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论费尼莫尔·库柏在《拓荒者》中的民族主义

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语文学刊・外语教育教学 2014年第2期 On Nationalism in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Pioneers o Xu Ling Xu Xuexia (』.Yunyang’s Teachers College,Shiyan,Hubei,442000; 2.Hongqi Middle School ofDanfiangkou City,Shiyan,Hubei,442700) [Abstract] In the 1 820s the notion of“one people”turned Euru—Americans to literature and arts to衄丌n a civic faith in liberty,equality and opportunity.In response to this calling,Cooper expressed his notion of national unity in The Pioneer's.This thesis analy ̄s Cooper’s attitude of nationalism revealed in The Pioneers. [Key words]The Pioeners,nationalism,unity [中图分类号]I106.4 [文献标识码]A [文章编号]1672—8610(2014)02-0059-02 At the beginning of James Fenimore Cooper’s novel 一 izens in the United States from five to fourteen years.And the oneers,there is such an image:“the numerous SOUI ̄eS of the Federalists’repressive Alien and Sedition Aets of that same year Susquehanna meander through the valleys,until,uniting their laso restricted citizenship to“free white persons”. streams,they form one of the proudest rivers of the United e Pioneers is set in Temlpleton f a fictionalized Coopers— States”(Cooper,1980:15).The paralleling image of diverse town)during the 1790s.Cooper presents numerous ethnic char- and small waterways combining into one is the symbol of Cooper’ acters who are contributing to the commonweal at Templeton.-—— s wish to underscore notions of national unity. the Frenchman Monsieur Le Quoi,the German o】d Fritz,the I- Unlike many countires which underwent national revolu. fish Mrs.Hollister~all of whom have“closely related them— tions.the United States of America were not a nation when it a— selves to the Americnas,in dress and appearance”(Cooper, chieved political sovereignty.Geographically far—flung and de— 1980:124).But how American are they?Throughout the novel, mographically as well as religiously diverse,the states were“u— Cooper presents the ethnic characters of English descent by em- nited”mainly by their opposition to royal tyranny,therefore, phasizing their distinctive“foreign”dialects.As Werner Sollors ter the independence,the inherently disunited states confronted a states,“descent language emphasizes our positions as heisr,our lot of di ̄culties on the level of practical governance that long oc— hereditary qualities,liabiilties and entitlements”,these ethnic eluded the problem of nation—building. characters“foreign”dilaects are far from“descent”.which ob— hTe notion of“one people”turned Euro—Americans to lit. viously distinguished by Cooper the narrator as the“other”.The erature and arts in the 1820s to afif ̄/n a civic faith in libeay. novel’s most problematic ethnic character is Monsieur Le Quoi. equality and opportunity.In response to this calling,Cooper ex・ a former planter in the West Indies.who eventually chooses to pressed his notion of national unity in e Pioneers,namely,the return to Paris.Here,Cooper seems to stress the importance of establishment of a mainstream culture dominated by white Anglo having English——speaking white Anglo——Saxons to rule over this —Saxon and creation in wilderness a societv stable enough to “free country”. preserve the values essential to civilized and moral living. As f0r the non—white ethnics in the nove1.especially the In J.Hector St.John de Crevecoeur’s Lettersfrom an Amer- Indian tirbes。Cooper inevitably told their stow from the domi. caFt r(1782),the narrator James famously declares that nant culture.Cooper shared the view f even if he did not wcl— formerly European peoples一“a mixture of English,Scotch,I- come it)that co—habitation of Indian and settler was in the long irsh,French,Dutch,Germans,and Swedes”(Crevecoeur urn impossible.As he noted in Letter XXXIV of“Notions of the 1981:68)一choose to surrender their ancient prejudices and Ameircans”(1828): “are melted into a new race of men”(Crevecoeur 1981:70). “As a rule the red man disappears before the superior mortd However,the text suggests that members of some ethnicities,or and physical influence of the White,jUSI as I believe the black races,are better able than others to“melt into”Americans. man will eventually do the same thing,urdess he shall seek shel— In 1 790s,there were increasing efforts to make distinctions ter in some other region.In nine cases out of ten.the tirbes llave between Americans and non—Americans.The Naturalization gradually removed west,and there is now a confused assemblage Act,passed by Congress on June 18,1798,increased the a— of Nations and languages collected on the immense hunting mount of time necessary for immigrants to become naturalized cit— grounds of the Prairies….” [作者简介]许玲,女,湖北丹江口市人,郧阳师范高等专科学校外语系讲师,研究方向:英美文学; 许雪霞,丹江口市红旗中学教师。 