first confession Frank O'Connor原文和翻译

First Confession – Frank O’Connor In First Confession by Frank O’Connor we have the theme of persecution and the freeing of self. Taken from his short story collection My Oedipus Complex and Other Stories, the story is told with humour by a young seven year old boy called Jackie. Jackie lives with his parents, his sister Nora and his grandmother. The grandmother is a pivotal character in the story for she will become a large part of Jackie’s first confession. First Confession begins with a story from Jackie. We are told about his life with his grandmother. She walks around the house barefoot, and eats her potatoes using her fingers as forks. Jackie is embarrassed by her and doesn’t like bringing any of his friends into the house when she is there because she is drinking porter. She also gives Nora a penny every Friday while Jackie gets nothing. Some critics suggest that Jackie’s grandmother is symbolism for an older Ireland. The story moves on and we are told that it’s time for Jackie to make his first holy communion. An old woman called Mrs Ryan is teaching Jackie and his class mates about the Ten Commandments and hell. She tells the class the story of a man who made a bad confession (not telling the priest the truth) and whose hands burnt the bed of a priest. Really Mrs Ryan is trying to frighten the children into being good and trying to make sure that they don’t tell the priest a bad confession. To tell a bad confession in Jackie’s eyes means dying and burning in hell. Also the story of the man’s hands burning the bed of a priest is an example in the story of someone being persecuted. Jackie doesn’t want to make a bad confession but knows that he will because he doesn’t think he’ll be able to tell the priest that he wants to kill his grandmother. The day the class are to make their confession Jackie pretends that he has a toothache so that he can avoid confession. Mrs Ryan gets wind of his absence and makes arrangements so that Jackie can go to confession the following Saturday and still be able to attend his first communion. Jackie’s mother isn’t available to bring him to the church on Saturday so she tells Nora to bring him instead. Nora is older than Jackie and on the way to the church she tries to frighten him about confession. Jackie knows that he’ll have to tell the priest that he tried to kill his sister with a bread knife as well. When they arrive at the church Nora goes into the confession box first and Jackie can hear her talking to the priest like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. O’Connor highlighting to the reader Nora’s hypocrisy. After Nora has finished its Jackie’s turn to go into the confession box. It is so dark in the confession box that Jackie first faces one of the walls instead of the hatch with the priest. Then