《麦田里的守望者》：你是虚伪还是真诚的？

timtxu 2019-07-07

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老桑说

真诚才能最大限度地发挥自己的潜力，建立稳固的关系，增强我们的自尊。做真实的自己，因为这会让你走得更远。

FROM

《麦田里的守望者》书评丨老桑

▾

「 朋友，你好，我是老桑。」

老桑在野田里.jpeg

老桑在田野里

与老桑共读一本书

本期特别活动：

与老桑共读一本书

阅读好书，共同成长。我们生活在不同的世界里，共读一本书，就是创造并拥有共同的语言密码。

本期推荐书籍《麦田的守望者》，邀你和老桑共读一本书，交流感悟，碰撞心灵，也是一种乐趣。

想参加此活动的读者，可在本文下方留言，说说你对读书的感悟，老桑将抽选3名幸运粉丝，每人送实体书《麦田的守望者》一本，期待你们的参与~

塞林格的《麦田里的守望者》被认为是20世纪最优秀的英文小说之一。该书出版于1951年，每年仍有近100万册的销量，并已被翻译成各种语言。我第一次读这本小说是在上高中英语课的时候，为了和大家分享这个故事，我又重读了一遍这本小说。

作者：塞林格

小说的主人公霍尔顿·考尔菲德是一个16岁的纽约男孩。他因为不用功而相继被三所著名的寄宿学校退学，故事是围绕他为了不回家而在纽约街头流浪的三天经历而展开的。

他沉浸在极度痛苦的情绪状态中，抽烟喝酒，在寒冷的户外不穿冬衣，很少睡觉。随着时间的推移，我们目睹了他的精神崩溃。他甚至可能得了肺结核，后来他在一家疗养院里写下了这个故事。

在纽约漫步时，霍尔顿渴望与他人建立联系。他试着与出租车司机建立亲密关系，在酒吧里与女性调情，拜访一些朋友，还参与了一些危险的行为，这些都是为了试图与人们建立关系。然而，他所有的尝试都失败了，逐渐变得和人们疏远，并让自己退缩到一种自我保护的模式中。

霍尔顿也挣扎着要长大，他哀悼自己失去了童年时代的纯真。一想到10岁的妹妹菲比，他就感到很安慰。在她身上，他看到了孩子的天真、好奇和诚实。

一天晚上，霍尔顿偷偷溜进自己家的公寓，以避免见到他的父母。菲比很高兴见到他，但指责他没有任何抱负。他反驳说，自己确实有一个想法：在孩子们从悬崖上跌落，失去他们的纯真之前，去拯救那些在麦田里玩耍的孩子们。他将这一形象建立在罗伯特·彭斯1782年写的一首诗名为《穿越麦田》的基础上。

书中最著名的引用是霍尔顿对菲比说的话：“我站在疯狂的悬崖边缘…我必须抓住他们如果他们试图去跨越悬崖——我的意思是如果他们只是奔跑却不去看看自己前进的方向时，我必须从某些地方站出来并抓住他们。这就是我每天要做的事。我只想做麦田里的守望者。”

The phoniness

of the adult world

成年人世界的虚伪

虚伪是《麦田里的守望者》的一个突出主题。在他与成年人的所有互动中，霍尔顿感受到的是浅薄、虚伪、矫饰和肤浅。他寻找的是真正的友谊，但却被其他人的政治和个人事务埋没了。

例如，霍尔顿去格林威治村的一家酒吧找爵士钢琴家厄尼。霍尔顿知道厄尼演奏得很好，而且真的他认为他表演得太好了。厄尼也知道自己很好，但他却假装谦虚。霍尔顿认为厄尼的谦虚使他虚伪，所以他开始discredit（质疑）厄尼弹钢琴的能力，并嘲笑他。

后来在酒吧的时候，霍尔顿看到了一个曾经和他哥哥约会的女人，后来哥哥成了好莱坞的编剧。她想让霍尔顿和她以及她的约会对象一起喝酒，但是霍尔顿认为她这么做只是因为想接近霍尔顿的哥哥。霍尔顿断定她是个骗子，于是选择避开她，离开了酒吧。

霍尔顿认为成年人是虚伪的，但他们看不到自己的虚伪。说谎和欺骗是虚伪的一部分，霍尔顿尤其嘲笑自我欺骗。他蔑视那些自以为了不起或拒绝承认自己弱点的人。这种厌恶为他提供了一个退入愤世嫉俗孤立状态的借口。

Habits of truly

genuine people

真正真诚的人所拥有的习惯

像霍尔顿一样，我们中的许多人青睐“真诚”的对象，而对那些“虚伪”的人评价很差。即使一个phony（虚伪的）人受到鼓励然后表现得更有吸引力或更令人印象深刻，但伪装却会产生相反的效果。我们更可能相信一个真实的人而不是一个虚假的人。那些对自己诚实的人也可能对我们更诚实。

