第70章 人生的回归是种无人能够违抗的自然规律（4）

　　1.4　主要人物的人生（经验教训）

　　1.4　Major Characters’ Lives (Experiences and Lessons)

　　桑提亚哥：他是个古巴老渔翁。他教会了小男孩马诺林捕鱼，孩子很爱他。孩子跟他40天，没捕到一条鱼。孩子的父母说，这老头真是晦气，并迫使孩子离开老头到别的能捕到鱼的船上去。但每当老人晚上捕鱼归来，那孩子仍然关照他。孩子在别的船上捕到了鱼，并且挣了些钱。他想回到老人的船上，他回忆起和老人连续87天走背运，一条未获的日子；回忆起在后来的三个星期里，每一天都能捕到大鱼的情形。他请老人在露台饭馆喝杯啤酒。

　　很多渔夫取笑老人，老人并不生气。“你给我买了啤酒，”老人说：“你已经是个男子汉了。”孩子问老人，“你第一次带我上船那会儿，我几岁呀？”“五岁，而且你差点就没命了。当时我把一条鱼拖上了船，那鱼活蹦乱跳的，险些把船撞得粉碎。”老人和孩子一起顺着路走到了老人的棚屋前，从开着的门进去。屋里只有一张床、一张桌子、一把椅子和一个烧饭的地方。“我想带名将狄马吉奥去打鱼，”老人说，“据说他父亲是个渔夫。也许他过去和我们一样穷，能说得上话。”“名将西斯勒的父亲从来没有过过苦日子。他——我是指他父亲——像我这样年纪的时候就在大联盟里打球了。”孩子告诉他。“像你这样年纪的时候，我在一条开往非洲的横帆船上当普通水手，黄昏的时候我见过狮子在沙滩上出没。”老人说，“我们是谈非洲，还是谈棒球？”“我想还是谈棒球把，”孩子说。和老人谈论了最伟大的球星和最伟大的棒球经营者之后，马诺林宣布桑提亚哥是最伟大的渔夫，“好渔夫有的是，了不起的渔夫也有一些，但是桑提亚哥却只有你一个。”老人确实是个技艺高超的渔夫，对大海的习性，对天气的变化规律，了如指掌，对海洋中的生物，天空中的鸟类，无所不知。对马诺林来说，老人就像一部百科全书，可以告诉他任何他需要知道的事。例如，飞鱼的出现预示着海豚的到来；凭经验老人就知道，如果鱼线被猛然拉动，那就意味着是那种大鱼，重量超过几百磅的大马林鱼。老人一生中曾面对过多次检验其力量和忍耐的考验。与其搏斗三天的大马林鱼象征他一生中最大的挑战。当马诺林来到老人的小屋，看到老人惨不忍睹的伤手，他伤心地哭了。渔夫们聚集在桑提亚哥的小船周围，量着那条大鱼的骨架，足有18英尺长。马诺林等着老人醒来，并为老人温着咖啡，以便老人醒来就能喝。老人睡醒后，两人热烈地交谈起来。桑提亚哥告诉马诺林，是鲨鱼打败了他。马诺林发誓说，不管他父母再说什么，他也一定要回到老人的船上。他告诉老人，大家曾搜寻过他，还出动了水上警察和飞机。桑提亚哥很高兴有人和他交谈，与马诺林定好计划后，他又睡着了。马诺林非常迫切地想学到桑提亚哥的全部技能。老人所有的高尚品质，更重要的是，老人在生活中所积累的经验教训，会传给这个孩子。这就意味着，即使在老人死后，老人的生命还会以某种形式继续存在下去。因此，桑提亚哥所获得的最大成功是，他找到了死后可以使生命延续的神奇方法。

