从迷失到再生——从后殖民主义角度分析《孤掌之鸣》

李怡琼

【摘 要】澳大利亚作家理查德·弗拉纳根的小说《孤掌之鸣》荣获了1997年澳大利亚书商年度图书奖。他在这一书中展现了二战后移居澳大利亚的欧洲移民的生活境况和心理变化。小说中的多数人物都经历了从迷失到重生的人生洗礼，走出悲剧阴影。此论文旨在分析移民与澳大利亚社会之间的变化关系，意将这一主题做全面系统研究。

【Abstract】In The Sound of One Hand and Clapping， winner of the Australian Booksellers Book of the Year in 1997， the Australian writer Richard Flanagan makes a vivid and genuine description of the life and psychological changes of the immigrants from Europe to Australia after WWⅡ. Most of the settlers in this story have been baptized in the process from being displaced to reconciled， and from loss to rebirth， walking out from their personal tragedy insistently. This thesis attempts to make a comprehensive and systematic study of the distinct themes in this novel， aiming to analyze the changing relationships between immigrants and Australian society from a postcolonial perspective.

【關键词】理查德·弗拉纳根；《孤掌之鸣》；错位；和解；环境；家庭；社会

【Key Words】Richard Flangan； The Sound of One Hand Clapping； displacement； reconciliation； immigrant

1 Introductory Remarks on Richard Flanagans Literary Achievements

Richard Flanagan（1961-） is one of the Australias best-known contemporary authors， and certainly one of its most celebrated and rewarded writers in terms of international prizes. His second fiction， The Sound of One Hand Clapping （1998）， though not as famous as his other books such as Death of a River Guide （1997） and Goulds Book of Fish： A Novel in Twelve Fish （2002）， still cannot be ignored by researchers， since it can be rendered as an epitome of the immigrants situation in Australia after WWⅡ.

2 From Separation to Redemptive Love within Families

2.1 Immigrants Uncertainty and Solitude

Except for the displacement in the topographical environment， the immigrant family members were also at loss for their displacement in the unsettled home， especially as the immigrant tended to attach their sullenness to the unpleasant surroundings.

Maria Buloh， mother of the heroine Sonja， had experienced deep traumatisation： when her father was betrayed by the local priest as a supporter of the Titoist partizani， the SS Prinz Eugen division exacted a terrible punishment： they killed him， forcing his children to watch. There was no doubt that Marias doom caused weight on the familys tragedy.

The life conditions of all the immigrants can be attributed to historic development. The peoples family lives were reshaped ever since WWⅡtook place and twisted even more when they entered another world. The people didnt refresh themselves in the new environment but instead reclaimed solitude for their variables of misfortunes brought about in Australian society.

2.2 Immigrants Familial Memory

It is quite common that people will connect and remember the related persons or things in their minds when they are evoked by some meaningful images observed， like photos， art works， or the inherited substances. This can be illustrated as the example of sensory memory. Participants often feel like the past being reoccurring before their eyes upon seeing the memorial indicators. In this novel， the characters often reclaim their familial past to taste the family happiness and the shared experience. The individual memories of the immigrant families in this novel mainly belong to the category of sensory memory.

The imagery of photos in this novel was striking when connected with the immigrant memory on their families before the settlement. The subject of the rainforest seemed to be ready for inviting memories on the past shadows.The scene of snow-falling and lace-fading that remained in Sonjas spirit had often knocked in her dream， and it was only in dreams that she could be reassured and free to call out Mama. People can not live the present life better on the condition of ignoring the past. And especially the days with the family should be so precious as to be remembered with deep gratitude. As the immigrants were compelled to be separated from their mother land and their families， they were apt to relying on memories of their estranged relatives to preserve the kinship with their past.

2.3 Immigrants Redemptive Love

Although such group of people may give vent to their depressed temperament towards families to get relaxation； actually they still care and love their families very much. In The Sound of One Hand Clapping， the immigrants who were on exile to the isolated island had loaded so much bizarreness and setbacks， and they called for more concern and comfort from families.

In Sonjas family， Bojan had considered Sonja as his last pinprick of light in the process of his travel in the dark after Marias suicide. Bojan did not neglect to care about his daughter even he was under so heavy pressure from the beginning of their settlement. When Sonja couldnt bear his father any more， she tried to shun away from her situation， but still felt difficult to let herself go especially as hearing Bojans snoring.

