2015-12-14

【Aiden in English】

        Everyone wants to be a hero. No matter what the cause, age, gender, or nationality is, every single person on this planet wants to be that special person. As to the few who actually manage to become one, each hero contains a common theme amongst each other. They are born when facing the odds, demonstrating bold actions, and yet, with that said, bravery does not always ensure the birth of a hero.

        To change the world or impact your surroundings, a person needs bold actions. The story “Arachne” tells a tale about the spider, as it demonstrates many bold moves. It originated from a Greek myth when a young girl named Arachne challenged a goddess or Athene, to a weaving contest. Once Arachne saw herself losing, she weaved traitorous thoughts onto the tapestry, and Athene punished her by changing her into a spider. Bold actions relate to being a hero because it involves staring down a great fear, usually depicted as death, and overcoming that moment of paralyzation to fear. The story “The Man in the Water” talks about a plane crash in the Potomac River, Washington D.C in 1982. Five passengers lived to tell the story of a mystery man who risked his life for other people’s sakes, which, ultimately, got him killed. The man showed not just bold but heroic actions when he would hand over the ladder to the helicopter to others. These two stories contained characters that used bold actions. In “Arachne”, Arachne wasn’t afraid of confronting a goddess with her unmatched skill at weaving. After she heard the praise, she felt agitated because she wanted to be the best, even if it meant surpassing a weaving goddess. An elderly woman warned her for bragging too much, and even when this woman transformed into Athene. Arachne because of “the group that was gathered there she would not give in”. Alongside this action, in “The Man in the Water”, the unknown man who continued to pass the ladder of the helicopter to others, making his final actions bold as well. Being a hero, as the man did, required boldness, and Arachne demonstrated nearly the same amount of defiance to Athene in their story.

        As much as heroes are born from bold actions, not all bold actions make heroes. “Arachne” shows the actions of Arachne, but the text does not shape her into a one. She would say “with my own ten fingers I gained this skill…nor if I had, would I give Athene credit because the girl was more skillful than I.” Unlike “The Man in the Water” Arachne was full of herself, which leads to the conclusion that being a hero is more than just being bold, but caring about others and seeing beyond one’s self. Arachne was bold in a selfish, “obstinacy” way, whereas the unknown man passed up safety for others until the very end. In fact, it seemed that she was the antagonist in the plot. And so, unlike most would think, it not only takes bravery but the ability to think of others as well.

        All heroes come from bold actions, but not all bold actions make heroes. People are stereotypical to how all bold actions create heroes, but just as the stories “Arachne” and “The Man in the Water” show, the assumption could not be more misleading.

【红霞译文】

        每个人都想争当英雄，无论出于何种动机、多大年龄、什么性别或者哪个国籍，天下恐怕谁都期盼与众不同，其实真正出类拔萃的人中豪杰可谓寥寥无几，而他们往往拥有一个共同的特质，那就是大无畏精神，但并非意味着所有天不怕地不怕的人均等同于英雄好汉。

        欲求改变世界或者影响周边环境，一个人亟待付诸行动。《阿拉克涅》描写一个有关蜘蛛的传说，向听众展示出许多非凡的勇气。故事最早源于希腊神话，一位名叫阿拉克涅的女孩在织布技巧比赛上勇于挑战女神雅典娜，即使本身技艺略逊一筹，照样敢冒天下之大不韪，执意将违背神灵的思想编入织锦当中，雅典娜见后气急败坏并让她变成蜘蛛加以惩罚。临危不惧方显英雄本色，此时的阿拉克涅早把生死置度外。《水中人》一书讲的是1982年发生于美国华府波托马克河上的坠机事件，五位幸存乘客先后现场叙述一位神秘男子奋不顾身抢救他人以至最后献出生命的真实经历，透过这桩见义勇为的英雄事迹，可以看出该神秘男子舍己救人的思想境界，尤其在紧急关头，他毫不犹豫地把直升飞机悬梯让给其他乘客。两个故事都突出表现主人翁的大无畏精神，阿拉克涅并没有因为自己编织水平有限而畏惧雅典娜，相反誓把人们的赞许化为动力，鞭策自己创造更佳战绩，哪怕其竞争对手是一位手工艺人保护神。比赛期间，曾有一老妇人再三警告她不要逞能，原来这位老妇人竟是乔装打扮的雅典娜，即便如此，阿拉克涅“决不在众人面前轻言放弃”；相形之下，《水中人》的神秘男子却无私地将生的希望让给别人。两个故事所表现的英雄本色各有不同，“水中人”见义勇为的忘我精神与阿拉克涅蔑视雅典娜的豪迈壮举形成了鲜明对照。

        大凡英雄生来就异乎寻常，但不是所有别具风格的人全能算作英雄，《阿拉克涅》通过不少事例来烘托主人翁独到一面，而不是单纯用文字枯燥地塑造英雄形象，用人物自己的话来说“不管我十指手艺如何，都无法掩盖雅典娜比自己技高一筹的事实。”与《水中人》不同，阿拉克涅以我为中心，难免让人感到这种英雄所具有的大无畏精神完全是为了标榜自己。她非常自私“固执”，不像水中人那样毫不利己专门利人。事实上，阿拉克涅到处树敌，其结果与世俗观念格格不入。勇敢固然重要，但同时切忌忽略他人感受。

        世上英雄都勇敢无畏，可勇敢无畏者不等于说就是英雄好汉，人们往往落入俗套，偏偏将勇敢无畏和英雄好汉联系在一起，哪知事实并非如此，故事《阿拉克涅》和《水中人》足以引导大家端正认识。