课文Fame.doc

Fame
Melｖｉn Howards
    Fａme iｓ very ｍｕch　lｉke ａn ａｎimａl　cｈaｓing its own ｔaiｌ who,　when he ｃaｐtures ｉt, dｏeｓ ｎｏt kｎｏw　whaｔ ｅlsｅ　tｏ　do　ｂｕt to　ｃｏｎtinuｅ　chasiｎg it． Fame ａnd　tｈe exhilａraｔiｎg ｃｅlebｒity tｈａｔ ａccompanies ｉt, force　tｈe faｍous pｅrsｏn ｔo parｔiｃipate　ｉn his ｏr　her own　ｄestruction.　Ironic ｉsｎ＇t iｔ?
    Ｔｈose who gaｉn　faｍe mｏst ｏften gａiｎ　it　aｓ a rｅsult of ｐossessing a ｓingｌe talent ｏr ｓkｉｌl:　ｓingiｎg, daｎｃing,　paintiｎg,　or　wriｔｉng, etｃ. Ｔhe successful peｒｆｏrｍer　devｅｌops a ｓｔylｅ that　iｓ marketｅd aｇgressiveｌy and　ｇains some poｐuｌaｒity， aｎd　iｔ is ｔｈis poｐulａｒity that usualｌy conviｎces the peｒformer to　coｎtｉnｕｅ performing in ｔhe　ｓame styｌe, sinｃe　that is　what thｅ public ｓｅems ｔo wａnt ａnd　to enｊｏw.　Bｕｔ　ｉn ｔime, ｔhe perｆormer becｏmes bored siｎging ｔhe ｓame　soｎgｓ ｉｎ the ｓame ｗａy yｅaｒ ａftｅr　yｅar, or thｅ　pａinｔer ｂｅcomｅｓ boｒeｄ pａinting ｓimilar　ｓｃeｎes or　porｔrａiｔe,　or ｔｈe aｃtor ｉs ｔｉred ｏf ｐlayｉng　thｅ same ｃharaｃｔeｒ　repeaｔedly. Tｈｅ ｄeｍａｎｄ　of　the pｕblｉc hｏlｄs　thｅ ａrtist hostａge to　his or her oｗn　success, fame. If　tｈe ａｒtist atｔempｔｓ to ｃhａｎge　his　or her stylｅ　ｏf　ｗrｉtiｎｇ　or dancing or singｉng, ｅtc., ｔhe ａuｄienｃe may turn　away and　lｏoｋ to　cｏnfｅｒ　fleeting　fickle　ｆamｅ on another anｄ　tｈeｎ, iｎ　tiｍe,　oｎ anotheｒ　, anｄ　so ｏn and so　ｏn．
    Who　cannot　rｅcoｇnize a Ｔenｎｅssｅe Wｉlliａｍs plaｙ　or　a nｏvel　ｂy Johｎ Upｄiｋｅ or Ｅrｎest Hemｉngｗay　or a　ｐoem bｙ Roｂert Fｒｏst oｒ W. H. Audeｎ ｏr T. Ｓ. Elｉot? The samｅ ｉs　ｔｒｕe of paiｎters like Mｏnet, Ｒeｎoiｒ， Ｄaｌi or Picａsso ａｎｄ　ｉｔ is true ｏｆ movie　mａkers liｋe Hｉtchcocｋ， Fellini， Ｓpiｅｌberｇ, Cｈｅn Kａi-ge or Ｚhａng　Yｉｍｏu.　Thｅir distinｃtive ｓtｙleｓ maｒkｅｄ a ｓignifｉcant　change in ｔhｅ ｔｒaditionａl ｆorms and gｒanted　them　faｍe　and ｆortｕｒn, but tｈｅy weｒe　not　free ｔo　dｅvelop　otｈer ｓtyleｓ ｏｒ forms becaｕse tｈeir aｕdienｃe　deｍanded　of　eaｃh ｏｆ　tｈem whａt　ｔheｙ originａlｌy　ｐresenｔｅｄ. Ｈemingwａy cannot　even ｎoｗ bｅ confused witｈ Hｅｎｒy Jameｓ or ａnyonｅ eｌsｅ，　ｎoｒ　can　Ｆｏrst bｅ　confｕsed　wｉth Yeａｔs, etc.　Tｈe uniquｅ forｍｓ eａch　oｆ them　ｃreated, creａｔed　ｔheｍ． No artｉst or　peｒｆｏrｍeｒ can enｔiｒely esｃapｅ the lurｅ of faｍe　and iｔs pｒoｍise of ｅndleｓs　admiration　ａnd rｅspｅct，　but thｅｒe is　a heａvｙ　price oｎe　ｍust ｐａy for it.
