영어로 읽는 고전 _ 부스 타킹턴의 매혹적인 이방인과 이야기들
부스 타킹턴의 "매혹적인 이방인과 다른 이야기들"은 20세기 초에 쓰여진 단편 소설 모음집입니다. 첫 번째 이야기인 "매혹적인 이방인"은 조지 터틀이라는 몰락한 인물을 소개하는데, 그는 산업적 변화와 금주법 시대 이후 현대 사회의 고난과 환멸을 대변합니다. 터틀이 자신의 개인적 곤경과 더 넓은 사회적 변화를 헤쳐나가면서, 절망, 정체성, 사회 비평의 주제가 이 이야기 전반에 걸쳐 짜여져 있을 것입니다.
책의 시작 부분에서, 터틀 씨는 임시 침대—반쯤 조립된 리무진 차체—에서 깨어나는 모습으로 묘사되는데, 이는 그가 사랑하던 마차 시대로부터 멀어지는 세상에서 그의 소외된 지위를 반영합니다. 그의 내적 대화는 현대성과 자동차에 대한 경멸을 드러내며, 그는 이를 마구간 주인으로서의 그의 생계를 망친 원인으로 여깁니다.
그가 도시로 나아가면서, 터틀은 친구와 함께 부의 분배와 사회의 도덕적 타락에 대한 인식과 같은 깊은 사회적 문제에 관한 토론에 참여하며, 동시에 그의 숙취에서 벗어나기를 추구합니다. 이러한 시작은 유머와 비애 모두를 담고 있으며, 20세기 초 미국 삶의 구조 안에서 복잡한 인물을 묘사하는 타킹턴의 능력을 보여줍니다.
Classics Read in English _ The Fascinating Stranger, and Other Stories by Booth Tarkington
Booth Tarkington's collection "The Fascinating Stranger and Other Stories," published in the early 20th century, offers a compelling window into American society during a period of profound transformation. The titular opening story introduces readers to George Tuttle, a character whose circumstances embody the disillusionment experienced by many during the tumultuous shifts of industrialization and Prohibition.
As the narrative begins, we find Tuttle awakening in his makeshift bed—the partially assembled body of a limousine—a vivid metaphor for his precarious position in a rapidly changing world. This once-respectable livery stable owner now finds himself literally sheltering in the shell of the very technology that contributed to his downfall. Through Tuttle's inner monologue, Tarkington masterfully conveys the character's bitter resentment toward automobiles and modern innovations that have rendered his horse-drawn expertise obsolete.
When Tuttle ventures into the city streets, nursing both his wounded pride and a persistent hangover, he engages in conversation with an acquaintance that reveals Tarkington's sharp social commentary. Their dialogue explores wealth inequality, perceived moral deterioration, and the disorienting pace of American progress—themes that remain strikingly relevant a century later.
What distinguishes Tarkington's writing is his ability to balance incisive social critique with genuine compassion for his characters. Tuttle emerges not merely as a symbol of resistance to change but as a fully realized individual navigating personal loss within broader historical currents. The story achieves a delicate equilibrium between humor and poignancy, inviting readers to both chuckle at Tuttle's curmudgeonly observations and empathize with his struggle to maintain dignity in a world that has seemingly moved on without him.
This opening story sets the tone for a collection that likely continues to explore the human dimensions of early 20th-century American experience, capturing the texture of everyday life during an era of unprecedented change with Tarkington's characteristic insight and wit.
Among the contents
MR. GEORGE TUTTLE, reclining at ease in his limousine, opened one eye just enough to perceive that daylight had reached his part of the world, then closed that eye, and murmured languidly. What he said, however, was not, “Home, Parker,” or “To the club, Eugene;” this murmur of his was not only languid but plaintive. A tear appeared upon the lower lid of the eye that had opened, for it was a weak and drowsy eye, and after hours of solid darkness the light fretted it. Moreover, the tear, as a greeting to the new day, harmonized perfectly with Mr. Tuttle’s murmur, which was so little more than a husky breathing that only an acute ear close by could have caught it: “Oh, Gosh!” Then he turned partly over, shifting his body so as to lie upon his left side among the shavings that made his limousine such a comfortable bedroom.
