The Untold Lie, concerning Ray Pearson By Sherwood Anderson RAY PEARSON and Hal Winters were farm hands employed on a farm three miles north of Winesburg. On Saturday afternoons they came into town and wandered about through the streets with other fellows from the country Ray was a quiet, rather nervous man of perhaps fifty with a brown beard and shoulders rounded by too much and too hard labor. In his nature he was as unlike Hal winters as two men can be unlike Ray was an altogether serious man and had a little sharp-featured wife who had also a sharp voice. The two, with half a dozen thin-legged children, lived in a tumble-down frame house beside a creek at the back end of the Wills farm where Ray was employed Hal Winters, his fellow employee, was a young fellow. He was not of the Ned Winters family, who were very respectable people in Winesburg, but was one of the three sons of the old man called Windpeter Winters who had a sawmill near Unionville, six miles away, and who was looked upon by everyone in Winesburg as a confirmed old reprobate People from the part of Northern Ohio in which Winesburg lies will remember old windpeter by his unusual and tragic death. He got drunk one evening in town and started to drive home to Unionville along the railroad tracks. Henry brattenburg, the butcher, who lived out that way, stopped him at the edge of the town and told him he was sure to meet the down train but Windpeter slashed at him with his whip and drove on. When the train struck and killed him and his two horses a farmer and his wife who were driving home along a nearby road saw the accident. They said that old Windpeter stood up on the seat of his wagon, raving and swearing at the onrushing locomotive, and that he fairly screamed with delight when the team, maddened by his incessant slashing at them, rushed straight ahead to certain death. Boys like young George Willard and Seth Richmond will remember the incident quite vividly because, although everyone in our town said that the old man would go straight to hell and that the community was better off without him, they had a secret conviction that he knew what he was doing and admired his foolish courage. Most boys have seasons of wishing they could die gloriously instead of just being grocery clerks and going on with their humdrum* lives But this is not the story of windpeter Winters nor yet of his son Hal who worked on the wills farm with Ray Pearson. It is Ray's story. It will, however, be necessary to talk a little of young Hal so that you will get into the spirit of it Hal was a bad one. Everyone said that. There were three of the Winters boys in that family, John, Hal, and Edward, all broad-shouldered big fellows like old Windpeter himself and all fighters and woman-chasers and generally all-around bad ones lal was the worst of the lot and always up to some devilment. He once stole a load of boards from his father's mill and sold them in Winesburg. With the money he bought himself a suit of cheap, flashy clothes. Then he got drunk and when his father came raving into town to find him, they met and fought with their fists on Main Street and were arrested and put into jail together Hal went to work on the wills farm because there was a country school teacher out that way who had taken his fancy. He was only twenty-two then but had already been in two or three of what were spoken of in Winesburg as"women scrapes "Everyone who heard of his infatuation for the school teacher was sure it would turn out badly. " He'll only get her into trouble, you'll see, "was the word that went around And so these two men, Ray and Hal, were at work in a field on a day in the late October. They I Sawmill锯木厂 2 Reprobate:道德败坏的人,恶棍 胡言乱语,痛骂 4 Humdrum:乏味的,单调的 Flashy:俗艳的 6 Scrape:此指流产 7 Infatuation:热恋,迷恋
