11/27/2007 The catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, 1951
很久很久以前即聽過「麥田捕手」這本書，但直到我女兒推介後，才借來一讀，且一口氣讀完它。
本書名為「麥田捕手」，其實跟書中故事無關（卻讓我這個非棒球迷興趣缺缺而未去讀它）；它是主角的早逝哥哥生前寫在棒球手套上的一首詩中的一小段改寫而成（他深愛他的哥哥，只有這個手套留給他無限的懷念），是主角回答她的妹妹問他能否說出一件他喜歡的事時，才說他要用這個手套接住那些掉入深谷的小孩（其實是他自己的寫照），才成了書名。
本書描寫一名16歲高中青年被退學回家前的一段幌盪故事（獨白），描寫他的焦慮、憂鬱、壓抑、挫折、孤獨、苦悶、迷失，似乎週遭充滿心智喪失、無是非羞恥的低能騙徒。他覺得噁心、厭惡、憤怒、虛無；他沒辦法完成任何一件事（他已被退學三次，且再被退學離校中），因為他沒辦法開始；他一直尋找，可是他永遠尋找不著，因為他不知道他要尋找什麼。他陷入虛無縹緲的黑暗中，找不到人生方向與目標，似乎就要像斷線風箏或像掉入深谷的小孩般繼續流浪迷失，幸好他的前任英文老師給他一些啟示，剖析他的困境，思考他的「心靈尺度」及可能方向，似乎才呈現峰迴路轉柳暗花明的新景象。
本書以獨白方式撰寫，細寫這名16歲高中青年的心路里程及善良本性，雖然文中多屬瑣碎小事，卻不乏機智道義、溫柔感性、緊張衝突等情節，讀來自然生動流暢，毫無枯燥瑣碎之憾。作者使用甚多俚語以呈現16歲高中生的一般用語習慣，但不同人物則各有不同用語，顯示作者運用文字的純熟用心。我覺得最後這名退學青年造訪他的前任英文老師的一段對話，可算是本書的概括性精華，很可作為一般青澀年華的青少年及其家長師長參考，故節錄如下：
I have a feeling that you’re riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall…. it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn’t supply them with. Or they thought their environment couldn’t supply them with. So they gave up looking. They gave it up before they ever really even got started.
I think that one of these days, you’re going to have to find out where you want to go. And then you’ve got to start going there immediately. You can’t afford to lose a minute. Not you.
I think that once you have a fair idea where you want to go, your first move will be to apply yourself in school. You’ll have to. You’re a student—whether the idea appeals to you or not. You’re in love with knowledge. And I think you’ll find, once you get past all the Mr. Vinsons, you’re going to start getting closer and closer—that is, if you want to, and if you look for it and wait for it—to the kind of information that will be very, very dear to your heart.
Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You’re by no means alone on that score, you’ll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them—if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.
I’m not trying to tell you, that only educated and scholarly men are able to contribute something valuable to the world. It’s not so. But I do say that educated and scholarly men, if they’re brilliant and creative to begin with—which, unfortunately, is rarely the case—tend to leave infinitely more valuable records behind them than men do who are merely brilliant and creative. They tend to express themselves more clearly, and they usually have a passion for following their thoughts through to the end. And most importantly, nine times out of ten they have more brilliant than the unscholarly thinker.
If you go along with it any considerable distance, it’ll begin to give you an idea what size mind you have. What it’ll fit and, maybe, what it won’t. After a while, you’ll have an idea what kind of thoughts your particular size mind should be wearing. For one thing, it may save you an extraordinary amount of time trying on ideas that don’t suit you, aren’t becoming to you. You begin to know your true measurements and dress your mind accordingly.
