摘要
通过本论文,作者旨在解决如下问题:在奥古斯特·威尔逊的二十世纪系列剧中,美国黑人小人物如何体现了蕴涵黑人文化价值的英雄主义?
奥古斯特·威尔逊美国二十世纪最主要的剧作家之一。许多评论家和学者认为威尔逊是继尤金·奥尼尔、田纳西·威廉斯和阿瑟·米勒之后美国第四位最伟大的剧作家。威尔逊用了二十余年的时间撰写了十部系列剧,每部剧以二十世纪每个十年为背景,反映那个十年中非裔美国人最普遍的问题。威尔逊不仅希望以此重新评价历史,更希望弘扬美国黑人文化。当非裔美国人面对社会不公和压迫时,是他们自己的种族文化使他们团结在一起,并赋予他们以力量。
英雄是某一特定文化身份的代言人,其行为有助于此文化的生存与发展。威尔逊的戏剧根植于美国黑人文化。在他创造的众多人物中,能够被称为英雄的是这样一些人:他们特立独行,以实际行动,或者至少具有强烈的意愿,挑战社会之不公,维护或保护黑人文化身份和文化价值体系,并以此直接或间接地推动小至家庭、社区,大至整个种族的黑人社会的发展。本文以卡尔顿·W·莫莱特和芭芭拉·W·莫莱特的美国黑人英雄评价框架和约翰·W·罗伯茨的有关美国黑人民间英雄的理论为主要理论参考,按照英雄解决问题的行为方式,将威尔逊已出版的九部剧中的黑人英雄分为四类加以分析:“不法”英雄、具有自觉意识的英雄、智者以及智慧的傻子。
威尔逊剧中的“不法”英雄与社区内外的种种不公做斗争。在白人掌权者的眼中,他们算不得侠盗罗宾汉,而是一无是处的罪犯。但是在黑人同胞眼中,他们代表了更高境界的正义、不屈不挠的反抗精神、受压迫被掠夺者的尊严、以及对文化价值的保护。威尔逊对“不法”英雄致以深深的敬意。他尊崇他们的勇士精神,但不赞成暴力和盲目的激愤。暴力并不是目的,也不是解决问题的最佳途径。尽管他们的本意是好的,但目的的正确不等于手段的合理。有时他们的一意孤行会带来严重后果。
当“不法”英雄处于绝境时,他们会求助于外部力量,而具有自觉意识的英雄则会向自身寻求力量。他们所进行的战斗是信念、智慧和毅力的较量。他们自身即明晰,或在进行一场艰苦的精神探寻后意识到,其在美国社会的自身价值,及该如何挖掘自身力量在艰难时局中生存发展。同时他们还帮助别人建立非裔美国人身份、挖掘自身潜力、发现自身在白人掌控的社会中的独特价值。
威尔逊剧中,作为普通人的现代英雄是不完美的。他们会经常犯判断上的错误或饱尝精神上的痛苦。他们需要有人指引他们走出迷宫,从困惑和迷惘中解放出来。智者承担了疗伤和引导的任务。他们具有岁月和经验铸就的良好的判断力和大智慧,是最受尊敬最伟大的英雄。智慧的傻子在威尔逊的戏剧中是另类的智者,但剧中人物往往由于无法理解他们模糊的暗示而与真理失之交臂。在结尾处,本文强调了威尔逊如同他创作的智者英雄一样堪称一位文学英雄。通过戏剧,他不仅给其黑人同胞以指导、抚平他们的创伤、赋予他们以力量,并且和所有接触他戏剧的观众和读者共同分享他的智慧。
With this dissertation, I intend to answer the following question: how African-American heroism that embodies African-American cultural values is manifested in the insignificant and oppressed African-American common men in August Wilson's 20th century cycle plays?
August Wilson is one of the leading American playwrights of the twentieth century. Many critics and scholars believe Wilson is the fourth greatest playwright after Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. It took Wilson more than twenty years to write a series of ten plays. Each play is about one decade of the twentieth-century and conveys issues prevalent to African-American individuals during that period. Through the historical moments in his drama, Wilson hopes not only to reevaluate the past but to illuminate African-American culture that, in the face of social injustice and oppression, has united and empowered African-American people.
