朗吉弩斯的“崇高美”在《我的生活故事》中的体现

闫蕾蕾

Abstract：Helen Keller （1880-1968） is a blind and deaf American writer and educationalist. The story of My Life is Helens early autobiography which accounts her life from her childhood to adulthood. Her sublime characteristics reflected in the autobiography have encouraged generations of people. In terms of sublimity， the first well-known treatise of the sublime is considered to be On the Sublime by Longinus， in which he illustrates five sources of the sublime. With the help of the five sources， this paper will delve into the spiritual and technical sublimity displayed in The Story of My Life.

Key words：Helen Keller； Longinus； spiritual sublimity； technical sublimity

【摘要】海伦·凯勒（1880-1968）是美国的聋哑作家和教育学家。《我的生活故事》是海伦早期生活的自传，记录了她从童年到青年时期的生活。此部自传中体现的崇高的精神品质激励了一代又一代的人。朗吉弩斯的《论崇高》被认为是对“崇高”进行界定和论述的第一部著作，他在此部著作中阐释了崇高的五个来源。此篇文章将根据这五个来源来探讨《我的生活故事》中体现出来的“精神”的崇高美和技巧的崇高美。

【关键词】海伦·凯勒；朗吉弩斯；精神的“崇高”；技巧的“崇高”

Introduction

Helen Adams Keller （1880-1968） is an American writer and lecturer， and she is the first deaf blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Harvard University. The Story of My Life is a personal account of Helens life， from her early days to adulthood. From this autobiography， it can be easily seen that Helen Kellers noble characteristics help her to create the unimaginable miracle. In a word， she undeniably has a sublime soul.

The first well-known treatise of the sublime is considered to be On the Sublime by Longinus， who is probably a Greek teacher of rhetoric or a literary critic in the first century. “Sublimity is the echo of a great soul” （Lv 22）. As a man， the author must have lofty spirit. Based on this， Longinus distinguishes five sources of the sublime： greatness of thought， emotion， the ability to handle rhetoric， nobility of diction and the ability to put the whole composition together so as to produce dignity and elevation （Lv 22）.

This paper will use the five sources as a tool to analyze the sublime features of Helens autobiography The Story of My Life. The greatness of thought and emotion will be coined as the spiritual sublimity. The latter three sources will be coined as technical sublimity and will be discussed separately in the second chapter.

Ⅰ. Spiritual Sublimity in The Story of My Life

Longinus stresses that sublime literature should come from the voices of great soul. Faced with the bitterness of life， Helen Keller tries to make the light in others eyes her sun， the music in others ears her symphony and the smile on others lips her happiness （Keller 176）. Without a great soul and noble spirit， she will never be able to surpass all these obstacles. The extraordinary and noble characteristics displayed by Helen coordinate with Longinus idea on sublimity.

Helens first noble spirit is love for life. Regardless of her deafness and blindness， Helen does not blame God and never bows to life. On the contrary， she accepts the challenge of life and embraces the world with whole compassion. Though her world is full of darkness and silence， she is still able to feel the beauty of nature and life. Her love for life heals her spiritual wound and provides her a way to communicate with the world. In her autobiography， Helen uses a lot of paragraphs to depict her love for nature and life. In brief spring， she enjoys the song of robin and mocking-bird； in hot summer， the garden is rich of fruit and roses； in crimson and gold autumn， she tastes the joy of its gifts； in cold winter， she enters into the treasures of the snow. Her wide range of interests also opens a door for her to enjoy the beauties of life. For instance， literature is Utopia for Helen Keller. And she spends a large amount of time in rowing， swimming， canoeing and sailing. Museums， art stores and theaters are also sources of her pleasure and inspiration. It is not exaggerating to conclude that Helens love for life and a wide range of interests provide her with a cure to her physical and spiritual trauma.

Helens thirst for knowledge also reflects her sublime soul. When she starts to learn to speak， she keeps one hand on her throat while the other hand feels the movements of her lips. Discouragement and weariness cast her down frequently， but her extraordinary perseverance helps her to surpass all these difficulties. When she enters the Cambridge School for Young Ladies， she has to take many courses. The lack of suitable studying materials has caused great difficulties for her to catch up with her classmates. But with her thirst for knowledge， she has not only passed all the exams successfully， but also received “honors” in some courses. Finally， she realizes that “everyone who wishes to gain true knowledge must climb the Hill Difficulty alone” and “every struggle is a victory” （Keller 136）. It is knowledge that offers Keller a broader stage to display her capabilities and opens for her a road to success.

