Why should you read “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding? - Jill Dash

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Harper Chang

William Golding was losing his faith in humanity.

威廉 · 高丁正失去對人性的信心。

Serving aboard a British destroyer in World War II,

在二次大戰時，他在國外的 英國驅逐艦上服役，

the philosophy teacher turned Royal Navy lieutenant was constantly confronted

這位曾任哲學老師的皇家海軍上尉，

經常要面對同胞的殘酷暴行。

by the atrocities of his fellow man.

And when he returned to England to find Cold War superpowers

當他返回英國時， 發現冷戰中的超級大國

threatening one another with nuclear annihilation,

威脅要用核子武器殲滅彼此，

he was forced to interrogate the very roots of human nature.

他不得不質疑人類的本性。

These musings on the inevitability of violence

這些對暴力必然性的沉思，

would inspire his first and most famous novel: "Lord of the Flies."

給予他靈感，寫出他的第一本、

也是最有名的小說：《蒼蠅王》。

After being rejected by 21 publishers,

在遭到二十一間出版社拒絕之後，

the novel was finally published in 1954.

這本小說終於在 1954 年得以出版。

It takes its title from Beelzebub, a demon associated with pride and war—

書名來自巴力西卜—— 驕傲與戰爭的惡魔，

two themes very much at the heart of Golding’s book.

高丁這本書的核心正是驕傲和戰爭。

The novel was a bleak satire of a classic island adventure story,

這是一部具有諷刺意味的荒島文學，

a popular genre where young boys get shipwrecked in exotic locations.

是受歡迎的體裁，

描寫年輕的男孩在異國遭遇海難，

The protagonists in these stories are able to master nature

這些故事的主角能夠擅用大自然，

while evading the dangers posed by their new environments.

躲避新環境帶來的危險。

The genre also endorsed the problematic colonialist narrative

這個體裁也常體現當時 許多英國文學作品中

found in many British works at the time,

有問題的殖民主義敘述，

in which the boys teach the island’s native inhabitants

即主人公們教導島上的原住民

their allegedly superior British values.

他們自認為優越的英國價值觀。

Golding’s satire even goes so far as to explicitly use the setting

高丁的諷刺作品甚至直接使用了

and character names from R.M. Ballantyne’s "Coral Island"—

R.M. 貝冷丁的《珊瑚島》的 背景設定和角色名稱，

one of the most beloved island adventure novels.

這是最受歡迎的 荒島冒險小說之一。

But while Ballantyne’s book promised readers

雖然貝冷丁的書許諾讀者

"pleasure... profit... and unbounded amusement,”

「有快樂，有收穫， 有無窮無盡的愉悅」，

Golding’s had darker things in store.

高丁卻準備了更黑暗的內容。

"Lord of the Flies" opens with the boys already on the island,

《蒼蠅王》的開頭中， 男孩們發現自己身在荒島，

but snippets of conversation hint at their terrifying journey—

片斷的交談暗示他們 歷經了一段很駭人的旅程——

their plane had been shot down in the midst of an unspecified nuclear war.

在一場沒有明確說明的核戰當中， 他們的飛機被擊落。

The boys, ranging in age from 6 to 13, are strangers to each other.

這些男孩的年齡從六歲 到十三歲不等，彼此陌生，

All except for a choir, clad in black uniforms and led by a boy named Jack.

除了一群穿著黑色制服的 合唱團成員，

一個叫傑克的男孩領導他們。

Just as in Ballantyne’s "Coral Island,"

和貝冷丁的《珊瑚島》一樣，

the boy’s new home appears to be a paradise—

男孩們的新家似乎是個天堂——

with fresh water, shelter, and abundant food sources.

有淡水、庇護所、豐富的食物源。

But even from the novel’s opening pages,

但，打從這本小說的前幾頁開始，

a macabre darkness hangs over this seemingly tranquil situation.

看似寧靜的環境中 就彌漫著恐怖黑暗的氣氛。

The boys’ shadows are compared to “black, bat-like creatures”

男孩們的影子被比喻為 「黑色、蝙蝠狀的生物」，

while the choir itself first appears as

而合唱團本身出現時則是

“something dark... fumbling along” the beach.

「某種黑暗的東西…… 在海灘上到處摸索」。

Within hours of their arrival,

男孩們抵達的幾小時內，

the boys are already trading terrifying rumors of a vicious “beastie”

就開始互傳謠言，

認為有一隻邪惡的「野獸」 潛伏在樹林中。

lurking in the woods.

From these ominous beginnings,

從這些不祥的開端起，

Golding’s narrative reveals how quickly cooperation unravels

高丁的故事便揭示出

在沒有成人權威的情況下， 合作有多快瓦解。

without the presence of an adult authority.

Initially, the survivors try to establish some sense of order.

一開始，生存者試圖建立某種秩序。

A boy named Ralph blows into a conch shell to assemble the group,

一名叫拉夫的男孩 用吹海螺殼的方式

來召集大伙，並分派任務。

and delegate tasks.

But as Jack vies for leadership with Ralph,

但當傑克和拉夫爭領導權時，

the group splinters and the boys submit to their darker urges.

這個團體便分裂了， 男孩們屈服於更黑暗的衝動。

The mob of children soon forgets their plans for rescue,

這群孩子很快就忘記了 他們的求救計畫，

silences the few voices of reason,

少數理性的聲音也被壓制，

and blindly follows Jack to the edge of the island, and the edge of sanity.

他們盲目地追隨傑克， 到了島嶼的邊緣，

及理智的邊緣。

The novel’s universal themes of morality, civility, and society

道德、文明，和社會 這些主題貫穿整本小說，

have made it a literary classic,

讓它成為文學經典，

satirizing both conventions of its time and long held beliefs about humanity.

諷刺了當時的習俗常規 和長年以來對於人性的信念。

While island adventure stories often support colonialism,

雖然荒島冒險故事 通常支持殖民主義，

"Lord of the Flies" turns this trope on its head.

《蒼蠅王》卻反其道而行之。

Rather than cruelly casting native populations as stereotypical savages,

高丁並沒有殘酷地將原住民 設定成刻板印象的野蠻人，

Golding transforms his angelic British schoolboys into savage caricatures.

而是把天使般的英國學校男孩 轉變成野蠻的諷刺。

And as the boys fight their own battle on the island,

當男孩們在島嶼上 進行他們自己的戰爭時，

the far more destructive war that brought them there

把他們帶到那裡、 且更有毀滅性的戰爭，

continues off the page.

也還在背後持續著。

Even if the boys were to be rescued from themselves,

就算這些男孩們不自相殘殺至死，

what kind of world would they be returning to?

他們返回的世界 又會是什麼樣子的？

With so few references to anchor the characters

這本小說幾乎沒有資訊可以 辨視出角色所處的明確時間地點，

in a specific place or period, the novel feels truly timeless—

這種時間感的缺失指向永恆的話題，

an examination of human nature at its most bare.

赤裸裸地探究人類的天性。

And though not all readers may agree with Golding’s grim view,

雖然不見得所有讀者 都會認同高丁的嚴厲觀點，

"Lord of the Flies" is unsettling enough

《蒼蠅王》仍然十分讓人不安，

to challenge even the most determined optimist.

足以挑戰大部分堅定樂觀主義者。