托比在《献给艾米莉的一朵玫瑰》中的意义_英语论文

The Significance of Tobe in A Rose for Emily 

摘要

《献给艾米莉的一朵玫瑰》是福克纳最负盛名的的短篇小说,很多文学评论家认为它是福克纳文学主题的缩影, 该短篇小说生动地刻画了美国南北方之间的矛盾,传统与现实之间的矛盾以及人性与种族之间的矛盾.长期以来, 国内外评论家从不同角度对这篇短篇小说进行了无数的剖析.

本文尝试从托比,一个极易被人们遗忘和忽略的角色出发,从三个不同的角度对这篇短篇小说进行了解读.( 一 ) 托比对文中人物角色塑造的意义. 托比的存在牢牢地维护了女主人公艾米莉传统贵族女人的形象, 托比对其主人始终如一的态度与镇上人们矛盾的心理造成巨大的反差,同时作为黑人奴仆的一员,托比的生活在一定程度上映射了其他黑奴的生活状况. ( 二 ) 故事发展的推动者. 作为艾米莉生活的见证者,托比是故事发展的线索,作者借由托比之手,推动整个故事走向高潮. ( 三 ) 文中对托比寥寥几笔的描述让其存在显得不合逻辑, 似乎无足轻重的存在却又为故事增添了几许僵尸般的恐怖,让这篇短篇小说的哥特式风格更为突出.经过对托比这一黑人奴仆的仔细研究,结合其他文学评论家的相关解读,本文得出如下结论: 虽然福克纳用了较少的笔墨来描述托比,使其存在变得可有可无,但这一角色的存在却使得小说中主人公艾米莉及其他人物的形象更具个性,似乎无足轻重的托比也为该小说哥特式的风格增加了一抹神秘的色彩.

关键词：托比; 意义; 人物塑造; 情节发展; 恐怖氛围

Abstract

As one of Faulkner's most famous short stories, "A Rose for Emily" is considered the microcosm of Faulkner's literary theme, which vividly reveals the conflicts between the North and South, tradition and reality,  in human nature and between races. 

So far, a substantial number of researches have been done on this short story at home and abroad. From three aspects, this thesis analyzes the short story from a different point of view of an overlooked black servant— Tobe: 1) Tobe's significance on characters shaping, including maintaining the protagonist Emily's aristocratic lady image, the town people's complex attitudes to Emily and other black people's social status;    2) Tobe as a clue of the whole story and propellant for the climax, to a great extent, giving impetus to the development of the short story; 3) incomplete Tobe helps to create the ghostly atmosphere through the weird relationships between his master and others. Based on the detailed analysis of Tobe, this thesis concludes that although the black servant is given little description and almost ignored by the town people and even by most of the readers, his existence is of vital significance, for his existence vivifies other people's image in this short story and also makes the gothic story more appalling.   

Keywords: Tobe; significance; character shaping; plot developing; ghostly atmosphere

Contents

Introduction 6

1.1 Literature Review 6

2. Tobe's Significance on Characters Shaping 10

2.1 The Favorer of Emily 10

2.2 The Contrast with the Town People 11

2.3 The Representative of Other Black Servants in the Town 11

3. Tobe's Importance on Plot Development 13

3.1 The Clue of the Whole Story 13

3.2 The Propellant for the Climax 14

4. Toby's Effect on Ghostly Atmosphere Creating 15

4.1 Incomplete Tobe 15

4.2 Weird Relationships 15

Conclusion 17

References 18