胡兰成照片:美国中学规定阅读经典小说

《杀死一只知更鸟》哈泼·李1960年对南方的赞歌，是美国历来最受喜爱的小说之一。部分是因为1962年的改编经典电影。格雷戈里·派克饰演小镇律师阿提卡斯·芬奇，也是一位最正直、最有同情心的父亲。但是这本小说（作者唯一的一本）之所以受人尊崇，是因为有令人难忘的主角：一对兄妹詹姆与斯考特。本书有两个次要情节：黑人男子涉嫌强奸白人妇女的审判以及兄妹意图了解孤独的邻居布·拉德利，其结构非常适于提供十几个有关历史、容纳、不公义、同情的教训。难怪本书是中学必读小说的重中之重。“知更鸟”，50岁生日快乐！

OfMice and Men. The Great Depression and the hardship it caused spawnedmany classics of American literature that have since become fodder forhigh school English classes across the nation. Topping the list is JohnSteinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men. The plot traces the journey ofGeorge and Lennie, two migrant workers in California farm country. Wemeet them after they've been forced to leave their previous ranch in achain of events chalked up to Lennie's odd behavior. Upon arriving attheir new farm, owned and run by a character known simply as "The Boss,"George and Lennie once again find themselves in crosshairs. The strongand complicated bond between the pair forces George to take weakLennie's life into his own hands. Along the way, their pursuit of theAmerican Dream (and the attendant prospect of land ownership) falls bythe wayside, the victim of a harsh economic downturn, a freak accidentand mob hysteria.

《人鼠之间》

大萧条以及其造成的苦难，催生了许多美国经典文学，这些经典后来成为全国各地高中英语课的教材。其中排名第一的是约翰·斯坦贝克的中篇小说《人鼠之间》。故事叙述了加州农场民工乔治与伦尼的旅程。小说一开始，他们已经因为伦尼的古怪行为所引起的一连串事件，被迫离开了以往工作的牧场。他们到了一个新的农场，主人就叫做“老板”并且自己经营农场，乔治和伦尼再次成为注目的焦点。两人之间强烈又复杂的关系，致使乔治将脆弱的伦尼，掌控在自己的手中。一路走来，他们的美国梦（以及随之而来，拥有土地的希望）遗弃在路边了，他们受害于严峻的经济衰退，罕见的意外事件以及歇斯底里的暴民。

ASeparate Peace. One of the great coming-of-age tales, A SeparatePeace is also one of the darker novels assigned to teenagers. The plotrevolves around two roommates at Devon, a New England boarding school,during the summer and winter of 1942. The narrator, Gene, anintroverted, studious Southerner, recalls his relationship with his bestfriend Phineas, known as "Finny," a charismatic, gregarious athlete.Over the course of the summer, Gene becomes envious of Finny's graceful,easy demeanor and takes part in an accident that ends Finny's athleticcareer. During the winter, as the country descends into World War II,the boys of Devon wage their own battles against each other to determinewhether Gene intentionally harmed Finny. The novel chronicles the boys'maturation as the war encroaches further and further into their lives.While Knowles' tale of the journey from innocence to experience has beendescribed as depressing, his capture of youthful emotion, surprisingmaturity and reactions to life's great tragedies make it a must-readduring those awkward teenage years.

《单独和约》

一部杰出的成长经验小说，也是少年指定读物中比较黑暗的。故事围绕在1942年夏季与冬季、新英格兰德文寄宿学校的两位室友。叙述者是一位内向、好学的南方人，回忆他与最好的朋友菲尼亚斯之间的关系。菲尼亚斯小名“芬尼”，是个魅力十足，爱交朋友的运动员。那个夏天，吉恩开始妒忌芬尼优雅、闲适的风度，并且卷入了导致芬尼运动生涯结束的意外事件。那个冬季，美国参加二战，学校的男孩之间也在进行斗争，争论吉恩是否故意伤害了芬尼。《单独合约》记录了男孩的成熟过程，以及战争对他们的生活日益加深的影响。尽管作者诺尔斯的这个从天真到成熟的故事，被认为令人沮丧，他捕捉到青春的情感、惊人的成熟、对生命重大大悲剧的反应，使本书成为青少年尴尬时期的必读小说。

