城堡岩 Castle Rock—Excerpt of Lord of the Flies

　　Castle Rock—Excerpt of Lord of the Flies 城堡岩
　　
　　《蝇王》是英国作家、诺贝尔文学奖获得者威廉·戈尔丁（1911－1994）最具影响力的哲理小说。故事发生于想象中的第三次世界大战，一群六岁至十二岁的儿童在撤退途中因飞机失事而被围困在一座荒岛上，起先他们尚能和睦相处，后来由于他们矛盾冲突不断加深，便互相残杀，发生了悲剧性的结果。
　　威廉·戈尔丁用他特有的思维方式与冷静挖掘出人类千百年来从未停止过的互相残杀这种行为的根源，是一部揭示人的原善与原恶、文明与野蛮一系列矛盾冲突的现代版寓言。虽然孩子是这个故事的主人公，但《蝇王》并不是一般意义上的儿童文学，而是一部写给大人看的书，故事所展示的儿童世界只是成人世界的一个缩影。
　　小编在阅读本书时，脑海中突然回忆起近来热衷的一部美剧《迷失》（Lost）的剧情，难道《迷失》的编剧也是深受戈尔丁的影响？对象征寓言小说感兴趣的读者不妨仔细体会蕴含其中的深刻寓意吧！^_^
　　——Tracy

文字难度：★★★☆
有声完整版下载：http://www.joyen.net/soft/endown/read/201102/174.html
　　
　　They set off along the beach in¹⁾formation.
　　The boys made a compact little group that moved over the beach, four plate-like shadows dancing and ²⁾mingling beneath them.
　　There was a tiny ³⁾smudge of smoke wavering into the air on the other side of the rock.
　　“Some fire—⁴⁾I don’t think.” Ralph turned.
　　“You two follow behind. I’ll go first, then Piggy a pace behind me. Keep your ⁵⁾spears ready.”
　　High above them from the ⁶⁾pinnacles came a sudden shout and then an imitation war-cry that was answered by a dozen voices from behind the rock.
　　“⁷⁾Halt! Who goes there?” Ralph bent back his head and glimpsed Roger’s dark face at the top.
　　He stood half-way along the ⁸⁾neck and gazed at the ⁹⁾savages intently. Freed by the paint, they had tied their hair back and were more comfortable than he was. The savages ¹⁰⁾sniggered a bit and one gestured at Ralph with his spear. Piggy crouched, his back shapeless as a ¹¹⁾sack.
　　“I’m calling an ¹²⁾assembly.”
　　Silence.
　　Ralph spoke again, loudly. “I’m calling an assembly.” He ran his eye over them.
　　“Where’s Jack?”
　　The group of boys stirred and consulted.
　　A painted face spoke with the voice of Robert. “He’s hunting. And he said we weren’t to let you in.”
　　“I’ve come to see you about the fire,” said Ralph, “and about Piggy’s ¹³⁾specs.”
　　The group in front of him shifted and laughter ¹⁴⁾shivered outwards from among them, light, excited laughter that went ¹⁵⁾echoing among the tall rocks.
　　A voice spoke from behind Ralph.
　　“What do you want?”
　　He ¹⁶⁾tamed quickly. Jack was advancing from the forest.
　　“You go away, Ralph. You keep to your ¹⁷⁾end. This is my end and my tribe. You leave me alone.”
　　“You ¹⁸⁾pinched Piggy’s specs,” said Ralph, breathlessly. “You’ve got to give them back.
　　“Got to? Who says?”
　　Ralph’s temper blazed out. “I say! You voted for me for Chief. Didn’t you hear the¹⁹⁾conch? You played a dirty trick—we’d have given you fire if you’d asked for it.”
　　The blood was flowing in his cheeks and the ²⁰⁾bunged-up eye ²¹⁾throbbed. “You could have had fire whenever you wanted. But you didn’t. You came ²²⁾sneaking up like a thief and stole Piggy’s glasses!”
　　“Say that again.”
　　“Thief! Thief!”
　　Piggy screamed. “Ralph! Mind me!”
　　Jack made a rush and ²³⁾stabbed at Ralph’s chest with his spear. Ralph sensed the position of the weapon from the glimpse he caught of Jack’s arm and put the ²⁴⁾thrust aside with his own butt.
　　Then he brought the end round and caught Jack a ²⁵⁾stinger across the ear.
　　They were chest to chest, breathing fiercely, pushing and glaring.
　　“Who’s a thief?”
　　“You are!”
　　Both boys were breathing very heavily. ²⁶⁾Truculently they squared up to each other but kept just out of fighting distance.