    Fａme ｂrinｇｓ celebrity and ｈigh　ｒegard froｍ adoｒiｎｇ　ａｎd lｏyal ｆaｎs iｎ　ｅach fieｌd of endeavoｒ anｄ iｔ ｉs hｅａｄy stｕｆf. A ｐerformer cａn easｉly　coｍe to ｂeｌievｅ ｔhａt ｈe ｏr she iｓ aｓ goｏd as　hｉｓ ｏr her　press．　Bｕt mｏst peｏｐlｅ, mｏst　arｔists　ｄｏ not ｇain　fａme aｎd ｆortune. Wｈat ａｂout thｏｓe performeｒs wｈo faｉl， or anｙonｅ wｈｏ fａiｌs?　Curｉｏuｓly enough，　faｉlｕｒe ｏftｅｎ seｒves　as　its　own rewaｒd　ｆor　many peoｐle!　It ｂriｎgs　ｓympatｈy frｏm otｈers ｗho are ｄelighｔeｄ nｏt　ｔo　be you,　anｄ　ｉｔ　alｌoｗs family and friｅnｄs　ｔｏ ｌoｗer their expecｔａtiｏn ｏf yｏu　so tｈat yｏｕ need not ｃompete ｗitｈ tｈosｅ whｏ　havｅ moｒe taleｎt ａｎｄ　who sｅｃceｅｄ.　Ａnｄ thｅy fiｎd eｘｃｕses ａnｄ exｐlaｎations fｏr yoｕr ｉnaｂilｉty　to succｅｅd ａnd ｂecomｅ ｆamｏus： you arｅ toｏ senｓitive, you are not intｅresｔed in ｍoｎey, you　arｅ　nｏｔ　iｎtereｓtｅｄ in　thｅ poｗｅｒ ｔｈat fame brings anｄ ｙou　aｒｅ　not　intereｓtｅｄ in　the　losｓ ｏｆ privａcｙ iｔ ｄemａndｓ, ｅｔc. －--all　ｅxcuｓes, but cｏｍｆortinｇ to thｏsｅ who fａiｌ　aｎｄ thｏse ｗho ｐｒeteｎｄ　nｏt ｔｏ notｉce ｔhe ｆａilure.
   Hｉstorｙ has amplｙ ｐrｏｖｅｎ that　sｏme failｕrｅ fｏr some　peopｌe at　cｅrｔaｉｎ timｅs　ｉｎ　thｅir lｉｖｅs does indeed motivaｔe thｅm to sｔrive even hａrｄeｒ　ｔo sucｃeed and tｏ contiｎuｅ　believｉng　in　themselvｅs．　Thomaｓ　Wolfｅ, tｈe　Aｍerican noｖelisｔ, had　his　fiｒsｔ nｏvｅl Ｌｏok Homｅwａｒｄ， Ａnger rｅjｅcted　39　times　bｅfｏre it waｓ　ｆｉnally puｂlished and lａuｎｃhed　his　carｅeｒ anｄ cｒｅａｔed his fame． Beeｔhovｅn　ｏveｒcamｅ his tyranniｃal　ｆather aｎd gｒudｇing　ａccｅptaｎce　aｓ ａ musician tｏ　become　ｔhe greaｔeｓｔ， moｓt fａｍｏus　muｓｉｃｉａn in the wｏrｌd， and Pestalozｚi, ｔhe　famoｕs　Ｉtalian eｄucaｔor in the １9th ｃｅnｔury, faｉled ａt every joｂ hｅ ever ｈad ｕntil he camｅ　ｕpon　the idea oｆ teａcｈｉng children and ｄevｅｌｏpiｎg　tｈｅ fｕndaｍentaｌ　ｔheｏries to pｒoｄuce a　nｅw　fｏrm ｏｆ eduｃａｔioｎ.　Thomａs　Eｄison　was ｔhrｏwn　out oｆ schoｏl in ｆｏurｔｈ　ｇrade,　at ａboｕt ａgｅ 10, beｃａuse　ｈe seemed　ｔo ｔhｅ tｅacher to be quiｔe dull　and unruly. Ｍany otｈer　cases may　be fｏund of people wｈo faiｌed ａnｄ　ｕsed the ｆailurｅ to　mｏtivatｅ　tｈem ｔo achｉeve， tｏ sｕcｃｅed, and　to beｃome famous. But, unfｏrｔunａteｌy, for ｍoｓt people faｉlurｅ is　the　end　of tｈeir struggle, nｏｔ　the　ｂeginniｎg.　Tｈｅre　ａｒe　few, iｆ any,　faｍous fａilures.
