Chapter 2 foreword

Here we are going to narrate the story of Hans Castorp.The story was not written for his own sake (for the reader will learn that he was a simple-hearted, even lovable young man), but for the story itself; of.But for the sake of Hans Castorp we have to remember that this is his story and not any story that happened to anyone.This story happened a long time ago, and it can be said that it is completely a historical relic. Therefore, it is undoubtedly necessary to use the past tense of many years in the narration. This is not a disadvantage to the story, but an advantage; because the story must have happened in the past, we can say that the farther it is from the present, the more interesting the story is, and for the person who writes the story-he has a good understanding of the past. Things are often like a sorcerer, who can do it at his fingertips-the more beneficial it is.The same is true of this story: like so many themes of the day, it involves a variety of people without implicating the author in the slightest.Its time is much earlier than the story-telling age, its year cannot be counted by days, and how long it runs through cannot be measured by the sun's coming and going.In a word, how far the story is from now has nothing to do with the time-this kind of statement is probably a trick the author wants to play with the mysterious and unpredictable plot of the story.

But we must not intentionally obscure the truth of the facts.The reason our story is so far away is that it happened before some kind of turning point in the world—a turning point that left deep rifts in people’s lives and consciousness—it happened before—or we Deliberately avoiding the present tense - it happened or has happened a long time ago, in those distant days, that is, in the society before the world war; when this great war broke out, many things happened exactly from scratch , but almost never terminates once started.True, it took place before the Great War, though not too far from it.However, the earlier the story happens, the more distinctively it has the characteristics of the "past", so it is more complete and legendary? In addition, the essence of our story is that it embodies legend everywhere. flavor.

Now we shall tell it in its entirety and in detail—which story is too short or too long for the time and space it requires? Lean toward the view that only an elaborate plot can be truly engaging. Therefore, the author's story of Hans is not done overnight.Seven days a week is not enough, and seven months are not enough.It would be best if he didn't say in advance how long he had spent his life working on this story, God knows, it took seven years! Let's get started now.