Does "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" have a hidden message? - David B. Parker

翻译人员: Guohui He 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

In the summer of 1963,

1963年的夏天，

a high school teacher changed the way the world looked at "The Wizard of Oz."

一名高中老师改变了 人们对《绿野仙踪》的看法。

His name was Henry Littlefield,

他叫亨利·利特菲尔德，

and he was teaching an American history class.

是一名历史老师。

He'd made it to the late 19th century, a time called The Gilded Age,

他顺利地教到了 被称为镀金时代的19世纪，

but he was struggling to keep his class interested

但是往后，他很难再 提起学生们的兴趣了，

in the complex social and economic issues of the time.

因为这段时间的 社会经济问题非常复杂。

Then one night, while he was reading

有一天晚上，他正在给他的女儿们

"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" to his daughters,

读《绿野仙踪》，

he had an idea.

他突然想到了一个好主意。

In the 1890s, farmers wanted to add silver to the gold standard

19世纪90年代，农民们希望 在金子里掺入银，

to put more money in circulation

以此增加能够流通的钱，

and make it easier for farmers to borrow.

这样就能更容易地借到物资。

In the book, Dorothy walked to the Emerald City on the Yellow Brick Road

书中写到桃乐茜沿着 黄砖路走到了翡翠城，

in her silver shoes.

脚上穿着一双银鞋子。

The movie's ruby red slippers started out as silver.

电影里的红宝石鞋子， 一开始其实是银的——

Silver and gold on the road to prosperity.

通往繁荣富裕路上的金和银。

L. Frank Baum had published the book in 1900

作者L. Frank Baum在 1900年出版了这本书，

at the height of The Gilded Age,

正值镀金时代的辉煌时期，

and the analogy didn't seem out of the question.

而这个比喻似乎并没有什么问题。

No one else had seen these connections,

没有任何人发现这其中的联系，

but that didn't deter Littlefield.

不过这并没有阻止利特菲尔德。

He taught his class about The Gilded Age using the book,

他用这本书来给学生讲镀金时代，

and soon he and his students were finding more connections.

很快，他的学生们 渐渐找到了更多的联系。

For instance, in the late 1890s,

例如，在19世纪90年代末，

the U.S. had recently recovered from the Civil War

美国终于从南北战争的 创伤中恢复过来，

and integrated vast new territories,

并且将广阔的领土集合成了一个整体，

bringing an era of prosperity for some.

给一些人带来了繁荣时代。

But while industry and finance in the North and East prospered,

不过，当工业和金融业 在北部和东部繁荣发展的同时，

farmers across the South and Midwest struggled.

广大的南部和中西地区的农民 却过着艰难的生活。

This led to the Populist movement,

这于是引起了民粹主义运动，

uniting farmers and workers against urban elites.

农民和工人联合起来反对城市精英。

到了1896年，这项运动 已经发展成了“人民党”，

By 1896, the movement had grown into the People's Party,

and its support of Democrat Williams Jennings Bryan

并且它对民主党 Williams Jennings Bryan的支持

put him in reach of the presidency.

让他坐上了总统的宝座。

Meanwhile in Oz, claimed Littlefield,

利特菲尔德说， 同时在《绿野仙踪》里面，

Dorothy is a typical American girl

女主桃乐茜是一个典型的美国女孩，

whose hard life in Kansas is literally turned upside down

她在堪萨斯穷困潦倒的生活完全被

by powerful forces outside her control.

超出她所能控制的外界力量 所彻底改变了。

The munchkins are the common people oppressed by the Witch of the East,

小矮人们是被 “东方女巫“压迫的普通人，

banks and monopolies.

“东方女巫”就是银行和垄断资本。

The Scarecrow is the farmer,

稻草人是农民，

considered naive but actually quite resourceful,

虽然看起来很天真，但其实足智多谋，

铁皮人是被工厂劳动 麻木了人性的工人，

the Tin Woodman is the industrial worker dehumanized by factory labor,

and the Cowardly Lion is William Jennings Bryan

而胆小的狮子，就是 总统William Jennings Bryan，

who could be an influential figure if only he were brave enough

如果他足够勇敢， 采用民粹主义的激进计划，

to adopt the Populist's radical program.

那他就会成为 一个很有影响力的人物。

Together, they travel along a golden yellow road

他们一起沿着金黄色的路 朝着伟大的城市而去，

towards a grand city whose ruler's power turns out to be built on illusions.

然而城市统治者的权力 事实上只构建于幻想之上。

Littlefield published some of these observations in an essay.

利特菲尔德发布了论文， 讲述了他的一部分发现。

His claim that this fantasy was actually a subversive critique

他认为这部幻想小说其实是 一部对美国20世纪60年代

of American capitalism appealed to many people in 1960s.

吸引了很多人的 资本主义的颠覆性批判。

Other scholars took up the theme,

其他学者接受了这个理论，

and the proposed analogies and connections multiplied.

而这种类比和联系更是被延伸了。

They suggested that Dorothy's dog Toto

他们说女主桃乐茜的宠物狗TOTO

represented the teetotalers of the prohibition party.

隐喻美国禁酒党的禁酒主义者。

Oz was clearly the abbreviation for ounces,

书名的“Oz”明显是“盎司”的缩写，

an important unit in the silver debate.

银金属交易的重要单位。

The list goes on.

这样的隐喻还有更多。

By the 1980s, this understanding of the book was accepted so widely

到了20世纪80年代， 这样的解读被广泛接受，以至于

that several American history textbooks

一些美国历史教科书也引用其来

mentioned it in discussions of late 19th century politics.

讨论20世纪后期的政治问题。

But is the theory right?

但这些理论真的正确吗？

L. Frank Baum's introduction claims the book is just an innocent children's story.

作者的序言中 说了这本书只是童话故事。

Could he have been deliberately throwing people off the trail?

他真的一直在 给大家留下线索吗?

And is it fair to second guess him so many decades later?

而在几十年后才对他的意图 进行猜测真的合适吗？

There's no definitive answer,

这些仍没有确定的答案，

which is part of why authorial intent

因为阐述作者写作意图

is a complex, tangled, fun question to unravel.

是个复杂有趣的过程。

And some recent scholars have interpreted "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz"

最近，有学者对《绿野仙踪》的解读

in the opposite way as Littlefield.

出现了另一个相反的版本。

They claim it's a celebration of the new urban consumer culture.

他们说这是向 新的城市消费文化致敬。

Historian William Leach argued that the dazzling Emerald City of Oz

历史学家William Leach说， 书中令人眼花缭乱的翡翠城

was meant to acclimate people to the shiny, new America.

是想使人们适应这个 闪耀的新美国。

In the end, all we know for sure is that Baum,

最后，我们可以确定的是作者Baum

inspired by European folk legends,

受到欧洲民间传说的启发，

had set out to create one for American children.

为美国儿童创作了一个好童话。

And whether or not he intended any hidden meanings,

先不说他是否有意暗喻现实，

its continuing relevance suggests he succeeded

这些层出不穷的解读 显示了作者成功地

in creating a fairytale America can call its own.

写出了一本属于美国自己的本土童话。