美國中學規定閱讀的十大經典小說

　　

　　《殺死一隻知更鳥》

　　哈潑·李1960年對南方的讚歌，是美國曆來最受喜愛的小說之一。部分是因為1962年的改編經典電影。格雷戈里·派克飾演小鎮律師阿提卡斯·芬奇，也是一位最正直、最有同情心的父親。但是這本小說（作者唯一的一本）之所以受人尊崇，是因為有令人難忘的主角：一對兄妹詹姆與斯考特。本書有兩個次要情節：黑人男子涉嫌強姦白人婦女的審判以及兄妹意圖了解孤獨的鄰居布·拉德利，其結構非常適於提供十幾個有關歷史、容納、不公義、同情的教訓。難怪本書是中學必讀小說的重中之重。「知更鳥」，50歲生日快樂！

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

　　

　　

　　《人鼠之間》

　　大蕭條以及其造成的苦難，催生了許多美國經典文學，這些經典後來成為全國各地高中英語課的教材。其中排名第一的是約翰·斯坦貝克的中篇小說《人鼠之間》。故事敘述了加州農場民工喬治與倫尼的旅程。小說一開始，他們已經因為倫尼的古怪行為所引起的一連串事件，被迫離開了以往工作的牧場。他們到了一個新的農場，主人就叫做「老闆」並且自己經營農場，喬治和倫尼再次成為注目的焦點。兩人之間強烈又複雜的關係，致使喬治將脆弱的倫尼，掌控在自己的手中。一路走來，他們的美國夢（以及隨之而來，擁有土地的希望）遺棄在路邊了，他們受害於嚴峻的經濟衰退，罕見的意外事件以及歇斯底里的暴民。

　　A Separate Peace. One of the great coming-of-age tales, A Separate Peace is also one of the darker novels assigned to teenagers. The plot revolves around two roommates at Devon, a New England boarding school, during the summer and winter of 1942. The narrator, Gene, an introverted, studious Southerner, recalls his relationship with his best friend 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 athletic career. During the winter, as the country descends into World War II, the boys of Devon wage their own battles against each other to determine whether 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 been described as depressing, his capture of youthful emotion, surprising maturity and reactions to life's great tragedies make it a must-read during those awkward teenage years.

　　

　　

　　《單獨和約》

　　一部傑出的成長經驗小說，也是少年指定讀物中比較黑暗的。故事圍繞在1942年夏季與冬季、新英格蘭德文寄宿學校的兩位室友。敘述者是一位內向、好學的南方人，回憶他與最好的朋友菲尼亞斯之間的關係。菲尼亞斯小名「芬尼」，是個魅力十足，愛交朋友的運動員。那個夏天，吉恩開始妒忌芬尼優雅、閑適的風度，並且捲入了導致芬尼運動生涯結束的意外事件。那個冬季，美國參加二戰，學校的男孩之間也在進行鬥爭，爭論吉恩是否故意傷害了芬尼。《單獨合約》記錄了男孩的成熟過程，以及戰爭對他們的生活日益加深的影響。儘管作者諾爾斯的這個從天真到成熟的故事，被認為令人沮喪，他捕捉到青春的情感、驚人的成熟、對生命重大大悲劇的反應，使本書成為青少年尷尬時期的必讀小說。

　　Catcher in the Rye. Published in 1951, Catcher has long been a literary touchstone for alienated high school students. Main character Holden Caulfield is the ultimate whiner — everyone's a phony, everyone's a crumbum, and the only person who is really worth a damn is his little sister. Because Catcher is a fairly glum tale about a screwup of a kid who may be going crazy following the death of his brother, it's really easy 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 a lady 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's teens are having trouble relating to the book, according to a June 2009 New York Times article. "I can't really feel bad for this rich kid with a weekend free in New York City," said one teacher, paraphrasing some of her students. But despite the generational gap, this book won't be leaving classrooms anytime soon.

