在現代化進程中,生存和發展是發展中國家和民族面臨的普遍問題,對傳統的態度是解決這個問題的關鍵之一。本文研究阿萊克西《保留地布魯斯》中的生存與發展主題,希望借此討論化解社會發展過程中傳統與現代性矛盾的路徑。在這個主題上,安德魯斯認為,小說欲為保留地印第安人找到一條"新路",但這條路是個"死胡同",因為小說陷入了摩尼二元論。本文借鑒多元現代性理論,從傳統與現代性的關系入手,解讀小說中印第安人與白人、印第安文化與西方文化之間的矛盾,嘗試超越這些矛盾之間的二元對立,認為這條"新路"沒有被堵死。小說充滿希望的結尾至少暗示著年輕一輩印第安人有望走出保留地,走向大世界,帶著傳統,走向具有印第安特色的現代性或后現代性。

In the process of modernization, survival and development are a general issue for all developing nations and ethnicities. One of the keys to this issue is people’s attitude toward their tradition. Focusing on the survival and development theme in Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues, this paper attempts to find a way out for the conflict between tradition and modernity. Scott Andrews reads the novel as one presenting reservation Indians with a new road which turns out to be a dead end because the novel ultimately falls victim to the Manichean logic. With the concept of multiple modernities, this paper tries to unravel the conflicts between American Indians and the Whites, and between American Indian and Western cultures in terms of tradition and modernity. It argues that the new road does not lead to a dead end. Instead, the hopeful ending of the novel promises young Indians a way out of the reservation. They will move to the big world with their tradition, striving for a modernity or postmodernity with American Indian characteristics.