Topsy 的词源

在斯托夫人1852年出版的《汤姆叔叔的小屋》中，奴隶女孩的角色长期以来被视为一个陈词滥调，尤其是她对北方虔诚的废奴主义者奥菲莉亚小姐提问的反应：

"Have you ever heard anything about God, Topsy?"

The child looked bewildered, but grinned, as usual.

"Do you know who made you?"

"Nobody as I knows on," said the child, with a short laugh.

The idea appeared to amuse her considerably; for her eyes twinkled, and she added--

"I spect I grow'd. Don't think nobody never made me."

“你听说过上帝吗，托普西？”

孩子看起来很困惑，但还是像往常一样露出了微笑。

“你知道是谁创造了你吗？”

“我不知道，”孩子短暂地笑了笑说。

这个想法似乎让她很开心；她的眼睛闪烁着光芒，接着说——

“我想我就是长出来的。可没觉得是谁特意创造了我。”

“我想我就是长出来的”这句话常常被误引，很多人会加上“just”（或“jes’”）；有时这句话被不恰当地用来表示某物在没有人注意或意图的情况下变得庞大。