評論
打印
Now, how could I find out about this Mencken? There was a huge library near the riverfront, but I knew that Negroes were not allowed to patronize its shelves any more than they were the parks and playgrounds of the city. I had gone into the library several times to get books for the white men on the job. Which of them would now help me to get books?
我怎樣才能了解到門肯到底是怎么樣的一個人呢？該市江畔倒有一個大圖書館，但是我知道，它是不允許黑人光顧的，就像市內的公園和運動場不讓黑人光顧一樣。我曾幾次去該圖書館，為在這里干活的白人借過書?，F在他們之中有誰肯幫我弄到書呢？
I weighed the personalities of the men on the job. There was Don, a Jew; but I distrusted him. His position was not much better than mine and I knew that he was uneasy and insecure; he had always treated me in an offhand, bantering way that barely concealed his contempt. I was afraid to ask him to help me to get books; his frantic desire to demonstrate a racial solidarity with the whites against Negroes might make him betray me.
我掂量了一下在這里干活的一些人的為人。有一個叫唐的，是個猶太人，但我不信任他。他的處境不比我好多少，我知道他不自在，覺得什么都沒有保障。他對我總是敷衍，嘲弄，不難看出他對我的輕蔑。我不敢叫他幫我借書。他拼命想表露他與白人的種族團結和對黑人的歧視，他很可能出賣我。
Then how about the boss? No, he was a Baptist and I had the suspicion that he would not bequite able to comprehend why a black boy would want to read Mencken. There were other white men on the job whose attitudes showed clearly that they were Kluxers or sympathizers, and theywere out of the question.
那么老板怎么樣呢？不行。他是個浸禮會教徒，我懷疑他不會理解一個黑人孩子為什么要看門肯的書。在這里工作的還有其他白人，他們的態度清楚地表明他們是三K黨徒或其同情者，他們是決不會幫忙的。
