《了不起的盖茨比·Chapter IX》第19节
“I’m thirty,” I said. “I’m five years too old to lie to myself and call it honour.” She didn’t answer. Angry, and half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ One afternoon late in October I saw Tom Buchanan. He was walking ahead of me along Fifth Avenue in his alert, aggressive way, his hands out a little from his body as if to fight off interference, his head moving sharply here and there, adapting itself to his restless eyes. Just as I slowed up to avoid overtaking him he stopped and began frowning into the windows of a jewellery store. Suddenly he saw me and walked back, holding out his hand. “What’s the matter, Nick? Do you object to shaking hands with me?” “Yes. You know what I think of you.” “You’re crazy, Nick,” he said quickly. “Crazy as hell. I don’t know what’s the matter with you.” “Tom,” I inquired, “what did you say to Wilson that afternoon?” He stared at me without a word, and I knew I had guessed right about those missing hours. I started to turn away, but he took a step after me and grabbed my arm. “I told him the truth,” he said. “He came to the door while we were getting ready to leave, and when I sent down word that we weren’t in he tried to force his way upstairs. He was crazy enough to kill me if I hadn’t told him who owned the car. His hand was on a revolver in his pocket every minute he was in the house—” He broke off defiantly. “What if I did tell him? That fellow had it coming to him. He threw dust into your eyes just like he did in Daisy’s, but he was a tough one. He ran over Myrtle like you’d run over a dog and never even stopped his car.”
注释摘要
尼克与乔丹分手的场面收束于一句极为冷峻的自我总结。“我三十岁了，”他说，“要是我再撒谎骗自己，还要管这叫作体面，那就是足足老了五岁，不该这么干了。”原文里“five years too old to lie to myself and call it honour”这句话把年龄变成一个道德刻度：三十岁这道线，对尼克来说意味着一种不能再自我欺骗的清醒。他这句…