反烏托邦末世小說：那么愛你為什么？

兩袖清風(fēng)

反烏托邦末世小說，如果說這個詞對你來說有些陌生的話，那么諸如《饑餓游戲》《分歧者》《移動迷宮》這類電影你一定不會覺得陌生。這些電影以世界末日后的社會為背景，影片中的主人公因為種種原因不得不去決斗、反抗、求生，讓眾多青少年震撼和癡迷。眾所周知，這類電影都改編自其同名小說，而這類小說就是近年來頗受青少年歡迎的反烏托邦末世小說。為何這類小說會得到青少年的青睞？為何它們會掀起一股末世小說潮流？且讓我們隨本文去一探究竟。

Duels3） to the death. Revolution. Post-apocalyptic survival. Is this the stuff of popular young adult literature today？ In a word， yes. In the last few years， dystopian novels have dominated the young adult—better known as YA—bestseller lists. One of the most popular series is The Hunger Games. But it's certainly not the only one. Divergent and The Maze Runner， like The Hunger Games， are just a few of the many recently published books that tap into4） YAs' hunger to read about dystopian societies in a post-apocalyptic future. So， what's driving this trend？

生死對決。革命反抗。劫后求生。難道這是如今青少年文學(xué)流行的題材？兩個字：沒錯。近幾年來，反烏托邦小說一直雄踞各大青少年（俗稱YA）小說暢銷書排行榜的榜首。其中最受歡迎的系列小說之一便是《饑餓游戲》。不過，《饑餓游戲》當(dāng)然也絕非唯一的一部。青少年渴望閱讀描寫有關(guān)未來浩劫之后的反烏托邦社會的小說，近來出版的很多書就抓住了他們的這種渴求，而《分歧者》和《移動迷宮》就像《饑餓游戲》一樣，不過是滄海一粟罷了。那么，是什么推動了這股風(fēng)潮？

What's Old Is New Again 舊瓶裝新酒

Many experts attribute the trend to the uncertain times young people are growing up in. Many of the new novels are set in a post-apocalyptic future， in which young people must clean up the mess their elders have made.

Todd Mitchell， author of YA novel Backwards and other books， believes that the post-apocalyptic angle seen in so many YA novels today is a response to a deep-rooted social need or anxiety. "We know that all our pollution and over-consumption is driving the planet to ruin. We might not accept the science of climate change， but we can't ignore all the droughts， floods， super storms， forest fires， heat waves and other signs of a world spinning out of balance. Nor can we ignore the many signs of social inequality leading to civil unrest." he wrote on his website.

Mitchell thinks young people are especially sensitive to these issues， which has driven the popularity of books set in a bleak5） future. "I think teens are particularly aware of this， perhaps because they're not so interested in the status quo6），" he said. "Or perhaps because this is the world they're inheriting， and they're [upset] that we're trashing7） it. So there's a thread of anxiety running through our culture."

Indeed， what's different today， says Claudia Gray， New York Times bestselling author， is the amount of pressure on young people. "I think the pressure on young adults to define themselves has increased， and it's starting earlier and earlier in life，" said Gray. "We see increased standardized testing， increased homework levels， etc. By the time you're 14， you've already been forced into a mold that's going to be hard to break out of."

很多專家認(rèn)為，之所以出現(xiàn)這股潮流，是因為當(dāng)今青少年成長的時代充滿了不確定性。許多新出版的小說都將故事背景設(shè)定在浩劫過后的未來世界，里面的年輕一代不得不去收拾老一輩留下的爛攤子。

青少年小說《倒帶》等書的作者托德·米切爾認(rèn)為，如今以末日浩劫為切入角度的青少年小說數(shù)不勝數(shù)，這反映出一種根深蒂固的社會訴求或者說社會焦慮?！拔覀冎?，各類環(huán)境污染和過度消耗正使地球走向毀滅，我們或許可以不接受有關(guān)氣候變化的那套科學(xué)理論，但卻無法忽視旱災(zāi)、洪澇、超強(qiáng)風(fēng)暴、森林火災(zāi)、高溫以及其他全球失衡的跡象，也無法忽視諸多社會不公引發(fā)民亂的現(xiàn)象?！彼谧约旱木W(wǎng)站上寫道。

米切爾認(rèn)為，年輕人對這些問題尤為敏感，這促使以悲慘未來為背景的小說大行其道?！拔矣X得青少年更能意識到這些問題，這或許是因為他們對現(xiàn)狀不那么感興趣，”他說，“也或許是因為他們接手的世界就是如此。看到我們這樣糟蹋這個世界，他們感到[不安]。因此，我們的文化里貫穿著一種焦慮?！?/p>

此言不虛?！都~約時報》暢銷書作家克勞迪婭·格雷表示，年輕人面臨的壓力今非昔比?！拔艺J(rèn)為青少年面臨的安身立命的壓力越來越大，而且這種壓力在生活中出現(xiàn)得也越來越早，”格雷說，“我們看到越來越多的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化考試和越來越多的家庭作業(yè)等等。等他們長到14歲的時候，他們早已被迫定格成型，再難從中突破?！?/p>

Breakout Roles 突破性角色

Gray noted that many dystopian， post-apocalyptic YA novels are specifically about refusing to accept the definitions， tests and choices forced on young characters by their society. "Almost all YA dystopians at least touch on this theme—refusing to let anyone else define you." said Gray.

Today's young people have also grown up amid threats of terrorism， ongoing war and a 24/78） news cycle in which darkness and evil-doers are the stars of the show. The books they are drawn to may reflect the times they are living in.

