伊甸之東

用戶評論 (總計20條)

•   　　 《伊甸之東》看完了。
  　　
  　　 書很厚，最近很忙，所以花的時間很長。
  　　
  　　 排除有些情節(jié)過于離奇的毛病，我還是喜歡這本書。之前我說過人物形象飽滿的話，現(xiàn)在仍然可以說它是飽滿的，但是不如當初那么肯定?？吹贸鲎髡呋撕艽蟮牧饬η箫枬M，只是這樣用力之后讓我覺得有幾分匠氣。
  　　
  　　 瑕不掩瑜。
  　　
  　　 作者在這部書里傾注了很多心血進行一些似乎誰都在追尋誰都沒有結(jié)論的問題，有意思的是，書里還安設(shè)了一個份量不輕的中國人“老李”，由他引入了很多中國哲學(xué)和中式的思考，這些思考都圍繞著人性的善與惡，上帝是怎樣在支配他的子民，還有生生死死的輪回。
  　　
  　　 East of Eden，取自圣經(jīng)故事：亞當與夏娃被逐出伊甸園后，生了該隱和亞伯。該隱出于妒忌，殺了亞伯，上帝懲罰該隱流浪漂泊，該隱便離開上帝，去住在伊甸之東。
  　　
  　　 書中提到老李無意發(fā)現(xiàn)幾種不同譯本的《創(chuàng)世紀》在講到上帝問該隱為什么發(fā)怒時，其中一個版本是這樣的：
  　　
  　　 上帝說“你若行得好，豈不蒙悅納？你若行得不好，罪就伏在門前。他必戀慕你，你卻要制服他。”上帝似乎在向該隱保證，他能制服罪惡。
  　　
  　　 另一個版本說中上帝說“你務(wù)必制服他?！鄙系墼谶@里發(fā)出的是居高臨下的命令。
  　　
  　　 書里的老李于是跟一些中國的智者一起學(xué)習(xí)了希伯來語，弄明白原文卻是“你可以”。
  　　
  　　 “你卻要”是宿命，“你務(wù)必”得服從，“你可以”則意味著人可以選擇。
  　　
  　　 老李說：這樣上帝就給了同神平起平坐的地位，即使他軟弱、卑鄙、甚至殺害了自己的弟弟，有種種罪，但他仍舊有選擇的余地。
  　　
  　　 人生因此有選擇，才成就美妙。
  　　
•   　　這本書買了有一兩年了吧，第一次就是沒有心情繼續(xù)讀下去。
  　　第二次拿起這本書才把它看完的，出奇的順利。而且是隨手翻到哪頁看哪頁的。
  　　看書就是看一個故事。Steinbeck 講述的故事沒有太多的鋪陳和人物，兩家人就兩條線，很清晰，很自然。有種行云流水的感覺吧。
  　　印象深的是Cathy ，Lee，和Adam?？戳艘话氩虐l(fā)現(xiàn)作者自己也把自己寫了進去，不過著墨不多。
  　　和“Wrath of Grapes" 一樣，是一部很好的小說。兩本書看了都讓人有種悲傷的情結(jié)，讓人不禁對里面的人物都有絲絲同情憐憫。
•   　　 喜歡這本書的最大理由是飽滿的人物形象，和詼諧精到卻毫不艱澀的文字。讀完這本，也許可以學(xué)些講故事的好辦法來吧。
  　　
  　　 翻譯也很好，記下譯者：王永年。
  　　
  　　
•   　　我看的斯坦貝克的第四本書，便是《伊甸之東》。看到第三部時，不由得問自己：這是斯坦貝克寫的么？看《憤怒的葡萄》，第一遍在大一，第二遍在上個月，幾乎每看一頁眼眶都濕潤了。但閱讀《伊》時所想的則是：老天，這么厚，啥時能看完呀？！斯坦貝克花了六百來頁講述一個并不如期望中精彩、值得回味的故事，還難逃冗長拖沓的弊病。
  　　《伊》主題的立足點是《舊約?創(chuàng)世紀》：每個人都是該隱的后代，都像他一樣背負著罪孽活在世上，罪惡會時不時爆發(fā)出來；我們始終逃不出祖先的命運與詛咒。斯坦貝克以這個為藍本創(chuàng)造了迦勒與阿倫這對孿生兄弟，哥哥嫉妒弟弟的才能與他所獲得的寵愛，用卑鄙的手段打垮了弟弟的自尊與對美好的追求，使他懷著萬念俱灰的絕望戰(zhàn)死沙場。迦勒一直努力地使自己討父親喜歡，可成果微茫。他讓阿倫了解到，他們的母親是個下劣的人，還搶去了他弟弟的女友。亞當彌留之際，他抬起右手，像上帝一樣寬恕了長子，迦勒帶著罪惡印記活下去。在某種意義上，迦勒被流放了，生與死永遠隔開了他與他的弟弟跟父親，他將孤獨地生存下去，同他所繼承的土地一起衰老。
  　　如果第三代的孿生兄弟影射該隱與亞伯，第二代的亞當與查爾斯則有著雅各和以掃的寓意。查爾斯始終認為父親偏愛他哥哥亞當，但亞當發(fā)現(xiàn)父親是通過偽造參軍履歷發(fā)家致富的，故意疏遠父親。亞當?shù)暮⒆悠鋵嵤强ㄎ髋c查爾斯生下的，不過真相對他來說不重要了。
