34 「ルーツ」の著者 アレックス・ヘイリー P.90 （1992.2.14） 米国の作家、アレックス・ヘイリー氏が亡くなった。十五年あまり前にベストセラー『ルーツ』を著した人だ。この本はテレビの大河ドラマにもなり、米国社会を大いに興奮させた。各国でも翻訳された。 母方の祖先を七代さかのぼり、アフリカはガンビア、ジュフㇾ村の少年クンク・キンチに自分の根源を発見する。少年が奴隷商人に連れ去られいぇから何代もの物語を、詳細につづったものだ。調査には長い年月を費やした。
ファクト（事実）だけではないが、さりとてフィクション（作り話）ではなく、事実に基づく。いわば「ファクション」だと言っていた。奴隷売買、苦役、迫害など、黒人たちの体験の描写がなまなましい。建国二百年、米国人にとって一種の歴史教育ともいえた。 「黒人が歩まされた受難の歴史」を書き「黒人であることへの自負、その歴史と祖先に対する誇りを飛躍的に高めたと思う」と言いながら、ヘイリー氏は同時に「本への反響では、黒人に次いで日系二世、三世からの反応が際立っていた」と話したことがある。 「黒、白、黄色といった皮膚の色の違いよりも、その能力で人間を見たい」。差別に存在に、静かだが激しい怒りを抱いていた。近年、日系、中国系、あるいはイタリア系の米国人と言うのと同様、黒人をアフリカ系米国人と呼ぶ。『ルーツ』以後の表現だろう。 ヘイリー氏から聞いた忘れられない話がある。ジュフㇾでは、子供が生まれると父親が七日間、姿を消す。懸命に名前を考えるためだ。八日目に村中の人が集まる。太鼓の響き。父親が赤ん坊の耳に口を寄せ、吹きこむように名前をささやく。 聞いた人々が口々になを呼ぶ。父親は、夜、子供を抱き、月と星を見せて宣言する。「見よ、汝自身より偉大なるもの、これのみ」と。 個人は一人ひとりなの違う存在だ。その尊厳を考えさせる話である。 2021.09.28記す。
34 NOT FICTION BUT FACTION Alex Haley, the author of "Roots," a best-selling book about 15 years ago, has died. Adapted as a multi-episode television series, the saga greatly excited America. The book was translated into many languages. Going back seven generations on the distaff side, Haley traced his lineage to a boy named Kunta Kinte, a villager in Gambia. "Roots" is a detailed account of what happened to the boy and generations of his family after he was kidnapped by a slave trader and shipped to America in the 18th century. The author spent a long time researching the book. Haley called the book a "faction, a story based on fact, explaining that although it was not entirely based on fact, it was not a piece of fiction, either. The book struck readers with a vivid portrayal of the experiences blacks in America went through: slave trade hard labor and persecution. It provided a kind of historical education for Americans as they observed the 200th anniversary of their country. The author said he believed that by writing the history of the "sufferings blacks were forced to go through," he had "phenomenally enhanced the self-respect for being black and their pride in their history and ancestors." He also said he had received most pronounced response from second- and third-generation Japanese-Americans after blacks. "I would like to look at people in terms of their ability, not in terms of whether have a black, white or yellow skin color," Haley said. He harbored a quiet but strong indignation against discrimination based on skin color. It is probably since "Roots" was published that blacks came to be called African-Americans, just like there are such expressions as Japanese-Americans, Chinese-Americans and Italian-Americans. One thing I heard from Hayley is unforgettable. In the Gambian village where Kunta Kinte grew up, when a baby is born the father drops out of sight for seven days to rack his brain for a good name for the child. On the eighth day the whole village assembles. As drums are beaten, the father, with his mouth close to the ear of the baby, whispers the name he has chosen, as if breathing into the child. Villagers, listening in, shout the name when they make out the whisper. At night the father, making the baby look at the moon and stars in his arms, declares: "Look at them. They are the only things greater than you." This custom reminds one of the dignity of all human beings who are distinguished from one another by different names. Copy on 2021.09.28
41 説得の手法 P.106 （1992.2.22）
表現の仕方には、いろいろな工夫がある。例えば物事を誇張して語る方法がある。『ガリバー旅行記』には巨人国や小人国が出てくる。普通の人の身長を極大にしたり極小にしたりする。面白い発見が生れる。 物事を逆さまにしてみる工夫もある。同じガリバーの物語には、馬が人間のように暮らし、人間が馬のように使われている国が登場する。これも、ふだんは当たり前のこととして見過ごすような事柄を細かに観察することができて面白い。 逆にして事態を考えようという工夫は、子供や、ひとに、何かを説得する場合にも利用できる。説得の表現の工夫としては、三つの選択肢を提示する手法もある。第一案と第三案に極端な考え方を置く。受け入れてもらうつもりの考えは第二案だ。 自民党の調査会が出した答申案を読むうちに、上のようなことを思い出した。「国際社会における日本の役割に関する特別調査会」の答申だ。「いわゆる国連軍に対して積極的な協力さらには参加する必要がある」と論じている。 「いわゆる国連軍」は今までに実現したことがないものだし、これまでの憲法解釈では無理な話。聞く人は驚く。だが、現段階では「第一案」のように見える。答申の後段に「国連平和維持活動や緊急援助活動への参加などの新たな任務」が出てくる。これが「第二案」か。 日本は何もしない、という「第三案」ではいけない、とだれしも考えている。新世界秩序、外交、安全保障、援助や環境など広い分野を視野に入れた、冷静な「役割」論議が欠かせまい。 2021.09.27記す。
41 PICKING ONE OUT OF THERE There are various ways to express oneself. For instance, there is the method of talking about something in an exaggerated fashion. In "Gulliver's Travels" are found of Lilliput, whose inhabitants are only 6 inches tall, and the land of Brobdingnag with human beings 60 feet tall. The height of the ordinary person is drastically expanded or excessively shortened. Interesting discoveries are made. There is the method of looking at things upside-down. In "Gulliver's Travels," there is also a country in which horses live like human beings and human beings are used like horses. This is interesting because we can observe and recognize in detail things that we ordinary overlook as natural things. This method of turning a situation upside-down and thinking about it can be used when trying to persuade children and people about something. As a method of persuasive expression, there is the method of offering three choices. The first and third proposals are extreme arguments. The one that you want accepted is the second one. And you submit the three proposals, saying, "What do you think?" One who was very adept at using this method in his speeches was former U.S. President Richard Nixon. Presented with three thought-over policies, people asked themselves: The first and third ones are both extreme. Under the present circumstances, isn't the second one proper and appropriate as the president says? I recalled the above while I was reading the report drafted by the special committee of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. It is the report of "special committee on Japan's role in international society." It says there is need to study constructive cooperation with and even participation in the so-called United Nations forces. The "so-called U.N. forces" have never existed, and cooperation and participation are impossible under past interpretation of the Constitution. People who hear this proposal are surprised. At the present stage, it appears to be the "first proposal." In the latter half of the report, "new duties such as participation in the U.N. peacekeeping and emergency aid activities" appears. Is this the "second proposal"? Everyone is thinking that the "third proposal" that Japan does nothing is not good. A dispassionate debate on Japan's "role," taking into consideration wide fields including the new world order, foreign policy, security, and environment, is indispensable. 2021.09.27記す。 |
