【作者】 李刚；

【导师】 李敏；

【作者基本信息】 山东师范大学 ， 英语语言文学， 2007， 硕士

【摘要】 对于文化身份的探讨已经成为现在文学领域中的热门话题。现在国际移民的数量迅速增加。生活在这样一个多元文化共生的社会中,难免会造成个人文化身份的模糊,文化认同的困境。如何在一个全新的文化氛围中看待自己的身份,对自己有一个清楚的定位,是他们迫切需要解决的问题。本论文讨论的移民作家奈保尔就是其中典型的一位。他是一位印裔英籍作家,于2001年获得诺贝尔文学奖。他祖籍印度,出生在特里尼达,在浓郁的印度文化氛围中长大,之后又在英国求学生活。复杂的文化背景使他对于自己的身份和归属做出了深邃的思考。本文围绕奈保尔的人生历程,通过对于不同时期文本的阐释,对其文化身份进行分析。他从一个岛国开始了他的精神之旅,思索的范围逐渐扩大,最终使自己具备“世界公民”的特质。他超出了狭隘的民族主义,以自己独特的方式在世界舞台上发出了响亮的声音。在全球化日趋激烈的今天,奈保尔对自己文化身份的思考或许对于生活在异域文化中的人们,在如何面对不同的文化,怎样对自己文化定位以及思考人生意义方面无疑提供了有益的经验。全文加上引文和结论共有六部分。引文部分简要介绍了奈保尔以及中外对于奈保尔研究的概况。其重点放到对于后殖民理论中的热点问题之一文化身份这一术语的阐释上。文中引述了中外多个学者的观点,虽然没有确切的定义,但给我们很多启发。基于对这一概念的理解,引出对于奈保尔文化身份的分析。第一章讨论了奈保尔的特里尼达的文化身份。奈保尔对于他的出生地特立尼达持一种矛盾的心态。虽然依附于其文化为他提供创作素材和灵感,但也因其文化空虚和思想的贫乏不能认可特里尼达社会文化,并对其进行了无情的揭露。这一部分借助于奈保尔的早期代表作《毕斯沃斯先生的房子》和一部短篇小说集《米格尔大街》来分析他对于特立尼达的矛盾心态。第二章论及奈保尔的印度之旅。他不能在出生地扎根,便把目光投向魂牵梦绕的故土—印度,以期心灵的平静。但印度之旅打破了他的寻根梦,他不能认同印度文化。在他的眼中,贫穷,混乱,和落后构成了印度的全部。但即便如此,对于印度他不能与之隔离开来。奈保尔仍然处于文化认同的困境。在这一章中,重点分析了他的游记作品《幽暗国度》,来说明对印度文化的爱恨交加的心态。第三章分析了奈保尔在英国的生存状态。他生活在英国,享受着现代文明。这里为他的成功提供了得天独厚的物质条件。这好像正是他需要的,但同样对于他的英国文化身份感到迷茫,疏离、错位、和孤独时刻围绕着他,毕竟英国不是他的精神家园。本部分借助于他的小说《效颦人》来分析作者对于英国文化的不认同以及对于殖民地人机械模拟的讽刺。第四章探讨了奈保尔的世界文化身份。不能扎根于特立尼达、印度和英国,奈保尔开始了他的世界之旅,广泛的接触了解不同民族的生活文化。他游走在世界的舞台上,成为了没国界的人,一名世界公民。但在这个更加广阔的空间里,他仍然对自己的根之所在,感到疑惑。或许对于奈保尔来说他的精神之旅永远持续着。这一部分着重分析了小说《河湾》。通过对其主人公萨林姆的分析展示了奈保尔的焦虑与不安。论文的结论部分指出奈保尔文化身份探讨的意义。奈保尔始终在寻找着他的精神家园和所谓的普世的文明,结果却令他非常的无奈。他注定在文学的世界中飘泊,但这也成为他创作无穷的源泉。在全球化背景下,对于生活在多元文化中的移民来说,系统地探讨奈保尔文化身份,或许可以让我们更加深刻地理解这一特殊群体的生活现状,更加关注他们所面临的问题。对于奈保尔的研究,本论文也尝试提供一个新的视角。更多还原

