingtheexperienceofthenar- rator”I”withVonnegut?spersonalexperience.wecansee clearlythatwhatthefirstchapterpicturesistherealportraiture ofhowtheauthorVonnegutcreatestheSlaughterhouse—Five. Vormegutmakeshimself”thenarrator”ofthestoryinorderto tellandreeallhisunbearabletraumaticmemorieswhichinclude hisownwarexperiences,chaoticstateofmindandnumbnessof lifeafterretiringfromthearmy.Hasbeentornforyearsbetween adesiretoforgetDresdenandapassiontoreconcilewhathesaw there,hefinallydecidestowriteitdown.Writingseemstobe notonlyawaytocontainthememories--byrevisitingandcon— frontingthetrauma--butalsoawayofhealinghimself.Inthe nove1.”thenarrator”finallyfindshisoldcomrade—in—alms BernardV.0?Harewithwhomhecanrelivethewarexperi- ences.ByaidofBernardV.O?Hare?shelp.”thenarrator?? finishedthewritingsaboutDresdendestructionanddelivereditto thepublisherSam. InTraumaandRecovery.JuditllHermanonceclaims:”The fundamentalstagesofrecoveryareestablishingsafety.recon— stmctingthetraumastory,andrestoringtheconnectionbetween SUrviVOrsandthecommunity.??|6]3Vonnegut. asthewitnessof Dresdendestruction,revealshissorrowfulexperiencethroughre- constructingthetraumastory,thatis,throughthecreationof Slaughterhouse—Five,whichis,fromtheperspectiveofpsyehol? ogy,alsoakindofspecialunburdeningway.Meanwhile,Von? negutmakesaconsiderableefforttoreachthetreatmenteffectby hisconfidingintheprocessoftraumarecovery,namelywriters treatthepsychologicaltraumathroughtheirwritinganduuburde? ningfeelings.Vonnegutonceclaimsthatthecreationofu一 terhouse—Five”isandtherapy??whenintervjewedbythe reponer.111esentencequoted五romt}Ien0vel”l?venishedmy w8rb00kn0w.,rhenextoneIteisgoingtobe如n.”isa cleardemoIlstrati0nthaterfiTIishingthenove1,VonrIegutisno longersreringflr0mllisp髂ttraumaticmemory,buts,artsanew .Hesuccessluywall【stllr0utraumaeven江thenovel cr0wnstwenty—threeyears?w0rk.A】soitisbywriting一 抛.e一thatVonneglltisablet0getout0fthetraumatic shad0wandt0accusethebloodandcnle1ty0fwaratthesaITle ti】ne. 4.2RecoveryofBiuy?strauma 1?}1edestmction0fDresdesasimcanttraulTlaticeVent whicheatlyinnuencesBiuy?swholelife.F0nunatelywhenthe 6rebombsdr0p,BiUyishj出nginasllelteraJ1dsunrives,butthe massacre舀vesllimaterTiblehilpsycholcally.Thetra西c bombingscenelikepicturesh8sclearlypntedonBiUy?smind, 一 55— UTERATUREZhangXiangjing/PresentationsofWarTraumaSymptomsand RecoveryinSlaughterhouse——Five lingeringinhismemory.Billy?sreportoftheterriblefire—storm isahistoricalaccountbasedonhistorianDadIrving?s1963 bestse~er.TheDestructionofDresden.Thesceneisdepictedas foUows: Therewasafire—stormoutthere.Dresdenwasonebig flame.Theoneflameateeverythingorganic.everythingthat wouldbum??? Itwasn?tsafetocomeoutoftheshelteruntilnoonthenext day.WhentheAmericansandtheirguardsdidcomeout,the skywasblackwithsmoke.111esunwasaIIangrylittlepinhead. Dresdenwaslikethemoon,now,nothingbutminerals.,I?I1e stoneswerehot.Everybodyelseintheneighborhoodwas dead.[„]? Adefenselesscityhasbeendestroyedinashockingway, thus,toBilly,theDresdenexperiencesbecomepermanenttrau- matiememoriesburieddeeplyinsidehisheart. MemoriesofDresdenattackhavebeenthebiggestpainf_Dr Billyandeachflashbackoftheeventcausesgreatmentaltrouble forhim.rherefore.BillytriestoretellthestoryofDnde. structiontoothers.Putitanotherway,heiswillingtosharehis tratunaexperienceswithpeoplearoundhiminordertogetrid0f histraumaticmemories.Twiceashetries.hefails.Thefimt timehenarratesthestoryhappensinthehospitalwherehehasa conversationwitllProfessorRumfoordaboutthesubjectofDres- den.WhenBillytalksaboutDresdendestruction.”Whenbomb- ing,1wasthere,hesaid.??Nevertheless,Rumfoorddeesn? ttakeBillyseriouslyandisdevotedtotheideathatBmywhois simplyechoingthingsotherssayhasgotecholalia.Billyhasto seekanotherchanceandsaystoRumfoord:”1wasinDresden whenitwasbombed.1wasaprisonerofwar.??