  　　《伊》中那么多劇情，都離不開《圣經(jīng)》，斯坦貝克并沒有升華出自己的東西，炒《舊約》的冷飯?zhí)珱]有創(chuàng)意?！稇嵟钠咸选分?，凱西說：“自己的靈魂不過是一個大靈魂的一小部分?！睖穼⒅斫鉃椋骸奥?lián)合大眾斗爭才有出路，他不是孤獨一人?！薄稛赖亩臁分校吕渍f：“世上有一種光的匯合，有一種全世界的篝火，這話是不對的。每個人都只發(fā)著自己的光，他自己那孤獨的光?！倍兑痢分焕@著《創(chuàng)世紀》那幾句老話在打轉(zhuǎn)。
  　　不得不談?wù)劺侠钸@個人，在亞當家做幫工的那位。他開導(dǎo)了兩代人，可他不能算強者。賽繆死后，他的夢想仿佛也跟著死掉了。老李只能引導(dǎo)比自己弱的人，一邊回憶過去，一邊品著五加皮酒。他身上有一種傳奇性，跟《伊》不太合拍。
  　　《伊》讓我再一次領(lǐng)略到了希伯來語的神奇魅力。亞當臨終前說的“蒂姆舍爾”，真是“你可以”之意嗎？
  　　
•   　　In East of Eden, the central concern of the novel is the perpetual battle between good and evil. And this battle is not only between the good people and evil people, but also between the good impulses and bad impulses within one person. Steinbeck presents his idea about the nature of human being by retelling the biblical story of Cain and Abel, as he thought the Cain and Abel story has been played repeatedly in countless generations of mankind. The main characters of the story are the twins brothers in Trask family, Adam and Charles, and the descendants of Adam, Aron and Cal, who happen also to be the twins brothers. These two pairs of brother respectively represent the different generations of Cain and Abel. This hidden allegory can be detected through the initial letter of the characters’ name. Adam and Aron are deemed to possess the innocence and good nature of Abel, whereas Charles and Cal are manipulative and vague just like Cain. Although the novel is under the perception that the characters with an initial letter C are bad and with letter A are good, there are some significant changes and developments in the different generations of Cain and Abel. And those changes and developments are primarily due to the idea of timshel, which is the core concept of author of the novel about what human being could do and should do in dealing with the good and evil issues.