　　

　　

　　《在麥田裡的守望者》1

　　1951 年出版，對於疏離的高中生學生而言，長期以來一直是文學的試金石。主角霍爾頓·考菲爾德是個不折不扣的牢騷大王——每個人都是冒牌貨，每個人都是廢物，只有他的小妹才真的有點分量。這個故事相當憂鬱，主角在哥哥死後可能發瘋，搞砸了一切。正因如此，我們真的很容易忘了這個故事是高中生的終極幻想——霍爾登在紐約閒蕩了幾天，混進了酒吧，與年紀較大的女人跳舞，想要跟不良婦女進行交易的時候受到毆打。儘管男孩似乎只是無所事事，這些聽起卻像是生活！不過，根據2009年6月《紐約時報》的一篇文章，正因為如此，許多今天的青少年很難對本書有所共鳴。一位老師轉述學生的話：「一位富家子在紐約自由自在的過周末，我真的不會為此感到難過。」儘管有代溝，本書不會很快在教室中消失。

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

　　

　　

　　《動物農場》

　　這個動物革命淪為暴力的經典故事，是喬治·奧威爾針對斯大林主義的寓言。在兩隻豬雪球和拿破崙的領導下，一群農場的動物推翻了他們酒醉的主人，並成立了一個基於六條誡命的社區，誡命之一是，所有的動物皆平等。不久之後，雪球和拿破崙進行權力鬥爭，以控制農場，結果拿破崙獲勝。拿破崙很快將雪球變成風車磨房失敗的替罪羊，並殺死任何看起來對雪球效忠的動物。時間推移，豬採用了人類的特徵，很快就穿上衣服，用兩條腿走路。不久之後，農場中卑微的動物不再能區分豬與人。

　　Lord of the Flies. Prominently featured on the American Library Association's list of the most banned books ever, Lord of the Flies is a complex allegory packed into a tale of struggle and survival. The book begins when a plane carrying a group of British boarding-school students crashes on an isolated island. The boys (in the truest meaning of the word; the oldest is 13) establish a working society, with Ralph as their charismatic yet humble leader. Order breaks down as Ralph battles with Jack, the leader of the school's choir, and the entire group slowly descends into chaos. The end, a brutal literal and figurative shattering of humanity, has served as the book's chief teaching point and mark of contention for half a century. Often seen as a cautionary tale about the breakdown of civilization, the book details "the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart" and the horrific possibilities that lie within us all.

　　

　　

　　《蠅王》

　　《蠅王》在美國圖書館協會歷來遭禁最嚴重圖書之中，占顯著地位，是一本包裝成鬥爭與生存故事的複雜寓言小說。本書開始時，一架載有英國寄宿學校學生的飛機墜落於一個孤島之上。飛機上的男孩（年齡最大的僅13歲）在該島建立了一個勞動社會。領導者拉爾夫，有魅力卻謙遜。拉爾夫與學校合唱團領導人傑克鬥爭之際，秩序開始無法維持，並且整個團體陷入混亂。故事最後，人性經歷了實質與象徵性的破碎，成為本書的教學要點，也是長達半個世紀的爭議之所在。本書常被視為文明崩潰的警世故事，詳述了「天真的結束，人性的黑暗」，以及深藏所有人內心、令人害怕的種種可能。

　　

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

　　

　　

　　《了不起的蓋茨比》

　　每間學校到了一定時候，總要到紐約州長島做「實地考察」，在書中探索只有史考特·菲茨傑拉德筆下才能呈現的咆哮1920年代。由於《了不起的蓋茨比》有喚起感情的場景、豐富有趣的主題、精湛的文筆，已確定其在必讀書單中的地位以及美國最偉大的小說之一。在書中，東部的豪門遇上中西部的小康。菲茨傑拉德令人難忘的人物——傑伊·蓋茨比、黛西、湯姆布·坎南，約旦·貝克——使那種豪華的生活方式永垂不朽；我的天，那真算不得什麼生活。神秘的蓋茨比很會開派對，但他真正想要的是黛西。他或許宴會從不缺嘉賓，但是葬禮就門可羅雀。敘述者尼克·卡拉韋見證了浮華最終反映的是空虛，不是成功。

　　A Farewell to Arms. When Ernest Hemingway combined his "consciously bald"  with his experiences as a World War I ambulance driver, the resulting novel was an immediate success. Published in 1929, A Farewell to Arms not only revisits the conflict that had ended just a decade earlier; it also tells of romance. Sadly — not that dutiful American-lit students would expect to be cheered up by Hemingway — the love story isn't any less tragic than the war. Lieutenant Frederic Henry and English nurse Catherine Barkley have to face the fact that death can make its presence known off the battlefield as well as on.

