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1、英語專業(yè)畢業(yè)論文《紅字》賞析全英文 淺析《紅字》中象征主義手法的運(yùn)用 Abstract Nathaniel Hawthorne is a great romantic novelist in America in the 19th century. As a great romantic novelist, Hawthorne is outstanding in handling application of symbolism. The Scarlet Letter is Hawthornes most important symbolic novel, which is th

2、e best work of Hawthorne and one of the indubitable masterpieces of American Literature. And it is this novel that makes Nathaniel Hawthorne known all around the world. In this work, Hawthorne uses the symbolism so skillfully that it enhances the artistic effects of his work greatly. In The Scarlet

3、Letter, symbolism runs through the whole novel. The most important symbol is the scarlet letter itself. Not only does “A” manifest in various forms, but also it has changing meanings from “adultery” to “able”, even “angelic” in the novel. Besides, the name of the four major characters in the novel:

4、Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth and Pearl also have their own symbolic meanings. Some other objects and natural surroundings that are described in the novel such as the jail, the forest, the rose bush and so on are all endowed with a deep symbolic significance. The author of th

5、e thesis will explore the usage of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter from the three aspects mentioned above and analyze Hawthorne’s skillful use of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter. Key Words: the scarlet letter；symbolism；Hester Prynne；Pearl 摘 要 納撒尼爾霍桑是十九世紀(jì)美國偉大的浪漫主義小說家。作為一位偉大的浪漫主義小說家,霍桑對象征主

6、義手法的運(yùn)用可以說是獨(dú)具匠心。 長篇小說《紅字》是霍桑重要的象征主義代表作品，無疑也是美國文學(xué)浪漫主義時(shí)期最著名的作品之一。也正是這部巨著使得霍桑譽(yù)滿全球。在這部作品中，作者巧妙運(yùn)用了象征主義手法，加強(qiáng)了作品的藝術(shù)效果。整篇作品象征主義手法貫穿始終。其中，最重要的要數(shù)紅字“A”本身的象征意義。它不僅以各種各樣的形式出現(xiàn)，并且其象征意義不斷變化，從“通奸”到“有能力的”甚至“天使般的” 。此外，小說中四個(gè)主要角色：海絲特,丁梅斯代爾，齊靈沃斯,珠兒也都有其各自的象征意義。小說中描述的景物和場景，例如監(jiān)獄、森林、玫瑰花園等等也都寓意深刻。本文正是從以上這幾個(gè)方面著手，探究作者在小說《紅字》中對象

7、征主義手法的巧妙運(yùn)用。 關(guān)鍵詞: 紅字；象征；海絲特普琳；珍珠 Acknowledgements This thesis is the product of the author and the supervisors three months of efforts. It has been repeatedly revised under the guidance of Professor XXX. It was the joint efforts of both the author and the teachers in Foreign Languages Departme

8、nt. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Professor XXX and the teachers who have helped the author in the process of the thesis writing. I will also give my thanks to my classmates and friends who have helped me revise the thesis. Last but not least, I will give my heartfelt thanks to my p

9、arents who have been always supporting and encouraging me. Contents Introduction 1 1 Various Symbolic Meanings of the Scarlet Letter “A” 3 1.1 The Change of the Symbolic Meanings of the Scarlet Letter “A” 3 1.1.1 Adultery 3 1.1.2 Alone and Alienation 4 1.1.3 Able, Admirable and Angel 5

10、 1.2 The Scarlet Letter and the Strictness of Puritan Society 5 2 The Symbolic Meaning of the Four Main Characters 6 2.1 Hester Prynne 6 2.2 Arthur Dimmesdale 7 2.3 Roger Chillingworth 8 2.4 Pearl 9 3 The Symbolic Meanings of the Objects in the Novel 12 Conclusion 15 Bibliography 16 iv

11、 Introduction Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem in 1804. He was born in a prestigious New England family closely related with Puritan church; his ancestors attended the persecution of people belonging to different churches, such as Quakers. When he was born, his family declined. He was aware

12、 of his ancestors misdeeds and thus "blackness of Hawthorne" formed. He thought that the reason of his familys decline is his ancestors misdeeds. And he didnt agree with the optimism held by Transcendentalists towards human nature. He wrote lots of works on everlasting evil side in human nature Haw

13、thorne graduated from Bowdoin College. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Franklin Pierce, the 14th American presidents were his classmates. After graduation, he lived in seclusion and wrote. Later, he worked in the US Custom House. After Pierce became president, he was asked to be the consular in Liver

14、pool and Italy. Hawthornes masterpiece includes his short story collections: Twice-Told Tales; Moses from an Old Manse and novels: The Scarlet Letter; The House of Seven Gables; The Blithedale Romance; The Marble Faun. Hawthornes writing skills can be summarized as follows: Hawthorne seems to be i

