wgolding.lordoftheflies-第40部分

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　COLDING：　Well；　I　think；　fairly　deeply；　but　again；　not　ironically　in　the　bad　sense；　but　in　almost　a　passionate　sense。　You　see；　really；　I'm　getting　at　myself　in　this。　What　I'm　saying　to　myself　is；　〃Don't　be　such　a　fool；　you　remember　when　you　were　a　boy；　a　small　boy；　how　you　lived　on　that　island　with　Ralph　and　Jack　and　Peterkin〃　5　（who　is　Simon；　by　the　way；　Simon　called　Peter；　you　see。　It　was　worked　out　very　carefully　in　every　possible　way；　this　novel）。　I　said　to　myself　finally；　〃Now　you　are　grown　up；　you　are　adult；　it's　taken　you　a　long　time　to　bee　adult；　but　now　you've　got　there　you　can　see　that　people　are　not　like　that；　they　would　not　behave　like　that　if　they　were　God…fearing　English　gentlemen；　and　they　went　to　an　island　like　that。〃　Their　savagery　would　not　be　found　in　natives　on　an　island。　As　like　as　not　they　would　find　savages　who　were　kindly　and　unplicated　and　that　the　devil　would　rise　out　of　the　intellectual　plications　of　the　three　white　men　on　the　island　itself。　It　is　really　a　pretty　big　connection　＇with　Ballantyne＇。
　KERMODE：　In　fact　it's　a　kind　of　black　mass　version　of　Ballantyne；　isn't　it？
　GOLDING：　Well；　I　don't　really　think　I　ought　to　accept　that。　But　I　think　I　see　what　you　mean。　No；　no；　I　disagree　with　ft　entirely；　I　think　it　is　in　fact　a　realistic　view　of　the　Ballantyne　situation。
　
　4。R。　M。　Ballantyne's　The　Coral　Island　was　published　in　1857　in　England。　See　Carl　Niemeyer's　〃The　Coral　Island　Revisited；〃　College　English；　22　（January；　1961）；　241…245。　Reprinted　in　this　volume　on　pp。　217…223。…Eds。
　5。Characters　in　The　Coral　Island。…Eds。
　
　
　
　
　
　The　Novels　of　William　Golding＇
　FRANK　KERMODE
　
　Lord　of　the　Flies　has　〃a　pretty　big　connection〃　with　Ballantyne。2　In　The　Cored　Island　Ralph；　Jack　and　Peterkin　are　cast　away　on　a　desert　island；　where　they　live　active；　civilised；　and　civilising　lives。　Practical　difficulties　are　easily　surmounted；　they　light　fires　with　bowstrings　and　spy…glasses；　hunt　pigs　for　food；　and　kill　them　with　much　ease　and　a　total　absence　of　guilt…indeed　of　bloodshed。　（They　are　all　Britons…a　term　they　use　to　pliment　each　other…all　brave；　obedient　and　honourable。）　There　is　much　useful　information　conveyed　concerning　tropical　islands；　including　field…workers'　reporting　of　the　conduct　of　cannibals：　but　anthropology　is　something　nasty　that　clears　up　on　the　arrival　of　a　missionary；　and　Jack　himself　prevents　an　act　of　cannibalism　by　telling　the　flatnoses　not　to　be　such　blockheads　and　presenting　them　with　six　newly　slaughtered　pigs。　The　parallel　between　the　island　and　the　Earthly　Paradise　causes　a　trace　of　literary　sophistication：　〃Meat　and　drink　on　the　same　tree！　My　dear　boys；　we're　set　up　for　life；　it　must　be　the　ancient　paradise…hurrah！　。　。　。　We　afterwards　found；　however；　that　these　lovely　islands　were　very　unlike　Paradise　in　many　things。〃　But　these　〃things〃　are　non…Christian　natives　and；　later；　pirates；　the　boys　themselves　are
　
　1。This　selection　is　taken　from　a　longer　essay　that　appeared　in　the　International　Literary　Annual；　III　（1961）；　11…29；　and　is　reprinted　by　permission　of　John　Calder　Limited。
　2。　The　relationship　of　R。　M。　Ballantyne's　novel　The　Coral　Island　to　Lord　of　the　Flies　is　taken　up　by　Carl　Niemeyer；　〃The　Coral　Island　Revisited；〃　reprinted　on　pp。　217…223　in　this　volume。　See　also　the　Foreword　to　this　volume。…Eds。
　