    Wｅll tｈen， why ｄｏes　anyonｅ waｎt　fame？ Ｄo ｙou? Do yoｕ　ｗanｔ　tｏ　ｂe ｋnown　ｔｏ many　pｅoplｅ anｄ admired ｂｙ them? Do you　wａnｔ ｔhe ｍoney that uｓｕallｙ comes ｗｉth ｆａｍｅ？　Do you want the mｅｄｉａ to notｉcｅ everythiｎg　you　do or ｓay ｂoth ｉn ｐublic and　in pｒivａｔｅ? Dｏ ｙoｕ wanｔ them ｈoｕｎｄinｇ yｏu, qｕestiｏning yｏu and tｒying ｔo undo ｙou? Ｉn Ａmeriｃaｎ politics it ｉs very obｖioｕs　ｔhａt to be faｍoｕｓ　is　to bｅ the ｔarget　ｏf ｅverｙone who dｉｓａgrｅｅs wｉth ｙou aｓ　well ａs of ｔｈｅ media. Famｅ ｔurｎs all the ligｈｔs on　and whiｌe it givｅs　powｅr aｎｄ pｒｅstige, ｉt takeｓ the ｙoｕ out of　you: ｙou must　be whaｔ tｈe puｂｌic　tｈinks you　aｒe, not what ｙou  ｒｅally ａrｅ　or ｃｏuｌd ｂｅ. Tｈe ｐｏlitｉcｉａｎ,　ｌiｋe　the perfｏrmer, must please his ｏr her　audiｅnceｓ and　tｈaｔ　oftｅn　mｅans　saｙiｎg thｉngs he　dｏes　not meａn or　doｅs not ｂelｉeve in ｆully. Nｏ wonder so few　peopｌe　trｕsｔ pｏliｔicianｓ. Ｂut we have noｔ answereｄ thｅ quesｔion aｔ the　beginning　of　thiｓ pａragraｐh: ｗhy doeｓ anyｏnｅ want fame？ Severaｌ　reａsons ｃome　to　mind: to demoｎｓｔｒaｔｅ　ｅxｃellｅnce in　sｏｍe fｉeld; to gain ｔhe ａdmｉraｔion　aｎd　ｌove of　mａｎｙ ｏthｅｒｓ; ｔo　be ｔｈe one　ｅveryｏnｅ tａｌks ａbｏｕt; ｔo shoｗ fａmｉly anｄ friends you are ｍore tｈan tｈeｙ　thoughｔ　you werｅ. Prｏｂablｙ you can lｉｓt sｏme otheｒ reasons, but I tｈinｋ are rｅaｓoｎａbｌy common.
    Is ｉｔ possible to be　famous ａｎd　to reｍaiｎ　ｔrｕe to yoursｅlf,　the reａl ｙou？ Pｅｒｈａps, buｔ onｅ is haｒd pressed ｔｏ　cｏme ｕp wｉth thｅ namｅs of ｔhoｓe　wｈo hａve　donｅ their tｈing tｈｅiｒ way　and sｅcｃｅｅdｅｄ　in the fame ｇaｍe.　Many pｏlｉtiｃａl diｓsideｎtｓ ａroｕnd　ｔhe　ｗorld, in paｒｔｉｃulａr,　Daｗn Ａung Ｓuu Kyｉ　ｏf Ｂurma， iｓ　a rare eｘcｅption to tｈe　rulｅ ｔhaｔ sａyｓ mａintａｉｎｉng uｎpopular ｖｉews ｏr　ｕnｐopｕｌａｒ attiｔudes　oｒ approａｃhes ｉn any ｆieｌd wｉlｌ　desｔroｙ yoｕ．　Ｔｈｅ　fａｍous Ｉrish wrｉｔｅr　Ｏｓｃar Wilde, a　verｙ suｃceｓsfｕl writer　ｏf　sｔoｒies, ｐｏems aｎd playｓ, ｗａs known ｆor his most unusual　cｌｏthinｇ anｄ eccｅntrｉc　behａvior, sｏｃiａl　and sexuａl. Tｈｉs behavioｒ brｏｕghｔ hiｍ to ｔhe attention oｆ the motheｒ of a younｇ maｎ Oscａｒ waｓ　intｉmate　wiｔh ａnd　she aｃcuseｄ hｉm. Hｅ was fｕrious abｏｕt thiｓ ａnd sued ｔhe younｇ man's mothｅr　whiｃh led tｏ a trｉaｌ　ａnd imprisｏnｍeｎt foｒ tｗo yeａrs. Hｅ remained ｔruｅ to himｓelf and ｐaiｄ a heａvy pｒiｃe for it　by　ｂeｉｎg ostracizｅd anｄ dｅfamed.
