2015-12-14
【Aiden in English】 Everyone wants to be a hero. No matter what the cause, age, gender, or nationality is, every single person on this planet wants to be that special person. As to the few who actually manage to become one, each hero contains a common theme amongst each other. They are born when facing the odds, demonstrating bold actions, and yet, with that said, bravery does not always ensure the birth of a hero. To change the world or impact your surroundings, a person needs bold actions. The story “Arachne” tells a tale about the spider, as it demonstrates many bold moves. It originated from a Greek myth when a young girl named Arachne challenged a goddess or Athene, to a weaving contest. Once Arachne saw herself losing, she weaved traitorous thoughts onto the tapestry, and Athene punished her by changing her into a spider. Bold actions relate to being a hero because it involves staring down a great fear, usually depicted as death, and overcoming that moment of paralyzation to fear. The story “The Man in the Water” talks about a plane crash in the Potomac River, Washington D.C. in 1982. Five passengers lived to tell the story of a mystery man who risked his life for other people's sake, which, ultimately, got him killed. The man showed not just bold but heroic actions when he would hand over the ladder to the helicopter to others. These two stories contained characters that used bold actions. In “Arachne”, Arachne wasn’t afraid of confronting a goddess with her unmatched skill at weaving. After she heard the praise, she felt agitated because she wanted to be the best, even if it meant surpassing a weaving goddess. An elderly woman warned her for bragging too much, and even when this woman transformed into Athene. Arachne because “the group that was gathered there she would not give in”. Alongside this action, in “The Man in the Water”, the unknown man continued to pass the ladder of the helicopter to others, making his final actions bold as well. Being a hero, as the man did, required boldness, and Arachne demonstrated nearly the same amount of defiance to Athene in their story.
As much as heroes are born from bold actions, not all bold actions make heroes. “Arachne” shows the actions of Arachne, but the text does not shape her into one. She would say “With my own ten fingers I gained this skill…nor if I had, would I give Athene credit because the girl was more skillful than I.” Unlike “The Man in the Water” Arachne was full of herself, which leads to the conclusion that being a hero is more than just being bold, but caring about others and seeing beyond one’s self. Arachne was bold in a selfish, “obstinacy” way, whereas the unknown man passed up safety for others until the very end. In fact, it seemed that she was the antagonist in the plot. And so, unlike most would think, it not only takes bravery but the ability to think of others as well.
All heroes come from bold actions, but not all bold actions make heroes. People are stereotypical to how all bold actions create heroes, but just as the stories “Arachne” and “The Man in the Water” show, the assumption could not be more misleading.
【紅霞譯文】
每個人都想爭當英雄，無論出於何種動機、多大年齡、什麼性別或者哪個國籍，天下恐怕誰都期盼與眾不同，其實真正出類拔萃的人中豪傑可謂寥寥無幾，而他們往往擁有一個共同的特質，那就是大無畏精神，但並非意味着所有天不怕地不怕的人均等同於英雄好漢。
欲求改變世界或者影響周邊環境，一個人亟待付諸行動。《阿拉克涅》描寫一個有關蜘蛛的傳說，向聽眾展示出許多非凡的勇氣。故事最早源於希臘神話，一位名叫阿拉克涅的女孩在織布技巧比賽上勇於挑戰女神雅典娜，即使本身技藝略遜一籌，照樣敢冒天下之大不韙，執意將違背神靈的思想編入織錦當中，雅典娜見後氣急敗壞並讓她變成蜘蛛加以懲罰。臨危不懼方顯英雄本色，此時的阿拉克涅早把生死置度外。《水中人》一書講的是1982年發生於美國華府波托馬克河上的墜機事件，五位倖存乘客先後現場敘述一位神秘男子奮不顧身搶救他人以至最後獻出生命的真實經歷，透過這樁見義勇為的英雄事跡，可以看出該神秘男子捨己救人的思想境界，尤其在緊急關頭，他毫不猶豫地把直升飛機懸梯讓給其他乘客。兩個故事都突出表現主人翁的大無畏精神，阿拉克涅並沒有因為自己編織水平有限而畏懼雅典娜，相反誓把人們的讚許化為動力，鞭策自己創造更佳戰績，哪怕其競爭對手是一位手工藝人保護神。比賽期間，曾有一老婦人再三警告她不要逞能，原來這位老婦人竟是喬裝打扮的雅典娜，即便如此，阿拉克涅“決不在眾人面前輕言放棄”；相形之下，《水中人》的神秘男子卻無私地將生的希望讓給別人。兩個故事所表現的英雄本色各有不同，“水中人”見義勇為的忘我精神與阿拉克涅蔑視雅典娜的豪邁壯舉形成了鮮明對照。
大凡英雄生來就異乎尋常，但不是所有別具風格的人全能算作英雄，《阿拉克涅》通過不少事例來烘托主人翁獨到一面，而不是單純用文字枯燥地塑造英雄形象，用人物自己的話來說“不管我十指手藝如何，都無法掩蓋雅典娜比自己技高一籌的事實。”與《水中人》不同，阿拉克涅以我為中心，難免讓人感到這種英雄所具有的大無畏精神完全是為了標榜自己。她非常自私“固執”，不像水中人那樣毫不利己專門利人。事實上，阿拉克涅到處樹敵，其結果與世俗觀念格格不入。勇敢固然重要，但同時切忌忽略他人感受。 世上英雄都勇敢無畏，可勇敢無畏者不等於說就是英雄好漢，人們往往落入俗套，偏偏將勇敢無畏和英雄好漢聯繫在一起，哪知事實並非如此，故事《阿拉克涅》和《水中人》足以引導大家端正認識。 Today in History(歷史上的今天): 2013: Potpourris in Mumbai, India(印度孟買拾遺) 2010: 等價交換(Exchange) 
Man in the Water (《水中人》) 
Arachne (《阿拉克涅》) 
Las Hilanderas by Velázquez (維拉斯奎茲《阿拉赫尼寓言》) Crosslinks(相關博文): Compare/Contrast─Notes for Teachers(對比文─教師周評語) Compare/Contrast: Jerry and Lupe(對比─傑瑞和盧普) 7th Grade(初中二年級) |