　　Santiago： He is an aged Cuban fisherman. He has taught a boy named Manuolin to fish and the boyloves him. The boy has been with him for the first forty days without catching a fish. The boy’s parents saythe old man is too unlucky and have forced the boy to leave the old man in order to fish in a more prosperousboat. But the boy continues to care for the old man upon his return each night. Having made some money withthe successful fisherman， the boy offers to return to Santiago’s skiff， reminding him of their previous eighty-seven-day run of bad luck， which culminated in their catching big fish every day for three weeks. He offersthe old man a beer on the Terrace. Many of the fishermen make fun of the old man and he is not angry.“Youbought me a beer，”the old man said，“You are already a man.”“How old was I when you first took mein a boat？”asked the boy.“Five and you nearly were killed when I brought the fish in too green and henearly tore the boat to pieces.”The old man and the boy walk up the road together to the old man’s shackand go in through its open door. In it there is only a bed， a table， one chair and a place to cook.“I would liketo take the great DiMaggio fishing，”the old man said.“They say his father was a fisherman. Maybe he wasas poor as we are and would understand.”“The great Sister’s father was never poor and he，”the boy toldhim，“the father， was playing in the Big Leagues when he was my age.”“When I was your age I was beforethe mast on a square rigged ship that ran to Africa and I have seen lions on the beaches in the evening.”Theold man said，“Should we talk about Africa or about baseball？”“Baseball I think，”the boy said. Afterdiscussing with the old man the greatest ballplayer and the greatest baseball managers， the boy declaresthat Santiago is the greatest fisherman：“There are many good fishermen and some great ones. But there isonly you.”The old man is an expert seaman， able to read the sea， sky， and their respective creatures likebooks that tell him what he needs to know. The flying fish， for instance， signal the arrival of dolphins， while，in Santiago’s experience， the magnificent tug on the line can mean only one thing： a marlin—a type of largegame fish that weighs hundreds of pounds. Throughout his life， the old man has been presented with conteststo test his strength and endurance. The marlin with which he struggles for three days represents his greatestchallenge. When Manuolin comes to the old man’s shack， the sight of his friend’s ravaged hands brings him totears. Fishermen have gathered around Santiago’s boat and measured the carcass at eighteen feet. Manuolinwaits for the old man to wake up， keeping his coffee warm for him so it is ready right away. When the old manwakes， he and Manuolin talk warmly. Santiago says that the sharks beat him， and Manuolin insists that he willwork with the old man again， regardless of what his parents say. He reveals that there had been a search forSantiago involving the coast guard and planes. Santiago is happy to have someone to talk to， and after he andManuolin make plans， the old man sleeps again. Manuolin desperately wants to complete his training. All ofthe old man’s noble qualities and more important， the lessons he draws from his experience， will be passedon to the boy， which means the fisherman’s life will continue on， in some form， even after his death. ThusSantiago manages， perhaps， the most miraculous feat of all： he finds a way to prolong his life after death.

　　桑提亚哥连续84天一无所获的背运，对于一个很具影响力的渔夫来说无疑是一种难以容忍的耻辱，极大地伤了他的自尊心。为了证明其超凡的技艺，桑提亚哥坚持到更远的湾流海域去捕鱼，导致了他的那场灾难。在与大马林鱼搏斗的三天里，他一直牢牢地拉着钩住鱼的鱼线，尽管鱼线深深地勒进他的手掌，使他的左手因受重伤而抽搐失灵，使他的后背伤痕累累。他拒绝把求助上帝作为取胜的手段。他拒绝得如此坚决，以至于他从不使用宗教的专用语。他把宗教专用的词语当成咒语。尽管他在极端痛苦时也呼喊上帝，可他认为，人们相信“原罪”是精神不正常。他信奉的那种宗教仪式是表现神圣的男子汉气概的宗教仪式。“也许杀了这条鱼就是罪过。我猜想是的，即使我这么做是为了养活自己，为了让很多人有鱼吃。但那样的话，干什么都是罪过。”“你杀它是出于自尊，因为你是个渔夫。它活着的时候你喜欢它，死了你还是喜欢。要是你喜欢它，杀了它就不是罪过。”在桑提亚哥与大马林鱼搏斗的过程中，他对宇宙中的自然现象以及他自己在自然界中的位置有所思考。老人既对大鱼同情，又表现出坚定不移的决心要杀死大鱼，因为杀死大鱼能给老人以新的活力。这种以捕食其他动物的生命更换特性是自然规律，是不可避免的，就如同老鹰肯定会继续追杀苔莺，人类肯定会继续杀死马林鱼，鲨鱼肯定要继续从人类手中掠夺猎获物一样。

　　It is certainly true that Santiago’s eighty-four-day run of bad luck is an affront to his pride as amasterful fisherman， and his attempt to bear out his skills by sailing far into the gulf waters leads to disaster.

