 |
|
|
全國湯姆索爾日(National
Tom
Sawyer Days)
地方性遺產
湯姆索爾及跳蛙有什麼共通點？這兩個故事擁有同一位創作人：馬克吐溫。原名塞繆爾朗赫恩克裡門斯(Samuel
Clemens：馬克吐溫是他的筆名)的馬克吐溫於四歲時，隨著家人一起搬到了密蘇里州，位於密西西比河西岸的漢尼拔。吐溫在此度過他的童年時期，並對河邊的生活深感著迷，包括蒸氣船、巨大的木伐及在其上工作的人。
「卡拉韋拉斯縣馳名的跳蛙」(The
Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County)是吐溫最愛的短篇故事之一，而湯姆歷險記(The
Adventures of Tom Sawyer)則是他的著名小說之一。全國湯姆日會舉辦不同的活動，旨在頌揚上述兩件作品。照片中的小男孩，為他的青蛙報名參加跳躍競賽。現場也會舉辦漆欄杆比賽，看看誰能最短的時間內完成油漆工作。這項競賽的主意來自於湯姆歷險記書中一幕，書中的湯姆被告知要將屋前的欄杆上漆，但那天的天氣晴朗，湯姆情願去做別的事。因此當他的朋友路經他家時，湯姆說服他的朋友漆欄杆是一件有趣的事，並邀請他們一起加入這件「趣事」。當這一天結束時，欄杆已經上過三遍漆了！
雖然湯姆歷險記是小說，但它的內容是根據事實改編而成。假如您有機會來到漢尼拔，別忘了看看至今仍佇立在吐溫孩童時期的家外，那片白色的欄杆。
What do Tom Sawyer and jumping frogs have in common? Stories about both of them were created by one man: Mark Twain. Born Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain was his pen name), Twain was 4 when his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, located on the west bank of the Mississippi. Twain grew up there and was fascinated with life along the river -- the steamboats, the giant lumber rafts, and the people who worked on them.
"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is one of Twain's best-loved short stories, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is one of his most famous novels. Both these works are celebrated by events held during National Tom Sawyer Days. The boy in the photo entered his frog in the jumping contest. There's also a fence-painting contest to see who can paint the fastest. The idea for this contest comes from a scene in Tom Sawyer, in which Tom has been told to paint the fence in front of the house he lives in. It's a beautiful day, and he would rather be doing anything else. As his friends walk by, he convinces them it's fun to paint, and they join in the "fun." By the end of the day, the fence has three coats of paint!
Although the story of Tom Sawyer is fiction, it's based on fact. If you go to Hannibal, you'll see the white fence, which still stands at Twain's boyhood home.
page 1 of 1
About Local Legacies
|
