《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter VII》第20节
“You must have gone there about the time Biloxi went to New Haven.” Another pause. A waiter knocked and came in with crushed mint and ice but the silence was unbroken by his “thank you” and the soft closing of the door. This tremendous detail was to be cleared up at last. “I told you I went there,” said Gatsby. “I heard you, but I’d like to know when.” “It was in nineteen-nineteen, I only stayed five months. That’s why I can’t really call myself an Oxford man.” Tom glanced around to see if we mirrored his unbelief. But we were all looking at Gatsby. “It was an opportunity they gave to some of the officers after the armistice,” he continued. “We could go to any of the universities in England or France.” I wanted to get up and slap him on the back. I had one of those renewals of complete faith in him that I’d experienced before. Daisy rose, smiling faintly, and went to the table. “Open the whisky, Tom,” she ordered, “and I’ll make you a mint julep. Then you won’t seem so stupid to yourself … Look at the mint!” “Wait a minute,” snapped Tom, “I want to ask Mr. Gatsby one more question.”
注释摘要
汤姆那一句是极尽刻薄的讽刺。他说盖茨比去牛津的时间，大概跟那个叫毕洛克西的家伙去纽黑文差不多——纽黑文是耶鲁大学所在地，汤姆自己的母校。言下之意很清楚：你盖茨比不可能是牛津的，就像那个来历不明的毕洛克西不可能是耶鲁的一样。他把两个地名并列，用一点历史时间的巧合制造出一个低劣的笑话，这既是阶级的傲慢，也是丈夫在捍卫领地的本能反击。 这段对峙里有一个极精彩的戏…