GUESTS OF THE NATION怎么样

GUESTS OF THE NATION怎么样
GUESTS OF THE NATION怎么样

GUESTS OF THE NATION怎么样
In Guests of The Nation,Hawkins and Noble鈥檚 arguments about religion is eye-catching.On first reading,their arguments may seem to be ridiculous.However,their arguments actually show how cruel the final execution is,how unreasonable it is to divide human beings into opposing groups merely based on some so-called 鈥減rinciples鈥?It is Hawkins鈥 quarrel with Noble that makes his death more pitiful.Through his arguments,Hawkins shows his distinguishable personality.As the narrator 鈥淚鈥 puts it,Hawkins has 鈥渁 deplorable tongue鈥?He often argues passionately and asks questions in a quite sarcastic way,like 鈥淗ave they a factory for wings?鈥 He also likes using dirty words like 鈥渂leeding鈥 and 鈥渄amn鈥?On the one hand,these prove Hawkins is indeed 鈥渁 terrible man鈥 and 鈥渁 fright to argue鈥?On the other hand,readers may find that he has a somehow lovely character,because he is so stubborn and serious,and his sarcasms show that he is witty.As long as a character develops his own personality,he gets a 鈥渇ace鈥 in readers minds.More importantly,through his arguments with Noble,Hawkins shows that he has his own thoughts and desires to voice his opinions.His distinct 鈥渧oice鈥 makes him a more profound person.With a distinguishable 鈥渇ace鈥 and a particular 鈥渧oice鈥?Hawkins becomes a real person with blood and flesh.Therefore,when he is killed,the scene becomes more mournful.The readers can almost imagine the feeling of Hawkins when he is being killed,because he is depicted as a person so real and common just like someone in the readers鈥 daily life.The topic over which Hawkins argues with Noble is religion.This topic must be carefully chosen by the writer,because their disagreements on religion make the final shooting more agonizing and unbearable to both of them.From the beginning to the end,Hawkins sticks to his belief as an atheist,insisting that there is no world after death,no God nor angels.Due to Hawkins鈥檚 atheistic world view,his being shot to death becomes more tragic.To an atheist,there is no hope for another world after death,the secular world is the only one he has.This means that when Hawkins is going to be shot,he thinks that his life is going to end forever,and there will be no chance for him to live again in heaven.Compared with those who can hope for another world,to Hawkins death is a crueler fact to face.This explains why before being shot Hawkins gets very agitated and keeps trying to persuade Donovan and Noble into giving up the decision.His drastic reaction is a reflection of his strong desire to live,a yearning derives from his atheistic world view.From his reaction,readers can sense his anxiety and fear,thus sympathize with him.Through Hawkins鈥檚 arguments with Noble,it can be seen that he seems to hold a very pessimistic attitude towards most things.He does not trust the authority whom he refers as 鈥渃apitalists鈥 and he does not believe in superb and hopeful things like heaven and angels.However,when coming to realize that he and Belcher are going to be shot,Hawkins is totally shocked and puzzled.Compared with Belcher鈥檚 calm acceptance,Hawkins reacts violently.He first shows great puzzlement,feeling hard to believe the truth,then made constant efforts to change Donovan鈥檚 mind.His puzzlement and disappointment show that he actually believes in the kindness in human nature and his friendship with Noble.Although he does not believe in Christianity,still he has trust in people鈥檚 good nature and the universal love among all human beings.To him,the universal love among people is higher than all other principles.Therefore,neither disagreements about religion nor the different positions in a war can be a justifiable reason for killing someone that one loves.Contrary to Hawkins,Noble鈥檚 arguments show that he is a serious and taciturn person.When arguing with eloquent Hawkins,he is is always at a disadvantage.But like Hawkins,Noble is also stubborn and he holds to his religious belief,believing that there is a God and angels.With such an upright character and a pious religious belief,Noble finds it very cruel to kill Hawkins.Christianity advocates forming a brotherhood among human beings,and indeed the two Englishmen and the two Irishmen have formed a kind of brotherhood.The two Irishmen learn Belcher鈥檚 way of saying 鈥渃hum鈥?.Hawkins learns an Irish dance,and they four often play cards together.The natural love among human beings have bound them together and made them become intimate.When killing Hawkins and Belcher,Noble feels terrible,as if he is killing his 鈥渂rothers鈥?though they do not have the same religion with him.After the shooting,Noble is much depressed.With the two Englishmen鈥檚 grave hanging over him,he kneels down and begins praying.He may be praying for the two dead Englishmen,wishing that they would live another life in heaven,but he may be also praying for himself and begging for God鈥檚 forgiveness,for he feels so guilty for committing the crime of killing his 鈥渂rothers鈥?Worse still,from that day on,Noble鈥檚 faith may have been shaken.He may feel that love among people is not enough to make the world a better place,nor the faith in superb things a solace strong enough for one living in such a cruel world.