A Setting as a Symbol · 作为象征的场景
Places can become symbolic too
- A setting may become symbolic when it is, or comes to be, associated with abstractions such as emotions, ideologies and beliefs.
- The CED names the abstractions precisely: not "ideas" in general, but emotions, ideologies and beliefs.
- So a symbolic setting stands for something a person could feel, argue for, or hold.
A station may be only a station until repeated departures turn it into a feeling.
地方也可以成为象征
- 当背景与情感、意识形态、信念这类抽象之物相关联(或逐渐相关联)时,它可能成为象征。
- CED 精确点出了这些抽象之物:不是笼统的"观念",而是情感、意识形态与信念。
- 因此象征性的背景所代表的,是某个人可以感受、可以为之辩护、或可以持有的东西。
车站起初只是车站；离别多了，它也许就成了一种心情。
Select all · 所有 the abstractions the CED names for a symbolic setting. · 选择CED为象征性场景命名的所有抽象概念。
A plot is not an abstraction a place can stand for. · 情节不是场所可以代表的抽象概念。
"Is, or comes to be"
- The CED allows both routes, and they need different evidence.
- A setting that is already associated arrives with the association — you cite the association, not the text.
- A setting that comes to be built it inside this story — and that is the version you can prove line by line.
"是,或逐渐成为"
- CED 允许两条路径,而它们需要不同的证据。
- 已经具有关联的背景是带着这份关联而来的——你引用的是那份关联,而不是文本。
- 逐渐成为的背景,是在这个故事里把它建立起来的——而这个版本你可以逐行证明。
"Is, or comes to be, associated" allows... · “是，或逐渐变得有关联”允许……
A prior association is cited; a built one is proved line by line. · 先前的关联是被引用的；已建立的关联是一行一行被证明的。
Some settings are nearly universal
- Over time, some settings have developed certain associations such that they almost universally symbolize particular concepts.
- A courtroom, a graveyard, a border, a sickroom.
- Note almost: a text can invoke the universal association in order to break it, and that break is the analysis.
有些背景几近普世
- 随着时间推移,有些背景形成了某些关联,以至于它们几乎普遍地象征特定概念。
- 法庭、墓地、边界、病房。
- 注意"几乎":文本可以召唤那份普世关联,为的是打破它,而那次打破正是分析所在。
Where does this setting's meaning come from? · 这个场景的意义来自哪里？
Sort each case by how the association was formed. · 按关联形成的方式对每种情况进行排序。
"Almost universally" leaves room for a text to break the association. · “几乎普遍如此”留给文本打破这种关联的空间。
A graveyard where nothing solemn happens uses its own association against itself. · 一个没有庄重事件发生的墓地利用其自身的关联反噬自身。
A universal association can be invoked in order to be broken. The CED says almost universally — so a courtroom where nothing is judged, or a graveyard where nothing is mourned, is using the reader's expectation as material. Ask what the setting meant before this story used it.
普世的关联可以被召唤出来,为的是被打破。CED 说的是"几乎"普遍——因此一个什么也没审判的法庭、一个无人哀悼的墓地,是在把读者的预期当作材料。要问:在这个故事使用它之前,这个背景意味着什么。
Always ask what association the setting carried ____ the story used it. · 始终询问场景在使用之前携带了什么关联。
The gap between that and what the story does is the meaning. · 那个关联与故事实际所做的之间的差距就是意义所在。
Breaking the association is the interesting case
- A graveyard where nothing solemn happens is using its own association against itself.
- The reader arrives expecting one thing and receives another — and the gap is the meaning.
- So always ask what association the setting carried before the story used it.
打破关联才是有意思的情形
- 一个什么肃穆之事也没发生的墓地,是在用它自己的关联对抗自己。
- 读者带着一种预期到来,却收到另一种——而那道落差就是含义。
- 因此永远要问:在故事使用它之前,这个背景携带着什么关联。
Put the symbolic-setting pass in order. · 按顺序排列象征性场景分析步骤。
The two routes need different evidence, so the decision comes second. · 两条路径需要不同的证据，所以判断是第二步。
A symbolic-setting pass
- Name the setting and the emotion, ideology or belief it is associated with.
- Decide: did it arrive with the association, or did the story build it?
- If it arrived with one, ask whether the story confirms it or breaks it.
象征性背景检查
- 说出这个背景,以及与之关联的情感、意识形态或信念。
- 判断:它是带着这份关联而来,还是这个故事把它建立起来的?
- 如果它带着关联而来,就问这个故事是确认了它,还是打破了它。
The family gathers in a sickroom and discusses the sale of a field. Nobody looks at the bed. The setting arrives associated with mortality and attention, and the story uses that association to measure exactly how far the conversation has strayed — the symbol works by being ignored.
一家人聚在病房里,商量一块田地的变卖。没有人看那张床。这个背景带着关于死亡与关注的关联而来,而这个故事用这份关联,精确地丈量出这场谈话偏离了多远——这个象征是通过被无视而起作用的。
A setting may become symbolic when it is, or comes to be, associated with emotions, ideologies or beliefs. Some settings carry almost universal associations — which a text can confirm or break, and the break is the analysis. Ask what the setting meant before this story used it.
当背景与情感、意识形态或信念相关联(或逐渐相关联)时,它可能成为象征。有些背景携带几近普世的关联——文本可以确认它,也可以打破它,而打破正是分析所在。要问这个背景在这个故事使用它之前意味着什么。