　　For three days， he holds fast to the line that links him to the big fish， even though it cuts deeply into hispalms， causes a crippling cramp in his left hand， and ruins his back. He refuses to“turn to God”as a kindof mechanism-for-victory. He rejects the very religious terminology so completely that he uses it as a kindof verbal incantation； for while he calls on Christian Divinity in the heights (or depths) of his pain， he alsorefuses to consider the matter of“sin”as anything but a distraction. The only ritual he acknowledges is justthe ritual of Sacred Manhood.“Perhaps it was a sin to kill the fish. I suppose it was even though I did it tokeep me alive and feed many people. But then everything is a sin.”“You killed him for pride and becauseyou are a fisherman. You loved him when he was alive and you loved him after. If you love him， it is not a sinto kill him.”While Santiago struggles with the marlin， he reflects upon the nature of the universe and hisplace in it. He displays both pity for the fish and an unflagging determination to kill it， because the marlin’sdeath helps to reinvigorate the fisherman’s life. The predatory nature of this exchange is inevitable， for just ashawks will continue to hunt warblers， men will continue to kill marlin， and sharks will continue to rob them oftheir catches.

　　虽然桑提亚哥认为自己不信教，但他在与大马林鱼搏斗的过程中，小说引用了基督教义中的故事，唤起读者非常强烈的联想。随着搏斗进一步激烈，桑提亚哥似乎越来越像基督。

　　经历了伤痛、艰苦的磨难以及最后的失败后，他无疑摆脱了以前那个失意渔夫的形象。海明威通过运用这种对很多读者来说既熟悉又很具说服力的象征性手段，把桑提亚哥的生死与基督耶稣的生死联系起来，才取得这种超凡脱俗的升华效果。海明威运用了大量的形象比喻手段，把桑提亚哥与基督作了比较，基督是把失化为得，败化为胜，甚至把死化为新生的典型代表。海明威大胆地把桑提亚哥渲染成一个被定在十字架上的殉难者形象：书中解说者说，桑提亚哥一见到鲨鱼，马上就发出“像是一个人的手被钉子钉穿在木板上”时所发出的那种嚎叫；解说者对桑提亚哥返回城里时的描述也会让人想到基督受难的情形；老人肩上扛着船桅艰难地攀爬小山的场面会使读者不禁想到基督朝着卡尔加里艰难跋涉的情景；甚至，桑提亚哥疲惫不堪地跌倒在床上——脸朝下趴在报纸上，两臂直伸，手心朝上地睡觉——这些姿势都会让人联想到基督在十字架上受难的形象。

　　Even though Santiago doesn’t consider himself a religious man， it is during his struggle with the marlinthat the book becomes strongly suggestive of a Christian parable. As his struggle intensifies， Santiago beginsto seem more and more Christ-like： through his pain， suffering， and eventual defeat， he will transcend hisprevious incarnation as a failed fisherman. Hemingway achieves this effect by relying on the potent and， tomany readers， familiar symbolism identified with Jesus Christ’s life and death. Hemingway employs a numberof images that link Santiago to Christ， the model of transcendence， who turned loss into gain， defeat intotriumph， and even death into new life. Hemingway unabashedly paints the old man as a crucified martyr： assoon as the sharks arrive， the narrator comments that the noise Santiago made resembled the noise one wouldmake“feeling the nail go through his hands and into the wood.”The narrator’s deion of Santiago’sreturn to town also recalls the crucifixion. As the old man struggles up the hill with his mast across hisshoulders， the reader cannot help but recall Christ’s march toward Calgary. Even the position in which hecollapses on his bed—he sleeps facedown on the newspapers with his arms out straight and the palms of hishands up—brings to mind the image of Christ suffering on the cross.