Catcherin the Rye. Published in 1951, Catcher has long been a literarytouchstone for alienated high school students. Main character HoldenCaulfield is the ultimate whiner — everyone's a phony, everyone's acrumbum, and the only person who is really worth a damn is his littlesister. Because Catcher is a fairly glum tale about a screwup of a kidwho may be going crazy following the death of his brother, it's reallyeasy to forget that it's kind of the ultimate high school fantasy —Holden roams around New York City for a couple of days, gets into bars,dances with older women and gets beaten up while trying to procure alady of ill repute. While it may seem like the boy is just drifting,that sounds like living! For those very reasons, though, many of today'steens are having trouble relating to the book, according to a June 2009New York Times article. "I can't really feel bad for this rich kid witha weekend free in New York City," said one teacher, paraphrasing someof her students. But despite the generational gap, this book won't beleaving classrooms anytime soon.

《在麦田里的守望者》

1951年出版，对于疏离的高中生学生而言，长期以来一直是文学的试金石。主角霍尔顿·考菲尔德是个不折不扣的牢骚大王——每个人都是冒牌货，每个人都是废物，只有他的小妹才真的有点分量。这个故事相当忧郁，主角在哥哥死后可能发疯，搞砸了一切。正因如此，我们真的很容易忘了这个故事是高中生的终极幻想——霍尔登在纽约闲荡了几天，混进了酒吧，与年纪较大的女人跳舞，想要跟不良妇女进行交易的时候受到殴打。尽管男孩似乎只是无所事事，这些听起却像是生活！不过，根据2009年6月《纽约时报》的一篇文章，正因为如此，许多今天的青少年很难对本书有所共鸣。一位老师转述学生的话：“一位富家子在纽约自由自在的过周末，我真的不会为此感到难过。”尽管有代沟，本书不会很快在教室中消失。

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AnimalFarm. This classic tale of an animal revolution gone rogue is GeorgeOrwell's allegorical take on Stalinism. Under two pigs named Snowballand Napoleon, a group of farm animals overthrow their drunken humancaretaker and establish a new community based on seven commandments,including the tenet that all animals are equal. Soon after, Snowball andNapoleon engage in a power struggle to control the farm, with Napoleonemerging on top. He quickly turns Snowball into a scapegoat for a failedwindmill project and kills any animals who appear to have an allegianceto his opponent. As time passes, the swine adopt human traits, soonwearing clothes and walking on two legs. Before long, the lowly farmanimals can no longer distinguish between the pigs and the people.

《动物农场》

这个动物革命沦为暴力的经典故事，是乔治·奥威尔针对斯大林主义的寓言。在两只猪雪球和拿破仑的领导下，一群农场的动物推翻了他们酒醉的主人，并成立了一个基于六条诫命的社区，诫命之一是，所有的动物皆平等。不久之后，雪球和拿破仑进行权力斗争，以控制农场，结果拿破仑获胜。拿破仑很快将雪球变成风车磨房失败的替罪羊，并杀死任何看起来对雪球效忠的动物。时间推移，猪采用了人类的特征，很快就穿上衣服，用两条腿走路。不久之后，农场中卑微的动物不再能区分猪与人。

Lordof the Flies. Prominently featured on the American LibraryAssociation's list of the most banned books ever, Lord of the Flies is acomplex allegory packed into a tale of struggle and survival. The bookbegins when a plane carrying a group of British boarding-school studentscrashes on an isolated island. The boys (in the truest meaning of theword; the oldest is 13) establish a working society, with Ralph as theircharismatic yet humble leader. Order breaks down as Ralph battles withJack, the leader of the school's choir, and the entire group slowlydescends into chaos. The end, a brutal literal and figurative shatteringof humanity, has served as the book's chief teaching point and mark ofcontention for half a century. Often seen as a cautionary tale about thebreakdown of civilization, the book details "the end of innocence, thedarkness of man's heart" and the horrific possibilities that lie withinus all.

