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欧亨利名言名句 欧亨利经典语录
O. Henry was the pen name of American writer William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862–June 5, 1910), whose clever use of twist endings in his stories popularized the term "O. Henry Ending". His middle name at birth was Sidney, not Sydney; he later changed the spelling of his middle name when he first began writing as a journalist in the 1880s. Early life William Sidney Porter was born in 1862 on a plantation "Worth Place" in Greensboro, North Carolina. When William was three, his mother died from tuberculosis, and he and his father moved to the home of his paternal grandmother. William was an avid reader, and graduated from his aunt's elementary school in 1876, then enrolled at the Linsey Street High School. In 1879 he started working as a bookkeeper in his uncle's drugstore and in 1881 – at the age of nineteen – he was licensed as a pharmacist. The Move to Texas He relocated to Texas in 1882, initially working on a ranch in La Salle County as a sheep herder and ranch hand, then Austin where he took a number of different jobs over the next several years, including pharmacist, draftsman, journalist, and clerk. While in Texas he also learned Spanish. In 1887 he eloped with Athol Estes, then eighteen years old and from a wealthy family. Her family objected to the match because both she and Porter suffered from tuberculosis. Athol gave birth to a son in 1888, who died shortly after birth, and then a daughter, Margaret, in 1889. In 1894 Porter started a humorous weekly called The Rolling Stone. Also in 1894, Porter resigned from the First National Bank of Austin where he had worked as a teller, after he was accused of embezzling funds. In 1895, after The Rolling Stone ceased publication, he moved to Houston, where he started writing for the Houston Post. Shortly thereafter, he was arrested for embezzlement in connection with his previous employment in Austin. Flight and Return Porter was granted bond, but the day before he was due to stand trial on July 7, 1896, he absconded to New Orleans and later to Honduras. However, in 1897, when he learned that his wife was dying, he returned to the United States and surrendered to the court, pending an appeal. Athol Estes Porter died July 25, 1897. Porter was found guilty of embezzlement, sentenced to five years jail, and imprisoned April 25, 1898 at the Ohio State Penitentiary. He was released on July 24, 1901 for good behaviour after serving three years. Origin of Pen Name Porter published at least twelve stories while in prison to help support his daughter. Not wanting his readers to know he was in jail, he started using the pen name "O. Henry". It is believed that Porter got this name from one of the guards who was named Orrin Henry. However, there is much debate on this issue: one Porter biographer asserts that the name was derived from a girlfriend's cat, which answered to "Oh, Henry!" Guy Davenport, meanwhile, wrote that the name was a condensation of "Ohio Penitentiary". It also could be an abbreviation of the name of French pharmacist, Etienne-Ossian Henry, who is referred to in the U.S. Dispensatory, a reference work Porter used when he was in the prison pharmacy. Further confusing the issue is that for at least one short story, and for a later autobiographical author profile, Porter signed the "full" name Olivier Henry. Porter also used a number of other noms de plume, most notably "Alex, Longford", and continued using a variety of pen names full-time when he took a writing contract for Ainslee's Magazine in New York City shortly after his release from prison. Eventually, "O. Henry" became the name that was most recognized by magazine editors and the reading public, and therefore led to the greatest fees for story sales. Accordingly, after about 1903 Porter used the "O. Henry" byline exclusively. In fact, after his prison term Porter almost never identified himself in print by his real name, even in private correspondence to close friends. To editors, he was simply O. Henry (or occasionally Olivier Henry). When writing to friends, however, he would routinely sign his letters with one of a wide range of deliberately nonsensical pseudonyms, such as "Horatio Swampwater". A Brief Stay At The Top Porter married again in 1907 to his childhood sweetheart, Sarah Lindsey Coleman. However, despite the success of his short stories being published in magazines and collections (or perhaps because of the attendant pressure success brought), Porter became an alcoholic. Sarah left him in 1909, and he died in 1910 of cirrhosis of the liver. After funeral services in New York City, he was buried in Asheville, North Carolina. His daughter, Margaret Worth Porter, died in 1927 and was buried with her father. Attempts were made to secure a presidential pardon for Porter during the administrations of Woodrow Wilson, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan. However, each attempt was met with the assertion that the Justice Department did not recommend pardons after death. This policy was clearly altered during the administration of Bill Clinton (who pardoned Henry Flipper), so the question of a pardon for O. Henry may yet again see the light of day. Stories O. Henry