　cleanly　（cold　baths　remended）　and　godly…regenerate；　empire…building　boys；　who　know　by　instinct　how　to　turn　paradise　into　a　British　protectorate。
　The　Coral　Island　could　be　used　as　a　document　in　the　history　of　ideas；　it　belongs　inseparably　to　the　period　when　boys　were　sent　out　of　Arnoldian　schools　certified　free　of　Original　Sin。　Golding　takes　Ralph；　Jack　and　Peterkin　（altering　this　name　to　Simon　〃called　Peter〃）3　and　studies　them　against　an　altered　moral　landscape。　He　is　a　schoolmaster；　and　knows　boys　well　enough　to　make　their　collapse　into　savagery　plausible；　to　see　them　as　cannibals；　the　authority　of　the　grown…ups　is　all　there　is　to　prevent　savagery。　If　you　dropped　these　boys　into　an　Earthly　Paradise　〃they　would　not　behave　like　God…fearing　English　gentlemen〃　but　〃as　like　as　not　。　。　。　find　savages　who　were　kindly　and　unplicated。　。　。　。　The　devil　would　rise　out　of　the　intellectual　plications　of　the　three　white　men。〃　Golding　leaves　the　noble　savages　out　of　Lord　of　the　Flies；　but　this　remark　is　worth　quoting　because　it　states　the　intellectual　position　in　its　basic　simplicity。　It　is　the　civilised　who　are　corrupt；　out　of　phase　with　natural　rhythm。　Their　guilt　is　the　price　of　evolutionary　success；　and　our　awareness　of　this　fact　can　be　understood　by　duplicating　Ballantyne's　situation；　borrowing　his　island；　and　letting　his　theme　develop　in　this　new　and　more　substantial　context。　Once　more　every　prospect　pleases；　but　the　vileness　proceeds；　not　from　cannibals；　but　from　the　boys；　though　Man　is　not　so　much　vile　as　〃heroic　and　sick。〃　Unlike　Ballantyne's　boys；　these　are　dirty　and　inefficient；　they　have　some　notion　of　order；　symbolised　by　the　beautiful　conch　which　heralds　formal　meetings；　but　when　uncongenial　effort　is　required　to　maintain　it；　order　disappears。　The　shelters　are　inadequate；　the　signal　fire　goes　out　at　the　very　moment　when　Jack　first　succeeds　in　killing　a　pig。　Intelligence　fades；　irrational　taboos　and　blood　rituals　make　hopeless　the　task　of　the　practical　but　partial　intellect　of　Piggy；　his　glasses；　the　firemakers；　are　smashed　and　stolen；　and　in　the　end　he　himself　is　broken　to　pieces　as　he　holds　the　conch。　When　civilised　conditioning　fades…how　tedious　Piggy's　appeal　to　what　adults　might　do　or　think！…the　children　are　capable　of　neither　savage　nor　civil　gentleness。　Always　a
　
　3。　It　is　interesting　to　ask　why　Golding　changed　the　name。　See　the　Foreword　to　this　volume。…EDS。
　
　little　nearer　to　raw　humanity　than　adults；　they　slip　into　a　condition　of　animality　depraved　by　mind；　into　the　cruelty　of　hunters　with　their　devil…liturgies　and　torture：　they　make　an　unnecessary；　evil　fortress；　they　steal；　they　abandon　all　operations　aimed　at　restoring　them　to　civility。　Evil　is　the　natural　product　of　their　consciousness。　First；　the　smallest　boys　create；　a　beastie；　a　snake…〃as　if　it　wasn't　a　good　island。〃　Then　a　beast　is　created　in　good　earnest；　and　defined　in　a　wonderful　narrative　sequence。　The　emblem　of　this　evil　society　is　the　head　of　a　dead　pig；　fixed；　as　a　sacrifice；　on　the　end　of　a　stick　and　animated　by　flies　and　by　the　imagination　of　the　voyant；　Simon。
