【寒假最强书单】《大卫·科波菲尔》:自己的人生，跪着也要走到最后
经常有人问：怎样才能成为一枚有追求、有文化、有知识、有B格的四有骚年？世纪君答：诸君，去读书吧！是的，假日属于书，那些跃动着的文字，让你如沐春风。这个假日，世纪君就奉上一份“寒假最强书单”。为何“最强”？因为世纪君：综合了英国教育部考试委员会、作家JK Rowling、Philip Pullman以及英国《卫报》、美国《纽约时报》等多家国际媒体开出的青少年书单；参考了香港教育图书公司、《澳门日报》、台湾国立图书馆所列的青少年必读书目；邀请了曾在北外任教、与世纪君共事多年的英国文学博士Paul Brennan先生，一起精选出这十本书。每日一读，如抱暖阳。
今天，让我们翻开《大卫·科波菲尔》(David Copperfield)，感受这个小男孩苦难却从不言弃的一生。一个人一生会读很多书，但能在读后许多年仍然留下深刻印象的不会太多。而1849至1850年间发表的《大卫·科波菲尔》至今依然感动着全世界的读者，仅此一点就足见这部作品的不容错过的理由。除此之外，这部小说也被称为是英国小说家查尔斯·狄更斯“心中最宠爱的孩子”，因为狄更斯将自己的生活经历也融入其中。
“Whether I shall be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.” So begins Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield (1850), the novel that he said was his “favorite child” among his works. Still, we should read this book as a novel, not as a memoir of Dickens’ life.
电影《大卫·科波菲尔》剧照
在狄更斯笔下，大卫悲惨却坚韧的一生被生动地呈现出来。他自幼丧父，被送去当洗刷酒瓶的童工，过着不能温饱的生活。好心的姨婆贝西小姐收留了他并供他读书，最终大卫成为了一名作家。如此曲折的生活经历也让大卫阅尽人间冷暖。这部小说人物众多，故事一环套一环。其中的贝西姨婆更是成为文学大家们喜爱研究的对象。她脾气古怪，但重感情并且很精明。在破产时她隐瞒了两千英镑的财产，只为让大卫学会适应困境，战胜困难。
However, describing a novel of this length and depth, which contains so many characters and stories, it is of course only possible to give hints about why it is so loved. Read it for yourselves to see why this book is such a classic of English literature.
By the close of its pages David has become “the hero of his own life”. He is a successful writer (like his creator), happily married, and with a family. But it has taken a long struggle for David to reach this point. An early, perfect childhood falls apart with the entry of stepfather Edward Murdstone, one of the most memorable bullies in all of Dickens’ work.
After the death of David’s mother he has control over his stepson’s life. He sends him to London to work for his own company. In London David lives with Mr Micawber and his large family. Micawber is loveable, fun, but irresponsible with his money, putting his family in a desperate situation. Like Dickens’ father, upon whom he is based, Micawber is sent to debtors’ prison.
At the other end of the scale from Mr Micawber is Uriah Heep, an employee of David’s landlord. He is a horrible figure. David comments that having shaken Heep’s hand he immediately wanted to wipe it clean. But Heep is not simply physically, but also morally disgusting. While never missing an opportunity to say how humble he is, he schemes and cheats. Eventually he is caught by Micawber who uncovers a plot of Heep to ruin his employer.
这个世界上有绝对的好人和坏人之分吗？狄更斯用这部小说里刻画的众多人物回答了这个问题——没有绝对的好人，也没有百分百的坏人。那么怎样才能成为自己生活的英雄呢？也许秘密就在于我们要像大卫一样，学会做出对于自己来说正确的判断。
Among the many characters Dickens created for David Copperfield, Heep and Micawber belong to opposite groups. There are the characters to admire and then there are those who one must be on the lookout for — they will harm you and your loved ones. This does not mean that a good-hearted character is wholly a good role model, though, nor that all characters are simply good or evil.
The secret to David’s becoming “the hero of his own life” is that he learns how to make these judgments on his own.
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