Hero, as a symbol of cultural identity, displays traits necessary for a culture to survive and thrive. Wilson anchors his drama in African-American culture. Of a good many characters in his oeuvre, the ones that can be crowned heroes are those who distinguish themselves in actions, or at least in their anxious intentions, to challenge social injustice or to maintain and protect the cultural identity and values, and thus directly or indirectly help African-American community, which can be as limited as a family or a neighborhood, or as extended as the whole race, to progress. According to the means that Wilson's heroes adopt to address their problems, this study, mainly based on Cartton W. and Barbara J. Molette's framework of African-American hero assessment and John W. Roberts' theory of African-American folk hero, considers four variants of the African-American hero in Wilson's nine published plays: outlaw-hero, self-conscious hero, sage and wise fool.
Wilson's outlaw-heroes strike against unfairness and constriction within and without African-American community. In the eyes of white authority, the outlaw-heroes are never Robin Hood, but worthless criminals, however, to African-American people, they subscribe to high ideals and represent unbending resistance to injustice, persistent pursuit of natural justice, dignity of the dispossessed and the oppressed, and protection of cultural values. Wilson pays tribute to his outlaw-heroes. What he admires and advocates is their warrior spirit, but not the violence or sullen rage manifested sometimes by the characters. For the outlaw-heroes in Wilson's works, violence is not the end and may not be the best way to solve their problems. Their intentions may be good, yet the end cannot justify the means. At times the heroes' single-mindedness can have serious consequences.
In Wilson's drama, while most outlaw-heroes, when trapped in desperation, resort to external forces for power, the self-conscious heroes turn to the interior. For self-conscious heroes, there is never any battle but a battle of faith, wisdom and resolution. They are, or become after tormenting soul-searching, clearly aware of their self-worth and their positions in American society, and know or get to know how to cope with the difficult world with the strength within. Some of them also help others establish an African-American identity, explore their innate strength and become aware of their own values in a white dominant society.
Wilson's modern heroes as common men are imperfect. From time to time they make mistakes in judgment, and more often than not they suffer from psychological trauma. They need someone to lead them out of the maze and free them from confusion and illusion. The role of healing and guiding is usually taken by the sage, who exhibits good judgment and profound wisdom that come with age and experience. As a wise, trusted and the most venerated guide and adviser, the sage is the greatest of Wilson's heroes. Wise fools serve as alternatives to sages. Unfortunately, people sometimes fail to take wise fools' obscure hints and hence miss the precious opportunities to see the truth. And by the end of this dissertation, August Wilson the playwright is evaluated as a literary hero who, like a sage, not only instructs, heals, and empowers his fellow African-Americans but also shares his wisdom with all his theatre audiences and readers alike.
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—. "August Wilson: The art of theater ⅩⅣ." Interview by George Plimpton. The Paris Review, Winter 1999:67-94.
—. "Blues, history, and the dramaturgy of August Wilson." Interview conducted by Sandra Shannon. African American Review, Winter 1993: 561-567.
—. Fences, The Bedford Introduction to Drama. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993.
—. Gem of the Ocean. New York: Theatre Communications Group, Inc., 2006.
—. "How to Write a Play Like August Wilson." New York Times, March 10, 1991:H5, H17.
—. "Interview with August Wilson." By David Savran. The Bedford Introduction to Drama. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993. 1313-1315.
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—. Jitney. New York: Samuel French, Inc., 2002.
—. Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Anthology of Living Theatre. Ed. Edwin Wilson and Alvin Goldfarb. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001.
—. King Hedley Ⅱ. New York: Theatre Communication Group, 2005.
—. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Modem and Contemporary Drama. Ed. Midam Gilbert, Carl H Klaus, and Bradford S. Field, Jr. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993: 742-772.
—. "Men, Woman, and Culture: A Conversation with August Wilson." By Nathan L. Grant. American Drama, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1996:100-122.
—. "On Listening." Interview conducted by Susan Johann. American Theatre, April 1996.
—. Seven Guitars. New York: Dutton Book, 1996.
—. "The Ground on Which I Stand." lenet.galegroup.com/servlet/LitRC?vrsn=3&OP=contains&locID=ecnu&srchtp=athr&ca=1&c=40&ste=18&stab=2048&tab=2&tbst=arp&ai=95438&n=10&docNum=A18750307&ST=wilson%2C+august&bConts=12598975>, March 21, 2005.
—. "The Historical Perspective: An Interview with August Wilson." By Richard Pettengill. August Wilson: A Casebook, ed. Marilyn Elkins. NY: Garland Publishing Inc., 2000, 235-257.
—. "The Legacy of Malcolm X." Life. Vol.15, Iss. 14, Dec. 1992: 84-94.
—. "The Light in August." Interview by Suzan-Lori Parks. les/AT_volume_22/November05/at_web1105_august.html>, February 24, 2006.
—. The Piano Lesson. New York: Plume, 1990.
—. Two Trains Running. New York: Plume, 1993.
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