Adapt to life in a foreign land
Most exiled writers are forced to adapt, with reservations and restraint, and the ways of adaptation are quite different. It runs through the process that writers born in the German-speaking environment are isolated as a whole and rise in American cultural life. Guy Steen, who specializes in this history, wrote an article "Have they adapted? How did you adapt? ",trying to introduce the overall characteristics of adaptation according to five types, including some famous writers, who represent different types of adaptation:
The first category, suffering from "American phobia." Some writers also suffer from American phobia because they don't want to stay in America. This phobia dominates their migratory life, and it is shown as a part of their world outlook in their works. A writer named salamon Dembitzer is a particularly prominent example. He was a Zionist with a little ideology, but his dream from God never came true. He lived in exile in the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States, and went to Australia because he hated the United States, and then returned to Switzerland. As a writer, he can speak many languages, and his articles and novels are all in Dutch, Yiddish (Jewish German. A mixed language spoken by Jews in famous countries in Central and Eastern Europe, consisting of German, Hebrew, Roman and Slavic in the central highlands. ), German and English. In Dimbitz's works, especially the essay Jewish Folk Songs written in fluent English, he expressed his basic mentality. He dreamed of spending a happy childhood in a small town in Poland, and had a strong ideal for a country close to the savior-Israel. So he just lived a monotonous life in exile. "The voice of Jewish folk songs will give me strength to endure loneliness and smile confidently in the face of accidents in this huge madhouse."
The second category is external adaptation. This type can be vividly illustrated by the example of writer and journalist Kurt Kersten, the son of a Protestant landlord. Despite his unusual efforts, Kersten finally found that he didn't make any friends in American spiritual life. Kirsten's stepdaughter Alva. David wrote in an unpublished biography: "He was frightened by the big city of new york, the Americans and the noise. Out of love for his friends, he adapted to a new life. I also went to night school, and 1949 got a junior college diploma from new york Education Commission. " The description of this college diploma needs to be re-verified, because as early as 19 19, kersten had already obtained his doctorate. His best articles are also about Europe, about his past exile experience and exile as an abstract concept.
The third category is gradual adaptation. Take the writer and drama critic Julius Babu as an example. In order to earn living expenses, he used to work for a German newspaper. In his letters, people found connections that he ignored or could not. 195 1 September 26th, that is, three and a half years before his death, Julius Babu wrote in an unpublished letter to C.F.W Behl: "You are communicating with an ancient American family, and what you have experienced in six weeks is/kloc. Six years ago, it was the same feeling: in short, he said to his wife Elizabeth Babu, "1946 we became Americans, but in our hearts, we are still Europeans." "Elizabeth Babu broke the isolation limit in order to make a living. At first, she went door to door to sell consumer goods and fashion goods. Finally, she found a boarding house, and Julius Babu mumbled to help her. Through such or similar connections in daily life, they gradually adapted to the United States and became fond of the United States, so on September 2 1, 1, Yuli Usbabu wrote in a letter to C.F.W Bell: "Although I am very happy to go to the United States again, I have such an elusive feeling that it is Julius Babu. When he died, he found himself on the road of spiritual communication.
The fourth category is to maintain a "refuge mentality." Johannes Ulcz Deere is a typical example. His integration into American society was carried out at two levels. On the first level, the need to make a living forced him to find a job in the art industry. A Jew's favorite business is remembered again. He became a leather craftsman, and therefore had extensive contacts with all walks of life in the United States. On the second level, he still keeps in touch with the American literary world. This typical event can be summarized as follows: it is very necessary for him to adapt externally, that is, to adapt to the relationship with Americans in daily life and literature, but he still maintains an internal and European asylum mentality. Perhaps some of his works, as he once said, "seem to be in the shadow of new york skyscrapers, and at the same time, under the unspeakable bright and free sunshine, a vibrant new world he longed for was born." This is the profound origin of the European enclave of Ulcz Deere spirit. Although his Czech biographer did not explain it, he is one of many exiled writers, that is, he has always been a "Central European in the United States", "a forever parting and a man looking for his hometown."
The fifth category, complete adaptation. Say goodbye to Germany's past, that is, say goodbye to the exile circle and fully integrate into the existing American society. Represented by the famous composer Kurt Will. "He can adapt to any place," Weil's widow Lotelia said in an interview. "Even in Addis Ababa, he managed to receive an invitation letter." Kurt Weil and Leia began to prepare for his work to enter the German stage after his successful performance of Night in Prague. In new york, he hid his shattered artistic goal as an unpleasant thing. Lott Leia said: "His experience in Germany deeply hurt his heart."
