從「姿態人生」談李昌來小說裡的美國夢

Abstract

韓裔美國作家李昌來（Chang-rae Lee）以他的第二部小說《姿態人生》（A Gesture Life）創造了一個非道地的英語詞彙「姿態人生」（“a gesture life”），但此一名詞適足以譬喻李昌來首三部小說的主人翁所過的生活。這些主角道貌岸然，看似過著受人敬重、羨慕的生活，但事實上個個心虛難安，缺乏勇氣正視其矯作姿態背後所意圖掩飾的人生缺陷。這些人物之所以裡外矛盾，其實都源自於壓抑在記憶中難以承受的創傷，以及受圚於「美國夢」的不實幻想。本文首先將從偽飾、模仿、雙重意識、角色扮演的角度，比較並解釋「姿態人生」之為一現代寓言的意義為何，進而分析李昌來的三部作品，並以此檢討美國夢。

Korean American writer Chang-rae Lee has created an unidiomatic English to entitle his second novel, A Gesture Life, for portraying a life with affectations and disillusionments. In fact, “a gesture life” could serve as the title for Lee’s first three novels since all his “admirable” protagonists lead a life with neither sincerity nor affections, mainly due to their long-suppressed trauma and their obsession of pursuing the American dream. This essay will firstly explicate how “a gesture life” denotes a modern allegory by comparing and contrasting it with passing, mimicry, double-consciousness and impersonation, and then present a reading of Lee’s novels, so as to examine Lee’s reflection on the American Dream.