自我完善的一个关键方面是过一种更真实的生活。如果你厌倦了戴上面具，为了挽回面子而踮着脚尖走在别人周围，或者在自我发现的过程中受到挫折，这里有六个习惯供你考虑。当然，重要的是不要做得太过分，因为适度的目标可能比极端的目标更有效。

真诚的人首先会想出自己的观点，然后与他人分享。他们通常更乐于分享自己的想法，并让这些观点为自己服务，而虚伪的人则过于努力地去说服别人接受自己是对的。

“唯唯诺诺的人”是指一个总是同意同事或上级的观点，没有批判精神地支持或endorse（赞同）他们的观点的人。然而，真诚是由你自己的信念和标准所引导的。有时这些想法与强加于我们的想法相冲突，所以真实往往与勇敢联系在一起。

我在中国参加过很多大学招生会，父母和孩子对选择哪个专业有着不同的看法。例如，学生可能想学习艺术，但家长希望他们学习商科或科学。我建议折衷一下，选择广告学专业。学生将学习市场营销(商业)和广告设计(艺术)课程。

一旦你能自如地表达自己的观点，并追随自己内心的期望，内心的罗盘就会指引你去追求自己的激情，找到自己的目标。你可以选择一条传统的道路，也可以选择一条全新的道路。当你对自己真诚时，你会做出自己的选择。即使会考虑别人的观点，你也会去走自己的路。

传统的道路被认为是“安全的”，然而坚持自己的选择可能会导致失败。但是做真正的自己就不应害怕失败。事实上，失败是这段旅程的关键部分，而在这段旅程中，你可以学习并获得新的经验。

在小说中，霍尔顿被那些不知道自己弱点以及那些知道自己弱点却不愿承认的人所排斥。他认为他们都是骗子。也许在他看来，我们在面对好与坏应该自我反省。这样，我们就能认识到自己的缺点，并为自己的行为负责。

霍尔顿尤其revile（唾弃）那些“自欺欺人”的人。他们不承认自己的错误，而是先欺骗自己，假装自己的弱点不存在。然后，这些人还undaunted（毫不掩饰地）试图让其他人以同样扭曲的方式看待这种情况。

当你接受自己的缺点，拥抱自己的个性时，你可能会变得更能接受别人。随着偏见的减少，你会对生活抱有一种更纯粹的看法，引导你获得更真诚的关系。你的注意力会更多地集中在追求自己的命运上，而不是评判或批评他人。

讽刺的是，尽管霍尔顿注意到了别人的缺点,他却没有意识到自己的问题。他经常表现出他想要回避的那种虚伪，假装自己是别人而非本我。他不忠于自己，拒绝追求他所渴望的真爱和友谊，反而疏远了自我。也许如果他养成了这六个习惯，他就能避免精神崩溃。

我的朋友，《麦田里的守望者》告诉我们，虚伪对我们个人是不健康的，会破坏同伴之间的关系。小说呼吁我们要真诚，这样我们才能最大限度地发挥自己的潜力，建立稳固的关系，增强我们的自尊。做真实的自己，因为这会让你走得更远。

本文部分图片来源网络。

往期文章

谢谢收看《老桑说》。

给你启发，激励你上进，陪伴你坚持。

敬请期待下一集。

英文版

English

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The Catcher in the Rye:

Are you real or phony?

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「 Hello, my friend！

I'm John Smagula. 」

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger is considered one of the best English-language novels of the 20th century. Published in 1951, the book continues to sell nearly one million copies a year and has been translated into numerous languages. I first read the novel for a high school English class, and just re-read it to share the story with you.

J.D. Salinger

The novel’s protagonist is Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old boy from New York City. He flunked out of three prestigious boarding schools because he doesn’t apply himself, and the story centers on his three days of living on the streets of New York City to avoid going home.

He wanders in a state of extreme emotional distress, smoking and drinking, staying out in the cold without a winter coat, and sleeping very little. As the time goes on, we witness his fall into a mental breakdown. He may even have gotten TB, and he writes the story from a rest home.

As he wanders New York, he longs to make connections with other people. He tries bonding with taxi drivers, flirts with women at bars, calls upon some acquaintances, and engages in some dangerous behavior in an effort to connect with people. Yet he fails in all these attempts, becomes alienated, and withdraws into himself as a form of self-protection.

Holden also struggles with having to grow up, and he mourns the loss of childhood innocence. He finds comfort in thinking about his 10-year-old sister Phoebe, in whom he sees the innocence, curiosity, and honesty of children.

