Chapter 10 Scenery when the soul is awakened - Stoker

1. Break up When the protagonist Carl mistakenly believes that his American life has not yet begun, when he is still on the boat gazing at the Statue of Liberty, and has no idea that he is about to disembark, American life has quietly begun, and he has no precautions at all. The next has begun - a life he has never experienced before, and he can't guard against it.same!The break between daily life and ideas is carried out unconsciously.When you realize the pain, the thing has already happened; when you want to retreat, the back road is blocked.The cracks of the rupture often occur at the strongest junctures, and the consequences are even more disastrous and irreparable.At this stage, Carl's impression of the United States was a blow to the head, which knocked down the main support of his life, and the mysterious force that delivered this blow came from nowhere.

The rupture was not accomplished by the childish Karl himself, he was still too young to have that kind of strength and cunning planning, everything was done for him by the surrounding environment.But the environment here is by no means an environment in the secular sense, but an environment that may one day be transformed into Karl's essence.At present, he is still on the surface a whole with this environment and these people around him, but it is no longer a complete one, and he has begun to make efforts to distinguish.So there are two kinds of rupture here: one is a rupture with the past, and the other is a rupture with those around us.The former made his heart bleed, while the latter made him infinitely confused.

The first person he wanted to rely on was a young man.The man with whom he had been acquainted once during the journey asked him to look after his suitcase, but the man reneged on his trust and left the suitcase behind.This is the first time on conscience.Faithful break.The rupture had occurred in a flurry and insensibly, he was hardly aware of it, for he had never experienced such silent cruelty.The next rupture occurred in the stoker and his relationship.The fireman poured out the bitterness of his life in front of Karl, for his own pleasure and to educate Karl.Karl has been misinterpreting the fireman's words, and he introduces the fireman as a confidant, and takes his own thoughts as his thoughts.It wasn't until after the complaint in the captain's office that Karl realized that there was an abyss between him and the nurse, and that the previous harmony was only superficial, a fantasy of his own.During that unfortunate quarrel, the stoker did not hesitate to regard him as a fool, and to show everyone that he and Karl had a conflict of ideas.Even though the fireman still had feelings for him later, even though Karl saw the fireman's outbursts as tantrums, he gradually understood that the fireman didn't need his help at all!This man had a system of thought that was foreign to him, completely alien to those brought from Carl's homeland, and all of Carl's righteous indignation was self-indulgent.Here, the environment showed Karl the cracks in life through the fireman. Karl saw it, and became very sad because he didn't understand.There are many people standing on the other side of the crack: the fireman, the captain, the uncle, Schubert, the young man who met him, etc.; but on this side, there is only Karl alone.The fission that occurred in this short period of time was both intense and subtle.If it weren't for a sensitive child like Carl, he wouldn't be so emotional about it.

Uncle is also someone Karl wants to rely on—he is a relative after all.But as soon as Karl got close to his uncle, he felt the "cold" smell on his uncle.The eccentric, unapproachable uncle had recognized Karl long ago, but remained calm.He is proud of his nephew's boldness in his hometown and on this ship. He sees that he is a good material with strong plasticity, and he waits patiently until the end to recognize him. Achievements" announced to everyone (nephew thinks that kind of thing is very embarrassing), and then took him away.There was no sentimentality in Karl's relationship with his uncle (uncle didn't like it), and he saw the cracks from the very beginning, and knew that this uncle had nothing in common with his fellow countrymen.But Karl still wanted to depend on him, and the breakup took a long time.

Disruption is the awareness of distinction.For the first time in his life, young Karl was differentiating himself from those around him.This doesn't seem to be his original intention, but some mysterious will is pulling him to do all this.But how can you be sure that this is not his original intention?Who are the people around?This problem will not be revealed until the end. 2. Character analysis Karl regarded the stoker as his big brother, treated him warmly, confided with him, and listened to his complaints.But slowly, he found something incomprehensible to the stoker.It wasn’t until the fireman went to the captain’s office to appeal, and Karl stabbed him in both sides, that Karl knew that the fireman’s thoughts and emotional logic were completely opposite to his own. The fireman was a complete stranger to him, and he couldn’t get through the spiritual world of the fireman.However, things are not that simple. The fireman has a great attraction for Karl.His sincere confession moved Karl deeply.He is a real person, but Karl still doesn't understand what that reality is.Whether he understands it or not, just from the nurse, Karl stepped into the real realm with one foot.How touching is the fireman's tearful appeal!The indifference of the captain and others, and the dominating power of the sea also left an indelible impression on Karl.This is the truth, and Si Nu is so passionate about this powerful truth that he can't cry.Karl, however, aroused another kind of passion from this—the passion of the world, and his outburst was even stronger and irresistible.When you think about it carefully, the two passions are actually two aspects of the same thing; or, one is the manifestation of the other.If Karl hadn't had this inner emotional connection with the nurse, Karl wouldn't have been so devoted to him that he was heartbroken by his misfortune.From the beginning of their acquaintance until the final breakup, the fireman was always telling his suffering and the injustice of the world.He actually wants to emphasize to Karl: all this is an unchangeable truth.As Karl grew closer to him, so did Karl's sense of his (or his) situation.Although Karl's thinking logic is the opposite, this does not prevent Karl from experiencing reality.As a European on the other side of the ocean, Karl can only experience American life that he does not understand in his own way. "The fashion on board has changed", people are still the same, this is also a logic that runs through.What was it that made Karl feel at ease with the fireman and make his difficulties his own?It's compassion and a sense of justice.The fireman knew that Karl's sympathy and sense of justice were just empty concepts, and he had never encountered reality before, and he himself could provide Karl with such a chance to encounter.If the stoker hadn't appeared as a latent possibility in Karl's essence, Karl wouldn't be so obsessed with it.Karl's recognition of the stoker is the recognition of those things that are sprouting in his soul, and this recognition is still completely unconscious.