　　像那条大马林鱼一样，老人在先与大鱼搏斗、后与鲨鱼搏斗的过程中也遭遇了类似死亡一样的打击。老人仍然希望这痛苦的经历是场梦，可是他不忍心看那千疮百孔的马林鱼。

　　又一条双髻鲨袭来，老人杀死了它，但那把刀却在搏斗中丢失了。夜幕降临之前，又有两条鲨鱼逼近。老人只有用那根用于击打饵鱼的木棒作武器了。他用那根木棒击退了那两条鲨鱼，但是，一会儿工夫它们又在不停地撕咬马林鱼。老人疲惫不堪，疼痛难忍，浑身都已经僵硬了，真希望不要再打下去了。差不多午夜时分，一群鲨鱼袭来了。黑暗中几乎什么也看不见，桑提亚哥只能靠分辨鲨鱼的嘴和鳍所发出的声音出击。不知是什么东西夺走了老人的木棒，他一把拉下小船的舵柄，想以此为武器继续打击鲨鱼，但不起作用。当最后一条鲨鱼想咬碎马林鱼坚硬的头部时，老人用舵柄打击着鲨鱼，把舵柄击打碎了，他把剩下的带尖的舵柄深深地戳进鲨鱼的身体，鲨鱼逃了。马林鱼身上一点肉也没剩。老人往水里吐了血，这让他为自己担心害怕了一会儿。他坐在小船里，麻木地、无任何感觉地划着。他自问，到底是什么打败了自己呢？后来他得出结论，“什么都不是……只是我走得太远了。”如此简单的一句话——“只是我走得太远了”，在故事的最后几页，就重复了四次，是什么含意？因为海明威坚信最最简单的文字，如果运用得巧妙，可以潜移默化地揭示出人类最伟大的真理，正像冰山的顶端能够揭示出隐藏于水下的巨大冰块的品质一样。确实，这是一个对大家都严酷而有益的教训，一个可悲的教训，告诉人们，一旦人的自尊驱使他超越了人类在这个世界上本该安分的界限，就会发生悲剧性的后果。正如桑提亚哥对他徒弟所说：“它们（鲨鱼）打败了我，马诺林。它们（鲨鱼）确实打败了我。”老人战胜了大马林鱼但却被鲨鱼打败了。“不要过分陶醉于我们对自然界的胜利。对每一次这样的胜利，自然界都报复了我们。”大自然应受到尊重甚至培养。我们必须与自然合作，学会更好地使用而不是滥用我们的自然环境。自然环境包含着所有地球上自然存在的生物和非生物。生物多样化的重要性就在于所有分享着同样环境或生长地的物种互相依靠而生存。但很多物种，如老虎、蓝鲸、海龟等，正濒于灭绝。没有生物的多样化，我们人类怎能单独生存？！这正是当代生态哲学——深层生态学所强调的人类生命和非人类生命的互相依存性以及生态系统与自然变化过程的重要性。

　　Like the marlin， the old man suffers something of a death while struggling with the big fish first andthen the sharks. Still hopeful that the whole ordeal had been a dream， the old man cannot bear to look atthe mutilated marlin. Another shovel-nosed shark arrives. The old man kills it， but he loses his knife in theprocess. Just before nightfall， two more sharks approach. The old man’s arsenal has been reduced to the clubhe uses to kill bait fish. He manages to club the sharks into retreat， but not before they repeatedly maul themarlin. Stiff， sore， and weary， he hopes he does not have to fight anymore. Around midnight， a pack of sharksarrives. Near-blind in the darkness， Santiago strikes out at the sounds of jaws and fins. Something snatcheshis club. He breaks off the boat’s tiller and makes a futile attempt to use it as a weapon. When the last sharktries to tear at the tough head of the marlin， the old man clubs the shark until the tiller splinters. He plungesthe sharp edge into the shark’s flesh and the beast lets go. No meat is left on the marlin. The old man spitsblood into the water， which frightens him for a moment. He settles in to steer the boat， numb and past allfeeling. He asks himself what it was that defeated him and concludes，“Nothing... I went out too far.”Sucha simple sentence“I went out too far”is repeated four times in the final pages of the story. What does itimply？ Because Hemingway believed that the simplest writing， when done well， would hint at the greatesthuman truths， just as the tip of an iceberg hinted at the terrific frozen mass that rested underwater. It is truethat this is a cruel but instructive lesson to all—a tragic lesson about what happens when man’s pride forceshim beyond the boundaries of his rightful， human place in the world. Just as Santiago told his apprentice：