After thousands of years of wrangling, economists still murder one another to emphasize varying ideas of what constitutes the ownership of anything; and some people (the most emphatic of all) maintain that everybody owns everything, which is obviously the same as saying that nobody owns anything, especially his own right hand. So it may be a little hasty to speak of this limousine, in which Mr. Tuttle lay finishing his night’s sleep, as belonging to him in particular; but he was certainly the only person who had the use of it, and no other person in the world believed himself to be its owner.
서평(Book Review)
부스 타킹턴의 "매혹적인 이방인과 다른 이야기들"은 산업화와 금주법 시대 속 미국 사회의 변화를 예리하게 포착한 단편집입니다. 주인공 조지 터틀을 통해 타킹턴은 기술 발전으로 인해 소외된 개인의 고뇌와 현대성에 대한 저항을 섬세하게 그려냅니다. 리무진 차체에서 잠을 자는 몰락한 마구간 주인의 모습은 과거와 현재 사이에 끼인 인간의 딜레마를 상징적으로 보여줍니다. 유머와 연민이 절묘하게 어우러진 이 작품은 사회적 불평등과 급격한 변화 속에서도 존엄성을 유지하려는 인간 정신의 보편적 투쟁을 담아냅니다.
Booth Tarkington's "The Fascinating Stranger and Other Stories" sharply captures American society amid industrialization and Prohibition. Through George Tuttle, Tarkington sensitively portrays an individual alienated by technological progress and resistant to modernity. The image of a fallen livery stable owner sleeping in a limousine shell symbolizes the human dilemma caught between past and present. Blending humor with compassion, this collection depicts the universal struggle to maintain dignity amid social inequality and rapid change, offering insights that remain relevant a century later.
부스 타킹턴(1869-1946)은 미국의 소설가이자 극작가로, 20세기 초 미국 문학계에서 가장 인기 있고 성공한 작가 중 한 명이었습니다. 그는 두 번이나 퓰리처상을 수상했는데, 1919년 '위대한 앰버슨가(The Magnificent Ambersons)'와 1922년 '앨리스 애덤스(Alice Adams)'로 각각 수상했습니다. 인디애나 주 인디애나폴리스 출신인 타킹턴은 중서부 중산층 마을의 생활과 미국 사회의 변화를 작품에 담아냈습니다. 그의 소설 '펜로드(Penrod)' 시리즈는 어린 소년의 모험을 그린 작품으로 널리 사랑받았으며, '세븐틴(Seventeen)'은 청소년기의 사랑과 성장통을 다룬 작품입니다. 타킹턴의 작품은 주로 빠르게 변화하는 산업화 시대의 미국 사회, 특히 중서부 소도시의 모습과 가치 변화를 섬세하게 포착했습니다. 그는 생전에 미국에서 마크 트웨인의 뒤를 잇는 국민 작가로 여겨졌으나, 오늘날에는 그의 명성이 다소 줄어들었음에도 불구하고 미국 문학사에서 중요한 위치를 차지하고 있습니다.
Booth Tarkington (1869-1946) was an American novelist and playwright who was one of the most popular and successful authors of the early 20th century. He was a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, receiving the award for "The Magnificent Ambersons" in 1919 and for "Alice Adams" in 1922. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Tarkington captured the life of middle-class Midwestern towns and the changing American society in his works. His "Penrod" series, which chronicled the adventures of a young boy, was widely beloved, and "Seventeen" dealt with teenage love and growing pains. Tarkington's works primarily focused on capturing the nuances of American society during the rapidly industrializing era, particularly the changing landscape and values of small Midwestern towns. During his lifetime, he was considered a national literary figure second only to Mark Twain in America, and although his reputation has somewhat diminished today, he remains an important figure in American literary history.