Time had never swallowed off the love between Bojan and Sonja. They kept the kinship bridge in two separate places for so many years， and reconciled with each other as their conflicts had melt away with ages. They realized self-salvage with the help of the redemptive love in the end.

For the immigrants， it made a huge difference in overcoming a sense of isolation when they had their own homes and families and could grow familiar fruits and vegetables and eat traditional foods. Familial love will be eternally protected under the eave of the substantial home， no matter how far away the members go. The redemptive love is the exhibition of the importance of family and the essential belonging within it.

3 Immigrants Reconciliation with Society

3.1 Immigrants reconciliation in language

Dealing with the cultural identity in colonized societies， postcolonialism aims at the future decolonization and seeks out the concepts of hybridity and transculturalization. In the postcolonial context， concession can be made for integration of the opposite powers for the purpose of better mutual existence. For the immigrants after WWⅡ， reconciliation with the locale would not be impossible. It has been hopeful that diverse races and cultures can stand and unite together after a stalemate of multiple confrontations and revelations.

Language was imposed by the colonizer as a practical alternative for its purpose of inter-nation communication. Language is the belt and powerful tool for human beings to get in touch with their communities. In a general statement， the newcomers in The Sound of One Hand Clapping had to learn the English language to get integrated into Australian society and earn better life. Although the postcolonial language excluded many outsiders from social opportunities， those who had strong social adaptive ability could grasp chances to make better in the context.

3.2 Immigrants Reconciliation in Normal Social Life

The newly arrived immigrants of new arrival were opposed to serve the industrialized projects for the Australian government and indulged themselves in the abnormal actions. They could not manage to direct attention to the usual social life for the reasons of their self-bondage and that the state policies formulated confinement for the outsiders and the settlers themselves were too weary of the society to touch it.

For the hero Bojan， he would brace up his courage to emerge in love from desperation in the immigration country. The heroine Sonja seemed always to be strong in mind. As a child， Sonja loved to be with companies. Extremely painful and lonely as Sonja was， she would not bring inner world out before others， but rather positively got in touch with them.

Without active and durable contact in society， both peoples psychology and our physical bodies will fall apart. Loneliness is a phenomenon that most of us will face in our lifetime. As people advance in senior years， the feeling might weigh. To be congratulated， the settlers in the novel came to consciousness that it was essential to set up their life circle of relatives and associates in society， otherwise they would be incapacitated to drive in the settlement.

Apart from the internal stimulus， there were also the external elements of social factors which caused the immigrants integration. During the 1960s and 70s， the Australian government implemented new policies favorable to the immigrants， offering more rights and job opportunities. To sum up， it was hopeful for the immigrants to strive for happy life and rebuild their home and a new vision of Australia under the above motives.

The immigrants depicted in the book arrived at reconciliation with the Australian society after mutual awareness and knowledge of the history and culture from the other party. There are lots of occurrences in these novels that could be labeled as a greater sense of home and love. The common fact is that all the characters involved are in search for an everlasting place for which they define as somewhere that a loving bond can stay on.

4 Conclusion

Richard Flanagan， a history-concerning writer， had perceived the post-colonial influence in the immigration country of Australia. As an immigrant in Australia， Flanagan has been a witness for the immigration development—from displacement to reconciliation.

In the aspect of environment， landscape in the settlement had taken the part of psychological compensation after the immigrants got used to the eeriness of the environmental elements. In the field of the family bonds， the special time let the families meet with more changes and taste the multitudinous flavors of human life.

Actually， reconciliation is often interpreted in the Australian novels. Those works all involve reconciliation in understanding， healing， and acceptance which take place between selves， between selves and others， and between characters and their environment. Reconciliation has been realized not only between Indigenous and Australia， but also between immigrants and Australia. Australia is ‘both strange and familiar， in other words， an enigma （qtd. from Gelder &Jacobs， 1998：28）.

Reconciliation actually transmits the essence of truth， goodness， and beauty， encompassing the sound relationship between human and nature， and human themselves. The future of Australia would show promise along the direction of broad-mindedness and generosity.

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