　　“Listen. We’ve come to say this. First you’ve got to give back Piggy’s specs. If he hasn’t got them he can’t see. You aren’t playing the game.”
　　The tribe of painted savages giggled and Ralph’s mind ²⁷⁾faltered.
　　Piggy whispered. “And the fire.”
　　“Oh yes. Then about the fire. I say this again. I’ve been saying it ever since we dropped in.” He held out his spear and pointed at the savages.
　　“Your only hope is keeping a signal fire going as long as there’s light to see. Then maybe a ship’ll notice the smoke and come and rescue us and take us home. But without that smoke we’ve got to wait till some ship comes by accident. We might wait years; till we were old.”
　　The shivering, ²⁸⁾silvery, unreal laughter of the savages ²⁹⁾sprayed out and echoed away.
　　A ³⁰⁾gust of rage shook Ralph. His voice cracked. “Don’t you understand, you painted fools? Sam, Eric, Piggy and me—we aren’t enough. We tried to keep the fire going, but we couldn’t. And then you, playing at hunting.”
　　He pointed past them to where the ³¹⁾trickle of smoke ³²⁾dispersed in the pearly air.
　　“Look at that! Call that a signal fire? That’s a cooking fire. Now you’ll eat and there’ll be no smoke. Don’t you understand? There may be a ship out there.”
　　“Let me speak.” Piggy held up the conch.
　　“I got the conch!” He shouted. “I tell you, I got the conch!”
　　Silence and pause; but in the silence a curious air-noise, close by Ralph’s head. He gave it half his attention and there it was again; a ³³⁾faint “Zup!” Someone was throwing stones: Roger was dropping them, his one hand still on the lever. Below him, Ralph was a shock of hair and Piggy a bag of fat.
　　“I got this to say. You’re acting like a crowd of kids.”
　　The ³⁴⁾booing rose and died again as Piggy lifted the white, magic shell. “Which is better—to be a pack of painted ³⁵⁾niggers like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?”
　　A great ³⁶⁾clamour rose among the savages. Piggy shouted again.
　　“Which is better—to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?”
　　Again the clamour and again—”Zup!”
　　Ralph shouted against the noise. “Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?”
　　Now Jack was yelling too and Ralph could no longer make himself heard. Jack had backed right against the tribe and they were a solid mass of ³⁷⁾menace that ³⁸⁾bristled with spears. The intention of a charge was forming among them.
　　Ralph stood facing them, a little to one side, his spear ready. By him stood Piggy still holding out the ³⁹⁾talisman, the fragile, shining beauty of the shell.
　　The storm of sound beat at them, an ⁴⁰⁾incantation of hatred.
　　High over-head, Roger, with a sense of ⁴¹⁾delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever.
　　Ralph heard the great rock long before he saw it. He was aware of a jolt in the earth that came to him through the ⁴²⁾soles of his feet, and the breaking sound of stones at the top of the cliff.
　　Then the ⁴³⁾monstrous red thing bounded across the neck and he flung himself flat while the tribe ⁴⁴⁾shrieked. The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy, saying nothing, with no time for even a ⁴⁵⁾grunt, travelled through the air sideways from the rock, turning over as he went. The rock bounded twice and was lost in the forest. Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across that square, red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs ⁴⁶⁾twitched a bit, like a pig’s after it has been killed.
　　Then the sea breathed again in a long slow sigh, the water boiled white and pink over the rock; and when it went, sucking back again, the body of Piggy was gone.
　　This time the silence was complete. Ralph’s lips formed a word but no sound came. Suddenly Jack bounded out from the tribe and began screaming wildly. “See? See? That’s what you’ll get! I meant that! There isn’t a tribe for you any more! The conch is gone...”