The fireman ended his relationship with Karl because of his complete humiliation, and told Karl by example: Since the things outside the body (umbrella, suitcase, etc.) can be thrown away, what does it matter if you lose face?According to the American way, people have to lose face when they live, and they can only live in a way of losing face.Echoing the manner of the stoker, the uncle later humiliated Karl again.And the reaction of the uncle and the people on board to this point is also beyond Karl's comprehension.They seemed unmoved.It turns out that the people here don't have the secular concept of "losing face" in their minds, just like the stoker.Of course, it would be wrong to say that Si Nu is indifferent to his own suffering.The fireman is as sensitive to suffering as Karl, so he told Karl as soon as he met, and later went to the captain's office to tell the supreme leader.Karl didn't know that "speaking" was the purpose of the fireman, and "speaking" was the way of life of the fireman.Karl thought he had another purpose, just like the hypocritical Europeans (or people in the secular world), "speaking" was to preside over some kind of empty justice and fairness.Perhaps inspired by the stoker's best efforts, and perhaps also inspired by the strong atmosphere around him, Karl finally felt that he had arrived in the United States amidst his distressed cries.Yes, he had left Europe, and the fireman on whom he had poured so much emotion had left him, and a new life was beckoning to him.

Uncle was an extremely well-bred gentleman, and Karl was completely ignorant of the American upbringing embodied in him.He appeared at the moment of intensified conflict, at the dramatic moment when the stoker defended himself profusely, and Karl was dissatisfied with his poor defense, so the stoker argued with him.What was uncle doing during this time?He was watching, thinking; he saw his nephew's outstanding behavior, and he was filled with pride when he thought of his amazing feat in his hometown.His nephew was indeed extraordinary!The enthusiastic boy had made such a strong impression on him that he had resolved to be his guardian, to make him a successful man in this strange country.In the eyes of his uncle, Karl is still a blank slate. His innocence and courage are the best basic qualities, and his enthusiasm for justice indicates that he has a great future.So the uncle met his dear nephew.One of his speeches at the time of the acquaintance revealed his ideas, which were peculiar to Karl.First of all, he made Europe and its relatives worthless.This brings us back to the question: what does Europe symbolize?Why does uncle always berate it?Obviously, Europe appears in this book as the original human nature, human "weakness".The old, sad, gray-yellow memory has an irresistible twist in the process of human transformation; the United States, as a symbol of ideals, will compete with it with the cruelty, domineering and roughness of its young people.Then the uncle paradoxically praised Karl for his irrational scandal, praised his courage and cheap affection born illegitimately to his mother, and finally said that Karl should learn his lesson.Uncle's attitude was very ambiguous, and it was difficult to draw any conclusions from his words.The strange thing is that everyone around understands this way of speaking and doesn't find it contradictory at all.This was the first lesson Uncle taught Karl.Although Karl disagreed with his uncle's comments about his hometown, he was affected enough by the special atmosphere of the ship that day to make him doubt his European ideas.So he thought his uncle's words were understandable; and his uncle, for this reason, called him "a great nephew" because he accepted new things so quickly.

On the boat, Uncle explained to Karl for the first time what "justice" and principles are.Carl was full of sympathy for the stoker and insisted on dealing with the matter according to his own feelings, which his uncle didn't take seriously.He told Carl that all matters on board are decided by the captain, because discipline and principles must never be violated.What is true justice?The captain's word is justice.The uncle went on to say that he fully understood Karl's impulse for justice, and it was this that gave him the power to remove Karl from here immediately.why?Probably because people who have the impulse of justice and dare to violate the principles are the people that my uncle is interested in, so my uncle has the idea of ​​letting him continue his studies.So does the uncle admire his sense of justice, or is he dissatisfied with his sense of justice?This kind of thing is unclear, and my uncle is too secretive.Karl couldn't figure out what his uncle was thinking. Karl only knew that he deeply sympathized with the unfair treatment of the fireman. He cried for the fireman and kissed the fireman's hand.The uncle then said that he was "bewitched" by the stoker--a clearly appreciative word.For this "fascination", he must take Karl away immediately, otherwise Karl will be "too much".It can be seen that after passing the test of the incident on the ship, Uncle is very satisfied with Karl.He told the captain that he was "satisfied" with such a nephew.However, the uncle's ambiguous attitude made the gullible Karl also have doubts about him.Karl couldn't understand him.In fact, Karl doesn't understand everyone, except that his uncle happens to be his guardian of all people.He was afraid, sad, and nostalgic; he didn't know what he had done, what happened now, and what he would encounter in the future.So he burst into tears as he left the boat, both bewildered and premonitioned.Of course my uncle knew why he was crying, and he was moved with compassion, hugged him tightly, stroked him, and walked off the boat with him cuddling.But later in the boat, when Karl looked at him, he avoided Karl's eyes.Maybe he thinks warmth is not good for his nephew.

It can be seen from the series of actions of the uncle that the American spirit is not blindly cold and domineering, but contains deep contradictions inside, which make its manifestation the result of a series of hesitation.Uncle wants Carl to learn the American spirit because he wants him to learn to be a strong and rational person; and it is up to Karl to figure out what rationality is.