The Untold Lie, concerning Ray Pearson By Sherwood Anderson RAY PEARSON and Hal Winters were farm hands employed on a farm three miles north of Winesburg. On Saturday afternoons they came into town and wandered about through the streets with other fellows from the country. Ray was a quiet, rather nervous man of perhaps fifty with a brown beard and shoulders rounded by too much and too hard labor. In his nature he was as unlike Hal Winters as two men can be unlike. Ray was an altogether serious man and had a little sharp-featured wife who had also a sharp voice. The two, with half a dozen thin-legged children, lived in a tumble-down frame house beside a creek at the back end of the Wills farm where Ray was employed. Hal Winters, his fellow employee, was a young fellow. He was not of the Ned Winters family, who were very respectable people in Winesburg, but was one of the three sons of the old man called Windpeter Winters who had a sawmill 1 near Unionville, six miles away, and who was looked upon by everyone in Winesburg as a confirmed old reprobate2 . People from the part of Northern Ohio in which Winesburg lies will remember old Windpeter by his unusual and tragic death. He got drunk one evening in town and started to drive home to Unionville along the railroad tracks. Henry Brattenburg, the butcher, who lived out that way, stopped him at the edge of the town and told him he was sure to meet the down train but Windpeter slashed at him with his whip and drove on. When the train struck and killed him and his two horses a farmer and his wife who were driving home along a nearby road saw the accident. They said that old Windpeter stood up on the seat of his wagon, raving3 and swearing at the onrushing locomotive, and that he fairly screamed with delight when the team, maddened by his incessant slashing at them, rushed straight ahead to certain death. Boys like young George Willard and Seth Richmond will remember the incident quite vividly because, although everyone in our town said that the old man would go straight to hell and that the community was better off without him, they had a secret conviction that he knew what he was doing and admired his foolish courage. Most boys have seasons of wishing they could die gloriously instead of just being grocery clerks and going on with their humdrum4 lives. But this is not the story of Windpeter Winters nor yet of his son Hal who worked on the Wills farm with Ray Pearson. It is Ray's story. It will, however, be necessary to talk a little of young Hal so that you will get into the spirit of it. Hal was a bad one. Everyone said that. There were three of the Winters boys in that family, John, Hal, and Edward, all broad-shouldered big fellows like old Windpeter himself and all fighters and woman-chasers and generally all-around bad ones. Hal was the worst of the lot and always up to some devilment. He once stole a load of boards from his father's mill and sold them in Winesburg. With the money he bought himself a suit of cheap, flashy5 clothes. Then he got drunk and when his father came raving into town to find him, they met and fought with their fists on Main Street and were arrested and put into jail together. Hal went to work on the Wills farm because there was a country school teacher out that way who had taken his fancy. He was only twenty-two then but had already been in two or three of what were spoken of in Winesburg as "women scrapes6 ." Everyone who heard of his infatuation7 for the school teacher was sure it would turn out badly. "He'll only get her into trouble, you'll see," was the word that went around. And so these two men, Ray and Hal, were at work in a field on a day in the late October. They 1 Sawmill: 锯木厂 2 Reprobate: 道德败坏的人，恶棍 3 Rave: 胡言乱语，痛骂 4 Humdrum：乏味的，单调的 5 Flashy：俗艳的 6 Scrape：此指流产 7 Infatuation：热恋，迷恋