Besides her love for life and thirst for knowledge， Helen is also a grateful person. She describes her life before meeting Miss Sullivan in this way： “I was like that ship before my education began， only I was without compass or sounding-line， and had no way of knowing how near the harbor was. ‘Light！ give me light！ was the wordless cry of my soul” （Keller 26）. Helen displays her gratitude to Sullivan from time to time. Besides Sullivan， Helen talks about her gratitude to all her friends. She confesses that “it is my friends have made the story of my life. In a thousand ways they have turned my limitations into beautiful privileges， and enabled me to walk serene and happy in the shadow cast by my deprivation.”（188）

From Longinus perspective， sublime literature should come from the voices of great soul. Kellers love for life， thirst for knowledge， gratitude to friends surpass many healthy men. Her sublime soul corresponds to Longinus promotion that “sublimity is the echo of a noble soul...only thoughtful person can speak noble words， solemn expression naturally comes from people with most lofty stature”（Longinus 16）.

Ⅱ. Technical Sublimity in The Story of My Life

Among the five sources of sublimity， the ability to handle rhetoric， nobility of diction and the ability to put the whole composition together belong to technical devices. So this part will talk about the technical sublimity in the autobiography， which includes rhetorical devices， diction and structure of it.

Firstly， Longinus attaches great importance to rhetorical devices. For him， the sublime is the synthesis of the greatness of a soul and the power of rhetorical. In terms of rhetoric in literature， he states that： “figures of speech have some special natural quality， which can enhance the lofty style of the article. And in turn， it is supported by the loftiness of the style. ” （Longinus 37） Rhetorical devices are regarded as a tool to convince readers and stimulate their emotions. Thus， the readers are inspired and cheered up， in order to cultivate the noble personalities. Therefore， rhetorical devices should be used skillfully and appropriately， or the opposite effect will be achieved. In her autobiography， Helen uses various rhetorical devices to portray the beautiful scenes around her and express her emotion towards people. Her skillful application of these rhetorical devices enhances the sublimity of her autobiography. Here is a typical example of personification： “there was always one bud larger and more beautiful than the rest...as if the beauty in soft， silky robes knew that she was the lily-queen by right divine， while her more timid sisters doffed their green hoods shyly. （Keller 50） Here readers seem to see the striking elegance of the lily-queen and the shyness of other lilies with their own eyes. The second example is a metaphor： "thus I came up out of Egypt and stood before Sinai...And from the sacred mountains I heard a voice which said， ' Knowledge is love and sight and vision'"（24）. Here the author compares the state of ignorance to the chaotic situation when the Israelis have not come out of Egypt. And after being educated， it seems like standing before the holy mountain. With the aids of rhetoric devices， Helen successfully enhances the lofty style of her composition.

In terms of diction， Longinus appeals to the simplicity of expression. “Proper choice of words is the highest goal of all the lecturers and writers. Because diction itself can make the style of the article magnificent， beautiful， gentle， influential， inspiring and all the other good qualities you can imagine.”（Longinus 52） From The Story of My Life， it can be clearly seen that Helen Keller is a master of diction. She is very sensitive to the beauties of language and to the finer interplay of thought which demands expression in melodious word grouping. For instance， in the sentence "She realized that a child's mind is like a shallow brook which ripples and dances merrily over the stony course of its education... knowing that like a brook it should be fed by mountain streams and hidden springs， until it broadened out into a deep river” （Keller 52）. Learning is not an easy task for Helen， but Sullivan helps her comprehend the fun of learning. The words “deep” and “shallow” vividly demonstrate the characteristics of education. Besides， there are a great many of beautiful lyrical sentences in the book， and the content of the book is very fluent， concise and sincere due to the graceful language and proper choice of the diction.

From Longinus viewpoint， in the various factors of sublimity， the main factor lies in the structure of the article. That means each part of the article must take up a proper proportion. （Longinus 68）. Instead of pure narration， scenery description， lyric， and discussion also interweave in the autobiography. The first three chapters focus on narrating Helens early life experiences before she meets Anne Sullivan. From Chapter Three， she begins to talk about her life under the guidance of Sullivan. Besides of narration， scenery description also takes up a significant part. Some chapters intensively describe the beautiful scenery around Helen. The description of nature also corresponds to Longinus idea that “sublimity exists not only in human mind， but also in nature.” （Zhang 114） Apart from narration and description， lyrics and comments can also be seen in the autobiography. The structure on the whole is well balanced and delicate.

All in all， in this autobiography， Helen Keller shows her ability to handle rhetoric， diction as well as her capability to put the whole composition together so as to produce dignity and elevation. It is a composition of true sublimity which is able to encourage and educate people in a positive way.

Conclusion

In the thesis On the Sublime， Longinus holds the opinion that if a man of intellect have read an article for many times without the slightest touch in his soul， or he does not find anything worth thinking or considering， then the effectiveness of the article will pass away gradually. And the article is definitely not a true sublime one （Longinus 13）. In fact， a truly great work should be able to stand repeated and long-term test because people can hardly resist the charm of the sublime work.

Helens unyielding struggle and noble spirit have displayed fully in The Story of My Life and sets a good example for people who are still trapped in adversity. In terms of techniques， the proper application of rhetorical devices， meticulous use of diction and exquisite structure has strengthened the sublime features of the autobiography. In a word， the charm and effectiveness of The Story of My Life have been tested by time and space， which can testify its true sublimity.

Bibliography

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