One night, Holden sneaks into his own family’s apartment to avoid seeing his parents. Phoebe is happy to see him, but accuses him of not having any ambitions. He retorted that he does have a fantasy: to rescue children playing in a field of rye before they run off a cliff and lose their innocence. He bases this image on a Robert Burns poem, Comin’ Thro the Rye, written in 1782.

In the book’s most famous quote, Holden says to Phoebe, “I’m standing on the edge of some crazy cliff…I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff—I mean if they’re running and they don’t look where they’re going. I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That’s all I’d do all day. I’d just be the catcher in the rye and all.”

The phoniness of

the adult world

Phoniness is a prominent theme of The Catcher in the Rye. In all the interactions he has with adults, Holden finds superficiality, hypocrisy, pretension, and shallowness. He is seeking authentic friendship, but becomes overwhelmed by others’ politics and personal agendas.

For example, Holden goes to a bar in Greenwich Village to see a jazz pianist named Ernie. Holden acknowledges that Ernie plays well, but thinks he plays too well. Ernie also knows he’s good, but he pretends to be humble. Holden thinks Ernie’s false modesty makes him phony, so he discredits his piano-playing abilities and mocks him.

Then later at the bar, Holden sees a woman who used to date his older brother, who has since become a screenwriter in Hollywood. She wants Holden to have drinks with her and her date, but Holden believes that she is being cordial simply because she wants access to Holden’s brother. Holden concludes she’s a phony and shuns her, and he just leaves the club.

Holden believes that adults are phonies—but that they can’t see their own phoniness. Lying and deception are part of being phony, and Holden particularly derides self-deception. He scorns people who think that they are something they are not or who refuse to acknowledge their own weaknesses. This disgust provides him an excuse to withdraw into cynical isolation.

Habits of truly

genuine people

Like Holden, many of us value “genuine” people and think poorly of those who are being “fake.” Even though a phony person is motivated to appear more appealing or impressive, being fake has the opposite effect. We are much more likely to trust a genuine person than a fake one. Those who are true to themselves are also likely to be more honest with us.

One key aspect of self-improvement is to live a more authentic life. If you are tired of wearing a mask, tiptoeing around others to try to save face, or stunted in the process of self-discovery, here are six habits to consider. Of course, it’s important not to overdo any of these, as moderate goals may be more effective than extreme ones.

Genuine people first figure out their own opinions, and then they share them with others. Genuine people are usually more comfortable sharing ideas and letting those views speak for themselves, whereas fake people try too hard to persuade others they are right.

A “yes-man” is a weak person who always agrees with an associate or superior, endorsing or supporting their views without criticism. To be genuine, though, is to be guided by your own beliefs and standards. Sometimes these ideals conflict with those that are imposed upon us, so being authentic is often associated with being brave.

I have attended many college recruiting fairs in China, where parents and children have different ideas of which major to choose. For example, students may want to study art, but the parents want them to study business or science. I suggested a compromise and major in advertising. Students would take courses in marketing (business) and advertising design (art).

Once you are comfortable expressing your views and following your internal expectations, your inner compass will guide you on how to pursue your passions and find your purpose. You may take a traditional path or create an entirely new one. When you are authentic, you make your own choices. Even though you consider others’ views, you blaze your own trail.

Conventional paths are considered “safe,” but forging your own path could lead to failure. To be genuine is not to fear failure. In fact, failure is a key part of the journey, where you learn and acquire new experiences.

In the novel, Holden was repulsed by people who were unaware of their weaknesses as well as those who knew their weaknesses but didn’t admit them. He considered them all phony. Perhaps in his mind, we should be self-reflective and confront the bad along with the good. This way, we recognize our shortcomings and take responsibility for our actions.

Holden particularly reviled those who “fooled themselves to fool others.” Rather than admit their faults, they first lied to themselves, pretending the weakness didn’t exist. And then, these people undauntedly tried to get others to see the situation in their same distorted way.

When you accept your own faults and embrace your individuality, you may become more accepting of others. With less bias, you will have a purer perspective on life that leads to more honest relationships. Your focus becomes more upon pursuing your own mission, and less on judging or criticizing others.

Ironically, despite Holden’s awareness of others’ faults, he is unaware of his own. He often exhibits the same phoniness he shuns, pretending to be someone he is not. And rather than be true to himself and seek the true love and friendship he craves, he alienates himself. Perhaps if he practiced these six habits, he may have avoided the mental breakdown.

My friend, The Catcher in the Rye teaches us that being phony is unhealthy for us personally and also damages our relationships. The novel calls us to be genuine so we can maximize our potential, build solid relationships, and enhance our self-esteem. Be true to who you are…as that will take you far in this journey.

{ 今日英文速记卡 }

麦田里的守望者 来自老桑说 01:08