stories are famous for their surprise endings. He was called the American Guy De Maupassant. Both authors wrote twist endings, but O. Henry stories were much more playful and optimistic. Most of O.Henry's stories are set in his own time, the early years of the 20th century. Many take place in New York City, and deal for the most part with ordinary people: clerks, policemen, waitresses. His stories are also well known for witty narration. The Four Million (a collection of stories) opens with a reference to Ward McAllister's "assertion that there were only 'Four Hundred' people in New York City who were really worth noticing. But a wiser man has arisen—the census taker—and his larger estimate of human interest has been preferred in marking out the field of these little stories of the 'Four Million'". To O. Henry, everyone in New York counted. He had an obvious affection for the city, which he called Baghdad on the Subway, and many of his stories are set there—but others are set in small towns and in other cities. His famous story A Municipal Report opens by quoting Frank Norris: "Fancy a novel about Chicago or Buffalo, let us say, or Nashville, Tennessee! There are just three big cities in the United States that are 'story cities' — New York, of course, New Orleans, and, best of the lot, San Francisco." Thumbing his nose at Norris, O. Henry sets the story in Nashville. Fundamentally a product of his time, O. Henry's work provides one of the best English examples of catching the entire flavor of an age. Whether roaming the cattle-lands of Texas, exploring the art of the "gentle grifter", or investigating the tensions of class and wealth in turn of the century New York, O. Henry had an inimitable hand for isolating some element of society and describing it with an incredible economy and grace of language. Some of his best and least-known work resides in the collection "Cabbages and Kings", a series of stories which each explore some individual aspect of life in a paralytically sleepy South American town while each advancing some aspect of the larger plot and relating back one to another in a complex structure which slowly explicates its own background even as it painstakingly erects a town which is one of the most detailed literary creations of the period. Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow. O. Henry is so famous for his unexpected plot twists that this warning is especially important. A famous story of his, "The Gift of the Magi", concerns a young couple who are short of money but desperately want to buy each other Christmas gifts. Unbeknownst to Jim, Della sells her most valuable possession, her beautiful hair, in order to buy a platinum fob chain for Jim's watch; unbeknownst to Della, Jim sells his most valuable possession, his watch, to buy jeweled combs for Della's hair. The essential premise of this story has been copied, re-worked, parodied, and otherwise re-told countless times in the century since it was written. The Ransom of Red Chief concerns two men who kidnap a boy of ten. The boy turns out to be so bratty and obnoxious that the desperate men ultimately pay the boy's father two hundred and fifty dollars to take him back. The Cop and the Anthem concerns a New York City hobo named Soapy, who sets out to get arrested so he can spend the cold winter as a guest of the city jail. Despite efforts at petty theft, vandalism, disorderly conduct, and "mashing", Soapy fails to draw the attention of the police. Disconsolate, he pauses in front of a church, where an organ anthem inspires him to clean up his life - whereupon he is promptly arrested for loitering. In A Retrieved Reformation, safecracker Jimmy Valntine gets a job in a small town bank to case it for a robbery. Unexpectedly, he falls in love with the banker's daughter, and decides to go straight. Just as he's about to leave to deliver his specialized tools to an old associate, a lawman who recognizes him arrives at the bank, and a child locks herself in the airtight vault. Knowing it will seal his fate, Valentine cracks open the safe to rescue the child - and the lawman lets him go. [edit] Cultural relations O. Henry once said: "There are stories in everything. I've got some of my best yarns from park benches, lampposts, and newspaper stands." [citation needed] The O. Henry Awards are yearly prizes given to outstanding short stories. The O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships are held in May of each year in Austin, Texas, hosted by the city's O. Henry Museum. O. Henry is a household name in Russia, as his books enjoyed excellent translations and some of his stories were made into popular movies, the best known being, probably, "The Ransom of Red Chief". The phrase "Bolivar cannot carry double" from "The Roads We Take" has become a Russian proverbs, whose origin many Russians do not even recognize. O. Henry's first wife, Athol, was probably the model for Della[1]. In 1952 a film featuring five O. Henry stories was made. The primary one from the critic's acclaim was "The Cop and the Anthem" starring Charles Laughton and Marilyn Monroe. The other stories are "The Clarion Call," "The Last Leaf," "The Ransom of Red Chief," and "The Gift of the Magi." There is an O. Henry Middle School in Austin.