　　They (sharks) beat me， Manuolin. They (sharks) truly beat me.”The old man has won the marlin but hasbeen beaten by sharks.“We shouldn’t be intoxicated with our victories over nature. For every victory wewon， nature has retaliated.”Nature is to be respected and even cultivated. We must cooperate with natureand learn better ways to use， not abuse， our natural environment. The natural environment encompasses allliving and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth. Biodiversity is important because all the speciesthat share the same environment， or habitat， rely on one another for survival. But many species， such asthe tiger， the blue whale， the sea turtle， etc are endangered. Without the biological diversity， how can wehumans survive alone？ This is just a contemporary ecological philosophy—deep ecology that emphasizes theinterdependent nature of human and non-human life as well as the importance of the ecosystem and naturalprocesses.

　　马诺林：他是个十多岁的孩子，桑提亚哥的徒弟和忠实的追随者。年仅5岁时老人就带着他上船出海，因为桑提亚哥近3个月来一直走背运，马诺林的父母非要他离开桑提亚哥到别的船上去。尽管如此，马诺林仍然深爱着老人，把老人当做可信赖的长者。他和老人一起谈论棒球，为老人向村民寻求帮助，以改善老人贫困潦倒的处境。他尽力确保老人有食物、毯子，并能不受打扰地休息好。

　　Manuolin： He is a boy in his teens. As Santiago’s apprentice and devoted attendant， the old man firsttook him out on a boat when he was merely five years old. Due to Santiago’s recent bad luck， Manuolin’sparents have forced the boy to go out on a different fishing boat. Manuolin， however， still cares deeply for theold man， to whom he continues to look as a mentor. His love for Santiago is unmistakable as the two discussbaseball and as the young boy recruits help from villagers to improve the old man’s impoverished conditions.

　　He makes sure that the old man has food， blankets， and can rest without being bothered.

　　马诺林的父亲见老人连续40天都一无所获，就让马诺林弃老人而去，对此海明威没有挑明孩子对他父亲的不满情绪。这一点有助于把马诺林塑造成一个真正的人，一个面对为人子必须孝顺，为人朋友必须忠诚，在这种两难的情况下能够作出适当抉择的人。在小说的最后几页，马诺林成了百折不挠的爱与忠诚的象征，作为老人的徒弟，他还代表了老人死后生命的延续，他一心一意向老人学习其精神使桑提亚哥的精神长存不衰。

　　Hemingway does hint at the boy’s resentment for his father， whose wishes Manuolin obeys byabandoning the old man after forty days without catching a fish. This fact helps to establish the boy as a realhuman being， as a person with conflicted loyalties who faces difficult decisions. He stands， in the novella’sfinal pages， as a symbol of uncompromised love and fidelity. As the old man’s apprentice， he also representsthe life that will follow from death. His dedication to learning from the old man ensures that Santiago will liveon.

　　狄马吉奥：狄马吉奥在小说中从未露过面，但桑提亚哥和马诺林总要谈论棒球并不可避免地谈到名将狄马吉奥。桑提亚哥把他当做力量和尽职敬业的偶像崇拜，每当老人感到信心不足时，都会想到他。尽管狄马吉奥的骨伤使他疼痛难忍，这种情况假如换了别人可能会成为瘸子，但他却没有退却放弃，并取得了辉煌成绩。他是自1936年至1951年纽约扬基棒球队的中外场手，被普遍认为是这个位置上的最佳选手。

　　Joe DiMaggio： DiMaggio never appears in the novel， but Santiago and Manolin always discuss baseball，inevitably talking about the great DiMaggio. Santiago worships him as a model of strength and commitment，and his thoughts turn toward DiMaggio whenever he needs to reassure himself of his own strength. Despite apainful bone spur that might have crippled another player， DiMaggio went on to secure a triumphant career.

　　He was a center fielder for the New York Yankees from 1936 to 1951， and is often considered the best all-around player ever at that position.