  　　The Hebrew word timshel, occurs in Cain and Abel story when God speaks to Cain about the sin Cain committed. Thus, it is vital to acquire the proper interpretation of this word in order to thoroughly know about the good and evil of human being. But, the word is also abstruse to understand and has a variety of meanings that numerous people used to ignore and simply thought it as a promise or commandment from God. In East of Eden, however, the Chinese servant Lee, unsatisfied with the conventional translation of timshel, devotes himself to researching this problem and exams it word by word. Eventually, with the help of a branch of Chinese scholars who are perceive of human history and especially study Hebrew for this problem, Lee succeeds to find out the deeper meaning inside the word itself and define that timshel means “thou mayest” which is distinct from the general translations and the very first time asserts that despite all the original sins inherited from our ancestors, human beings are capable of choosing to be good or evil on our own. “Don’t you see?” he cried. “The American Standard translation orders men to triumph over sin, and you can call sin ignorance. The King James translation makes a promise in ‘Thou shalt,’ meaning that men will surely triumph over sin. But the Hebrew word, the word timshel— ‘Thou mayest’— that gives a choice. It might be the most important word in the world. That says the way is open. That throws it right back on a man. For if ‘Thou mayest’—it is also true that ‘Thou mayest not.’”(Chapter 24 page 301)
  　　Neither to be an unbreakable promise from God that sins will be triumphed for no doubt, nor to be an absolute order that all men must spare no effort to conquer the sins, timshel, in Lee’s opinion indicates that by blessing human beings with free will to ponder and judge, God has given us the choice to decide whether to overcome sin or not and by that, more essentially bestowed us the freedom to choose the life we would like to have. According to this theory, nothing in one’s life is predestined and no one is doomed to hell just because of his nature or the legacy from their parents. It is what we choose to be that makes us good or evil. To be good or evil is merely our decision and entirely up to us. By establishing the theory of timshel, Lee is attempting to point out that on one hand, there is nothing in our lives that we can take for granted and therefore we should strive for washing away our own sins, however, on the other hand, we should never give up and turn to be cynical since our own future depends upon our own choices. Even if we made a serious mistake and committed a severe sin, such as murdering just like what Cain did, we still have chance to choose to fight against our bad nature and make it right. ” Now, there are many millions in their sects and churches who feel the order, ‘Do thou,’ and throw their weight into obedience. And there are millions more who feel predestination in ‘Thou shalt.’ Nothing they may do can interfere with what will be. But ‘Thou mayest’! Why, that makes a man great, that gives him stature with the gods, for in his weakness and his filth and his murder of his brother he has still the great choice. He can choose his course and fight it through and win.” (Chapter 24 page 302)
  　　Given the idea of timshel, if you desire to be a good man, then be active in performing good deeds and do not expect you can gain any good results without doing anything. Nevertheless, if you come across any troubles or lapse into evilness, be positive and faithful in yourself and do not lose your hope for being a good person, because you still can get it through your choices to start pursuing the good of human beings. Lee admits although sometimes on account of our own weakness, it is difficult doing good deeds constantly, the autonomy that comes from the freedom of choices provides us with courage and resolution to continue. “You can never lose that. It cuts the feet from under weakness and cowardliness and laziness.” (Chapter 24 page 302) Briefly speaking, we should have a balance between in Pollyanna’s optimism and absolute pessimism, and we can get energy from timshel. That is what Lee tries to communicate with us.
  　　But in Steinbeck’s opinion, the importance of timshel is much more than that. The whole concept of timshel, namely the freedom of choice, is foundation of the glory of human beings and is what constitutes the value of existence of every individual. Without it, life means nothing. “And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual…. If the glory can be killed, we are lost.”(Chapter 13 page131) Hence, when Cal accepts the idea of timshel, he realize unlike his mother Cathy, he is not a evil monster, but only a flawed human being who could and should be a good man and obtain the salvation of himself by his struggle to fight against the evil part inside himself. Enormously as Cal has been influenced by his mother’s pure evil, his destiny is not all inherited and he is not doomed to act out the characteristics with which he is born. He still has opportunities to be redeemed and change his evil nature. “Maybe you’ll come to know that every man in every generation is re-fired. ……all impurities burned out and ready for a glorious flux, and for that- more fire. And then either the slag heap or, perhaps what no one in the world ever quite gives up, perfection.”(Chapter 55 page 598)Obviously, timshel is a powerful weapon to defy the moral determinism. So, the author keeps it un-translated to be a symbol of someone who finally is redeemed for his sins and free of the chain of destiny.
  　　Thus, Adam’s last word timshel actually is the final blessing for Cal, which not only symbolizes his endeavors and struggles for the good is ultimately acknowledged but also indicates all the sins that passed down through generations from his ancestors have been diminished. It is a supreme moment of redemption for Cal. Similar with the biblical story Cain and Abel, in which the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one will kill him and he lead a peaceful life, the blessing of timshel makes Cal could move on and completely overcome the agony of the past and live a happier life with his wife. By embracing the idea of timshel, Cal succeeds to get rid of the legacy of his parents as the dominance over his fate. By ending his novel this way, Steinbeck try to affirm that timshel, the freedom to choose between good and evil, does really exist, and only with the idea of timshel, could you make your life meaningful, valuable and worth living.
