Lesson 05 Youth

Posted on 2018-01-10 In English Views: Reading time ≈ 5 mins.

How does the writer like to treat young people?

People are always talking about ‘the problem of youth’. If there is one — which I take leave to doubt — then it is older people who create it, not the young themselves. Let us get down to fundamentals and agree that the young are after all human beings — people just like their elders. There is only one difference between an old man and a young one: the young man has a glorious future before him and the old one has a splendid future behind him: and maybe that is where the rub is.

When I was a teenager, I felt that I was just young and uncertain — that I was a new boy in a huge school, and I would have been very pleased to be regarded as something so interesting as a problem. For one thing, being a problem gives you a certain identity, and that is one of the things the young are busily engaged in seeking.

I find young people exciting. They have an air of freedom, and they have not a dreary commitment to mean ambitions or love of comfort. They are not anxious social climbers, and they have no devotion to material things. All this seems to me to link them with life, and the origins of things. It’s as if they were, in some sense, cosmic beings in violent and lovely contrast with us suburban creatures. All that is in my mind when I meet a young person. He may be conceited, ill-mannered, presumptuous or fatuous, but I do not turn for protection to dreary cliches about respect for elders — as if mere age were a reason for respsect. I accept that we are equal, and I will argue with him, as an equal, if I think he is wrong.

📘 深度解析：《如何对待年轻人》

🎯 文章结构图

引言：驳斥"青年问题"
        ↓
个人经历：理解年轻人的需求
        ↓
核心观点：欣赏+平等对待

📖 逐句精讲

第一段：破除偏见

句1-2:

“People are always talking about ‘the problem of youth’. If there is one—which I take leave to doubt—then it is older people who create it, not the young themselves.”

解析:

“take leave to doubt” = 恕我怀疑(礼貌的质疑表达)
强调句 “it is…who…” 强调是老年人制造问题
逻辑: 即使有问题,责任也在老年人

句3:

“Let us get down to fundamentals and agree that the young are after all human beings—people just like their elders.”

解析:

get down to fundamentals = 回归本质
after all = 毕竟,归根结底
核心论点: 年轻人=人类=和老年人一样

句4-5:

“There is only one difference between an old man and a young one: the young man has a glorious future before him and the old one has a splendid future behind him: and maybe that is where the rub is.”

解析:

对比修辞:
- before him (在前方) ↔ behind him (在身后)
- glorious (光辉的) ↔ splendid (辉煌的)
“where the rub is” = 问题所在(出自莎士比亚《哈姆雷特》)
深层含义: 老年人可能嫉妒年轻人的未来,这才是代际冲突的根源

第二段：同理心视角

句1:

“When I was a teenager, I felt that I was just young and uncertain—that I was a new boy in a huge school…”

解析:

比喻: 青少年 = 大学校里的新生
体现年轻人的感受:渺小、不确定、缺乏归属感

句2:

“…and I would have been very pleased to be regarded as something so interesting as a problem.”

解析:

反讽手法: 被当作”问题”反而是好事
原因: 至少说明被关注了,有存在感

句3:

“For one thing, being a problem gives you a certain identity, and that is one of the things the young are busily engaged in seeking.”

解析:

核心洞察: 年轻人最需要的是身份认同(identity)
“busily engaged in seeking” = 忙于寻找
揭示青春期的本质任务:自我定位

第三段：作者的态度(重点段)

Part 1: 欣赏年轻人的品质

“I find young people exciting.”

解析:

开门见山表明态度:exciting(令人兴奋的,而非troublesome麻烦的)

“They have an air of freedom, and they have not a dreary commitment to mean ambitions or love of comfort.”

解析:

an air of freedom = 自由的气息/氛围
not…dreary commitment to mean ambitions = 没有对卑微野心的沉闷执着
- dreary = 沉闷乏味的
- mean = 卑微的、低劣的(指功利性的小目标)
- 对比: 年轻人有理想主义,不像成年人只追求实际利益

“They are not anxious social climbers, and they have no devotion to material things.”

解析:

anxious social climbers = 焦虑的社会攀登者(指热衷于提升社会地位的人)
devotion to material things = 对物质的热衷
总结年轻人的优点:
1. ✅ 不功利
2. ✅ 不攀附权贵
3. ✅ 不物质主义

Part 2: 哲学性比喻

“All this seems to me to link them with life, and the origins of things.”