一59— LITERATURE Xu Ling Xu Xuexia/On Nationalism in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Pioneers American WIIites and non—W te Americans. In Z钆P neers,no Indian character,or discussion of the Indian aspect of settler expansion,OCCUrs until Chapter Seven. After the established mainstream culture of W1Iite Anglo— Saxon,the second point Cooper seems to stress toward nation building in卯 尸/oneers is how democracy can create in a wilder- ness a society stble enoulagh to preserve the values essential to civilized and moral living. e Pioneers is set in the Otsego Lake 111e Indian who appears is Chingachgook.here designated as John Mohegan,or Indian John.Here Cooper freely acknowledges the European,or Christian,dispossession of Indian land.“Be・ fore the Europeans,or,to use a more signiifcant term,the Christins.dispossessed the oraiginal owners of the soil…” When it concerns the earlier Indian wars and when the question of white role recurs.the narrator remarks in an almost matter—of —egion of earst—centrl New Yorak state,twelve years after the Revolutionary War.His father’s estate.which Cooper himself struggled to restore to the family’s control,lays on the shores of Otsego Lake,as does the town of Cooperstown.The Otsego Lake region during the period of the novel was eminently the scene of decisive social conflict.As the novel’s tilte suggests,white farmers and bourgeois had only very recently settled in the re. on,and material and econonlic as well as legal and political control over the land remained uncertain.The thematic structure fact way.‘‘these two tirbes were the fistr who were the first who were dispossessed of their land by the Europeans.…‘It is as if the sole purpose of this lengthy introduction of Mohegan’s an— cestry is to demonstrate that Cooper has done his homework and is introducing the correct Indin for thias historical situation. Cooper make Mohegan stand for his race,“In common with all is people,who dwelth within the influence of the Anglo—Ameri— cans.he had acquired new wants.’’But even this“civilized” eprresentative of Indians dies in the novel,which symbolizes the doomed fate of Native Americans. The apellation of Indin equaals to“savages”.Even the half —of the novel comes to a focus in the conflict between Judge Tem. ple and Leather—Stcking on tohe issue of killing a deer out of season.Their firendship breaks down because tlle Judge believes in the social control of individual“rishts”while Natty relies on the laws ofthe forest and ofGod.These two characters are highly breed mysterious Oliver Edwards,who marries Elizabeth at symbolized. n1e Judge symbolizes the value system of civilized last,when he loses his temper,is judged by Reverend Grant to his daughter Louisa:“He is mixed with the blood of Indians. you have heard;and neither the refinements of education,nor the advantages of our exceHent liturgy,have been able entirely to eradicate the evil.”The underlying assumption in the statement is that being Indian is inherenly evitl.and unredeemable. From the outset of P/o/leers.Oliver Edwards is presen- scioety:Natyt that ofthe single solitary natural man.,I'he end of Naty’st lsso ofthe battle stonr【lgY implied that Cooper prefesr to estbliash in wilderness a society stble enough tao preserve the values essential to civilized and moral living. hrTough establishing a main stream culture of Wllite Anglo —Saxon and a stable society of law and order,Cooper under- SCOreS the importance of the notion of“one people”in a nation “ted as an Indian who has been violated by Judge Temple’s gun— where every man feels a diectr interest in the prosperity of a shot and has great hatred toward Judge Temple. n1e reader may e mibsled into believing that Oliver Edwards hates Judge Temple s tahe鼢ire European who dispossessed the lnd oaf Native A. commonwealth,of which he knows himself to form a part”. mericans from his mother’s side.11herefore his marriage with E. 1izabeth may be Cooper’s proposal of possibilities of edemptiron or Natfive Americans.But as it turns out.Edwards ifin fact the son of Temple’s deceased En sh Mend Efi ̄ngham 【References】 [1]Cooper,James Fenimore.1980.The Pioneers[M].Ala.h ny:State University of New York Pr. [2]Leonard Unger.1974.American writers:a collection of lit— He hates Judge Temple most f0r his appropriation of the lands from his father’s side,which has nothing to do with his In. ian blood.,dr}lis coincides with the prevailing attitude towards the“disappearance”of Indians. From mentions above,Cooper seems to emphasize the point erary biographies.volume I[M].Henry Adams to T.S. Eliot,New York:Charles Seribner’s Sons. [3]Pollard,Finn.2008.The Literary Quest for an American National Character[M]New York:Roufledge. [4]Samuels,Shirley.2005.A Companion to American Fiction 1780—1865[M].Oxford:BlaekweU Pub. of establishing a W1Iite Anglo—Saxon culture by excluding non— 论费尼莫尔・库柏在《拓荒者》中的民族主义 许玲 许雪霞 (1.郧阳师范高等专科学校英语系,湖北十堰 442000;2.丹江口市红旗中学,湖北 十堰442700) [摘 要] 十九世纪二十年代,政治上业已独立的美国继续寻求文化上的独立,建立“一个民族’’的观念促 使欧洲裔美国人转向文学和文化以确立民主、平等与机遇的公民信仰。在这种观念的号召下,库柏在他的作品《拓 荒者》中表达了这种民族统一的观念。本文分析了《拓荒者》中库柏所表达的民族主义的立场。 [关键词]《拓荒者》;民族主义;统一 

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