欧亨利名言名句 欧亨利经典语句
1862年9月11日,距华盛顿州不远的北卡罗来纳州有一个名叫格林斯波罗的小镇。小镇里一位不得志的医生和他美丽纤弱的妻子生了一个大眼睛、不大强壮的孩子。谁也不曾想到,在19世纪末20世纪初,这个孩子以欧·亨利的笔名平步文坛,成为一个深受美国和世界读者喜欢的伟大小说家,并且在百年之后仍然保持着长久的影响和魅力。 欧·亨利的人生之路崎岖、艰苦而又不幸,他三岁丧母,15岁就走向社会,从事过牧童、药剂师、事、办事员、制图员、出纳员等多种职业。1889年,他和罗琦不顾她父母的反对私奔成婚,并在年轻妻子鼓励下走上创作道路,创办《滚石》杂志,发表幽默小品。 后来,他因挪用银行资金被判五年徒刑。出狱后,他迁居纽约专门从事写作,每周为世界报提供一个短篇,但因第二次婚姻的不幸,加之饮酒过度,终于1910年6月5日在纽约病逝。 19世纪80年代至20世纪初的美国,随着资本主义逐渐向垄断发展,各种社会矛盾日益显露突出。 欧·亨利长期生活在下层,形形色色的社会现象使他对这些矛盾心感身受。曲折的人生、丰富的经历、独特的视角和敏锐的观察,使他情不自禁地把社会的各种现象形象地概括在自己的作品中,如下层劳动群众生活的贫穷艰辛,道貌岸然的上流骗子,巧取豪夺的金融寡头,肆无忌惮的买卖官爵,小偷、强盗、流浪汉的生活,以及失业、犯罪等等。 对贫民他充满了同情,对资产阶级剥削者从不同角度予以批判与揭露,道出了下层劳动群众对剥削、压迫的愤怒反抗与心声。 欧·亨利一生创作了270多个短篇小说和一部长篇小说,还有数量很少的诗歌。欧·亨利的诗歌创作反映了他对自然、人生所面临的社会矛盾的态度,他写小鸟、古老的村庄,歌颂流浪者,以阴郁的笔调吟颂“唱催眠曲的男孩”,抨击不合理的社会现象。 但因数量少、成就不大,因而影响很小。相反,他的许多书信倒是精彩的随笔,他同编辑谈生活,谈创作,表达作者的生活态度和创作思想。欧·亨利的代表作品是《麦琪的礼物》、《警察与赞美诗》和《最后一片叶子》。其著名小说还有《黄雀在后》、《市政报告》、《配供家具的客房》、《双料骗子》等,真实准确的细节描写,生动简洁的语言使一系列栩栩如生的艺术形象展现在读者面前,也使他在世界短篇小说史上占有重要位置。 有人曾将他比做“美国的莫泊桑”,这是有其道理的。 幽默是美国的文学传统之一。从华盛顿·欧文开始,许多作家都善于写那些有趣可笑而又意味深长的故事。欧文的幽默是在善意的揶揄之中含有淡淡的讽刺;马克·吐温的幽默以充满俚语的口语,滑稽、俏皮的描写和极夸张的形象,揭示了生活中的真理;欧文·肖的幽默则在注重描述人物性格的幽默风趣上。 欧·亨利承袭这一传统,受同时代作家的影响,加之一生经历坎坷,使得他独特的幽默与众不同——充满了辛酸的笑声,在夸张、嘲讽、风趣、诙谐、机智的幽默之中,含有抑郁、凄楚的情绪。读《麦琪的礼物》让人苦笑,读《警察与赞美诗》让人悲凉辛酸。这种“含泪的微笑”,加深了作品的社会意义,具有长久的艺术魅力。 处理小说的结尾,是欧·亨利最具创造性的贡献,也使他在美国和世界文学史上享有盛名。他善于戏剧性地设计情节,埋下伏笔,作好铺垫,勾勒矛盾,最后在结尾处出现一个出人意料的结局,使读者感到豁然开朗,柳暗花明,既在意料之外,又在情理之中,不禁拍案称奇。 