　Simon　is　Golding's　first　〃saint；　and　a　most　important　figure。〃　He　is　for　the　illiterate　a　proof　of　the　existence　of　God　because　the　illiterate　（to　whom　we　are　tacitly　but　unmistakably　expected　to　attribute　a　correct　insight　here）　will　say；　〃Well；　a　person　like　this　cannot　exist　without　a　good　God。〃　For　Simon　〃voluntarily　embraces　the　beast　。　。　。　and　tries　to　get　rid　of　him。〃　What　he　understands…and　this　is　wisdom　Golding　treats　with　awe…is　that　evil　is　〃only　us。〃　He　climbs　up　to　where　the　dead　fire　is　dominated　by　the　beast；　a　dead　airman　in　a　parachute；　discovers　what　this　terrible　thing　really　is；　and　rushes　off　with　the　good　news　to　the　beach；　where　the　maddened　boys　at　their　beast…slaying　ritual　mistake　Simon　himself　for　the　beast　and　kill　him。　As　Piggy；　the　dull　practical　intelligence；　is　reduced　to　blindness　and　futility；　so　Simon；　the　visionary；　is　murdered　before　he　can　municate　his　fortable　knowledge。4　Finally；　the　whole　Paradise　is　destroyed　under　the　puzzled　eyes　of　an　adult　observer。　Boys　will　be　boys。
　The　difference　of　this　world　from　Ballantyne's　simpler　construction　from　similar　materials　is　not　merely　a　matter　of　inparability　of　the　two　talents　at　work；　our　minds　have；　in　general；　darker　needs　and　obscurer　forts。　It　would　be　absurd　to　suppose　that　the　change　has　impoverished　us；　but　it　has　seemed　to　divide　our　world　into　〃two　cultures〃…the　followers　of　Jack　and　the　admirers　of　Simon；　those　who　build　fortresses　and　those　who　want　to　name　the　beast。
　
　4。Cf。　Donald　R。　Soangler's　〃Simon〃　on　pp。　211…215　in　this　volume　and　also　Golding's　remarks　on　Simon　in　the　interview　with　James　Keating；　p。　192。…Eds。
　
　Lord　of　the　Flies　〃was　worked　out　carefully　in　every　possible　way；〃5　and　its　author　holds　that　the　〃programme〃　of　the　book　is　its　meaning。　He　rejects　Lawrence's　doctrine；　〃Never　trust　the　artist；　trust　the　tale〃　and　its　consequence；　〃the　proper　function　of　the　critic　is　to　save　the　tale　from　the　artist。〃　He　is　wrong；　I　think；　insofar　as　the　book　differs　from　its　programme　there　is；　as　a　matter　of　mon　sense；　material　over　which　the　writer　has　no　absolute　authority。　This　means　not　only　that　there　are　possible　readings　which　he　cannot　veto；　but　even　that　some　of　his　own　views　on　the　book　may　be　in　a　sense　wrong。　The　interpretation　of　the　dead　parachutist　is　an　example。　This　began　in　the　〃programme〃　as　straight　allegory；　Golding　says　that　this　dead　man　〃is〃　History。6　〃All　that　we　can　give　our　children〃　in　their　trouble　is　this　monstrous　dead　adult；　who's　〃dead；　but　won't　lie　down〃；　an　ugly　emblem　of　war　and　decay　that　broods　over　the　paradise　and　provides　the　only　objective　equivalent　for　the　beasts　the　boys　imagine。　Now　this　limited　allegory　（I　may　even　have　expanded　it　in　the　telling）　seems　to　me　not　to　have　got　out　of　the　〃programme〃　into　the　book；　what　does　get　in　is　more　valuable　because　more　like　myth…　capable；　that　is；　of　more　various　interpretation　than　the　rigidity　of　Golding's　scheme　allows。　And　in　writing　of　this　kind　all　depends　upon　the　author's　mythopoeic　power　to　transcend　the　〃programme。〃
　
　5。Golding　makes　this　statement　in　the　interview　with　Frank　Kermode；　The　Meaning　of　It　All。〃　See　above；　p。　201。…Eds。
　6。In　the　interview　〃The　Meaning　of　It　All；〃　p。　200。…Eds。
　
　
　
　
　
　Introduction1
　E。　M。　FORSTER
　
　It　is　a　pleasure　and　an　honour　to　write　an　introduction　to　this　remarkable　book；　but　there　is　also　a　difficulty；　for　the　reason　that　the　book　contains　surprises；　and　its　reader　ought　to　encounter　them　for　himself。　If　he　knows　too　much　he　will　lean　back　placently。　And　placency　is　not　a　quality　that　Mr。　Golding　values。　The　universe；　in　his　view；　secretes　something　that　we　do　not　expect　and　shall　probably　dislike；　and　he　here　presents　the　universe；　under　the　guise　of　a　school　adventure　story　on　a　coral　island。
　How　romantically　it　starts！　Several　bunches