"For today's young adults， a world of instability， a world that is constantly teetering9） on the edge of another major catastrophe10）， is just the norm，" said Barna Donovan of Saint Peter's University. "When young adults read these books， stories about teenagers who must fight for their lives and fight for their freedom in a world that a previous generation has wrecked11）， they are reading a metaphorical representation of their own world. Today's kids have been handed a world their elders mismanaged， used up， polluted and wrecked. What better metaphor could anyone create for the life of a teenager who knows he or she has no choice but take on a crushing amount of debt to go to college， to gain an education that will make it harder than ever to establish a career， all the while existing in a world of endless foreign wars and watched over by intrusive government bureaucracies12） and corporations that constantly spy on them or monitor all of their electronic communications？"

格雷指出，很多以末世為背景的反烏托邦青少年小說都側(cè)重于表現(xiàn)年輕主人公如何拒絕接受社會強(qiáng)加給他們的定義、考驗和選擇。“幾乎所有的反烏托邦青少年小說都至少會觸及這個主題——拒絕讓其他任何人界定自己。”格雷說。

如今的年輕人還成長在恐怖主義威脅、持續(xù)不斷的戰(zhàn)爭和晝夜不停的新聞報道（負(fù)能量、惡勢力是報道的重頭戲）中。他們愛看什么書或許折射出了他們生活的時代。

“在今天的年輕人看來，世界動蕩不安，總是一副浩劫在即、大廈將傾的模樣才是正常的，”美國圣彼得大學(xué)的巴爾納·多諾萬說，“而這些末世小說講述的都是這樣的故事：青少年生活在一個被上一代破壞的世界里，他們必須為自己的生存和自由而戰(zhàn)。當(dāng)青少年讀這些小說時，他們從中仿佛讀到了自身所處世界的影子。今天的孩子們從老一輩手里接過的是一個混亂無序、資源枯竭、污染遍布、千瘡百孔的世界。他們知道，為進(jìn)大學(xué)他們別無他法只能高筑債臺，但接受的教育卻會越來越難以讓他們撐起一份事業(yè)。而且與此同時他們還置身于一個充滿無休無止的對外戰(zhàn)爭的世界，處于無孔不入的政府機(jī)關(guān)以及企業(yè)的監(jiān)視之中——這些機(jī)關(guān)和企業(yè)不斷在監(jiān)控青少年或其所有電子通信信息。除了反烏托邦末世小說，誰還能創(chuàng)造出可以更好地反映青少年這種生活寫照的東西？”

1. apocalyptic [??p?k??l?pt?k] adj. 世界末日的；毀滅性的

2. dystopian： 請參見P15注釋1

3. duel [?dju??l] n. 決斗；競爭

4. tap into： 設(shè)法（通過可以帶來好結(jié)果的方式）利用

5. bleak [bli?k] adj. 沒有希望的；凄涼的

6. status quo： 現(xiàn)狀；原狀

7. trash [tr??] vt. 破壞，搗毀

8. 24/7： 一天24小時、一星期7天的縮寫，指“全天候（提供服務(wù)）的”。

9. teeter [?ti?t?（r）] vi. 面臨（險境）；瀕臨（災(zāi)難）邊緣

10. catastrophe [k??t?str?fi] n. 大災(zāi)難；浩劫

Rise of the Technology 科技的崛起

The prevalence13） of technology may also be a factor fueling the popularity of dystopian， post-apocalyptic fiction among young adults. Via smartphones， tablets14） and， increasingly， wearables15）， tech is literally at our fingertips all day every day. And tech-savvy16） young people are well aware that being that connected means most of our movement and communication can be tracked. These are all themes that show up in current YA fiction.

Monique Anair， assistant professor of Santa Fe Community College， believes we are at an interesting inflection point： in addition to young adults' natural desire to see themselves in what they read and watch， technology has made it possible to present those images more realistically.

"In almost all dystopian worlds， young people hold the values that the adults have forgotten，" she said. "Against all odds in the horrible world that the adults have left them， the children know what is important. They love， survive and struggle to make sense of their own personal power."

科技的普及或許也是促使反烏托邦末世小說在青少年中間十分盛行的一個因素。通過智能手機(jī)、平板電腦以及勢頭漸強(qiáng)的可佩戴式電子設(shè)備，科技幾乎時時刻刻都觸手可及。懂科技的年輕人深知，我們和科技如此緊密的聯(lián)系意味著我們的大部分活動和通信都可以被追蹤。這些全都是如今的青少年小說中展現(xiàn)出的主題。

圣達(dá)菲社區(qū)學(xué)院助理教授莫妮克·安埃爾認(rèn)為，我們當(dāng)前處在一個有趣的拐點(diǎn)：除了年輕人自然而然地會想要從所讀所見中看到自己的身影，科技業(yè)已能夠?qū)⑦@些形象更加真實地呈現(xiàn)出來。

“在幾乎所有的反烏托邦小說里，年輕人都秉承著大人們早已忘卻的價值觀念，”她說，“孩子們在大人們留給他們的那個可怕的世界里頂住重重困難，他們知道什么重要。他們愛著，生存著，奮斗著，只為發(fā)揮一己之力?！?/p>

It's a story as old as time—and as new as Mockingjay.

他們的故事如歲月般古老，亦如《嘲笑鳥》般新鮮。

11. wreck [rek] vt. 弄壞；毀壞

12. bureaucracy [bj???r?kr?si] n. 官僚（集稱）；官僚制度

13. prevalence [?prev?l?ns] n. 流行；盛行

14. tablet [?t?bl?t] n. （= tablet computer）平板電腦

15. wearable [?we?r?bl] n. 佩戴式電子設(shè)備

16. savvy [?s?vi] adj. 具有實際知識的；知識淵博的