were husking corn and occasionally something was said and they laughed. Then came silence. Ray, who was the more sensitive and al ways minded things more, had chapped hands and they hurt. He put them into his coat pockets and looked away across the fields. He was in a sad, distracted mood and was affected by the beauty of the country. If you knew the Winesburg country in the fall and how the low hills are all splashed with yellows and reds you would understand his feeling He began to think of the time, long ago when he was a young fellow living with his father, then a baker in Winesburg and how on such days he had wandered away into the woods to gather nuts, hunt rabbits, or just to loaf aboutand smoke his pipe. His marriage had come about through one of his days of wandering He had induced a girl who waited on trade in his father's shop to go with him and something had happened He was thinking of that afternoon and how it had affected his whole life when a spirit of protest awoke in him. He had forgotten about Hal and muttered words. " Tricked by Gad, that's what I was, tricked by life and made a fool of, "he said in a low voice As though un derstanding his thoughts, Ha wnters spoke up bwell, has it een wort while laughing but he too was in an earnest mood. He began to talk earnestly. Has a fellow got to do it? " he asked. "Has he got to be harnessed up and driven through life like a horse? Hal didn't wait for an answer but sprang to his feet and began to walk back and forth between the corn shocks. He was getting more and more excited. Bending down suddenly he picked up an ear of he yellow corn and threw it at the fence. " I've got Nell Gunther in trouble, he said. " I'm telling you, but you keep your mouth shut Ray Pearson arose and stood staring He was almost a foot shorter than Hal, and when the younger man came and put his two hands on the older mans shoulders they made a picture. There they stood in the big empty field with the quiet corn shocks standing in rows behind them and the red and yellow hills in the distance, and from being just two indifferent workmen they had become all alive to each other. Hal sensed it and because that was his way he laughed. Well, old daddy "he said awkwardly, "come on, advise me. I've got Nell in trouble. Perhaps you've been in the same fix yourself. I know what everyone would say is the right thing to do, but what do you say? Shall I marry and settle down? Shall I put myself into the harness to be worn out like an old horse? You know me, Ray. There can't anyone break me but I can break myself. Shall I do it or shall I tell Nell to go to the devil? Come on, you tell me. Whatever you say, Ray, I'll de Ray couldn't answer. He shook Hal,s hands loose and turning walked straight away toward the barn. He was a sensitive man and there were tears in his eyes. He knew there was only one thing to say to Hal Winters, son of old Windpeter Winters, only one thing that all his own training and all the beliefs of the people he knew would approve, but for his life he couldn,'t say what he knew he should At half-past four that afternoon Ray was puttering about 2the barnyard when his wife came up the lane along the creek and called him. After the talk with Hal he hadn,t returned to the cornfield but worked about the barn. He had already done the evening chores and had seen Hal, dressed and ready for a roistering night in town, come out of the farmhouse and go into the road. Along the path to his own house he trudged 4 behind his wife, looking at the ground and thinking. He couldn,t make out wh Every time he raised his eyes and saw the beauty of the country in the failing light he wanted to do something he had never done before, shout or scream or hit his wife with his fists or something equally unexpected and terrifying. Along the path he went scratching his head and trying to make it out. he looked hard at his wife s back but she seemed all right She only wanted him to go into town for groceries and as soon as she had told him what she 8 Chapped hands皲裂的双手 9 Loafabout:游荡闲逛 10 Shocks:一大堆 llrⅸx:(口语)困境,窘境 l2 Putter about:闲逛,闲荡 13 Roistering:欢闹作乐,闹饮 惫、步履维艰地走