　　

　　

　　《永別了，武器》

　　海明威結合了「自覺地光禿」風格與自己在一戰時救護車司機的經驗，寫出來的小說立刻走紅。《永別了，武器》出版於1929年，不僅重現了10年前剛結束的戰爭衝突，也講述了一個浪漫故事。可悲的是，這個愛情故事跟戰爭一樣是個悲劇，倒不是說一位認真的美國文學學生，會期望海明威的故事能鼓舞人心。弗雷德里克·亨利中尉和英國護士凱瑟琳·巴克利，不得不面對一個事實：即使離開了戰場，也逃不掉死亡的陰影。

　　The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne's best-known work opens in Puritan Boston, with young Hester Prynne on trial for adultery. Because she refuses to name the father of her infant daughter Pearl, Hester is ostracized by the community and forced to wear a scarlet piece of cloth in the shape of an "A" on her chest — an enduring symbol throughout the book. This central conflict is the basis for all the themes the novel examines: sin, repentance, moral purity, forgiveness.

　　

　　

　　《紅字》

　　納撒尼爾·霍桑最著名的作品，場景開始在清教徒的波士頓。年輕的海絲特·白蘭，因通姦罪受審。因為她拒絕說出誰是女嬰珍珠的父親，受到社會排斥，被迫在胸前佩戴一個布做的猩紅「A」字——這是貫穿全書的象徵。這個核心的衝突是小說一切探討主題的基礎：罪、悔改、道德的無瑕、寬恕。

　　Macbeth. As high school students, we may have been drawn to Macbeth because it's known as the shortest of the Shakespearean tragedies. But the tersely written play spares no human frailty — and few characters — on the battlefield of 11th century Scotland. Whereas decisiveness, the lack thereof and revenge drive the other Great High School Shakespearean Play, Hamlet, ambition and personal morality are at the center of the plot of Macbeth. The play's title character finds himself pitted against a fellow lord, Banquo, when the two are made privy to a series of prophecies from a trio of witches. The toiling witches forecast a future royal line, and the will to power is soon unleashed. Upon losing his wife in the fray, Macbeth delivers his epic "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" soliloquy, which captures the sensation of despair as well as any other verse in the English language:

　　

　　

　　《麥克白》

　　高中生想讀《麥克白》可能因為它是莎士比亞最短的悲劇。但是這部簡潔的戲劇寫透了人性的弱點與性格，場景是11世紀蘇格蘭的戰場。另一個風行於高中的重要莎士比亞戲劇《哈姆雷特》，是以缺乏果斷與復仇為主軸，而《麥克白》則是以野心與個人道德為情節重心。麥克白是主角的名字，他與另一位叫邦戈的貴族，得知三個巫婆一連串的預言以後，開始對立。孜孜不倦的女巫預測了未來的皇位繼承人，權力的野心很快就脫韁。麥克白在鬥爭中失去妻子，發表了「明天，明天，明天」 這個史詩獨白，捕捉到的絕望感覺，比起其他英文詩句，絕不遜色：

　　Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

　　人生只不過是行走的影子，可憐的演員

　　That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

　　在舞台上，一會趾高氣揚、一會焦躁不安，

　　And then is heard no more. It is a tale

　　然後銷聲匿跡。這是一個故事

　　Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

　　自愚人口中說出，充滿了聲音與憤怒，

　　Signifying nothing ...

　　沒有半點意義...

有時間學習一下，補補功課！