《蝇王》

《蝇王》在美国图书馆协会历来遭禁最严重图书之中，占显著地位，是一本包装成斗争与生存故事的复杂寓言小说。本书开始时，一架载有英国寄宿学校学生的飞机坠落于一个孤岛之上。飞机上的男孩（年龄最大的仅13岁）在该岛建立了一个劳动社会。领导者拉尔夫，有魅力却谦逊。拉尔夫与学校合唱团领导人杰克斗争之际，秩序开始无法维持，并且整个团体陷入混乱。故事最后，人性经历了实质与象征性的破碎，成为本书的教学要点，也是长达半个世纪的争议之所在。本书常被视为文明崩溃的警世故事，详述了“天真的结束，人性的黑暗”，以及深藏所有人内心、令人害怕的种种可能。

TheGreat Gatsby. Every school takes a field trip to Long Island, New York,at some point, visiting the Roaring '20s as only F. Scott Fitzgeraldcould write them. Thanks to its evocative setting, rich themes andmasterly prose, The Great Gatsby has secured its standing as areading-list staple as well as one of the greatest American novels everwritten. Here, the moneyed East meets the modest Midwest, andFitzgerald's memorable characters — Jay Gatsby, Daisy and Tom Buchanan,Jordan Baker — perpetuate a lavish lifestyle that, alas, doesn't offermuch of a life. The enigmatic Gatsby has the best parties, but it'sDaisy he really wants. He may have no shortage of party guests, but he'ssorely lacking in funeral attendees. Narrator Nick Carraway is witnessto the glitz that ultimately reflects emptiness, not success.

《了不起的盖茨比》

每间学校到了一定时候，总要到纽约州长岛做“实地考察”，在书中探索只有史考特·菲茨杰拉德笔下才能呈现的咆哮1920年代。由于《了不起的盖茨比》有唤起感情的场景、丰富有趣的主题、精湛的文笔，已确定其在必读书单中的地位以及美国最伟大的小说之一。在书中，东部的豪门遇上中西部的小康。菲茨杰拉德令人难忘的人物——杰伊·盖茨比、黛西、汤姆布·坎南，约旦·贝克——使那种豪华的生活方式永垂不朽；我的天，那真算不得什么生活。神秘的盖茨比很会开派对，但他真正想要的是黛西。他或许宴会从不缺嘉宾，但是葬礼就门可罗雀。叙述者尼克·卡拉韦见证了浮华最终反映的是空虚，不是成功。

AFarewell to Arms. When Ernest Hemingway combined his "consciouslybald" style with his experiences as a World War I ambulance driver, theresulting novel was an immediate success. Published in 1929, A Farewellto Arms not only revisits the conflict that had ended just a decadeearlier; it also tells of romance. Sadly — not that dutiful American-litstudents would expect to be cheered up by Hemingway — the love storyisn't any less tragic than the war. Lieutenant Frederic Henry andEnglish nurse Catherine Barkley have to face the fact that death canmake its presence known off the battlefield as well as on.

《永别了，武器》

海明威结合了“自觉地光秃”风格与自己在一战时救护车司机的经验，写出来的小说立刻走红。《永别了，武器》出版于1929年，不仅重现了10年前刚结束的战争冲突，也讲述了一个浪漫故事。可悲的是，这个爱情故事跟战争一样是个悲剧，倒不是说一位认真的美国文学学生，会期望海明威的故事能鼓舞人心。弗雷德里克·亨利中尉和英国护士凯瑟琳·巴克利，不得不面对一个事实：即使离开了战场，也逃不掉死亡的阴影。