但由于作者写作速度快且多,这种手法运用过多过滥,不免使人感到有明显的雷同和公式化的弊端。他的小说的结局常常出人意外;又因描写了众多的人物,富于生活情趣,被誉为“美国生活的幽默百科全书”。 欧·亨利不愧为“世界三大短篇小说家”之一,其高超的写作技巧,使得他的小说有了“欧·亨利式”这一称号。 以下是欧。亨利的名作《麦琪的礼物》赏析 : 《麦琪的礼物》这篇文章,一开头就设置悬念,德拉只有一元八毛,可是明天就是圣诞节了,她不够钱给丈夫买礼物,作者接着围绕德拉一头美丽的秀发和杰姆的金表展开描写,德拉为了给吉姆买他梦寐以求的金表表链,忍痛割爱,卖掉了一头的秀发。 等到吉姆回来,她发现丈夫看见她的短发,神情不对,在这里又设下了一个悬念,待德拉打开杰姆送给她的礼物,我们才恍然大悟,原来吉姆送给妻子一套发梳,德拉已经用不着了,接着,德拉送礼物给吉姆,再次出人意料,德拉的礼物也派不上用场了,因为吉姆的金表也卖掉了。 故事到此结束,却给人回味无穷。这是典型的“欧·亨利式情节”和“欧·亨利结局”,欧·亨利的写作风格我们可以从这里大概了解到一些。 文章极具“欧·亨利式的语言”,幽默、风趣、诙谐、俏皮、善用夸张和比喻。如那句“现在,他的收入缩减到二十美元,‘迪林厄姆’ 的字母也显得模糊不清,似乎它们正严肃地思忖着是否缩写成谦逊而又讲求实际的字母D。 ”给穷人生活的无奈增添了喜剧的色彩。 文章还极为细腻地刻画了人物的形象,他描写德拉瘦小而灵巧,身材苗条,特别是形容她的头发,用了夸张和比喻的手法,“如果示巴女王也住在天井对面的公寓里,总有一天德拉会把头发披散下来,露出窗外晾干,使那女王的珍珠宝贝黔然失色。 ” “德拉的秀发泼撒在她的周围,微波起伏,闪耀光芒,有如那褐色的瀑布。”他描写吉姆,“吉姆站在屋里的门口边,纹丝不动地好像猎犬嗅到了鹌鹑的气味似的。他的两眼固定在德拉身上”。“‘你说你的头发没有了吗?’他差不多是白痴似地问道。”把一个疼爱妻子,甘愿把祖传家宝卖掉为妻子买礼物的丈夫的形象生动地刻画出来。 读完这篇文章,我们不免感到遗憾那对贫穷的夫妻,为了爱人,他们卖掉了自己最为珍贵的东西,可是他们送给对方的礼物却都没有用处了。尽管这样,我们还是从中体会到那对夫妻的纯洁和善良,体会到他们永恒的爱情,同时也领会到美国下层人民生活的艰难和辛酸,作者对他们事实给予了深深的同情和祝福的。 最后一段,揭示文章的深刻主题,麦琪本是指圣婴基督出生时来自东方送礼的三贤人,作者把他们称作是麦琪,表现了他对劳动人民的尊重和热爱,同时给他们的礼物披上了神圣的色彩,是具有人性的,闪烁着爱的光芒的礼物。 。
笔名
本答案很长,纯干货
本文目的:从根本原理上剖析所谓的“欧亨利式结尾”,而不是稀里糊涂的总结为“意料之外,情理之中”,让各位能够运用此原理赏析和创作出优秀的欧亨利式故事作品。
正文
我们初、高中时期都在课本、练习册、测验试卷上或多或少地见到过欧亨利的作品,例如《麦琪的礼物》《最后一片叶子》《餐馆与玫瑰》《爱的牺牲》我们都读过一些,也被“欧亨利式结尾“所惊艳过,最后只是看着语文老师拿起讲义,照本宣科地念出“意料之外、情理之中”八个字,就算是学过欧亨利了,但是我们是否思考过,”意料之外,情理之中“这种肤浅的形容词,真能定义欧亨利风格吗?这八个字只是欧亨利风格造成的“结果”或者“感受”而已,但造成这种“结果”的原因是什么,却没人去探究。
