托尼·莫里森的《家园》中茜的成长与觉醒

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【摘要】大多数学者在研究《家园》时，将研究重点放在弗兰克的自我救赎与回家之路上，而忽视了茜的成长与觉醒过程。因此，该文从主题研究的角度入手，分别从茜的四个成长阶段，即出生与童年阶段，被弃阶段，为博医生工作阶段以及重归莲华镇阶段，深入探讨了茜的成长与觉醒过程。在前三个阶段，茜纯真朴实，依赖他人，最终在最后一个阶段独立自主，达到觉醒。

【关键词】茜 成长 觉醒 主题研究

【Abstract】In Home， emphases are put on Frank’s self- salvation and journey to home by most critics. Cee’s journey of growth and awakening is ignored or catches less attention. Therefore， this paper conducts a research from the perspective of theme study to analyze Cee’s journey of growth and awakening in detail according to her four stages of growth： birth and childhood， abandonment， work in Dr. Beau’s， and return to Lotus. In the first three stages， Cee was innocent and immature， relying on others， and she realized her awakening and became independent in the last stage.

【Key words】Cee； growth； awakening； theme study

Home tells the story of Frank Money， a 24-year-old African-American traumatized by his experiences in the Korean War. He had wandered the streets of Seattle， and woke up in a hospital but could not find out how he was there. He only remembered that he had to go home to Lotus， Georgia， where his younger sister Cee lived and to save her. In the end， he saved his sister and they lived there together. Now I will illustrate the growth and awakening of Cee in four parts.

1. Cee’s Birth and Childhood

In this phase， Cee’s childhood was miserable and of hardship.

First， her parents worked 16-hour days picking cotton and planting crops， leaving her brother Frank who was four years older than her to protect her as best he could while subsisting on a daily brew of their grandparents’ cruelty and neglect. Even before she could walk， her brother had taken care of her. The first word she spoke was “Fwank.” Their close relationship and her brother’s duty of taking care of her account for her dependence on her brother.

Second， Cee was， from the beginning of her birth， despised by her grandmother and the people alike. Just as the author wrote “A mean grandmother is one of the worst things a girl could have.” The grandmother Lenore took it as a very bad sign for Cee’s future that she was born on the road.

Third， Cee was eager for education. As Cee grew， she thought it would have been better if there were more books to read―not just Aesop’s Fables and a book of Bible passages for young people―and much better if she had been permitted to attend the school in Jeffrey. She even thought that it was her innocence and short of knowledge that led to her painful experiences of abandonment and those in Dr. Beau’s in Atlanta.

In addition， there are two events which show her relying on her brother. Both events have a common point， which is her brother consoled her by hugging her. One case is in Chapter one where the author presented us a childhood memory of Frank. Frank was sneaking into a forbidden territory with his sister， Cee. They watched two horses fighting and on their way back， they witnessed a black man buried by the whites. Cee was scared and shaking， so her brother hugged her shoulders tight and tried to pull her trembling into his own bones. Another case is that there was a time when a man， hiding behind the tree， flashes her. Frank put one hand on top of her head， the other at her nape to appease her and to stop the trembling and the chill that accompanied it. These two details were important because this kind of behavior symbolizes the protection from a brother， a man. Cee， in the end， determined not to receive the protection from her brother， because she wanted to be protected by herself.

2. Abandonment

In this phase， Cee wanted to rely on Principal. After Frank was enlisted and went to Korea， Cee ran off with a visitor from Atlanta， called Principal， who was good-looking. Cee fell in love with Principal for sure， and got married with him illegally because she had no birth certificate. However， she learned that Principal had married her for a Ford car and left her penniless in Atlanta. She was a bit angry at why her brother did not teach her how to protect from men. She thought she was so ignorant living in a place with only chores， church-school， and nothing else to do that she was destined to be deceived by men. At this phase， Cee was still immature although hurt by a person she loved. What she did most was complaining but she did not reflect herself.