were husking corn and occasionally something was said and they laughed. Then came silence. Ray, who was the more sensitive and always minded things more, had chapped hands 8 and they hurt. He put them into his coat pockets and looked away across the fields. He was in a sad, distracted mood and was affected by the beauty of the country. If you knew the Winesburg country in the fall and how the low hills are all splashed with yellows and reds you would understand his feeling. He began to think of the time, long ago when he was a young fellow living with his father, then a baker in Winesburg, and how on such days he had wandered away into the woods to gather nuts, hunt rabbits, or just to loaf about 9 and smoke his pipe. His marriage had come about through one of his days of wandering. He had induced a girl who waited on trade in his father's shop to go with him and something had happened. He was thinking of that afternoon and how it had affected his whole life when a spirit of protest awoke in him. He had forgotten about Hal and muttered words. "Tricked by Gad, that's what I was, tricked by life and made a fool of," he said in a low voice. As though understanding his thoughts, Hal Winters spoke up. "Well, has it been worth while? What about it, eh? What about marriage and all that?" he asked and then laughed. Hal tried to keep on laughing but he too was in an earnest mood. He began to talk earnestly. "Has a fellow got to do it?" he asked. "Has he got to be harnessed up and driven through life like a horse?" Hal didn't wait for an answer but sprang to his feet and began to walk back and forth between the corn shocks10. He was getting more and more excited. Bending down suddenly he picked up an ear of the yellow corn and threw it at the fence. "I've got Nell Gunther in trouble," he said. "I'm telling you, but you keep your mouth shut." Ray Pearson arose and stood staring. He was almost a foot shorter than Hal, and when the younger man came and put his two hands on the older man's shoulders they made a picture. There they stood in the big empty field with the quiet corn shocks standing in rows behind them and the red and yellow hills in the distance, and from being just two indifferent workmen they had become all alive to each other. Hal sensed it and because that was his way he laughed. "Well, old daddy," he said awkwardly, "come on, advise me. I've got Nell in trouble. Perhaps you've been in the same fix11 yourself. I know what everyone would say is the right thing to do, but what do you say? Shall I marry and settle down? Shall I put myself into the harness to be worn out like an old horse? You know me, Ray. There can't anyone break me but I can break myself. Shall I do it or shall I tell Nell to go to the devil? Come on, you tell me. Whatever you say, Ray, I'll do." Ray couldn't answer. He shook Hal's hands loose and turning walked straight away toward the barn. He was a sensitive man and there were tears in his eyes. He knew there was only one thing to say to Hal Winters, son of old Windpeter Winters, only one thing that all his own training and all the beliefs of the people he knew would approve, but for his life he couldn't say what he knew he should say. At half-past four that afternoon Ray was puttering about 12the barnyard when his wife came up the lane along the creek and called him. After the talk with Hal he hadn't returned to the cornfield but worked about the barn. He had already done the evening chores and had seen Hal, dressed and ready for a roistering13 night in town, come out of the farmhouse and go into the road. Along the path to his own house he trudged14 behind his wife, looking at the ground and thinking. He couldn't make out what was wrong. Every time he raised his eyes and saw the beauty of the country in the failing light he wanted to do something he had never done before, shout or scream or hit his wife with his fists or something equally unexpected and terrifying. Along the path he went scratching his head and trying to make it out. He looked hard at his wife's back but she seemed all right. She only wanted him to go into town for groceries and as soon as she had told him what she 8 Chapped hands: 皲裂的双手 9 Loaf about: 游荡闲逛 10 Shocks: 一大堆 11 Fix：（口语）困境，窘境 12 Putter about：闲逛，闲荡 13 Roistering：欢闹作乐，闹饮 14 Trudge：疲惫、步履维艰地走