  　　
•   　　初中時看CIPHER(雙星記)提到一部根據(jù)這個小說改的電影
  　　
  　　很好奇
  　　
  　　在大學(xué)圖書館看到,就借來看
  　　
  　　本書還算可以,但是對雙胞胎母親,個人不是很喜歡
  　　
  　　有印象的描寫還是CIPHER提到的經(jīng)典臺詞"讓你的孩子活下去"
  　　
  　　
•   　　讀這本書 得花時間。不過之前 我建議先去讀圣經(jīng)，這樣對故事更好理解。我最感興趣的是里面那個變態(tài)的女人……
•   　　Lee, the Chinese-American housekeeper for the Trask family, is my favorite character in East of Eden. He is forced to speak in the Chinese pidgin dialect that enables him to survive in America. An orphan, he raises Adam's children after they are abandoned by Cathy. (He even plays a mother's role in the family to some extent.)
  　　
  　　Lee often affects a Chinese pidgin accent to play into Americans' expectations of him. A philosophical man, he frequently gives voice to the novel's themes, including the crucial idea of "timshel". (The individual or personal choice that whether to be good or evil. He mentions the similar conception as "Shen Du". However, the meaning of "Shen Du" should be "self-supervision" or "self-restraining in privacy" as the most important thinking of Confucius. Whatever, I still admire Steinbeck for his broad knowledge fields.)
  　　
  　　His story of his own birth is the most appalling chapter in the novel. Although I learned some history about Chinese-American when I was in high school before, I still be infected by his story, which describes an absolute love. It goes beyond the notions of good and evil, it even goes beyond people and gods, since it affects the members of a different cult, profession and race alike, sometimes leading the Trask family to overcome their weak point.
  　　
  　　After Sam died, Lee plays a vital role in Trask family. In my opinion, Sam enlightens Lee and Adam, and gives them the courage and determination. So I am really happy when Adam or Cal visited Cathy without any depression and cowardice. The good overcomes the evil again and again, Sam says the twins of Trask are weapons of Adam, and Lee shapes them. In choosing to stay with his master when he could easily strike out on his own, and it is his "timshel". Steinbeck tries to investigate Lee as a type of the assimilated American, but seems drawn back to portraying him as an oriental individuals.
  　　
  　　There can be no good without evil. This book is really full of "Timshel".
  　　
  　　(I will write a larger comment to praise this book after finishing it~ :)
•   　　蒂姆謝爾，這是希伯來文?！妒ソ?jīng).舊約.創(chuàng)世紀》第四章，亞當?shù)膬鹤釉撾[殺了他的親兄弟亞伯，耶和華給了該隱一個記號，讓他去住在伊甸園東邊挪得之地。耶和華說，“他必戀慕你，你卻要制服他。”“他”，是指罪惡，“卻要”，卻并不準確，原文是“蒂姆謝爾”，這句的意思是“你可以制服罪惡”。
