# 第四册 Lesson 39 What every writer wants 作家之所需

## 一、课文原文

I have known very few writers, but those I have known, and whom I respect, confess at once that they have little idea where they are going when they first set pen to paper. They have a character, perhaps two; they are in that condition of eager discomfort which passes for inspiration; all admit radical changes of destination once the journey has begun; one, to my certain knowledge, spent nine months on a novel about Kashmir, then reset the whole thing in the Scottish Highlands. I never heard of anyone making a 'skeleton', as we were taught at school. In the breaking and remaking, in the timing, interweaving, beginning afresh, the writer comes to discern things in his material which were not consciously in his mind when he began. This organic process, often leading to moments of extraordinary self-discovery, is of an indescribable fascination. A blurred image appears; he adds a brushstroke and another, and it is gone; but something was there, and he will not rest till he has captured it. Sometimes the yeast within a writer outlives a book he has written. I have heard of writers who read nothing but their own books; like adolescents they stand before the mirror, and still cannot fathom the exact outline of the vision before them. For the same reason, writers talk interminably about their own books, winkling out hidden meanings, superimposing new ones, begging response from those around them. Of course a writer doing this is misunderstood: he might as well try to explain a crime or a love affair. He is also, incidentally, an unforgivable bore.

This temptation to cover the distance between himself and the reader, to study his image in the sight of those who do not know him, can be his undoing: he has begun to write to please.

A young English writer made the pertinent observation a year or two back that the talent goes into the first draft, and the art into the drafts that follow. For this reason also the writer, like any other artist, has no resting place, no crowd or movement in which he may take comfort, no judgment from outside which can replace the judgment from within. A writer makes order out of the anarchy of his heart; he submits himself to a more ruthless discipline than any critic dreamed of, and when he flirts with fame, he is taking time off from living with himself, from the search for what his world contains at its inmost point.

— JOHN LE CARRÉ, *What every writer wants* from Harper's

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| confess | /kənˈfes/ | v. | 坦白，承认 | confess that 承认 |
| inspiration | /ˌɪnspəˈreɪʃn/ | n. | 灵感 | passes for inspiration 被当作灵感 |
| radical | /ˈrædɪkl/ | adj. | 根本的，彻底的 | radical changes 根本性变化 |
| skeleton | /ˈskelɪtn/ | n. | 提纲，骨架 | make a skeleton 列提纲 |
| interweave | /ˌɪntəˈwiːv/ | v. | 交织，穿插 | interweaving 交织 |
| discern | /dɪˈsɜːn/ | v. | 辨明，识别 | discern things 辨明事物 |
| organic | /ɔːˈɡænɪk/ | adj. | 有机的，自然的 | organic process 有机过程 |
| indescribable | /ˌɪndɪˈskraɪbəbl/ | adj. | 难以形容的 | indescribable fascination 难以形容的魅力 |
| blur | /blɜː/ | v. | 使模糊 | a blurred image 模糊的影像 |
| brushstroke | /ˈbrʌʃstrəʊk/ | n. | 一笔，笔触 | adds a brushstroke 加上一笔 |
| yeast | /jiːst/ | n. | 酵母；激情 | the yeast within 内心的激情 |
| fathom | /ˈfæðəm/ | v. | 深入理解，测量 | fathom the outline 看清轮廓 |
| interminably | /ɪnˈtɜːmɪnəbli/ | adv. | 冗长地，没完没了地 | talk interminably 没完没了地谈论 |
| winkle | /ˈwɪŋkl/ | v. | 挖掘，撬出 | winkle out 挖掘出 |
| superimpose | /ˌsuːpərɪmˈpəʊz/ | v. | 叠加，附加 | superimposing new meanings 叠加新含义 |
| anarchy | /ˈænəki/ | n. | 混乱，无序 | anarchy of his heart 内心的混乱 |
| ruthless | /ˈruːθləs/ | adj. | 无情的，严酷的 | ruthless discipline 严酷的自律 |

**固定搭配：**
- **set pen to paper**：动笔写作
- **pass for**：被当作
- **to my certain knowledge**：据我所知
- **begin afresh**：重新开始
- **might as well**：倒不如，不妨

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. whom 引导的定语从句

> those I have known, and **whom** I respect

whom 为宾格，作 respect 的宾语，先行词为 those。

### 2. 现在分词作伴随状语

> **winkling out** hidden meanings, **superimposing** new ones, **begging** response from those around them

三个现在分词并列，修饰 writers talk，作伴随状语。

### 3. might as well 表示建议

> he **might as well** try to explain a crime or a love affair

might as well = 倒不如，不如，表示不可能做到的事。

### 4. no...no...no... 排比否定

> the writer has **no** resting place, **no** crowd or movement in which he may take comfort, **no** judgment from outside which can replace the judgment from within