欧·亨利的小说在艺术处理上的最大特点就是它们的“意外结局”,只有到了最后一刻,“谜底”才最终解开,情节的发展似乎明明朝着一个方向在发展,结果却来个出其不意。这意外的结局一般说来是比较令人宽慰的,即便是悲哀的结局,也常包含着某种光明之处,这就是所谓“带泪的微笑”,即“欧·亨利式结尾”。像《带家具出租的房间》这样的悲剧在欧·亨利的笔下是很少发生的。然而,意外的结局经常依赖于某种偶然性,而太多的偶然性又与现实产生距离,所以“意外结局”一面使欧·亨利的小说显示得趣味盎然,同时也使它们缺乏深度。以现实主义的笔法,触及中下层人群的日常状态,并提炼出贫苦生活中的幽默、机智的一面;善用各种戏剧性巧合,以意想不到的方式结尾,这正是美国短篇小说家欧·亨利的典型风格。“-------百度百科这是百度上对欧亨利风格的介绍,还有许多其他人的评价,也都是千篇一律,没有深入本质。
我也曾查找过知网上的各种论文,它们对欧亨利的探讨也只是浮于表面,甚至还变得更加繁复,将欧亨利故事总结为各种类型,比如“柳暗花明型”“蓄力爆发型”等等,这些玩意儿在我看来甚至还不如“意料之外,情理之中”的概括性高。
那么欧亨利风格究竟是什么?
主观愿望与客观现实的绝对对立:人物带着主观愿望,采取一切能达成目的的行动,去实现主观愿望,然而恰好造成了、或者认识了与主观愿望完全对立的客观现实。
“意料之外、情理之中”是肤浅的定义,它们只是两个形容词,是“欧亨利式结尾”造成的效果,而不是这种风格的原理或本质上的特征。
要分析欧亨利风格,自然要先读欧亨利的作品,当然我不会丢出原文链接,我在PPT里写了几个欧亨利小说的梗概,各位如果没看过或者记不住小说情节,可以看我的梗概,看完之后,我们才能一起分析。
NO.1《餐馆与玫瑰》
男主是一个新人演员,想要获得话剧《华灯初上》的乡巴佬男主角的角色,但是经理告诉他剧组招的演员都由当红女星决定的,你能不能获得角色得看女星怎么说,而且女星是乡村长大的,深知乡巴佬究竟是怎样的存在,之前来的许多擅长演乡巴佬的男演员都她拒绝了。于是,男主告别经理,专程跑到女星的老家去住了三天,然后假扮成女星老家的人去餐馆探望女星,女星并没有识破男主,男主跟她提起许多她老家的事情,女星显得非常怀念老家,男主还说她母亲每天坐在门前想念女星,觉得某天女儿厌倦了外面的世界就会从这条路回来,女星嘲笑说她才不会回那个死气沉沉的地方,然后就回旅馆睡觉了。男主跟一旁的经理使眼色,经理也夸他聪明,让他最好明天早上就找女星,把角色给敲定。第二天,男主来到女星的豪华旅馆,但是女星并不在,只剩女星的生活助理,生活助理告诉他,女星昨天已经取消所有演出合同,连夜赶回老家去陪母亲养老去了。
《餐馆与玫瑰》分析
人物愿望:获得话剧的乡巴佬角色
实现条件:演技得到女星认可(女星乡村长大)
采取行动:到女星老家住三天,再装成老乡接近女星
行动结果:女星没有识破他的伪装,他有资格获得角色
