一路向北：《地下铁道》中科拉的觉醒与重生
武汉工程大学, 外语学院, 湖北武汉 430205
| 摘 要： | 美国非裔作家科尔森•怀特黑德创作的《地下铁道》讲述了黑奴女孩科拉沿“地下铁道”从南方到北方，从苦难到自由的逃亡之旅。本文基于文学伦理学批评，运用其核心概念伦理环境、伦理身份、伦理意识对小说中科拉北逃进行分析。通过对美国奴隶制和种族主义历史事件的巧妙融合，怀特黑德创造出了独特的伦理环境。在黑奴受到残酷压迫的伦理环境下，黑人女奴科拉向往北方，为自由从南方种植园出逃。随着科拉一路北上途径不同的地方，她的伦理身份也不断发生变化，最终从可以被随意处置的私人财产成为了非家奴，终获自由身。在逃亡过程中，科拉经受过白人的欺辱，同胞的冷漠，但她的伦理意识使她从未同流合污，她会为同胞挺身而出，会在背叛了帮助过她的人之后感到耻辱，甚至愿意为此付出生命的代价。即使科拉受尽折磨，但她的伦理意识却始终闪耀。通过此解读深入探讨美国奴隶制为黑奴所带来的迫害与苦难，引起人们对这段黑暗历史的深思以及对非裔群体当下和未来的关注。 |
| 关 键 词： | 科尔森•怀特黑德; 《地下铁道》; 文学伦理学; 伦理环境; 伦理身份; 伦理意识 |
| DOI： | 10.57237/j.jsts.2024.02.004 |
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收稿日期: 2023-11-02
接受日期: 2024-04-10
在线出版日期: 2024-04-13
The Journey to the North: Cora’s Awakening and Rebirth in The Underground Railroad
School of Foreign Languages, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China
| Abstract: | The Underground Railroad written by Colson Whitehead, an African-American writer, tells the story of Cora, a slave girl’s escape journey from south to north, from suffering to freedom. From the perspective of ethical literary criticism, this paper analyzes Cora’s escape to the North in the novel by using its core concepts: Ethical environment, ethical identity and ethical consciousness. Whitehead creates a unique ethical environment through the ingenious integration of the slavery and the historical events of racism in the United States. In the ethical environment where slaves are brutally oppressed, Cora yearns for the north and flees from the southern plantation for freedom. As Cora travels north through different places, her ethical identity changes constantly, and eventually she becomes a non-domestic slave from private property that can be disposed of at will, and gains her freedom. In the process of escape, Cora suffers from the bullying of the whites and the indifference of her compatriots, but her ethical consciousness keeps her from being complicit, standing up for others, feeling shame after betraying those who help her, and even being willing to pay for it with her life. Even though Cora is tortured, her ethical consciousness always shines. This interpretation delves into the persecution and suffering of black slaves brought by slavery in the United States, and draws people’s attention to this dark period in history, as well as to the present and future of the African-American community. |
| Keywords: | Colson Whitehead; The Underground Railroad; Ethical Literary Criticism; Ethical Environment; Ethical Identity; Ethical Consciousness |
参考文献
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