I also think that the reason why Cee married Principal is not only he was attractive， but also she loves the life Principal could bring her―elegant， pride， easy life. Principal had bought her a dress not from generosity but because he was ashamed of her countrified clothes. She treasured that dress after abandonment， wearing it but being afraid of messing it. She was not conscious of her vanity so when she was in Dr. Beau’s， she was again bewildered by his wealth and knowledge. She had not got rid of the ephemeral pleasure of protection from men. So she had still a long way to go to achieve her awakening.

3. Work in Dr. Beau’s

In this phase， Cee wanted to receive protection from Dr. Beau， but it in fact was a nightmare. Cee was introduced to a job， being a helper to a doctor. The doctor was named Dr. Beau， a small man with lots of silver hair.

Her admiration for the doctor grew more when she noticed how many more poor people he helped. She thought he was extremely careful with his patients. She was attracted by his knowledge and wanted to know what “eugenics” is. But her curiosity and innocence did not get her better life， the doctor got so interested in wombs in general， constructing instruments to see farther and farther into them. It turns out that Cee was taken into experiments on the wombs. Her loss of weight， fatigue， and abnormal periods were bad effects of these experiments. She was physically hurt and on the edge of death. Finally， Frank came and took Cee away back to Lotus. Cee paid a great price because of her irresponsible and immature behaviors. She was infertile.

4. Return to Lotus

In this phase， Cee was awakened gradually. Frank took Cee to Miss Ethel Fordham’s house. After two months’ curing by country women， Cee has changed. She thought a lot， she wanted to change， just as she thought： “she wanted to be the person who would never again need rescue. She wanted to be the one who rescued her own self.”

Cee hated the dreadful and endless work Lotus people had to do， but at the same time， affirmed and praised the busy black women. Cee also detested her low level of education and lack of schooling， but after she was saved by the skilled women who had healed her， she had a different opinion. The illiterate women who nurse Cee with root medicine， common sense and blackberry jam “took responsibility for their lives” and cured Cee of disease city medical system did not approach.

What’s more， Miss Ethel Fordham also gave her new view of life and encouraged her to move on and live bravely. At last， Cee was determined to live in Lotus， she said： “I ain’t going nowhere， Miss Ethel. This is where I belong.” Although this place was full of her anguished and bitter memories， it was also this place that saved her life and made her a second life. Cee was changed forever， and she did not need to cry at her miserable life or rely on her brother or Principal or Dr. Beau.

In the last but one chapter， Cee accompanied her big brother to the forbidden territory they had gone in their childhood. She no longer trembled or needed brother’s fingers on her head. She opened eyes to see brutal things around， skull， bones， and evils in the world. This is a sign of Cee’s independence. Cee was gutted， infertile， but not beaten. She could know the truth， accept it， and keep on living. Finally， Cee returned to her newly steady self， confident， cheerful and occupied.

5. Conclusion

In my paper， I analyzed Cee’s journey of growth and awakening in detail according to her four stages of growth： birth and childhood， abandonment， work in Dr. Beau’s， and return to Lotus. Cee， without patents’ love， suffering from grandparents’ cruelty and ignorance， deceived by Principal， became infertile by an evil doctor， and healed by black illiterate women. At last she awakened， determined to be independent without her brother’s help or any other men’s. She returned to her hometown and her original nature returned. Thus she realized her self-awakening.

References：

[1]Christian，munity and Nature： The Novels of Tony Morrison[M].Philadelphia： Chelsea House Publishes，2002： 75.

[2]Kearly，PeterR.Toni Morrison’s Paradise and the politics of community.Journal of American and Comparative Cultures， 2000（2）： 9-16.

[3]Morrison，Toni.Home[M].Random House Large Print Publ，2012.

[4]Morrison，Toni.“Home” The House That Race Built：Original Essays by Toni Morrison，Angela Y.Davis，Cornel West，and Others on Black Americans and Polities in America Today.Ed.Wahneema Lubiano.New York： Vintage，1998（3）.

作者简介：元月，女，汉族，山西运城人，助教，硕士学位，主要研究方向为比较文学与世界文学。