  　　
  　　這句話是我從我根本就不了解的圣經(jīng)故事中學(xué)到的一點點，也許就是這本600多頁的小說的精華了。人類，都是該隱的后代，能愛，能恨，你有選擇的權(quán)力，“你可以”，給了人類選擇的權(quán)力，你可以選擇做那個你想要做的人，你可以拒絕你心中日益膨脹的罪惡，你可以對所謂天生的或者世俗的善惡說不，然后進行你自己的判斷。
  　　
  　　然而故事本身，卻可以那樣徐徐展開，人間百態(tài)，盡收眼底。然而轉(zhuǎn)角處卻常常驚心動魄。我看到人性缺失的丑惡，驚恐不能入睡，仿佛真的見到惡魔附身的人，只好繼續(xù)看下去，看到罪惡暫時不能張狂，才能安心下來。讀過半，愈發(fā)不能停止，只覺得故事向著我不能預(yù)見的方向發(fā)展，驅(qū)趕著我，停不下來。只好一口氣讀到最后一頁，那個中了風(fēng)的老人－－被同父異母的弟弟妒忌而差點被弟弟所殺的沉默的男孩，在戰(zhàn)場上殺過無數(shù)陌生的印第安人的士兵，流浪多年被抓去修路精心策劃了逃跑的年輕人，愛上了夏娃險些失去生命沉淪了多年的兩個雙胞胎的父親，始終不肯承認父親的遺產(chǎn)是貪污而來靠著這些錢好好生活了一輩子的裝糊涂的人，自己的一個兒子導(dǎo)致了另一個兒子的死亡的可憐的老父親－－這個人的名字叫做“亞當”，最終掙扎著說出的幾個字，“蒂姆謝爾”！
  　　
  　　掩卷，長吁，小說有時比生活還真實！
•   　　讀斯坦貝克的《伊甸之東》，感覺到一種很稀有的吸引力。小說將近七百頁，讀起來卻毫無對厚書的恐懼感。兩個家族的家族歷史，娓娓道來，敘述與抒情當中夾雜著準確妥帖的議論，樸素而充滿力量。情節(jié)不復(fù)雜，卻能深刻而精確的反映人性的種種面貌。據(jù)說這本小說在作者的作品中并不怎樣顯眼，相對于最著名的《憤怒的葡萄》，評價與銷量都平常(最近的消息是由于歐普拉?溫弗莉的大力推薦，這本小說又奇跡般的暢銷起來)，然而作者對人與世界的關(guān)注和憂患都會深深地打動讀者的心。
  　　
  　　印象很深刻的一段議論(王永年譯，上海譯文版，P147)：“在我們的時代，成批或者集體生產(chǎn)進入了經(jīng)濟、政治甚至宗教領(lǐng)域，以致某些國家已經(jīng)用集體這個概念代替了上帝的概念。在我們的時代，這就是危險所在?！祟愂俏ㄒ挥袆?chuàng)造力的物種，人類只有一個進行創(chuàng)造的東西?！缃?，集結(jié)在集體概念周圍的力量向人的頭腦，這個可貴之處，發(fā)動了趕盡殺絕的戰(zhàn)爭。在毀謗、饑餓、鎮(zhèn) 壓、強迫命令和制約的沉重打擊下，自由徜徉的頭腦遭到了糾纏、束縛、鈍化和麻醉。人類走上的似乎是一條自殺的道路?！?br /> 　　
  　　“我深信不疑的是：個人的自由、探索的頭腦是世上最寶貴的東西。我為之奮斗的是：頭腦要有隨心選擇其發(fā)展方向，不受支配的自由。我必須反對的是：限制或毀掉個人的任何思想、宗教或者政府。這就是我的主張和努力方向。我能理解為什么一個按一定模式建立起來的制度千方百計地要毀掉自由思想，因為自由思想能通過檢驗摧毀這樣一個制度。這一點我完全能理解，我恨她，要跟他斗，以便維護哪個是我們有別于不具備創(chuàng)造能力的動物的唯一的東西。如果自豪感能被扼殺，我們也完了?！?br /> 　　
  　　想來作者看到了許多令他憂心的事情，詼諧者如規(guī)定敲雞蛋方案的小人國，沉重者如電幕外面的老大哥。他只是說出自己的想法，不加虛飾和曲筆，堅定捍衛(wèi)自己為人的權(quán)利。如作者傾訴的心聲，他幾盡理想化地塑造出塞繆爾?漢密爾頓和他的家族，與他自己的先民一般勤勞勇敢，在河谷過著自由平靜的生活。人之理想化與虛偽無涉，正直善良富有想象力便是了不得的高貴品德了。沒有希奇，能用心地做人；人之不能為人，大腦已然無創(chuàng)造之自由，結(jié)果即是猜忌與留言，從經(jīng)年累月順序的變更嗅出什么大震蕩，便十足的了不起了。
  　　
  　　說起文風(fēng)樸素，但是到關(guān)鍵時刻的平靜倒隱隱有希區(qū)柯克式的緊張，這種滋味，實在妙不可言。
•   我也覺得翻譯很不錯。
•   因為你的回應(yīng)，我忽然想起全本讀完之后，我還寫了一些東西的，剛才也找來貼出來了：）
•   等我全讀完之后再去拜讀
•   《伊》是我第一次接觸圣經(jīng)，對于帶著罪惡被寬恕的該隱比較有感觸~
•   好巧，我也是因為雙星記才看這本書。漫畫不知看了多少遍。
•   So have u finished the book yet? I just finished it and tried to find different comments from people. Nice comments though~
•   yes, exactly. I did finish this book (perhaps one year ago), but I still cannot forget these characters. I really appreciate Adam finally forgave his son by using "timshel". Everyone can change his destiny, and determine his own life.
•   揮不去的印象
•   亞當后來生了賽特和其他兒女 創(chuàng)世紀中有記載 人類怎么都是該隱的后代？
•   很久之前讀的這本書，是我讀過的書中最好的一本。如樓主所說，厚厚的一本，卻有足夠的吸引力讓我從第一頁馬不停蹄的翻到最后一頁。呵呵。

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