　　
　　他们排好队沿着海滩出发了。
　　由这些孩子们组成的这个精干的小队伍行进在海滩上，四个盘子似的人影交迭在一起，在他们脚下跳舞。
　　有一团小小的烟在岩石的另一侧悠悠地飘向空中。
　　“有点儿火光——”拉尔夫转过身来。
　　“你们俩跟在最后面。我先上，猪崽子跟在我背后。把你们的长矛拿好。”
　　从他们头上高高的尖顶的岩石上，突然传来一声叫喊，随后有一种好像是战争呐喊的叫声，紧接着在岩石背后十几个人跟着喊起来。
　　“站住！谁在那儿？”拉尔夫仰起头，瞥见岩石顶上罗杰黑黑的面孔。
　　拉尔夫站在沿着隘口上去的半路当中，全神贯注地盯着这些野蛮人。他们涂得五颜六色，头发朝后扎着。这些野蛮人显得比他自在。野蛮人吃吃地笑起来，其中有一个用长矛做着瞄准拉尔夫的架势。猪崽子蹲了下来，背弓着蜷缩成一团，像个麻袋似的。
　　“我要召开大会。”
　　一片沉默。
　　拉尔夫猛烈喊道：“我要召开大会。”他扫视着野蛮人。
　　“杰克在哪儿？”
　　这一群孩子骚动起来，他们商量了一下。
　　一张涂着颜色的脸开口了，听上去是罗伯特的声音。“他去打猎了。他交代我们不让你进来。”
　　“我来这儿是看看火堆怎么样，”拉尔夫说，“还问问猪崽子的眼镜。”
　　拉尔夫前面的人群在咯咯的笑声中晃动着，轻快而兴奋的笑声在高高的山岩间回荡着。
　　拉尔夫背后响起了一个人的话音。
　　“你们要干什么？”
　　拉尔夫马上停下话来。杰克正从森林里走上前来。
　　“你们滚开，拉尔夫。你们守着你们那一头，这儿是我的一头，我的一伙人。你们别来管我。”
　　“猪崽子的眼镜被你抢走了，”拉尔夫气喘吁吁地说道。“你一定得还给他。”
　　“一定得？谁说的？”
　　拉尔夫被气急了。“我说的！是你们选我当头头的。海螺的声音难道你们没有听见吗？你玩的是肮脏的把戏—你要火种我们本来是会给你们的。”
　　热血涌上他的面颊，肿胀的眼睛眨动着。“随便你什么时候要火种都可以。而你却竟然像个贼似的偷偷地跑来，不但拿走火种，还偷走了猪崽子的眼镜！”
　　“你再说一遍！”
　　“贼！贼！”
　　猪崽子尖声叫道：“拉尔夫！帮帮我！”
　　杰克拿长矛往前一冲，直刺拉尔夫的胸膛。拉尔夫因为瞥见了杰克的手臂，察觉到他的武器的位置，用自己的矛柄挡了那一刺。
　　接着拉尔夫转过长矛朝杰克一刺，矛尖擦过了对方的耳朵。
　　他们俩胸膛对着胸膛，怒目相视，推推搡搡地大口喘着粗气。
　　“谁是贼？”
　　“就是你！”
　　两个男孩都呼哧呼哧地喘着粗气。双方虽然都摆出一副恶狠狠的进攻架势，但却保持着距离，刚好彼此都打不到。
　　“听着，我们来是要说，首先你们必须把眼镜还给猪崽子。没有眼镜他看不清东西。你们这样太不光明磊落了——”
　　涂得五颜六色的一伙野蛮人发出咯咯的笑声，拉尔夫犹豫起来。
　　猪崽子低声说道：“还有火堆。”
　　“噢，还有火堆的事。我再说一遍。自从咱们落到这岛上以来我一直在说这件事。”他把长矛伸出来指着野蛮人。
　　“你们唯一的希望就在于：只要有亮光可以看得见，就该生一堆烽火。那么也许就会有船注意到烟，驶过来救咱们，这样咱们就可以回家了。如果没有烟，就得等碰巧驶过的船。说不定咱们要等好多年；等到人都老了——”
　　野蛮人爆发出一阵颤抖的、清脆的、虚假的哄笑，笑声荡漾开去。
　　拉尔夫怒不可遏，他嗓门嘶哑地说：“你们这群花脸呆子，你们怎么不明白啊？萨姆、埃里克、猪崽子和我—我们缺人手。我们想要让火堆不灭，可是做不到。而你们呢，却以打猎寻开心……”
　　他指着他们身后，澄澈的天空中一缕烟飘散开去。
　　“瞧瞧那个！那怎么能叫烽火？那只是个烧食的火堆。眼下你们吃东西，烟就没了。你们难道不明白？有艘船也许正从那儿经过呢——”
　　“让我说话。” 猪崽子拿起了海螺。
　　“海螺在我手里！”猪崽子喊道，“告诉你们，海螺在我手里！”
