《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter IX》第7节
“Gatz is my name.” “—Mr. Gatz. I thought you might want to take the body West.” He shook his head. “Jimmy always liked it better down East. He rose up to his position in the East. Were you a friend of my boy’s, Mr.—?” “We were close friends.” “He had a big future before him, you know. He was only a young man, but he had a lot of brain power here.” He touched his head impressively, and I nodded. “If he’d of lived, he’d of been a great man. A man like James J. Hill. He’d of helped build up the country.” “That’s true,” I said, uncomfortably. He fumbled at the embroidered coverlet, trying to take it from the bed, and lay down stiffly—was instantly asleep. That night an obviously frightened person called up, and demanded to know who I was before he would give his name. “This is Mr. Carraway,” I said. “Oh!” He sounded relieved. “This is Klipspringer.” I was relieved too, for that seemed to promise another friend at Gatsby’s grave. I didn’t want it to be in the papers and draw a sightseeing crowd, so I’d been calling up a few people myself. They were hard to find.
注释摘要
当老人说出“Gatz is my name”时，这一句话轻轻揭开了盖茨比整个神话的底色。尼克刚才还习惯性地称他为“Mr. Gatsby”，但这个姓氏是吉米·盖兹少年时代就抛弃了的，是他十七岁时在苏必利尔湖岸边划着小船登上游艇那一刻亲手埋葬的名字。老人纠正得很平静，没有愤怒，没有感慨，只是一个朴素的陈述：我姓盖兹。这个瞬间的叙事重量在于，读者突然间意识到，躺…