Haircut
通过讲述恶作剧者吉姆被他经常做弄的对象——傻瓜保尔打死的故事,小说《理发》不仅仅向读者阐明善恶终有报的道理,更引起读者对自己、对自己身边的人与事、对现实社会的深深思考。拉德纳的声音是与众不同的,它摒去你周围的喧嚣,让你听到他那有个性的话语,他讲述着我们最熟悉的故事,而他的说话方式又是如此坦诚与直接。尤为突出的是拉德纳的克制:他创造的人物如此平易近人,接近生活,在显得可笑时,也不会忘了提醒我们在笑他们时也是在笑我们自己。
林•拉德纳(Ring Lardner，1885-1933年)，美国体育新闻记者，幽默作家。为拉德纳赢得文学声誉的主要是他的短篇小说，他总共创作了130篇左右，刻画了众 多逼真的美国生活场景及人物肖像。他的这些短篇小说获得了英美文学界中如F.S.费茨杰拉德、H.L.门肯、埃德蒙•威尔逊、弗吉尼亚•伍尔夫、V.S. 普里切特等人的激赏，被称为是乔纳森•斯威夫特以来下笔最一针见血的讽刺作家，也被认为是美国文学史上马克•吐温之后最优秀的幽默作家。
I got another barber that comes over from Carterville and helps me out Saturdays, but the rest of the time I can get along all right alone. You can see for yourself that this ain 8217;t no New York: City and besides that, the most of the boys works all day and don 8217;t have no leisure to drop in here and get themselves prettied up.
You 8217;re a newcomer, ain 8217;t you? I thought I hadn 8217;t seen you round before. I hope you like it good enough to stay. As I say, we ain 8217;t no New York City or Chicago, but we have pretty good times. Not as good, though, since Jim Kendall got killed. When he was alive, him and Hod Meyers used to keep this town in an uproar. I bet they was more laughin 8217; done here than any town its size in America.
Jim was comical, and Hod was pretty near a match for him. Since Jim 8217;s gone, Hod tries to hold his end up just the same as ever, but it 8217;s tough goin 8217; when you ain 8217;t got nobody to kind of work with.
They used to be plenty fun in here Saturdays. This place is jampacked Saturdays, from four o 8217;clock on. Jim and Hod would show up right after their supper round six o 8217;clock. Jim would set himself down in that big chair, nearest the blue spittoon. Whoever had been settin 8217; in that chair, why they 8217;d get up when Jim come in and at 8221; it to him.
You 8217;d of thought it was a reserved seat like they have sometimes in a theaytre. Hod would generally always stand or walk up and down or some Saturdays, of course, he 8217;d be settin 8217; in this chair part of the time, gettin 8217; a haircut.
Well, Jim would set there a w 8217;ile without opening his mouth only to spit, and then finally he 8217;d say to me, 8220;Whitey, 8221; 8211;my right name, that is, my right first name, is Dick, but everybody round here calls me Whitey 8211;Jim would say, 8220;Whitey, your nose looks like a rosebud tonight. You must of been drinkin 8217; some of your aw de cologne. 8221;
So I 8217;d say, 8220;No, Jim, but you look like you 8217;d been drinkin 8217; something of that kind or somethin 8217; worse. 8221;
Jim would have to laugh at that, but then he 8217;d speak up and say, 8220;No, I ain 8217;t had nothin 8217; to drink, but that ain 8217;t sayin 8217; I wouldn 8217;t like somethin 8217;. I wouldn 8217;t even mind if it was wood alcohol. 8221;