     Ｔime　ｍagazｉne of Ｊuｎｅ 17, 1996 dｅvｏtｅd　ａ goｏd　deal of ｉts　issuｅ to disｃｕssｉng　peｏpｌｅ (2５ ｉn Ａmｅｒｉｃa) who　are tｈe　most ｉnfluｅｎtial ｉn　tｈe　counｔry iｎ　tｈｅiｒ ｏｐiｎion. Ｔhey aｄｄed a　shorｔ ｅssay on ｗｈｏ ａrｅ tｈe ｍost　ｐoｗerful　peｏplｅ 　in Ａmericａ anｄ no one on ｔhe first liｓt aｐpeareｄ ｏｎ thｅ secｏnd ｌisｔ, and ｓtrangｅly eｎｏugh,　ｎone of　thｅ poeple oｎ ｅｉther list waｓ　deｓcrｉbｅd aｓ　famｏｕs, altｈough　Ｉ ｔｈｉｎk seｖerａl surelｙ are. Can we rｅａllｙ disｔingｕish ｉnfluential　pｅople aｎd powｅrful people frｏｍ those who arｅ fａmous?　Maybe，　ｂut thｅir lｉｓｔ　ｏf ｉnfluentiaｌ propｌｅ includeｓ　Jeｒry Seｉｎfｅlｄ　the cｏmedｉaｎ and　TV star, Cｏuｒtney　Love ｔhe sinｇer aｎd drug addict whoｓｅ　fame hａs　come　laｒgｅｌｙ ｔhｒougｈ ｈｅr ｈｕsbａnｄ Kｕrt Coｂａin, tｈe guitariｓｔ wｈo　cｏmmitted sｕicｉｄｅ, and the　lｉｓt inbludeｓ Opaｒｈ Wｉnfｒey thｅ　talｋ ｓhｏw hoｓt　aｎd Ｃalvｉn Ｋlｅin the ｃlｏthｉng deｓiｇneｒ. Aｌl of　thesｅ peoplｅ aｒe ｆamｏｕs　， bｕt I bｅlievｅ, ｎot　verｙ　iｎfluentｉal ｉn　the sense thａt ｔhey ｃhange tｈe way ｍｏst oｆ ｕｓ thｉｎk ｏｒ aｃｔ. Iｎ　Time maｇazｉnｅ's lｉst wｅ fｉnd　a　Sｕpreme Coｕｒt justiｃe, Saｎdｒａ　Ｄay　O＇Ｃonnｏrm, who ｉｓ　nｏ moｒe　inflｕeｎｔial ｏｒ　powerｆｕｌ than ａnｙ　of other justｉｃeｓ． Pｒesideｎｔ Ｃliｎtoｎ ｉs not ｃonsiderｅd inｆlｕential (？)　but ｉs ｃonｓｉdrｅｄ powerful! Yｏu dｅcide ｉf you think　fａmous anｄ influential　ａnd ｐowerfｕｌ are ｃlosely reｌaｔeｄ, ｏr　diｆｆeｒent.
    Ｉ　believｅ that ｆamｅ　aｎd ｃｅlｅbritｙ, influence　ａｎd power， sucｃess　ａｎｄ failure, ｒｅality and ｉllusion　ａre all somｅhｏw　neａtlｙ woven ｉｎtｏ a seamless faｂrｉc we ｌａugｈingly cａlｌ realitｙ.　I say tｏ thｏsｅ who　despｅraｔeｌy seek　fame　ａnｄ fortune, celebrity: gｏod lｕck.　But　whａｔ ｗiｌｌ you dｏ　ｗheｎ you　have caｕght　your　tail,　yｏｕr　sｕccｅｓs， your fame？　Kｅｅp chasiｎｇ iｔ　? Iｆ ｙoｕ dｏ catｃh it, hang on　for deaｒ life　ｂeｃause faｌling ｉs ｎot ａs　paiｎful as ｌandinｇ． Sｅe yｏu soon faｍｏuｓ aｎd aｌmｏst　famｏuｓ， waｙfａrers on　this　unbrigｈt，　nonｌinｅar plａneｔ!