　　一阵沉默和停顿，但是在寂静之中有一种奇怪的声音，贴着拉尔夫的脑袋响起了。他略加注意地听了听——那种声音又响了起来，一声轻轻的“嗖！”有人在扔石头：罗杰在扔，他一手仍按在杠杆上。在罗杰下面，拉尔夫蓬头散发，猪崽子胖胖的身躯也缩成一团。
　　“我要说，你们这样做就像一群小孩儿。”
　　哄笑声又响起来，但又随着猪崽子举起有魔力的白海螺而平息了下去。“哪一个好一些？——是像你们那样做一帮涂脸的黑鬼好呢？还是像拉尔夫那样做一个明白事理的人好呢？”
　　野蛮人当中响起一阵响亮的喧哗声。猪崽子又叫起来：
　　“哪一个更好一些？——是守规则、讲合作好呢？还是打猎和乱杀好呢？”
　　喧哗声再次响起，“嗖”的声音也再次响起了。
　　拉尔夫不顾喧哗声，叫喊道：“哪一个好一些？—是法律和得救好呢？还是打猎和破坏好呢？”
　　这时候，杰克也大叫起来。在杰克的叫嚷声中，已没有人能听清拉尔夫说的话了。杰克背靠着他那一伙人，长矛林立，连成一气，充满了进攻之意。
　　拉尔夫把长矛准备好，面对他们站着，稍偏向一侧。在他身边站着的是猪崽子，仍拿着那只护身符—易碎的、闪亮而美丽的贝壳。
　　暴风雨般的骂声朝他们俩袭来，这是一种仇恨的诅咒。
　　罗杰在他们俩头上高高的地方忘乎所以地、恣意地把全身的重量压在杠杆上。
　　拉尔夫先听见巨石的声音，然后看到了它。他觉察到大地的震动从他的脚底传来，还听到悬崖高处有石头破裂的声响。
　　一块直朝隘口蹦跳的红色巨石把那伙人吓得发出尖叫声，拉尔夫忙扑倒在地。巨石从侧面撞到猪崽子的下巴到膝盖；海螺迸裂成无数的白色碎片，不复存在。猪崽子一声不吭，连咕哝一声都来不及，就从岩石侧面翻落下去。巨石又弹跳了两次，最后消失在森林之中。猪崽子仰面摔倒在海中那块红色的方礁石上，离岸边40英尺（约12米）。他脑壳迸裂，脑浆直流，头部变成了红色，四肢微微抽搐，就像刚被宰的猪一样。
　　随后大海又开始起落，发出了缓慢而长长的叹息，白色的海浪翻腾着冲上礁石，又夹上了缕缕粉红色的血丝；猪崽子的尸体随着海潮的退落而被卷走。
　　这下子孩子们都寂静无声了。拉尔夫的嘴唇虽然在翕动，却没有发出声音。杰克从他那一伙人里猛地跳了出来，发狂地尖叫起来：“看见没有？你们看见没有？那就是你们的结果！我说，你们这伙人完了！海螺没有了……”
　　
　　小链接：
　　戈尔丁被西方评论家列为“寓言编撰家”。《蝇王》中的人物、情节和环境描写都具有丰富的象征性。由于篇幅有限，小编在此只能蜻蜓点水般提示本章节的象征寓意。
　　“蝇王”即苍蝇之王，源于希伯莱语Baalzebub，在《圣经》中“Baal”被当作“万恶之首”，在英语中，“蝇王”是丑恶灵魂的同义词。“野兽”是《蝇王》中的主要象征意象，代表的是孩子们心中的邪恶。
　　勇敢坚强又有号召力的拉尔夫是社会理性的象征。他手持的海螺成了民主的旗帜。
　　猪崽子是一个出身低微、有严重的哮喘病而无法从事体力劳动的戴眼镜的胖子。他的眼镜是唯一在物质上对他人有用的东西，因为眼镜可以聚光生火，但人们仍旧只是将他当成嘲弄的对象，甚至包括拉尔夫。火使他们可以向远方发出求救信号，很快成为孩子们争夺的焦点，但同时火也导致了他们的分裂。猪崽子最后是因为他的眼镜死的，而且他是抱着海螺死的，说明他至死都坚信民主的力量的强大。
　　杰克代表着人性的恶、兽性和非理性。在没有大人的环境里，孩子们像是疯长的野草，而杰克是其中最疯狂的一棵。在“野兽”的威胁下，他成功地掠夺了领导权，实行了专制统治。故事最后杰克泯灭了最后一丝人性，为追杀拉尔夫而不惜烧毁了整座海岛，自己也葬送火海。
　　阴险凶残的罗杰依附于杰克，扮演着刽子手的角色。手持海螺的猪崽子最后就直接死于罗杰撬下的大石下。使人不禁感到帮凶有时比元凶更凶恶。
　　《蝇王》整个故事设置了人的原善与原恶、理性与非理性、文明与野蛮等一系列矛盾冲突，一定程度上说明了人类从专制奔向民主社会道路的曲折和难度。