《从街角数起的第二棵树》的结构主义解读

张丽娟

Abstract：The Second Tree from the Corner is a short novel of E.B.White，this novel mainly narrates a man called Trexler and his several visits to the doctor.He was poor in health and there were many neurotic symptoms in him，however，his sickness seemed recovered in the end.This paper interprets this novel on the basis of structuralism，and it mainly analyzes this novel from the perspective of its deep structures，which include its narrative structure and binary oppositions which include binary oppositions in setting and binary oppositions between characters.After all these analysis，we get a conclusion that no matter what kind of world we are in，underdeveloped，developing or developed，it is forever the hope and belief what sustain us，make us ignore our anguish and still get the power to enjoy our life.

Key Words：E.B.White； structuralism； binary oppositions

1. Introduction

1.1 An Introduction to the Writer and The Second Tree from the Corner

E.B.White was one of the most influential modern American essayists，in this short novel The Second Tree from the Corner，He wrote this story in a very serious and ironic tone and conveyed to us his deep reflection on life.In this short novel，we can also tell that he always keeps a positive attitude towards life and loves this world deeply even in face of its complexity（Ma Lijun，2014）.This story depicts the psychological journey of the hero Mr.Trexler and his several visits to his doctor.After his complex psychology journey，especially when he saw the second tree from the corner，his sickness seemed recovered in the end.

1.2 Introduction of structuralist criticism

Structuralist criticism is based on the structuralism，and it is a kind of ‘inner study method of analysis and criticism of literature with the thinking method of structuralism according to the linguistics structure of Saussure（Charles，2004）.It is the structure which can give us a deep and profound presentation，so structuralism aims to dig the structure.As a criticism over literature，Structuralism criticism focuses on the structure of literary works.“Structuralism argues that there must be a structure in every text，which explains why it is easier for experienced readers than for non-experienced readers to interpret a text.By analyzing the structure of numerous literary works and manifesting the rules of the functioning of the structures，it aims at revealing the essence and meaning of Literature”（Luo Surong，2013）.So Structuralists maintain that the meaning of the texts would reveal only by appreciating and apprehending the works structure.And binary opposition is one of the basic analytic methods for structuralism，because it is by binary oppositions that we perceive different things.“For example，we understand up as the opposite of down，female as the opposite of male，good as the opposite of evil，black as the opposite of white”（Tyson，2006：213）.endprint

2. Binary oppositions

2.1 binary oppositions between characters

The characters in this story are mainly Trexler and the doctor.The doctor is the embodiment of people with belief and hope，while Trexler is the embodiment of people losing his belief and hope.Actually in this modern but hustling and stressful world，both of the doctor and Trexler were tired，restless and scared.In the story，the doctor found that Trexler moved back away from him when he asked Trexler questions and the doctor made the same actions when Trexler asked him back，which means that they were both scared in their inner heart.But the doctor seemed more normal than Trexler，he didnt have bizarre thoughts or he didnt have as many bizarre thoughts as Trexler did，he didnt identify himself with others as Trexler did，because he was busy with his work，and he had tangible desires—“a wing on the small house”，“more money，and more leisure to do the things” he wanted to do.In contrast to the doctor，Trexler was so scared and overwhelmed by his worries and depression that he forgot or lost his hope at first，therefore almost everything in his eyes was bland，everyone in his eyes was a “poor bastard”.

2.2 binary oppositions in theme

2.2.1 Escape vs.Acceptance

As in the text，Trexler was an escapist at first.Trexler lied about his bizarre thoughts to the doctor when being asked questions，and when the doctor told him that he was scared because he always moved his chair back from the doctor，he “faking a grin”.Moreover，“As he bacame familiar with the pattern Trexler found that he increasingly tended to identify himself with the doctor，transferring himself into the doctors seat—probably（he thought）some rather slick form of escapism”，we can infer that although he wanted to make himself free of the torture of dullest neurotic symptoms，he tried to escape from this kind of sickness and treatment.In the end，he accepted himself，just as in the text，he “felt content to be sick，unembarrassed at being afraid ”.The doctor also escaped from his fear，because when Trexler asked him back，he also moved himself back from Trexler.

2.2.2 Fear vs.Courage

We can find many description of fear in this story，for example when Trexler saw the titles of medical books in the file，he felt “the flush of fear，the shirt wet under the arms”.The patient in the hall was full of fear，too，Trexler found that he was nervous，Trexler thought he was a frightened man.And from the sentences “hes probably read in the Times that one American male out of every two is going to die of heart disease by twelve oclock next Thursday.It says that in the paper almost every morning”，we can feel a strong atmosphere of fear.“Courage” is also a key word appearing at the end of the story，after Trexler realized his deep desire and hope，“he felt content to be sick，unembarrassed at being afraid； and in the jungle of his fear he glimpsed the flashy tail feathers of the bird courage”.This courage came from his desire，and this courage gave him the power to face up to himself and accept himself.endprint

3. Conclusion

We may not avoid gloomy days in our life especially in this stressful world，but no matter what awful situation we are in，we should not put too much attention to the current miserable condition，we should always look into our true heart to remember our original desire/hope to regain our courage to face up to the reality，accept ourselves and make flowers out of bushes and thorns in life，then to make ourselves enjoy every moment of ones finite lifespan.

Bibliography：

[1]Ma Lijun.Difficulties and Strategies in Translating Prose Style — A Case Study of the Translation of Here Is New York[D].Unpublished masters dissertation，Soochow University，Soochow，China，2014.

[2]Charles E.Bressler.literary criticism：An Introduction to Theory and Practice[M].Beijing，Higher Education Press，2004.

[3]Luo Surong，An Interpretation of Runaway from Narratology of Structuralism[D].Unpublished masters dissertation，Guangxi Normal University，Guangxi，China，2013.

[4]Lois Tyson.Critical Theory Today：A User-friendly Guide[M].London：Routledge，2006：213.endprint