wanted began to scold. You're always puttering, "she said. Now I want you to hustle. There isn,t anything in the house for supper and you've got to get to town and back in a hurry Ray went into his own house and took an overcoat from a hook back of the door. It was torn about the pockets and the collar was shiny. His wife went into the bedroom and presently came out with a soiled 5 cloth in one hand and three silver dollars in the other. somewhere in the house a child wept bitterly and a dog that had been sleeping by the stove arose and yawned. Again the wife scolded The children will cry and cry. Why are you always puttering? "she asked Ray went out of the house and climbed the fence into a field. It was just growing dark and the scene that lay before him was lovely. All the low hills were washed with color and even the little clusters of bushes in the corners of the fences were alive with beauty. The whole world seemed to Ray Pearson to have become alive with something just as he and Hal had suddenly become alive when they stood in the corn field stating into each other's eyes The beauty of the country about Winesburg was too much for Ray on that fall evening. That is all there was to it. He could not stand it. Of a sudden he forgot all about being a quiet old farm hand and throwing off the torn overcoat began to run across the field As he ran he shouted a protest against his life, against all life, against everything that makes life ugly. " There was no promise made, " he cried into the empty spaces that lay about him. "I didn't promise my Minnie anything and Hal hasn't made any promise to Nell. I know he hasn't. She went into the woods with him because she wanted to go What he wanted she wanted. Why should I pay? Why should Hal pay? Why should anyone pay? dont want Hal to become old and worn out I'll tell him. I won,'t let it go on I'll catch Hal before he gets to town and I'll tell him Ray ran clumsily and once he stumbled and fell down. "I must catch Hal and tell him, he kept thinking, and although his breath came in gasps he kept running harder and harder. As he ran he thought of things that hadn,t come into his mind for years--how at the time he married he had planned to go west to his uncle in Portland, Oregon--how he hadnt wanted to be a farm hand but had thought West he would go to sea and be a sailor or get a job on a ranch and ride a horse into Western towns, shouting and laughing and waking the people in the houses with his wild cries. Then as he ran he remembered his children and in fancy felt their hands clutching(企图抓住) at him. All of his thoughts of himself were involved with the thoughts of Hal and he thought the children were clutching at the younger man also. "They are the accidents of life, Hal, "he cried. " They are not mine or yours. I had nothing to do with them Darkness began to spread over the fields as Ray Pearson ran on and on. His breath came in little sobs. When he came to the fence at the edge of the road and confronted Hal winters, all dressed up and smoking a pipe as he walked jauntily along, he could not have told what he thought or what he wanted Ray p lost his nerve and this is really the end of the story of what happened to him. It was almost dark when he got to the fence and he put his hands on the top bar and stood staring Hal Winters jumped a ditch and coming up close to Ray put his hands into his pockets and laughed. He eemed to have lost his own sense of what had happened in the corn field and when he put up a strong hand and took hold of the