A Day’s Wait

Ernest Hemingway

“人生的意義就在于一種精神，即敢于承受痛苦，蔑視死亡”。

這篇《一整天的等待》講的是一個九歲的男孩，由于不了解“華氏”(Fahrenheit)和“攝氏”(Celsius)換算方法，誤以為自己快要發燒燒“死”了。小說形象、具體、細致地刻畫了在“一天的等待死亡”過程中，小男孩所表現出來的不畏死神的勇氣。

海明威力求生動而精確地表達印象深刻的重大尖銳時刻，表達那種“對事物真諦的頓悟”的經歷。有讀者認為，在這篇小說中，“父親象征了知識和力量，兒子則象征了天真和無知”。可以說這是從一個視角來詮釋該處的象征意義。但我以為海明威在這里的筆墨并不是著重于表現兒子的“天真和無知”，而是著重于他面對死亡所表現出的勇氣以及對父母的體諒。他具體形象地把一個九歲的小孩，壓抑情感的過程，刻畫得淋漓盡致。這些對壓抑的情緒的描寫在本篇小說中隨處可見。

He came into the room to shut the windows while we were still in bed and I saw he looked ill. He was shivering, his face was white, and he walked slowly as though it ached to move.

’What’s the matter, Schatz?’

’I’ve got a headache.’

’You better go back to bed.’

’No, I’m all right.’

’You go to bed. I’ll see you when I’m dressed.’

But when I came downstairs he was dressed, sitting by the fire, looking a very sick and miserable boy of nine years. When I put my hand on his forehead I knew he had a fever.

’You go up to bed,’ I said, ’you’re sick.’

’I’m all right,’ he said.

When the doctor came he took the boy’s temperature.

’What is it?’ I asked him.

’One hundred and two.’