原始主义与非裔美国文学——评20世纪前及哈莱姆文艺复兴时期的非裔美国文学

摘要

Primitivism is a kind of world-wide thought which is nostalgic about the lost Golden Age and is critical of modern civilization. Primitivism gives priority to nature and sensibility and is opposed to materialism closely related to modern industrialization, which is believed to be the source of human depravity. The primitivism in Afro-American literature before 20th cen- tury and during Harlem Renaissance manefests itself in the following aspects： the emphasis on the cultural blackness, the praise of the image of noble savage, the extolation of free and simple outlook, the depiction of the black city people＇ s primitive life. Afro-American literature is therefore tainted with a mysterious,romantic and idealized color.%原始主义作为一种文化思潮，表现出向过去寻找理想状态的怀古幽思，与对人类文化发展充满赞许之情的历史进步论者相对立。从18世纪到20世纪哈菜姆文艺复兴期间的非裔美国文学中原始主义的具体表现为对黑人传统文化的回归，对高贵野蛮人的赞颂，对自然简朴的价值观的弘扬以及对城市黑人返祖性生活的描写等，从而显示出一种神秘性、浪漫性和理想性的美学特征。原始主义在他们的作品中不仅仅是一种文化反思，更是一种浪漫的政治策略，一种试图通过“立异”实现文化身份的手段。