三重否定排比，强调作家的孤独。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 句型1：长难句——有机过程描述

> In the breaking and remaking, in the timing, interweaving, beginning afresh, the writer comes to discern things in his material **which were not consciously in his mind when he began**

- 主干：the writer comes to discern things
- which 引导定语从句修饰 things
- 三个介词短语并列作状语

### 句型2：比喻句

> A blurred image appears; he adds a brushstroke and another, and it is gone; but something was there, and he will not rest till he has captured it

- 模糊影像→添笔→消失→但"某种东西"存在过→不捕捉到不罢休
- 模仿作家的创作心理过程

### 句型3：核心论点句

> A writer makes order out of the anarchy of his heart; he submits himself to a more ruthless discipline than any critic dreamed of

- 作家从内心混乱中创造秩序
- 自律比任何评论家的要求都更严酷

## 五、课文翻译

我认识的作家很少，但那些我认识的、我尊敬的作家都立刻承认，他们初下笔时几乎不知道自己要写什么。他们有一个人物，也许两个；他们处于那种被称为灵感的急切不安的状态中；所有人都承认，一旦旅程开始，目的地就会发生根本性变化；据我确切所知，有一个人花了九个月写一部关于克什米尔的小说，然后把整个故事搬到了苏格兰高地。我从没听说有人写"提纲"，像我们上学时被教的那样。在打破和重塑中，在调整节奏、交织、重新开始中，作家开始辨明素材中那些他动笔时并未意识到的东西。这个有机过程常常通向非凡的自我发现的时刻，具有一种难以形容的魅力。一个模糊的影像出现了；他添上一笔又一笔，它又消失了；但某种东西确实在那里，他不会安歇直到把它捕捉住。有时作家内心的激情比他写的书更长久。我听说有些作家除了自己的书什么都不读；像青少年一样站在镜子前，仍然无法看清面前那个幻影的确切轮廓。出于同样的原因，作家没完没了地谈论自己的书，挖掘隐藏的含义，叠加新的含义，乞求周围人的回应。当然，这样做的作家是被误解的：他倒不如去解释一桩罪行或一段恋情。顺便说一句，他还是一个不可原谅的讨厌鬼。

这种跨越自己与读者之间距离的诱惑，在不知道他的人面前审视自己的形象，可能成为他的毁灭：他已经开始为取悦别人而写了。

一位年轻的英国作家一两年前做了一个中肯的观察：天赋注入第一稿，而艺术注入随后的修改稿。因此，作家也像其他艺术家一样，没有安息之所，没有可以从中获得安慰的群体或运动，没有来自外部的判断能取代来自内部的判断。作家从内心的混乱中创造秩序；他服从于比任何评论家所能想象的更为严酷的自律，当他与名调情时，他是在从与自己共处中偷闲，从探寻他的世界最深处包含着什么中偷闲。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 1. 写作手法：内行人的自白

- John le Carré 本人就是著名作家，文中描述的是真实体验
- 大量隐喻和比喻描述创作心理

### 2. 论证结构

| 段落 | 主题 | 论点 |
|------|------|------|
| 第一段 | 写作的本质 | 无计划、有机的、自我发现的过程 |
| 第二段 | 诱惑与危险 | 取悦读者→创作毁灭 |
| 第三段 | 作家的孤独 | 只有内在判断才能指引创作 |

### 3. 文化背景

- John le Carré（1931-2020）：英国间谍小说大师，代表作《锅匠，裁缝，士兵，间谍》
- "the talent goes into the first draft, and the art into the drafts that follow"——写作名言
- Harper's：美国著名文学杂志

### 4. 修辞分析

- "like adolescents they stand before the mirror"——比喻，作家如青春期少年
- "anarchy of his heart"——内心混乱的诗意表达
- "flirts with fame"——拟人化，与名调情

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **词汇练习**：掌握 confess、inspiration、discern、fathom、interminably、anarchy 等核心词
2. **语法练习**：whom 定语从句；现在分词作伴随状语；might as well
3. **翻译练习**：注意比喻和隐喻的翻译处理
4. **写作练习**：模仿课文的文学评论风格，写一篇关于创作过程的文章

## 八、本课小结

本课探讨写作的本质。核心观点：**写作是一个有机的、自我发现的过程，作家不应为取悦读者而写，而应遵从内心的判断**。作者以亲身经历描述创作的无计划性和奇妙之处，警告取悦读者的诱惑，最后强调作家的孤独与自律。语法重点为 whom 定语从句、现在分词伴随状语和排比否定结构。语言风格文学性强，比喻和隐喻丰富。