Rumors are busted,

The students were able to calm down and think about Lu Shi's words again.

The scene became extremely quiet.

Lu Shi looked around and said, "As I mentioned earlier, today's theme is the conflict between secular cognition and literary creation. For example, Strickland, the protagonist of "The Moon and Sixpence", is not likable. ”

Not to be pleasant,

Many people even feel a little disgusting after reading it.

As a wealthy middle-class man in the financial industry, Strickland has a happy family.

Who would have thought that he would suddenly run away from home and only pursue a dream that he had only started in his forties-

Painting.

But the reality is cruel,

Unable to sell a painting in Paris, he was ill and nearly killed, and finally survived with the help of Strelf's funding.

Outrageously, Streuf financed not only money, but also his wife.

But Strickland was a complete scumbag, pants up, and continued to pursue art, eventually ending up in isolated Tahiti, where he married a local indigenous woman.

He continued to paint, and he contracted leprosy.

Before he died, he completed the huge mural and left a last word that the house full of murals would be burned after his death.

Lu Shi asked, "How many people don't like the protagonist?" Raise your hand, please. ”

The scene was silent for a few seconds,

Then, the students slowly raised their hands,

Roughly 70% of the scene.

Unexpectedly, Lu Shi himself raised his hand.

There was a whisper in the auditorium.

It's not uncommon for writers to dislike their characters.

Lu Shi asked again: "How many people like him?" ”

This time it was the remaining three adults who raised their hands.

And Lu Shi raised it again.

Immediately, a student said, "Professor Lu raised his hand twice. It seems that your attitude towards Strickland is very complicated. ”

Lu Shi sighed shallowly,

"Yes, it's very complicated. On the one hand, I think Strickland is indeed a man of low morals; On the other hand, I have some admiration for his attitude towards life. ”

The students fell silent.

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the world had not yet begun to turn to the left, not only in East Asia, but also in the vast majority of countries and nations.

Most of the time, people are living for their families or for a collective.

There's nothing wrong with that.

But people's hearts throb again, and occasionally they want to be impulsive and willful,

Humanism is also surging.

A professor in the front row said: "Professor Lu, frankly speaking, there are many people in this world who are as obsessed with dreams as Strickland, but how many can really become great painters?" Moreover, even Strickland became famous after his death. ”

Lu Shi nodded,

He just wanted to admit what the other party said, but a student spoke for him.

"Professor, you didn't read the book."

Cambridge students are also brave and firmly adhere to the principle of "I love my teacher, I love the truth even more".

The professor who asked the question was not annoyed,

He turned around,

"How?"

The student replied, "Achievements in the worldly sense should not be discussed. ”

The professor laughed, "However, Professor Lu described Strickland's artistic success. ”

The student still insisted,

"But as readers, we must not take this success as a motivation for Strickland's choice."

Disputed,

The two couldn't help but look at each other.

Lu Shi said: "The dispute between the two, I will quote the original words in the article to answer." , 'I' finds Strickland in Paris, and a conversation ensues. ”

He cleared his throat,

“

I asked him, 'If you're a third-rate painter, are you worth giving up everything and starting over?' ’

'I'm telling you I have to paint, I can't help myself. If a person falls into the water, it doesn't matter if he swims well or not, he has to struggle out anyway, or he will drown. ’

That's Strickland's answer.

”

The professor was thoughtful.

He understood,

For Strickland, success doesn't matter.

The reason why he chose to paint was because he had to paint, and the impulse in his heart told him:

"If you don't paint, you'd rather die!"

Lu Shi further reminded: "In the middle, there is also a character who has nothing to do with the main line, the doctor named Abraham, do you remember? ”

Abraham became the attending physician and was in the limelight.

But he resigned from his position and went to a small city to spend an ordinary life.

And Abraham's successors, even though they were far inferior to him, took advantage of this gap to rise to prominence and achieve worldly success.

Lu Shi said: "The plot is already halfway through, why write an Abraham who has nothing to do with the main line? The reason for this is that Strickland's artistic achievements are so high that the reader thinks that he chose to paint for the sake of success. ”

Everyone knows,

Abraham is written to illustrate that not being successful does not necessarily mean that life is meaningless.

The professor asked curiously, "That's why you arranged that plot and let Strickland burn the masterpiece." Because, he doesn't need outside recognition as a criterion for success. ”

Lu Shi spreads his hands,

"Actually, there is another reason. Strickland is terminally ill, and his actions are not necessarily controlled by his brain. ”

"Ah......h

The professor was a little confused,

From the previous exchange, he felt that Lu Shi recognized Strickland.