最终结果:女星因为男主的话思念家乡和母亲,放弃一切回老家了,男主无法获得角色
NO.2《警察与赞美诗》
主人公苏比在冬天即将到来的时候,开始为进入他的冬季寓所--布莱克韦尔监狱作出努力,使尽各种办法想让警察逮捕他。苏比想到餐厅吃霸王餐,结果门口保安一眼识破他是个穷鬼把他赶走,苏比砸碎商店的橱窗然后挑衅警察,警察却觉得苏比这么大胆肯定不是砸橱窗的凶手就没理他,然后他去调戏街边的少妇,想让警察抓他,结果那女人正好是个妓女,他在街上狂吼扰乱治安,结果警察却跟路人解释附近的耶鲁大学举办球赛赢了,那是学生在庆祝,政府允许他们喧哗。苏比又去偷了一把别人放在商店门口的伞,那人追出来,苏比恶脸相向霸占雨伞,那人却说不好意思,这伞其实是他捡到的,现在归还给苏比。苏比感到绝望,不再去搞破坏,他来到公园里,听到教堂传出的赞美诗和音乐,受到了上帝感化,决定放弃过去颓废的生活,重新开始人生。但这时,警察却找到他,将他抓了起来,罪名是“四处闲逛”,刑期三个月,苏比被“如愿”地被送到了监狱里。
《警察与赞美诗》分析
人物愿望:进入监狱在里面过冬
实现条件:让警察逮捕他
采取行动:吃霸王餐、砸商店、调戏妇女、大声喧哗、偷伞
行动结果:进不了门、警察不睬他、妇女是妓女、学生庆祝、伞是那人捡到的
人物第二愿望:主角受到赞美诗感化,想要做好人,重新开始生活
最终结果:被警察以闲逛罪名逮捕
NO.3《爱的牺牲》
男主是年轻画家,女主是年轻音乐家,两人一见钟情然后同居,在大城市里共同为艺术梦想打拼,都坚持观点“当你爱好你的艺术时时没有什么是不可以牺牲的”,两人都找了名师学习,可是没多久他们就没钱了。女主决定去教音乐赚取生活费,她也不希望恋人的艺术之路被经济问题所影响,女主最后在一位将军家里教小孩钢琴。男主觉得女主都在赚钱,他一个男人也该出去找活干,比如卖报纸或者铺石子路,女主阻止他,说你不能放弃艺术,她就算教人弹钢琴也是跟艺术在一起的。于是男主跑到中央公园去卖素描了,这样又能赚钱又能画画。过了一阵子,男主发现女主的手被烫伤了裹着纱布,女主发现男主手掌每天都是黑黑的,两人终于向对方坦白,女主原来是在一个大型洗衣店熨衣服,因为她根本找不到学生。男主则是在那家大型洗衣店地下烧锅炉,因为并没有人买他的画,而且女主的纱布就是别人让男主帮忙找的。
最后男主笑着说“当你爱好你的艺术时,就觉得没有什么是不能牺牲的。”
女主捂住男主嘴,说“只用说,当你爱的时候……”
《爱的牺牲》分析
人物愿望(双主角):赚钱支撑恋人追寻艺术梦想
实现条件:牺牲学习时间去打工,但不能抛弃艺术
采取行动(表象):找与艺术相关的工作,女孩教钢琴,男孩卖画
行动结果(真相):女孩在洗衣店熨烫衣服,男孩在洗衣店烧锅炉
最终结果:两个极其热爱艺术的恋人,为了对方追寻艺术梦想,悄悄放弃自己的艺术梦想。将“当热爱艺术时,什么都可以牺牲”变成了“当爱一个人的时候,什么都可以牺牲。”
原理总结
欧亨利小说的共性就在于:主观愿望与客观现实的绝对对立,人物带着主观愿望,采取一切能达成目的的行动,去实现主观愿望,然而恰好造成了、或者认识了与主观愿望完全对立的客观现实。