我有個感覺，你正在一種非常可怕的墜落中；一種特別的、恐怖的墜落。這個墜落中的人無法感覺他的墜落或聽到他墜落到谷底的聲音，他只是一直不停地往下墜落。這種墜落只發生在一些人一生中的某些時候，他們尋求某種他們的環境無法提供、或他們認為他們的環境無法提供的東西，所以他們放棄尋找，在他們開始去尋找之前便放棄尋找。
我想這幾天你便要找到你想去的地方，然後馬上動身前往。你無法再等了，你必須馬上行動。我想一旦你清楚知道你想去那裡，你的第一步應該是回到學校。你必須如此，因為你是個學生，不管這個想法你喜不喜歡；你熱愛知識，而且我認為，只要你通過文森先生的所有課程要求，你將會一步一步接近你心中非常非常珍惜的知識，如果你願意去尋找，且耐心去等待。
除此之外，你將發現，你不是第一個對人類行為感到迷失害怕厭惡的人。這一點你絕不會孤獨，反而應該感到興奮與啟發去學習。很多人跟你一樣深受道德與精神方面的困擾，可喜的是，有些人留下他們困擾的記錄。你可從他們身上學到一些教訓，如果你願意，就像有一天別人也可從你身上學到一些教訓一樣，如果你有任何東西可提供別人參考。這是一種美麗的互惠安排；它不是教育；它是歷史，是詩。
我不想說，只有受過教育及上過學校的人才能夠貢獻這個世界，這不是如此；但我要說，受過教育及上過學校的人，如果他們有個聰明且有創意的開始（不幸這是很少有的情況），則比那些沒受過教育或上過學校但有些聰明創意的人，更能留下珍貴的東西給後代。他們比較能夠清楚表達自己，也比較熱情去徹底思考問題直到完成。更重要的是，他們十個有九個比那些沒學問的思考者更聰明。
如果你能夠深入學習思考一段時間，它將顯示你的心靈尺度，它適合什麼，或不適合什麼。然後你將了解你那特殊的心靈尺度應該怎樣思考。至少一件事，它將省掉你長期徬徨摸索的寶貴時間。你將開始了解你的真實自我，並持續成長。
很久很久以前即聽過「麥田捕手」這本書，但直到我女兒推介後，才借來一讀，且一口氣讀完它。
本書名為「麥田捕手」，其實跟書中故事無關（卻讓我這個非棒球迷興趣缺缺而未去讀它）；它是主角的早逝哥哥生前寫在棒球手套上的一首詩中的一小段改寫而成（他深愛他的哥哥，只有這個手套留給他無限的懷念），是主角回答她的妹妹問他能否說出一件他喜歡的事時，才說他要用這個手套接住那些掉入深谷的小孩（其實是他自己的寫照），才成了書名。
本書描寫一名16歲高中青年被退學回家前的一段幌盪故事（獨白），描寫他的焦慮、憂鬱、壓抑、挫折、孤獨、苦悶、迷失，似乎週遭充滿心智喪失、無是非羞恥的低能騙徒。他覺得噁心、厭惡、憤怒、虛無；他沒辦法完成任何一件事（他已被退學三次，且再被退學離校中），因為他沒辦法開始；他一直尋找，可是他永遠尋找不著，因為他不知道他要尋找什麼。他陷入虛無縹緲的黑暗中，找不到人生方向與目標，似乎就要像斷線風箏或像掉入深谷的小孩般繼續流浪迷失，幸好他的前任英文老師給他一些啟示，剖析他的困境，思考他的「心靈尺度」及可能方向，似乎才呈現峰迴路轉柳暗花明的新景象。
本書以獨白方式撰寫，細寫這名16歲高中青年的心路里程及善良本性，雖然文中多屬瑣碎小事，卻不乏機智道義、溫柔感性、緊張衝突等情節，讀來自然生動流暢，毫無枯燥瑣碎之憾。作者使用甚多俚語以呈現16歲高中生的一般用語習慣，但不同人物則各有不同用語，顯示作者運用文字的純熟用心。我覺得最後這名退學青年造訪他的前任英文老師的一段對話，可算是本書的概括性精華，很可作為一般青澀年華的青少年及其家長師長參考，故節錄如下：
I have a feeling that you’re riding for some kind of a terrible, terrible fall…. it’s a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isn’t permitted to feel or hear himself hit bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangement’s designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldn’t supply them with. Or they thought their environment couldn’t supply them with. So they gave up looking. They gave it up before they ever really even got started.
