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A Man’s Home is His Castle: V.S. Naipaul’s Mr. Biswas 探索自我与家园：《毕斯华斯先生的房子》

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课文讲解 

繁體中文譯本

We are all influenced by our families and by the places where we grew up. These things shape the people we become and play an important part in forming our identities. This is especially true for acclaimed author Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul.

我们都会被家庭以及成长的地方影响。这些环境塑造出我们现在的样子，并在我们自我认同的过程中扮演重要的角色。对于广受赞赏的作家V.S.奈波尔而言更是如此。

Naipaul was born in Trinidad in 1932, to an Indian family of the Brahman caste. The highest-ranking group of the Hindu class system. His father was a newspaper correspondent who wrote short stories in his free time. Naipaul said that his father “made the vocation of the writer seem the noblest in the world,” and so he “decided to be that noble thing.” After finishing school, Naipaul won a scholarship to Oxford University and moved to England. When he graduated, he embarked on a career as a freelance writer.

奈波尔于1932年在千里达出生，他的家庭属于印度教阶级制度中最高的婆罗门阶级。他的父亲是新闻记者，空闲时会撰写些短篇故事。奈波尔说他的父亲「让作家显得是世界上最高尚的职业」，所以他「决定要当那种高贵的人」。当他高中毕业以后，奈波尔获得牛津大学的奖学金，并前往英国。毕业以后，他开始了自由作家的职业生涯。

By the middle of the fifties, Naipaul was coming into his own as a writer. He was living in Britain but deeply analyzing his Trinidadian upbringing and his Indian roots. He saw himself as Indian when he was in the West Indies, and as West Indian while living in Britain. He traveled to many countries, darkly observing the effects of colonialism in his writings. Though many postcolonial writers and critics attacked his conservatism, his excellence in letters was recognized by prestigious institute. Naipaul received numerous awards throughout his life, including the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001.

到了五零年代中期，奈波尔靠自己力量成为一位作家。他住在英国却深入分析他在千里达的成长经验以及他的印度文化根源。当他在西印度群岛的时候，他觉得自己是印度人，当他在英国的时候，却觉得自己是西印度群岛人。他旅游到许多国家，并在他的写作中沉重地探讨殖民主义所遗留下来的影响。虽然许多后殖民主义作家和评论家攻击他的保守主义，他优秀的文学造诣仍获得许多有名气机构的认同。奈波尔一生中获得无数奖项，包括2001年的诺贝尔文学奖。

Vocabulary

单词发音

identity [aɪˋdɛntətɪ] n. 身分；本身

acclaimed [əˋklemd] adj. 受到赞扬的

ranking [ˋræŋkɪŋ] n. 地位; 等级

freelance [ˋfriˋlæns] adj. 自由作家（或演员等）的；独立的

come into one's own 获得应有的荣誉(或承认、名声等) to become fulfilled

upbringing [ˋʌp͵brɪŋɪŋ] n. 养育；教养

roots [ruts] n. 祖籍; 血统

conservatism [kənˋsɝvə͵tɪzəm] n. 守旧﹐保守主义

excellence [ˋɛks!əns] n. 优秀；杰出

numerous [ˋnjumərəs] adj. 许多的，很多的

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单词发音

Trinidad [ˈtrɪnɪˌdæd] 千里达

Brahman [ˋbrɑmən] n. 婆罗门

caste [kæst] n. 印度社会的）种姓；种姓制度

Hindu [ˋhɪndu] adj. 印度的；印度教的

correspondent [͵kɔrɪˋspɑndənt] n. 通讯记者；特派员

darkly [ˋdɑrklɪ] adv. 阴郁地；生气地  in a dark glowering menacing manner

observe [əbˋzɝv] v. 观察；研究

colonialism [kəˋlonɪəl͵ɪzəm] n. 殖民主义；殖民政策

letters [ˋlɛtɚz] n. <正>文学（作品）

课文朗读

课文讲解

Of Naipaul’s many novels, A House for Mr. Biswas, published in 1961, is viewed by many as his finest. It tells the tragicomic story of Mr. Biswas, a Brahman Indian in Trinidad, and his quest to be an independent man and own a place of his own. Many aspects of Mr. Biswas’s character were inspired by Naipaul’s father, who had died in 1953.