he faces another wall and still he can’t hear anything. Eventually he decides to climb up on the small shelf where people rest their elbows, thinking that’s where the priest is. The priest opens up the hatch and Jackie falls down off the shelf and outside onto the aisle. When Nora sees Jackie on the ground she clips him across the ears, but the priest is more compassionate telling Jackie to wait till he’s seen everyone else and then to come into him. The priest jokes that Jackie must have a lot of sins to tell him as this is his first confession. Eventually Jackie goes into the confession box and tells all his sins to the priest, O’Connor giving the reader an insight into the sins. They include him wanting to kill his grandmother and trying to kill his sister. The priest tells Jackie that there’s times he sometimes wants to kill people too, but doesn’t because he’s seen enough men hang for killing people. The reader knows the priest is joking, O’Connor creating a compassionate priest and Jackie is relived. He hasn’t made a bad confession and knows he won’t burn in hell. First Confession ends with the priest walking Jackie out to his sister who is waiting on the railings outside the church. She asks what penance he got and Jackie tells her three hail Mary’s. Nora doesn’t believe him but Jackie tells her he is telling the truth, just like he did to the priest. Jackie’s sins have been forgiven. 翻译 书评:《我的第一次忏悔》 在法兰克·欧康纳的短篇小说《我的第一次忏悔》中,我们读到了这样的主题:惩戒与自我救赎。这部小说被收集在他的短篇小说集《我的俄狄浦斯情节及其他》中。故事是以一个七岁男孩杰基的幽默口吻讲述的。杰基和他的父母、姐姐及奶奶住在一起。他的奶奶在故事中是个关键人物,因为杰基的第一次忏悔大部分都是关于她的。 故事从杰基的叙述开始。读者被告知杰基的生活是如何与奶奶联系在一起的。奶奶光着脚在屋里走来走去,并且吃土豆不用刀叉而是用手指代替。杰基为奶奶的行为而感到难为情,不愿在奶奶在家时把他的任何朋友带回家中。因为她竟然喝黑啤酒(在当时,黑啤酒是给搬运工人及下人们喝的酒——译者注)。奶奶每周五给杰基的姐姐诺拉一便士却从不给杰基。一些评论家们认为杰基的奶奶其实就 是爱尔兰旧时代的象征。 故事由此展开,告诉读者是时候去参加杰基的初次圣礼了。一个叫莱恩夫人的老女人给杰基和他的同学们上课讲述关于宗教的十诫以及地狱的知识。她告诉同学们一个在忏悔时撒谎的男人的故事,这个男人的双手因受到惩罚而燃烧从而烧毁神父的床。其实莱恩夫人是想吓唬这些孩子让他们做好人并且确保他们在跟神父忏悔时说实话。在杰基的认知里,他相信忏悔时说谎就会死掉并且在地狱里被烧死。而他听到的这个故事里的男人的手在着火时把神父的床烧坏就是人们因犯罪而被惩戒的例子。 杰基不想在忏悔时撒谎,可他知道他会这么做因为他不想让神父知道他想把奶奶杀死的想法。轮到班级同学忏悔的那天,杰基装着牙疼逃学。莱恩夫人听说了这事,调整了时间从而使杰基能够在下个星期六参加他的第一次圣礼(忏悔是圣事活动之一——译者注)。杰基的妈妈不能在周六带他去教堂,所以让诺拉带杰基去。诺拉是杰基的姐姐,她试图用惩戒的事吓唬杰基。杰基知道他必须得告诉牧师关于他想杀死奶奶以及用切面包刀杀掉姐姐的想法。 当姐弟俩来到教堂时,诺拉先进到告解室忏悔。杰基听到她跟牧师谈话的声音好像嘴里含着没化开的黄油。作者欧康纳在这里着重描绘了诺拉的虚伪言行。在诺拉忏悔后该杰基进去告解室了。这个告解室里面漆黑一片,什么都看不清。杰基先是冲着一面墙而不是那个有牧师的小窗口忏悔。然后又冲着另一面墙,然而他什么都听不清。最后他决定爬上那个隔板,那是人们在忏悔时用来架着胳膊的。杰基以为这就是神父听告解的位置。这时神父打开隔板上面那个小窗使得杰基从隔板上掉到外面走廊的地上。当诺拉看到杰基掉到地上时,她过来揪住杰基的耳朵教训他,然而神父却很同情杰基。他告诉杰基在外面等着,他会在所有人忏悔完之后听杰基告解。那个神父还跟杰基开玩笑说杰基第一次忏悔一定会有很多要告解的。 终于,杰基走进了那个告解室,把他做的所有错事都告诉了神父。在这里作者试图让读者去体会什么是恶行。这些恶行包括杰基想杀死奶奶以及试图用面包刀杀姐姐等。神父告诉杰基说,有时候他自己也有想要杀人的想法,但是他没有那么做。因为他看到太多的人因杀人而被绞死。读者都知道这个神父这么说是在逗杰基玩的。作者欧康纳在这里塑造了一个富于同情心的神父的形象,正是由于这个神父的态度使得杰基放下来心里的包袱,他没有说谎而且明白了他也不会被罚到地狱烧死。 故事以牧师送杰基到外面与姐姐会合结尾。诺拉正在教堂外面的栏杆上等着杰基。她问杰基得到了什么惩戒。可是杰基告诉她他得到了三声万福玛丽亚的祝福。诺拉不相信他的话。杰基告诉她自己说的是真话就像他对神父说的真话一样。杰基的过失已经得到了宽恕。