_6]”Butagain Rumfoordsiighsimpatiendyanddoesn?tbelievehim.Beingin suchanembarrassedsituation,Billysaysnothingmoreabout Dresdenbutrepeats”Ijustwantyoutoknow:1was tllere.??Sohisattemptatfirstprovesfutile. TIIesecondtimeBillytriestoretellhistratmaaexperienceis ontheplanetofTralfamadore.InreallifeBillyfindsnooneto tellhismiserableinnermostfeelingsbutchoosestolookfora psychologicalcomfortinfantasy.Hetriestogiveallaccountof theDresdenexperienceinastorywaytoMontanaWildhack,who isamotionpicturestarlivingontheplanetofTralfamadore. However,hecannottellabouttheeventcompletelyandcoher- entlyandMontanahasnoaccesstounderstandingthewartrauma Billysuffersintheearth.Furthermore.peopleinTrafamadore planettellBillythatpreventingwaronEarthisstupid.too.11le onlysuggestionandwarningpeopleontheplanetofTrafamadore givetopeoplelivingontheearthandBi?yare:”That?sone thingEarthlingsmightlearntodo,iftheytriedhardenough:Ig- noretheawfultimes.andconcentrateonthegoodones.”[6]In thisway,thetherapytryingtoescaperealitychosenbyBillycan- notalleviatehispains;onthecontrary,whathehasdonecon- tributestoaggravatinghismentalbreakdownprocess. BiUyhasfailedtoreleasehistraumaexperiencecompletely fortwice.Thereisnoplaceforhimtounburdenthepsychologi— caltraumahesuffersandhefindsnooneavailabletoretellthe 一 56一 historicalevent.whichworsensthetraumaticsymptomsinano山. erway.Soheisfrequentlyhospitalizedanddiagnosedtoget出e diseaseof”mildschizophrenia”.Eventually.Billyismentally deranged,makesaddressescrazilyontheradio,andwritesto newspaperstellinghistruthlearnedintheTralfamadoreplanets. BmyisnotasluckyasVonnegut.whocanhealhimselfbyliter- arycreation.Billy?spainfulmemorycannotbecompletelyun. burdeneduntildeath.Hecall?tgetoutoftlletraumaticmemo. ries,whichshowsthatthewartraumaburieddeeplyinsidellis heartishardtohea1. V.Conclusion 11letraumatheoryprovidesnotonlythemeanstosolvethe psychologicalel?fixofhumanbeingsbutalsothebrand—newper- spectivesfortheliteralcriticism.FacedwiththehorrorofDres. denanditsomnipresenceofcruelholocaustanddisaster.Kurt Vonnegutwantsthereadertosharehismostunspeakablememory andanguish.Theyearsaftertheterriblewarmakehimallthe morebitterandindignant.Unabletobearthetrauma,Vonnegut decidestorevealthememorywhichhasbeenburiedinhismind fornearlytwentyyearsandshowsthecruelhistoryofthewar. Takingthetraumatheoryasitstheoreticalbasis.thispaper probesintoadetailedstudyofthebookSlaughterhouse—Five andmakesananalysisofthevictimsofthewar,??thenarrator?? andtheheroBilly?sinternalpsychologicalchanges.Theirtrau— marieexperiences,theirpost—traumaticsymptomscausedbyre— pressingthetraumamemoryandtheprocessesoftraumarecovery havebeendiscussedthoroughly.Aconclusionthatcanbedrawn isthatthenovelSlaughterhouse—Fivedenouncestlleimmense traumabroughtaboutbythewartopeopleandmeanwhilecon- firmsVormegut?santi—warcreationthoughtthatallwarsshould notbeallowed. 【References】 [1]WilliamRedneyAllen.1991.UnderstandingKurtVon. negut.Columbia:TheUniversityofSouthCarolinaPress. [2]PrescoRPeterS.1990.Nothingsacred(ReviewofBreak. fastofChampions)[C]//CriticalEssaysonKurtVon. negut.(RobertMerrillBoston,Massachuse~s:C.K. HaU&Co. [3]TheOxfordEnglishDictionary(2nded).1989. [4]Whitehead,Anne.2004.TraumaFiction[M].Edinburgh: EdinburghUniversityPress. [5]Caruth,Cathy.1996.UnclaimedExperience:Trauma, Narrative,andHistory[M].Baltimore:JohnsHopkins UP. [6]Vonnegut,Kurt.1969.Slaughterhouse—Five[M].New York:DelacortePress. [7]Herman,JudithLewis.1997.TraumaandRecovery[M]. ?