在奈波尔的许多小说中，1961年出版的《毕斯华斯先生的房子》被视为是他的最佳作品。它述说着毕斯华斯先生悲喜交加的故事。毕斯华斯先生是住在千里达婆罗门阶级的印度人，他寻求能独立自主并拥有自己的房子。毕斯华斯先生这个角色在许多方面都是受到奈波尔父亲的启发，他的父亲死于1953年。

Mohun Biswas had an inauspicious start in life. He was born “in the wrong way” and with eleven fingers. Things only get worse when a Hindi wise man predicts Mohun’s future: he will be a spendthrift, and maybe a liar, and he will “eat up” his parents. Furthermore, Mohun must steer clear of trees and water.

莫胡．毕斯华斯一出生就有不祥的开始。他「生错了样」且有11根指头。当印度智者来预测他的未来时，事情显得更糟。他被预测会成为挥霍无度的人，也许还会是个骗子，而且他会「吃掉」他的父母。此外，他必须远离树木以及有水的地方。

Unfortunately for Mohun, the wise man was not wrong. One day, Mohun is tending a neighbor’s calf, which wanders off to the stream. The boy follows and, having never seen water before, is entranced by the stream. When he realizes he was lost the calf, he gets scared, and returns to the house and hides. But when people report having seen him at the stream, they jump to the wrong conclusion: he fell in. Mohun’s father dives in to save him, but he tragically drowns. His family is separated, and Mohun loses his home.

不幸的是，对于莫胡而言，这位智者所说的话都是真的。有一天，莫胡正在照顾邻居的小牛，但小牛走远了，跑到小溪附近。这位小男孩就跟着牠。因为他从来没有看过水，一下子他被溪流迷住了。当他发现小牛不见时，他开始惊慌失措到家里躲起来。但当人们说有看到他在小溪边时，他们下了错误的结论：他掉进溪里了。他的父亲潜入小溪要救他，却不幸溺毙。从此他的家人各分东西，莫胡也失去了他的家。

He faces further adversity in his youth, and approaching adulthood, he vows to take charge of his own fortunes. He finds a job as a signwriter, but before long, he finds himself in another bad situation. Mr. Biswas’s attempts to woo a beautiful woman are seen as a marriage proposal! He is forced to wed the girl and move in with her large, oppressive family. More than ever, Mr. Biswas desires independence, and swears he will one day own a house of his own.

在青少年时期他遇到了更多的挫折，而当他快成年时他发誓要完全掌握他的命运。他获得一份写招牌的工作，但不久，他发现自己陷入一个更坏的处境：毕斯华斯先生追求一位漂亮女子的举动被认为是在求婚！他因此被迫迎娶这个女孩并搬进她令人窒息的大家庭中。现在，毕斯华斯先生比任何时候都来得渴望独立，并发誓他有一天要拥有自己的房子。

Vocabulary

单词发音

aspect [ˋæspɛkt] n. 方面，观点

predict [prɪˋdɪkt] v. 预言；预料

spendthrift [ˋspɛnd͵θrɪft] n. 挥霍无度的人

steer clear of  避开 to stay away from; avoid

tend [tɛnd] v. 照管，照料

wander off 迷失; 走散 to roam away

jump to a conclusion (未经全面考虑) 匆匆作出结论

dive [daɪv] v. 跳水

drown [draʊn] v. 溺死

adversity [ədˋvɝsətɪ] n. 逆境；厄运

oppressive [əˋprɛsɪv] adj. 压迫的，压制的

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单词发音

tragicomic [͵trædʒɪˋkɑmɪk] adj. 悲喜剧性的; 悲喜交加的

inauspicious [͵ɪnɔˋspɪʃəs] adj. 不吉的；恶运的

Hindi [ˋhɪnˋdi] adj. 北印度的

calf [kæf] n. 小牛

entrance [ˋɛntrəns] v. 令（人）出神，使陶醉

take charge of 掌管 to assume control or command

signwriter 写招牌的人

woo [wu] v. 求爱，求婚

课文朗读

课文讲解

Mr. Biswas’s wife’s family represents large, traditional households throughout Africa and Asia. But Mr. Biswas’s determination to escape this and build his own house and his own life shows he is a fiercely modern man, desperate to flee the ties of expectation and tradition.