(其实这种说法只是一半,即“行动成功,愿望失败”,还有另一半“行动失败,愿望成功。”接下来我会分享一个后者类型的故事)
《两个人做梦的故事》梗概(“行动失败,愿望成功”型故事)
男主是开罗一个富豪的儿子,富豪死后男主继承了所有家产,但是男主挥金如土,没多久就败光了家底,就剩下一套带宅院的大房子。这天,男主在院子里午睡,院子里有一个喷泉,喷泉旁有株无花果树,男主就靠在无花果树下睡觉,他梦到安拉对他说,你的财富在波斯,去哪里寻找吧。男主心想自己已经一无所有,还不如相信一回梦,于是男主出发了,历经千难万险终于到了波斯。就在他离城不远的时候,他遇上了强盗,但是幸好官兵来得快,将他和强盗一起抓回城里的监狱。监狱里的一个士兵队长问他来波斯干嘛,男主老实交代自己做梦的事儿,队长就嘲笑男主傻,说自己已经连续三次梦见开罗的一座大房子,房子花园里有棵无花果树,树旁边有个喷泉,喷泉底下埋着大堆财宝,可是老子从来没信过这些荒诞的梦。你这个白痴,赶紧滚回老家去吧。男主听了不动声色就离开了波斯,回到家里,把院子里的喷泉挖开,果然发现了大堆财宝,于是又过上了奢侈的生活。
上述两种类型,其实原理相通,只要能深刻理解“主观愿望与客观现实的绝对对立了”就能理解、赏析、创作出欧亨利风格的故事。当然,本文只能在理论上给你一定地指导,并不是说看完本文你就能写出完美的欧亨利式故事,就算是欧亨利本人,也是经常失手的。欧亨利小说全集共4卷,一卷700多页,共2800多页,可以说是十分高产,然而高产的代价就是质量参差不齐,有大量失败品,风格明显的作品只占少数,而且类型多样,一般人根本无法透过表象去总结其中的隐藏原理。
看到这里各位应该已经理解了什么是欧亨利风格,但欧亨利风格还有许许多多的延伸和变体,比如单线反讽、双线反讽、多线反讽、套层反讽等等,在电影中运用得非常之多!
在罗伯特·麦基的《故事》中有三种故事结局,一种是正面乐观结局,一种负面悲观结局,还有一种就是反讽结局。麦基对反讽结局的定义是“通过一个单一的动作,同时达成正面和负面的结局,但是两种力量不能相同,必然有一方大于另一方”,这种说法看似复杂难以理解,其实这就是我们所谓的“欧亨利式结局”,主人公采取一个单一行动,行动成功(正面),愿望失败(负面),或者行动失败(负面),愿望成功(正面),关键点就在于必须将正负价值绑定在一个行动上。
我个人是习惯于用反讽这个词,欧亨利风格就等于反讽,然后我将自己得出的欧亨利原理和麦基的原理融合,延伸出了这几个反讽变体类型。
1·单线反讽:《餐馆与玫瑰》《禁闭岛》《记忆碎片》等(单一主人公,单一行动,单一愿望)
2·双线反讽:《麦琪的礼物》《爱的牺牲》(双主人公,两个行动,愿望结果完全对立,其反讽效果不是单纯的1+1=2,而是更加强烈的1+1>2,是更高阶的反讽形式,涉及到哲学,不展开。)
3·多线反讽:《疯狂的石头》《两杆大烟枪》(多主人公,多行动,愿望结果并不互相、完全对立)
4·套层反讽(戏中戏):《盗梦空间》《异次元骇客》《黑客帝国》《达不到目的的巫师》(博尔赫斯短篇小说集)
鉴于篇幅我就不再一一解说,如果你理解了本文的核心和分析方式,你就会从小说、电影等故事中分析出来我没有说出的东西,也会发现,欧亨利风格其实无处不在,就像真理一样无处不在,但恰恰因为无处不在,所以我们视而不见。