lapel of Ray's coat he shook the old man as he might have shaken a dog that had misbehaved You came to tell me, eh? he said. " Well, never mind telling me anything. I'm not a coward and I've already made up my mind. "He laughed again and jumped back across the ditch. Nell ain't fool, he said. "She didn't ask me to marry her. I want to marry her. I want to settle down and have Ray Pearson also laughed. He felt like laughing at himself and all the world. As the form of Hal Winters disappeared in the dusk that lay over the road that led to winesburg, he turned and walked slowly back across the fields to where he had left his torn overcoat. As he went some memory of pleasant evenings spent with the thin-legged children in the tumble-down house by 15 Soiled:脏兮兮的 16 Jauntily:轻松活泼地 7 Lapel:翻领
wanted began to scold. "You're always puttering," she said. "Now I want you to hustle. There isn't anything in the house for supper and you've got to get to town and back in a hurry." Ray went into his own house and took an overcoat from a hook back of the door. It was torn about the pockets and the collar was shiny. His wife went into the bedroom and presently came out with a soiled15 cloth in one hand and three silver dollars in the other. Somewhere in the house a child wept bitterly and a dog that had been sleeping by the stove arose and yawned. Again the wife scolded. "The children will cry and cry. Why are you always puttering?" she asked. Ray went out of the house and climbed the fence into a field. It was just growing dark and the scene that lay before him was lovely. All the low hills were washed with color and even the little clusters of bushes in the corners of the fences were alive with beauty. The whole world seemed to Ray Pearson to have become alive with something just as he and Hal had suddenly become alive when they stood in the corn field stating into each other's eyes. The beauty of the country about Winesburg was too much for Ray on that fall evening. That is all there was to it. He could not stand it. Of a sudden he forgot all about being a quiet old farm hand and throwing off the torn overcoat began to run across the field. As he ran he shouted a protest against his life, against all life, against everything that makes life ugly. "There was no promise made," he cried into the empty spaces that lay about him. "I didn't promise my Minnie anything and Hal hasn't made any promise to Nell. I know he hasn't. She went into the woods with him because she wanted to go. What he wanted she wanted. Why should I pay? Why should Hal pay? Why should anyone pay? I don't want Hal to become old and worn out. I'll tell him. I won't let it go on. I'll catch Hal before he gets to town and I'll tell him." Ray ran clumsily and once he stumbled and fell down. "I must catch Hal and tell him," he kept thinking, and although his breath came in gasps he kept running harder and harder. As he ran he thought of things that hadn't come into his mind for years--how at the time he married he had planned to go west to his uncle in Portland, Oregon--how he hadn't wanted to be a farm hand, but had thought when he got out West he would go to sea and be a sailor or get a job on a ranch and ride a horse into Western towns, shouting and laughing and waking the people in the houses with his wild cries. Then as he ran he remembered his children and in fancy felt their hands clutching（企图抓住） at him. All of his thoughts of himself were involved with the thoughts of Hal and he thought the children were clutching at the younger man also. "They are the accidents of life, Hal," he cried. "They are not mine or yours. I had nothing to do with them." Darkness began to spread over the fields as Ray Pearson ran on and on. His breath came in little sobs. When he came to the fence at the edge of the road and confronted Hal Winters, all dressed up and smoking a pipe as he walked jauntily16 along, he could not have