《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter IV》第8节
He reached in his pocket, and a piece of metal, slung on a ribbon, fell into my palm. “That’s the one from Montenegro.” To my astonishment, the thing had an authentic look. “Orderi di Danilo,” ran the circular legend, “Montenegro, Nicolas Rex.” “Turn it.” “Major Jay Gatsby,” I read, “For Valour Extraordinary.” “Here’s another thing I always carry. A souvenir of Oxford days. It was taken in Trinity Quad—the man on my left is now the Earl of Doncaster.” It was a photograph of half a dozen young men in blazers loafing in an archway through which were visible a host of spires. There was Gatsby, looking a little, not much, younger—with a cricket bat in his hand. Then it was all true. I saw the skins of tigers flaming in his palace on the Grand Canal; I saw him opening a chest of rubies to ease, with their crimson-lighted depths, the gnawings of his broken heart. “I’m going to make a big request of you today,” he said, pocketing his souvenirs with satisfaction, “so I thought you ought to know something about me. I didn’t want you to think I was just some nobody. You see, I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget the sad things that happened to me.” He hesitated. “You’ll hear about it this afternoon.”
注释摘要
在这一段里，盖茨比在车上刚刚讲述完他那套令人难以置信的传奇身世，尼克正处于极度怀疑之中，甚至觉得他像是一个浑身漏锯末的滑稽角色。此时，盖茨比拿出了实物证据。他伸手从口袋掏出一块用勋带挂着的金属勋章，让它落在尼克掌心——这个动作细节 “fell into my palm” 有一种沉甸甸的、几乎是故意制造戏剧效果的意味。勋章上刻着“丹尼洛勋章，黑山国，尼古拉斯…