Perhaps this sudden injury has just strengthened his existing willingness to adapt. After he arrived in the United States, he actively devoted himself to American art and made great achievements. In the last 15 years of his life, Kurt Weil was completely cut off from the German past. According to several of his relatives, he seldom associates with exile groups and other exiles. The couple never speak German at home. Once, Leia sang a German lyric of Mahagani, and Weil gently reprimanded her in English: "Forget those boring things and don't think about the past", which shocked Leia. He encouraged her to take part in American drama life.
Exile is like entering a new hometown. Most people are grateful for the exile in the United States, but in order to preserve the German language and culture, they must resist its influence. For almost all German writers in exile in the United States, there is a basic problem: language. Julius Babu wrote in a letter to C.F.W Bell on February 1945+ 1: "I am old to join such a great American world. I have to solve the language problem and so on. " Their works are also exiles in shelters, which can only be used conditionally in this new world and new language, as Hans Saar of the United States said in a poem: "In the bread of language ... only fragments remain". Exiled writers are forced to make a living by writing in English, and these intellectuals who grew up in German have deep feelings for German. For example, Johannes Ulcz Deere, a German-speaking Prague native, refused to use English as the language of literary expression. He expressed it in a subtle way in his works: "German is my favorite language, all my articles and books are written in German, and all my reports and speeches are in German. German is my way of existence and my forever mother. When I was in exile and Germany had the worst reputation, I still had unshakable trust in it. " His speech at the Leo-Baker Institute expressed his strength. As the only one of 22 German writers and scholars, he refused to give lectures on Baker's thoughts in English all the year round. In addition, Thomas Mann's wish at the beginning of his exile was to stay at least in the German-speaking area. At the end of 1933, he wrote: "I already know clearly that my book is not written for booksellers in Prague or new york, but for people who speak German." He also explained to the Germans: "One day my works will come back to you, I know, even if I can't create more." Thomas Mann can be classified into the fourth category, that is, maintaining a "refuge mentality", but as the leader of German exiled intellectuals, he struggled in exile and fought against the Nazis. Adaptation is not the most important thing for him. In this struggle, Thomas Mann, Brecht and other exiled intellectual leaders led the rise of German exiled intellectuals' self-awareness.
The rise of self-awareness
Exiled writers experienced depression and loss in the early days of exile, pessimism about the future and confusion after losing their motherland. When this country and individuals are facing unprecedented difficulties, it is the creation of a large number of historical and literary works that support exiled writers to continue their struggle and give themselves spiritual comfort. For example, Fichte Vanger's Fake Nero, Brecht's Julius Caesar's Performance, heinrich mann's Henry IV, Stefan Zweig's Erasmus's Victory and Tragedy in Rotterdam, etc. In the process of introspection and reflection on history, the self-consciousness of exiled writers gradually got rid of the sense of loss of their motherland, and their self-consciousness gradually rose. Brecht wrote a famous poem "The Poet's Journey" when he was in exile in Denmark:
"Homer was homeless, Dante was displaced, Li Bai and Du Fu were displaced in the civil war that consumed thirty million lives, euripides was tried, and the dying Shakespeare was banned. Not only the Muse, but also the police are looking for Fran? ois Veyron. Lucretius, known as the "lover", was exiled, and Heine and Brecht both fled to the thatched cottage in Denmark. "
In the poem, the author first describes the fate of nine outstanding great poets, and finally suddenly says "Brecht" and ranks himself among them, which is very imposing. As Professor Li Changke explained, the author didn't pay attention to the correct sequence of historical time, which shows that he is not pursuing historical facts, but historical significance: exile is not a person's experience, a person's fate and a person's experience, but a typical phenomenon in dark human history. "And Brecht" tells us that the sufferings in the writer's heart can be comforted and detached with the company of a poet full of stars and moons, and there is a historical example that strengthens the writer's confidence, and the spiritual culture will eventually break through tyranny and show its brilliance and vitality. This can't help but remind people of Sima Qian's description in Bao Ren An Shu that "Wang Wen was arrested and performed Zhouyi; Zhong You wrote Spring and Autumn Annals; Qu Yuan's exile is a tribute to Li Sao. Zuo Qiu is blind and has "Mandarin"; The ruler of the revised version of Sun Tzu's Art of War; It's not Shu, but Lu Lan. Han Fei was imprisoned in Qin dynasty, and he wrote 300 poems in loneliness and anger, which was largely attributed to the anger of sages. " Generally speaking, intellectuals at all times and all over the history have the same characteristics of self-motivation in the face of difficulties.
Many people question that exiled writers are keen on literary creation of historical themes. Karl-Weiskopf once criticized: "For an exiled German writer, choosing a historical material usually means avoiding or escaping from reality. Escape and avoidance are not signs of strength. " But in fact, exiled writers did not escape from reality. Exiled writers use history to dilute the pressure of dissolving real life and motivate themselves, and use it as a weapon against the Nazis. In this process, their self-awareness is gradually enhanced.