But the phrase "not necessarily controlled by the brain" just now seems to be a bit critical.

This is very similar to Lu Shi's attitude towards "Lord of the Flies",

Not optimistic about Keiichi Amano;

At the same time, I dislike Masato Goto.

Lu Shixiao asked: "If a person's dream is to drink and get drunk every day and dream of death, can he find the meaning of life?" ”

The crowd fell silent.

Frankly, they really can't say anything against their will.

Lu Shi nodded,

"Your silence is understandable. It can be seen that the key to "The Moon and Sixpence" is to provoke thought, not to give a clear answer. ”

Some students said: "Professor Lu is a little slippery~ I don't believe you have no bias!" ”

Lu Shi couldn't help laughing,

"Yes, I have a bias. You should know that with Mr. Gauguin as the prototype, I love the house and the Wu, and naturally admire Strickland. ”

This is very sincere,

The atmosphere at the scene was also a lot more relaxed.

Lu Shi continued: "So, if you want to help me sell 'The Moon and Sixpence', don't say 'chasing dreams' or anything, it's easy for people to misunderstand and read it as an inspirational book." ”

Strickland is a dreamer, a genius,

But he's definitely not a good guy.

If you read "The Moon and Sixpence" with the mentality of pursuing inspiration, the three views will collapse.

Lu Shi looked under the podium,

The students seemed to agree with him.

He then opened up the following topic: "Next, let's talk about secular cognition. Actually, the book "The Moon and Sixpence" is not deviant, at least, compared to my other books. ”

Because of the emergence of humanism, an idea began to spread:

The most important thing is that people are even responsible for themselves.

Therefore, life is not a discovery, but an invention, and there is no unified, correct way of life.

The most important thing is to invent what you like and what is unique.

As long as you have a certain contact with humanism, you can get a general understanding of the expression of "The Moon and Sixpence" without feeling that it is exaggerated.

James quipped, "Indeed. If you want me to say, "Hunting" is the most outrageous. ”

This caused laughter in the audience.

The students also started to discuss,

"How do you think it's more excessive than "Lord of the Flies"? What's the fun of keeping a bunch of kids on an island and killing each other? ”

"I think Lolita ......"

"Yes, yes, yes! It's got to be Lolita! The uncut part of that part is quite wonderful. ”

“Shiit！ You're studying literature, can you be serious? ”

……

The scene was chaotic.

Everyone is talking about the Innocence Trilogy.

Compared to Strickland's scumbag behavior, the evil of children does have a greater impact on people.

Not only in the 20th century,

Even in modern times, most people are even less receptive to the latter.

This is worldly cognition.

Lu Shi pressed down with both hands,

"Well, you have talked so much, which shows that there is indeed a conflict between secular cognition and literary creation."

The students below couldn't help but look at each other,

Because Lu Shi writes so well,

They all felt that it was not even a simple creation, it was like an inductive adaptation based on real people and real events.

Someone complained: "Children's literature is written like this, there is indeed a problem." ”

They really treat the Innocence Trilogy as innocence.

Lu Shi waved his hand again and again,

"Don't wronged me! It's not that the protagonist is a child, it's children's literature. If you do take the books I have written and read them to children, be careful that they ...... the next day Ah, not really, at least, "The Hobbit" is still okay. ”

There was another burst of laughter.

Someone quipped: "Professor Lu thinks that the Innocence Trilogy is not children's literature, is it because in the end, justice failed to defeat evil?" ”

"The Hunt",

Lucas is threatened with archery by someone who stands on the high ground;

Lolita,

Lolita died in childbirth, and Humbert was imprisoned;

Lord of the Flies,

Masato Goto defeats Keiichi Amano.

To sum up, it's all the evil side that has the last laugh.

Lu Shi groaned for a moment,

In fact, children's literature in its purest form does not end in a happy ending. There are too many such examples. "The Little Match Girl", the little girl froze to death on the street; "The Emperor's New Clothes", which ends with a farce; "Daughter of the Sea", The Little Mermaid failed to harvest love ......"

James shook the floor and said, "I agree with Professor Lu. If the outcome must be the triumph of good over evil, then what children know is 'it must be right' or 'it must be victorious'? ”

He writes horror stories and also fairy tales, so he has a voice.

This topic has been taken aside.

Lu Shi went back and continued to talk about the conflict between secular cognition and literary creation.

"The Innocence Trilogy is not innocent. The evil of children is pure evil, and the good of adults is complex good......"