I think that one of these days, you’re going to have to find out where you want to go. And then you’ve got to start going there immediately. You can’t afford to lose a minute. Not you.
I think that once you have a fair idea where you want to go, your first move will be to apply yourself in school. You’ll have to. You’re a student—whether the idea appeals to you or not. You’re in love with knowledge. And I think you’ll find, once you get past all the Mr. Vinsons, you’re going to start getting closer and closer—that is, if you want to, and if you look for it and wait for it—to the kind of information that will be very, very dear to your heart.
Among other things, you’ll find that you’re not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You’re by no means alone on that score, you’ll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them—if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.
I’m not trying to tell you, that only educated and scholarly men are able to contribute something valuable to the world. It’s not so. But I do say that educated and scholarly men, if they’re brilliant and creative to begin with—which, unfortunately, is rarely the case—tend to leave infinitely more valuable records behind them than men do who are merely brilliant and creative. They tend to express themselves more clearly, and they usually have a passion for following their thoughts through to the end. And most importantly, nine times out of ten they have more brilliant than the unscholarly thinker.
If you go along with it any considerable distance, it’ll begin to give you an idea what size mind you have. What it’ll fit and, maybe, what it won’t. After a while, you’ll have an idea what kind of thoughts your particular size mind should be wearing. For one thing, it may save you an extraordinary amount of time trying on ideas that don’t suit you, aren’t becoming to you. You begin to know your true measurements and dress your mind accordingly.
我有個感覺，你正在一種非常可怕的墜落中；一種特別的、恐怖的墜落。這個墜落中的人無法感覺他的墜落或聽到他墜落到谷底的聲音，他只是一直不停地往下墜落。這種墜落只發生在一些人一生中的某些時候，他們尋求某種他們的環境無法提供、或他們認為他們的環境無法提供的東西，所以他們放棄尋找，在他們開始去尋找之前便放棄尋找。
我想這幾天你便要找到你想去的地方，然後馬上動身前往。你無法再等了，你必須馬上行動。我想一旦你清楚知道你想去那裡，你的第一步應該是回到學校。你必須如此，因為你是個學生，不管這個想法你喜不喜歡；你熱愛知識，而且我認為，只要你通過文森先生的所有課程要求，你將會一步一步接近你心中非常非常珍惜的知識，如果你願意去尋找，且耐心去等待。
除此之外，你將發現，你不是第一個對人類行為感到迷失害怕厭惡的人。這一點你絕不會孤獨，反而應該感到興奮與啟發去學習。很多人跟你一樣深受道德與精神方面的困擾，可喜的是，有些人留下他們困擾的記錄。你可從他們身上學到一些教訓，如果你願意，就像有一天別人也可從你身上學到一些教訓一樣，如果你有任何東西可提供別人參考。這是一種美麗的互惠安排；它不是教育；它是歷史，是詩。
我不想說，只有受過教育及上過學校的人才能夠貢獻這個世界，這不是如此；但我要說，受過教育及上過學校的人，如果他們有個聰明且有創意的開始（不幸這是很少有的情況），則比那些沒受過教育或上過學校但有些聰明創意的人，更能留下珍貴的東西給後代。他們比較能夠清楚表達自己，也比較熱情去徹底思考問題直到完成。更重要的是，他們十個有九個比那些沒學問的思考者更聰明。
如果你能夠深入學習思考一段時間，它將顯示你的心靈尺度，它適合什麼，或不適合什麼。然後你將了解你那特殊的心靈尺度應該怎樣思考。至少一件事，它將省掉你長期徬徨摸索的寶貴時間。你將開始了解你的真實自我，並持續成長。
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