《最后一片常春藤》中的多元主题的探究

Exploration of Multiple themes in The Last Leaf

摘要

欧亨利是美国最著名的短篇小说家之一，他的短篇小说构思精巧，风格独特，语言幽默，以其“欧亨利式结尾”而闻名于世。他的小说以小人物为基准，描写小人物之间的喜怒哀乐，展现人性之美、批判大资本家等主题。本文将从欧亨利的短篇小说《最后一片常春藤》入手，分析各个主人公在文中的经历与联系，探究隐藏在主人公背后的多元主题：友谊之美；信念对生命的重要性；勇于自我牺牲的精神；艺术与人生的对接转化和小说中的死亡主题。而小说中的象征有利于揭示这些主题的意义。最后在这些主题的基础上，分析其与社会的联系。

关键词：欧亨利；《最后一片常春藤》；多元主题；象征意义

Abstract

O·Henry is one of the most famous short story writers in the United States, and his short story has exquisite, unique and humorous style. What is known to the world is his "Henry-style ending". His novels are based on the ordinary people, describing joys and sorrows of their life, showing the themes of the beauty of humanity, criticizing the big capitalists and so on. This paper will start with O·Henry’s short story ---The Last Leaf, analyze the experiences and relationship between the characters in the story, and then explore the multiple themes behind the characters: first, the beauty of friendship; second, the importance of faith to life; third, the spirit of self-sacrifice and forth, the transformation of art and life and last, the theme of death. Symbolism is conducive to the revelation of the multiple themes of the story. And in the conclusion, the thesis writer will reveal the correlations between these themes and social background.

Key Words：O. Henry; The Last Leaf; Multiple Themes; symbolism