其实,要深刻理解欧亨利原理,是必须要上升到哲学层面的,许多评论家都说欧亨利的小说是小把戏,我认同,但我也不认同,一个小把戏能让欧亨利成为世界三大短篇作家之一,这小把戏也太厉害了吧?我在本文中提到的原理并没有上升哲学层面,不是达不到,只是不想,而且没必要,上升哲学层面之后会衍生出许许多多的东西,三天三夜也说不完。我只能说,分析文本的时候要学会透过表象,过滤掉自然语言的抽象和细节,看到更加形式化的规律和具有普遍性的原理。
最后我放几个自己做PPT临时编的欧亨利式小故事,不是很精密严谨,但还是能体现欧亨利风格的。
1小明非常爱吃鸡排拌饭里面的鸡排,可鸡排永远是比饭少的,所以小明十分珍惜每一块鸡排,每次吃饭都先吃完白饭,把大部分鸡排留到最后慢慢享受,每当这时侯同学们端着空空的餐盘路过,就会说:“哎呀你还有这么多鸡排我吃一块吧!”同学们散开后,鸡排就没剩几块了。
(发现一个类似段子:小时候学画画,总是舍不得用颜料,因为颜料非常贵,我每次都只用一点点,结果用到一半颜料就全都凝固了,迫不得已只能扔掉……)
2小明回到家,发现家里遭小偷了,但是没丢贵重物品。他觉得不安全,就跟邻居借了条特别凶狠的藏獒栓在院子里,防止小偷半夜偷袭。第二天小明发现,狗被偷了。
3小明和老婆去民政局离婚,然后喝下了忘情水,忘掉过去。一个月后,小明遇到一个非常可爱、懂他心思的女孩,他们俩很快坠入爱河到民政局领结婚证,民政局的人见到他俩却说:“你们俩不是上个月才离婚吗?”(这个也许很多人在网易评论区见过,但是当年我是真的想出来过,后来我发现金凯利的电影也用过这个点子,再往后发掘其实在1951年那阵子就被荒诞主义戏剧给用过了……所以不是抄袭,只是灵感撞衫而已。)
PS:《两个人做梦的故事》还不够反讽,让我来改的话,我会让男主卖掉房子换盘缠,再出发……
A:说到这咱们得插一句,欧亨利的笔名是从何而来的呢?其实就来自于欧亨利那段逃亡生涯当中一次很偶然的机会。
B:当时波特逃亡到洪都拉斯的时候混得是相当差,这使他的想法又有了改变,觉得与其在外面流浪、捱饿、睡公园、活得如此原生态,那不如回去蹲监狱,至少吃喝不用愁吧。
A:于是他就说干就干,又跑回了新奥尔良。没进监狱之前在这混迹了很长时间,波特的文学生涯其实也是从这会儿开始的,而他的笔名也是拜此所赠。
B:对,新奥尔良当时有一家人人皆知的酒吧,大家都把它叫做烟厂酒吧,这酒吧的老板叫做亨利,三教九流认识的人非常多,算是一个包打听吧。当时记者们常常光顾这酒吧,从他那买消息,顺便喝上几杯,来上几口。这爱喝酒的波特也短不了去那。
A:有这么一天,波特和两个记者在酒吧里一边聊一边吃东西,聊到兴头的时候,波特转身跟老板喊噢,亨利,再照样来一份。几个人在这等着菜,波特从口袋里掏出一篇写好的稿子说,弟兄们,我不想署上自己的名字,我可是一个通缉犯,我用什么名字才好呢?
B:有一个记者听到了,马上灵机一动,脑子快,就对他说了,你干吗不干脆就署上噢亨利呢。这就是欧亨利的来历,你不是天天在这喝酒吗,把这个名字挂在嘴上。
A:波特一想还真是不错,于是他拿起了面前的稿子,在上面正其实签上了欧亨利的笔名。