毕斯华斯先生的娘家代表了亚洲非洲很常见的传统大家庭，但是毕斯华斯先生决心要逃离这种传统并建造自己的房子、掌控自己的人生，这表示他是个非常现代的人，他急欲逃离他人的期望及传统的束缚。

Mr. Biswas is hired as a journalist and eventually achieves his dream and buys his own house. It is not perfect, but it is enough for him, and his wife and their children become accustomed to it.

最后毕斯华斯先生被雇用为记者，达成他的梦想并买了自己的房子。这房子并不完美，但是对他而言已经足够了，而他的太太及孩子也习惯了这栋房子。

As in many of his writings, Naipaul gives voice to the silent victims of colonialism and speaks up for the outsider. He says A House for Mr. Biswas is “the most personal” of his books. The author explains that story comes from his experience of childhood and his father’s influence on his literary ambitions. Writing the novel was a labor love for Naipaul and took three years to complete. By the end, though he knew the novel by heart, he could no longer bear to read it. When he later heard an installment of the story read over the radio, he was “swamped by … emotions” and cried.

如同奈波尔的许多作品一样，他替殖民主义下无声的受害者说话，并为被排挤的人发声。他说《毕斯华斯先生的房子》是他著作中「最私人」的一部。这位作者解释，故事是来自他小时候的经验以及他父亲对他文学志向的影响。写这本小说对奈波尔而言是自愿承受的沉重负担，他花了三年的时间完成。到最后，虽然他牢牢记住故事内容，他已经无法忍受去读它了。当他后来听到广播读出他小说的一小段时，他「被所有情感淹没」，并哭了出来。

For Naipaul, Mr. Biswas’s struggle to buy a house is akin to the struggle his father and he himself faced to become an artist. As one critic points out, Naipaul calls on individuals to reject “victimhood” and “choose to be free.” A House for Mr. Biswas is a perfect example of how this can be done.

对于奈波尔而言，毕斯华斯先生为了买一间房子的奋斗和奈波尔自己以及他父亲努力成为艺术家的奋斗是相类似的。一位评论家指出，奈波尔要求每个人拒绝成为「受害者」并「选择自由」。《毕斯华斯先生的房子》就是如何做到的最佳典范。

－by Alice Davis

Vocabulary

单词发音

fiercely [ˋfɪrslɪ] adv. 极度地

expectation [͵ɛkspɛkˋteʃən] n. 期待；预期

eventually [ɪˋvɛntʃʊəlɪ] adv. 最后，终于

accustomed [əˋkʌstəmd] adj. 习惯的，适应了的

speak up 不顾忌地道出; 公开发表意见 to speak without fear or hesitation

outsider [ˋaʊtˋsaɪdɚ] n. 外人；门外汉；局外人

literary [ˋlɪtə͵rɛrɪ] adj. 文学的

by heart 背下来地; 确实记得 memorized word for word

bear [bɛr] v. 忍受；经得起

swamp [swɑmp] v. 被淹没; 陷入困境

akin [əˋkɪn] adj. 同类的；近似的

call on 号召; 请求  to order or request to undertake a particular activity

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单词发音

determination [dɪ͵tɝməˋneʃən] n. 坚定；果断

labor of love 爱做的事, 出自喜爱而做的事 work done for interest in the work itself rather than for payment

installment [ɪnˋstɔlmənt] n.（分期连载的）部分

victimhood [ˋvɪktɪm͵hʊd] n. 受害者的感觉  the situation of someone who is a victim, or who thinks that they have been unfairly treated

Sir VS Naipaul at THiNK 2011