在美國本土,或在文學史上,威廉福克納的影響與成就都是無庸置疑的。他的作品當中,名氣最響的多以他虛構的約克納帕陶法郡(此地乃以作者的故鄉為模型)為背景。雖然這些作品帶有美國南方色彩,故事所要傳達的思想卻是亙古通今,舉世皆然的真理。如同作者所言,他只是個說故事的人,而他告訴我們的故事,就是人類如何忍受磨難,化解衝突,戰勝一切。福克納在才華未受到肯定之前,曾有一度必須靠寫短篇故事過活。雖然有時他寫短篇故事的動機是為了籌生活費,這些短篇故事中仍不乏精彩之作。在這篇論文裡,我選譯了福克納三篇短篇故事。為了讓臺灣讀者更了解福克納的文學世界,所以我選擇的是他較易入門的短篇故事,而不是可能會令國內讀者望而卻步,他比較艱澀複雜的長篇小說。
本論文的前半是這三篇故事—「乾旱的九月」,「紅葉」,「馬鞭草的香氣」—的評介。這部份的第一章是作者及其作品的相關簡介,第二章的著眼點則在這三篇故事的主題及技巧討論。大陸的譯者也曾譯過這三篇故事。在最後一章,我從自己和大陸的翻譯中找出幾個翻譯時常見的問題,以證明翻譯有其難處,是相當有挑戰性的工作。

William Faulkner undoubtedly ranks one of the best and most influential writers both in America and in history. Among his various works of art, the most famous ones are those set in his fictional Yoknapatawpha County, which is molded out of his “native soil.” Despite their Southern setting, these works convey something universally true. As Faulkner often claims, he is just a story-teller, telling about man in conflict, about how he “endures and prevails.” Before he received due recognition, Faulkner wrote quite a few short stories which he expected would help him improve his economic condition, so that he could write novels at ease. Nevertheless, although he was motivated by economic interests, many of these short stories turned out very prominent. In my thesis, I translate and discuss three of his outstanding short stories--“Dry September,” “Red Leaves,” and “An Odor of Verbena.” By so doing, I hope I can introduce Faulkner’s world to his Taiwan readers, who might too easily reject his major novels for their complexity and long-winding sentences, but would be glad to savor the more accessible short stories.
The introductory part is divided into three chapters, beginning with a brief account of the author’s life and fiction. In the second chapter I discuss mainly the theme of “conflict” and the stylistic features in these three stories. Then, in the last chapter, giving some instances from my own translations and those by three translators in Mainland China, I try to demonstrate why translation is a demanding task.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
Abstract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ii
Part One: Introduction
I. William Faulkner: the Man and His Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
II.William Faulkner: Telling the Story of Man in Conflict. . . . . . . . . . 9
III.Translating Faulkner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
Part Two: Chinese Translations
1. “Dry September” (乾旱的九月). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2. “Red Leaves" (紅葉). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3. “An Odor of Verbena” (馬鞭草的香氣). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Works Cited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

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