【Abstract】 Nowadays, the research concerning culture identity has become a hot topic in the contemporary literary field. As the number of the international immigrants is dramatically increasing, it is almost inevitable for them to be confronted with the problem of culture identity, as they are living in the mixed cultures. How to locate themselves in a quite new environment is growing into an urgent problem for them to handle. V. S. Naipaul, who will be discussed in the thesis, is a typical one among these immigrants. He is an Indian English writer, and was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 2001. He was born in Trinidad, a small island country in the Caribbean area, brought up in a strong Indian atmosphere and received his higher education in England. These complicated experiences prompt him to make continuous and profound exploration into his culture identity. This thesis is developed around Naipaul’s life, trying to shed some light on his confusion about his culture identity by analyzing his works in different periods. Naipaul begins his spiritual journey from a small island, then expands his vision to larger areas such as India and Britain, and eventually is invested with the characteristics of a cosmopolitan. What he has done has gone far beyond the narrow meaning of nationalism, and he voices his feelings on the world stage in his special way. In the tide of globalization, the explorations Naipaul has made about his culture identity may, most probably, offer some insights for the people who have been living in the alien cultures so that they will have a deeper understanding toward such questions as how to face the different cultures and locate themselves in the coexistence of many cultures and how to make their life meaningful in the new environment.The thesis is composed of six parts with an introduction and a conclusion included. The introduction is a survey of Naipaul’s background as well as the research having been done on him both at home and abroad, with the emphasis on the term“culture identity”. Different scholars have offered different understandings about it. Though it is hard to come to an exact definition, still, these interpretations provide us with many inspirations to get closer to the truth of the term. Based on the understanding of this term, the research on Naipual’s culture identity is carried out.The first chapter deals with Naipaul’s Trinidadian culture identity. The attitude he takes toward his birthplace is in contradiction. Despite the fact that he is dependent on this island for his writing materials and inspirations, he cannot identify with his birthplace for its cultural emptiness and sterility, which have been ruthlessly exposed in his works. In this part, Naipaul’s ambivalent attitude toward the Trinidadian culture is displayed by analyzing his masterpiece, A House for Mr. Biswas and a short story collection Miguel Street.The second chapter analyzes his journey in India. Since he cannot take root in his birthplace, he casts his eyes onto India, in the hope of getting a tranquil and peaceful mind. However, the tour in India smashes his dream of finding the spiritual home there. He cannot reach identification with the Indian culture, for what comes into his eyes is all backwardness, poverty, and disorder which, in Naipaul’s opinion, has constituted the whole India. In spite of the alienation from the Indian culture, he is inseparable from it. Naipual still remains in dilemma for his identity. This chapter makes use of one of Naipaul’s travelogue, An Area of Darkness to disclose his love-hate relationship with this country.The third chapter focuses on the analysis of Naipaul’s life in Britain. He lives in Britain and enjoys the modern civilization, which is able to provide the incomparable material conditions for him, and that seems to be what he wants. Nonetheless, he feels at a loss to locate himself culturally in Britain and is frequently overwhelmed with alienation, displacement, and loneliness. Based on the analysis of Naipual’s novel The Mimic Man, this part conveys to the readers his negative attitude toward the British culture and satirizes severely the blind mimicry of the colonial people.The fourth chapter is devoted to the explorations into his culture identity of a world citizen. Since he cannot be rooted in Trinidad, India and Britain, he sets his foot on a long journey through the whole world to meet different cultures and different peoples. He travels extensively on the world stage and becomes a cosmopolitan with no country which can be recognized as his own. However, even in this vast area, he still has a touch of bewilderment about his culture identity. Maybe, Naipaul’s spiritual journey will last forever. This idea has been expressed fully in the novel A Bend in the River, which presents to the readers Naipaul’s agony and anxiety about his culture identity through the successful depiction of Salim, the protagonist in this novel.The thesis comes to its final part by pointing out the meaning of Naipaul’s exploration into his culture identity. Naipaul has been looking for his spiritual residence and so-called universal civilization. The result, however, is disappointing. Maybe, he is destined to be“a literary circumnavigator”[1], which in some way, helps convert these painstaking explorations into an ample source of his writings. As for the immigrants living in the mixed cultures at the time of globalization, the systematic discussion abut Naipual’s culture identity may enable the readers to understand more profoundly the life of this particular group of people,whose problems are likely to draw more attention from the outside world. Meanwhile, the thesis intends to offer a new perspective for the future research on Naipaul.更多还原