Next, no one interrupted.

After another hour or so, the exchange ended.

Lu Shi was surrounded by everyone,

The students were still unsatisfied and continued to ask all kinds of questions about literature.

Outside, the sun began to sink slowly,

The breeze blows in through the small open slit in the window, brushing the cheeks, bringing a cool feeling and refreshing the mind.

It was a while before the students dispersed.

Look at the sky when you are on land,

The light blue of the evening, which had just passed, was now gradually dyed with twilight.

James joked to Lu Shi: "Lu, you speak so well!" I benefited a lot. ”

Lu Shi waved his hand,

"It's just what comes to mind, and there's no main idea."

He looked left and right,

"Where's Mr. Superintendent?"

James said: "He wanted to talk to you just now, but there seems to be something wrong with the Nobel Prize nomination, and he can only deal with it." ”

Lu Shi: "Huh? "With a bang,

"Nobel Prize."

James whispered, "Don't worry, it's not a literary award." Mr. Supervisor told me when he left. ”

The two chatted as they walked towards the cafeteria.

Lu Shi may not be able to return to London today, and he will spend the night in Cambridge.

James said: "Your ...... in children's literature"

Before the words fell, he was interrupted by Lu Shi,

"Don't. The Innocence Trilogy is really not children's literature. If I read that as a bedtime story to my future child, I'm afraid he'll have nightmares. ”

James laughed.

After calming his smile, he said, "In fact, even if it is serious children's literature, children may have nightmares when they listen to it. ”

His eyes were full of remembrance,

"Eddie was a kid...... Ah, Eddie is my son. When he was a child, he listened to the story of "Cinderella", and I only told half of it at that time, and he didn't sleep all night. You know why? ”

Lu Shi shook his head,

"How do I know that? Lao Zhan, don't sell it, just say it. ”

"Because Cinderella was abused by her stepmother and sisters, Eddie felt distressed and frightened," James said. ”

"Poof!"

Lu Shi laughed,

"What is the reason for this? The protagonist of "Cinderella" is obviously a girl! Can your son still be substituted? ”

James sighed,

"Waiting for you and Her Royal Highness the Princess...... Ahem...... I mean, when you have a baby, you'll understand. Children have an instinctive attachment to their parents. So, for them, that kind of plot is a test. ”

Lu Shi had never considered the subject matter of children's literature before.

Now that I think about it, I found that it was,

Snow White's mother died;

Hensel and Gretel's parents are ready to throw them away;

Little Red Riding Hood wants to see her grandmother and must walk through the jungle alone;

……

The tribulations set by the protagonist in children's literature seem to be related to relatives.

"As I write a lot of fairy tales, I realize that the main thing in children's literature is to convey faith and make children brave," James said. Just like "The Little Mermaid" you just exemplified, the ending is not good, but it does not prevent it from becoming a classic. ”

The two chatted and entered the cafeteria.

They each took their food and sat facing each other.

James finished chewing the bread, took another sip of corn soup, and then said, "Lu, have you ever thought about writing children's literature?" ”

Lu Shi said: "I wrote it." ”

"The Hobbit" is,

At the time, though, he modified his language style to make it more adult;

"Animal Farm" is also barely counting,

But because of Nicholas II's sudden illness, Jean's political satire was countless times more than in his previous life, and it had nothing to do with children.

James laughs,

"What? Do you really want to show the kids the Innocence Trilogy? ”

Lu Shi said helplessly: "Lao Zhan, you know that I am not referring to those three. ”

James said "um" and put on a serious expression,

"My advice is serious. As you know, all three books are written according to children's efforts, and they are extremely well written, and they are quite praised in the literary world. But the general public is likely to ...... Beware of them treating you as a psychologically shady pervert. ”

Lu Shi laughed,

"That's better than you writing horror stories!"

James gave him a blank look,

"Why do you think I started writing fairy tales?"

"Ah......h

Lu Shi really didn't expect it.

James patted him on the shoulder and said, "I'm kidding." However, children's literature does have something unique about broadening a writer's creative thinking. At first, I was very disdainful of it, thinking that it was just to coax children. But when I really started to write, I realized that it was not for nothing that children's literature could become a serious literary category. ”

Lu Shi also understands this truth,

He fell into deep thought,

It may be really necessary for me to write something beautiful in order to "save my reputation".

Children's literature is a pretty good choice.

James added: "Isn't your Mirror known for its diverse sections, and a bedtime story page should be popular." ”

(End of chapter)