解析:

link them with life = 把他们与生命本质联系起来
the origins of things = 万物的起源
含义: 年轻人更接近生命的本真状态

“It’s as if they were, in some sense, cosmic beings in violent and lovely contrast with us suburban creatures.”

解析:

核心对比:

年轻人	老年人
cosmic beings(宇宙生命)	suburban creatures(郊区生物)
广阔、自由、本真	狭隘、世俗、平庸

violent and lovely contrast = 激烈而美好的对比
- violent = 强烈的、激烈的(褒义)
- 体现年轻人的生命力
suburban 的隐喻:
- 字面:郊区的
- 引申:安于现状、缺乏冒险精神、生活模式化

Part 3: 实践原则

“All that is in my mind when I meet a young person.”

解析:

以上想法是作者遇到年轻人时的预设态度
先入为主地欣赏,而非挑剔

“He may be conceited, ill-mannered, presumptuous or fatuous…”

解析:

列举年轻人可能的缺点:
- conceited = 自负的,自大的
- ill-mannered = 没礼貌的
- presumptuous = 放肆的,冒昧的
- fatuous = 愚蠢的,昏庸的

“…but I do not turn for protection to dreary clichés about respect for elders—as if mere age were a reason for respect.”

解析:

turn for protection to = 求助于…来保护自己
dreary clichés = 陈腐的老生常谈
- 指”尊敬长辈”这类说教
破折号后的解释:
- as if mere age were a reason for respect = 好像仅仅年龄就是值得尊重的理由
- 虚拟语气(were) 表示作者认为这是不成立的假设

核心观点: 年龄本身不值得尊重,值得尊重的是人品和智慧

“I accept that we are equals, and I will argue with him, as an equal, if I think he is wrong.”

解析:

三次强调”equal”(平等):
1. we are equals
2. as an equal
3. argue with him(辩论,而非训斥)
argue 的积极含义:
- 不是吵架,而是理性讨论
- 体现尊重对方的思考能力

🎨 写作手法分析

1. 对比手法

对比项	年轻人	老年人
时间维度	未来在前	过去在后
生活态度	自由、理想主义	功利、物质主义
存在状态	宇宙生命	郊区生物
对比效果	violent & lovely	dreary & mean

2. 反讽(Irony)

“被当作问题反而高兴” → 揭示年轻人渴望被关注
“尊重长辈的陈词滥调” → 讽刺以年龄压人的做法

3. 比喻(Metaphor)

新生 vs 大学校 → 年轻人的不确定感
宇宙生命 vs 郊区生物 → 本质 vs 平庸
未来在前 vs 过去在后 → 时间的方向性

4. 排比(Parallelism)

“not…dreary commitment / not…anxious climbers / no devotion…”
“conceited, ill-mannered, presumptuous or fatuous”
增强语气,强化观点

💡 深层主题

1. 代际关系的本质

不是”问题 vs 解决者”
而是”平等的人 vs 平等的人”

2. 尊重的真正含义

❌ 不是基于年龄的等级制度
✅ 是基于人格的相互理解

3. 青春的价值

不在于”完美”
而在于”生命力”和”可能性”

4. 成年人的反思

是否失去了理想主义?
是否变成了”郊区生物”?

📝 文章金句

“It is older people who create it, not the young themselves.”
- 问题的制造者往往是指责者
“Being a problem gives you a certain identity.”
- 存在感比完美更重要
“As if mere age were a reason for respect.”
- 年龄不等于智慧
“Cosmic beings in violent and lovely contrast with suburban creatures.”
- 生命力 vs 平庸性

🎓 写作启示

论证技巧:

先破后立: 先驳斥错误观点,再建立正确观点
以情动人: 用个人经历增强说服力
对比鲜明: 用强烈对比突出观点

语言特色:

修辞丰富: 比喻、反讽、排比
用词精准: cosmic vs suburban / violent vs dreary
句式多变: 长短句结合,节奏感强

✅ 总结

这篇文章是一篇关于代际关系的哲理散文,作者通过:

🔍 驳斥”青年问题”论
💭 回忆自身经历
❤️ 表达对年轻人的欣赏
🤝 主张平等对待

最终传达的核心价值观:

真正的尊重不是基于年龄,而是基于平等的人格;年轻人的价值不在于完美,而在于生命力和可能性。