told what he thought or what he wanted. Ray Pearson lost his nerve and this is really the end of the story of what happened to him. It was almost dark when he got to the fence and he put his hands on the top bar and stood staring. Hal Winters jumped a ditch and coming up close to Ray put his hands into his pockets and laughed. He seemed to have lost his own sense of what had happened in the corn field and when he put up a strong hand and took hold of the lapel17 of Ray's coat he shook the old man as he might have shaken a dog that had misbehaved. "You came to tell me, eh?" he said. "Well, never mind telling me anything. I'm not a coward and I've already made up my mind." He laughed again and jumped back across the ditch. "Nell ain't no fool," he said. "She didn't ask me to marry her. I want to marry her. I want to settle down and have kids." Ray Pearson also laughed. He felt like laughing at himself and all the world. As the form of Hal Winters disappeared in the dusk that lay over the road that led to Winesburg, he turned and walked slowly back across the fields to where he had left his torn overcoat. As he went some memory of pleasant evenings spent with the thin-legged children in the tumble-down house by 15 Soiled：脏兮兮的 16 Jauntily：轻松活泼地 17 Lapel：翻领
the creek must have come into his mind, for he muttered words. " It's just as well. Whatever I told him would have been a lie, he said softly, and then his form also disappeared into the darkness of the field 作品赏析:《说谎未遂》 本文选自舍伍德·安德森的短篇小说集《俄亥俄州的温莎堡》。小说延续了安德森的质 朴文风,语句自然平实。全文主要涉及了性格迥异的两位农人雷和哈尔。雷年逾五十,沉默严 肃,有着“半打子细胳膊细腿的孩子”,为生活所累。哈尔年轻有力,活得潇洒放荡,在村里 声名狼藉。哈尔给一个女教师“惹了麻烦”,向雷请教该怎么做。这一问引发了雷对婚姻、家 庭、命运的思考。全文的高潮在于雷内心矛盾挣扎,疾跑着找哈尔给出自己的答案:而哈尔最 终的选择却出人意料。结尾处的突降法将雷的落寞,彷徨,迷茫推至高处。 小说故事情节较简单,最出彩处在于主人公雷的思想转变。安德森不单单通过独白来 展现其心理活动,而是结合外在动作描写及景物描写,共同呈现当时美国农村小人物的惶惑 例如,读罢全文,很容易感受到雷的动作节奏有非常明显的起伏,而这种起伏恰恰是 雷情感发展的外现。在文首人物背景交待中,雷的“慢”与哈尔的“快”就形成了对比。雷总 是不急不忙地晃悠闲荡( wandering, puttering, trudging),哈尔则继承了其父的暴躁鲁葬 ( raving, rushing, roistering),不时对人拳脚相向。连妻子也抱怨雷动作慢,老落在人后 而当雷一反常态奔跑着去找哈尔时,小说进入了高潮。在奔跑中,读者听到了寡言的雷对困窘 生活的抱怨与内心苦闷惶惑的宣泄。他跌倒了又爬起,上气不接下气却越跑越拼命,越跑越坚 定—一他要告诉哈尔不要过早让意外牵绊自己的人生:;他跳过篱笆冲入酒吧,一把抓住哈尔 此时小说达到最高潮读者情绪积累到最大点。而就当所有人屏气凝神等着雷将刚才奔跑 过程中的思考转化成对哈尔的劝诫时,哈尔却云淡风轻地给出了自己的选择。哈尔的坦然让雷 只得苦笑。而读者还不待从惊讶中缓过来,雷先前奔跑时积累的的能量又消失不见于农村的夜 色中。 本文的景物描写也很有特色。安德森对自然之美没有大段细节描摹,而是给出大块面 的色彩,使农村景致如油画般在读者面前铺展开。更重要的是,安德森对外景的描写总能落到 人物心理上。深秋农村的“红与黄”对应雷和哈尔对生活热诚真挚地思索。这种浓烈色彩触发 了雷对自己当年选择的怀疑,激起了他对沉闷生活的厌恶。至此作者第一次在雷的身上用了 个强硬的词:“ protest”。旷达沉静的田野秋景是雷追溯青春岁月的引线,也使他在劳作间隙忽 生顿悟。他希望哈尔能走一走当年自己没走过的路。农村宁静寂寥之美简直成了一种束缚,他 想嚎叫着扯破击碎它。可到文章最后,读者似能看到不论对谁而言,要想打破固有的生活模式 和世俗礼教的束缚就如要打破农村的沉静抑郁一样难以实现。雷也最终消失在了夜的“漆黑
the creek must have come into his mind, for he muttered words. "It's just as well. Whatever I told him would have been a lie," he said softly, and then his form also disappeared into the darkness of the fields. 作品赏析：《说谎未遂》 本文选自舍伍德·安德森的短篇小说集《俄亥俄州的温莎堡》。小说延续了安德森的质 朴文风，语句自然平实。全文主要涉及了性格迥异的两位农人雷和哈尔。雷年逾五十，沉默严 肃，有着“半打子细胳膊细腿的孩子”，为生活所累。哈尔年轻有力，活得潇洒放荡，在村里 声名狼藉。哈尔给一个女教师“惹了麻烦”，向雷请教该怎么做。这一问引发了雷对婚姻、家 庭、命运的思考。全文的高潮在于雷内心矛盾挣扎，疾跑着找哈尔给出自己的答案；而哈尔最 终的选择却出人意料。结尾处的突降法将雷的落寞，彷徨，迷茫推至高处。 小说故事情节较简单，最出彩处在于主人公雷的思想转变。安德森不单单通过独白来 展现其心理活动，而是结合外在动作描写及景物描写， 共同呈现当时美国农村小人物的惶惑。 例如，读罢全文，很容易感受到雷的动作节奏有非常明显的起伏，而这种起伏恰恰是 雷情感发展的外现。在文首人物背景交待中，雷的“慢”与哈尔的“快”就形成了对比。雷总 是不急不忙地晃悠闲荡（wandering，puttering，trudging），哈尔则继承了其父的暴躁鲁莽 （raving，rushing，roistering ） ，不时对人拳脚相向。连妻子也抱怨雷动作慢，老落在人后。 而当雷一反常态奔跑着去找哈尔时，小说进入了高潮。在奔跑中，读者听到了寡言的雷对困窘 生活的抱怨与内心苦闷惶惑的宣泄。他跌倒了又爬起，上气不接下气却越跑越拼命，越跑越坚 定——他要告诉哈尔不要过早让意外牵绊自己的人生；他跳过篱笆冲入酒吧，一把抓住哈尔 —— 此时小说达到最高潮读者情绪积累到最大点。而就当所有人屏气凝神等着雷将刚才奔跑 过程中的思考转化成对哈尔的劝诫时，哈尔却云淡风轻地给出了自己的选择。哈尔的坦然让雷 只得苦笑。而读者还不待从惊讶中缓过来，雷先前奔跑时积累的的能量又消失不见于农村的夜 色中。 本文的景物描写也很有特色。安德森对自然之美没有大段细节描摹，而是给出大块面 的色彩，使农村景致如油画般在读者面前铺展开。更重要的是，安德森对外景的描写总能落到 人物心理上。深秋农村的“红与黄”对应雷和哈尔对生活热诚真挚地思索。这种浓烈色彩触发 了雷对自己当年选择的怀疑，激起了他对沉闷生活的厌恶。至此作者第一次在雷的身上用了一 个强硬的词：“protest”。旷达沉静的田野秋景是雷追溯青春岁月的引线，也使他在劳作间隙忽 生顿悟。他希望哈尔能走一走当年自己没走过的路。农村宁静寂寥之美简直成了一种束缚，他 想嚎叫着扯破击碎它。可到文章最后，读者似能看到不论对谁而言，要想打破固有的生活模式 和世俗礼教的束缚就如要打破农村的沉静抑郁一样难以实现。雷也最终消失在了夜的“漆黑” 中