15、nfluenced a lot by the sin and evil in his sense. He believes evil exists in human heart all the time. For example, in the novel The Scarlet Letter, the minister Dimmesdale tries to pretend how pure and pious he is. He wants to cover up the evil in his mind. Not only Dimmesdale wants to do like this

16、, but also all the people in the world, because we are only human beings. And the evil just likes a mark that exists in our mind when we are born. And in Hawthorne’s mind, people who commit a crime must be punished, because people can get experience from this way. And also he supports people to tell

17、 the truth and not to offend. Nathaniel Hawthorne is a great romantic novelist in America in the 19th century and is considered to be the first greatest American fiction writer in the moralistic tradition. Hawthorne is outstanding in literature skill, especially in handling symbolism. His work---The

18、 Scarlet Letter is notable for its symbolism and is regarded as the first symbolic novel in American literature. The story begins in seventeenth-century Boston, which is under Puritan command. The husband---an old and ugly scholar, sends a young woman, named Hester Prynne, ahead to America. However

19、, for many years, he himself doesn’t arrive. Obviously, it is possible that he has been lost in the sea. While waiting for her husband, Hester and a young local minister called Arthur Dimmesdale fall in love with each other. They commit adultery secretly. Because of Hester’s Pregnancy, the secret is

20、 finally discovered. Hester and Dimmesdale love each other. But their love is forbidden in that strict society. It is sinful. Due to this fact, Hester is punished by society with a letter “A” on her chest, which is considered to be an evil, a shame. Hester is brave enough to face the cruel society.

21、 She is always with a mind of courage. She has been alone with her child for so long a time, with little communication. Hester has to wear the letter “A” day by day, seven years as for punishment and ill fame. However, Hester is a kind-hearted woman and is always ready to help other people in the co

22、mmunity without expecting any thanks. Later, people in the town no longer view the scarlet letter A as a punishment, but rather as representing her great strength and bravery and they say it means “Able”. But Arthur Dimmesdale, his sin against Hester and Pearl is that he will not acknowledge them a

23、s his wife and daughter in the daylight. He is too weak to admit his sins. He suffers from mysterious heart trouble, seemingly caused by psychological distress. What’s worse, he is an advisor to the townspeople about their sins. After Mr. Dimmesdale’s death, no one changes more in appearance than R

24、oger Chillingworth. All his strength and energy has been used to harm his patient. This unhappy man has made his aim in life to add to the suffering of the young minister. When the evil old man no longer has such a purpose, the devil takes him back to the hell. The Scarlet Letter is a cultural alle

25、gory, in which the author indirectly tells the future of Puritanism. The Scarlet Letter is a sample in which American Romanticism adapted itself to American Puritanism. The theme of the story should 1 Various Symbolic Meanings of the Scarlet Letter “A” 1.1 The Change of the Symbolic Mean

26、ings of the Scarlet Letter “A” In this novel, the scarlet letter “A” changes its meanings for many times. This change is very significant. It shows growth in the characters, and the community in which they live. At the very beginning, the letter “A” is regarded as a kind of sin or evil. Then with

27、 the development of the story, it becomes a symbol of alone and alienation of the female character Hester. Finally, it becomes a symbol of able, admirable and angel. 1.1.1 Adultery In the novel, the letter "A", worn on Hesters bosom, is a symbol of her adultery against Roger Chillingworth. Putting

28、 the letter “A” on her bosom and letting her show to the public is the puritan way of treating her as a criminal, for the crime of adultery. Hester is looked down upon as if she is some sort of demon from hell that commits a terrible crime. This letter is meant to be worn in shame, and to make Heste

29、r feel unwanted. This is the common way to explain the symbolic meaning of the letter. The color of scarlet is the symbol of blood and desire. Hester and Dimmesdale cannot control their love for each other and become the criminals of God. A woman loses her purity and a holy minister is punished for

30、bringing shame to his holy occupation. Red should be regarded as the symbol of love and life, but under the control of the Puritan strictness, Hester has to wear the scarlet letter “A” in order to be regarded as a symbol of shame and punishment. “Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of he

31、r guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment…” （Brown，2002：123） Hester is ashamed of her sin, but she chooses to face the reality rather than escape from it. Many people may choose the way of leaving for some other places where nobody knows of her sin. However, Hester is brave eno

32、ugh to continue to live her life, which shows great strength and integrity of her. 1.1.2 Alone and Alienation The scarlet letter “A” also symbolizes Hesters lonely life in New England. Hesters social life is virtually eliminated as a result of her shameful past. She has to live in such a community

33、 regardless of others ironical words and with great courage and ability. “It had been built by an earlier settler, and abandoned, because the soil about it was too sterile for cultivation, while its comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already marked the hab

34、its of the emigrants.” Hester comes to have a part to perform in the world with her native energy of character and rare capacity." (Chase, 1957, ) However, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it. Every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came to co

35、ntact, implied, and often expressed, that she was banished, and as much alone as if she inhabited another sphere, or communicated with the common nature by other organs and senses than the rest of human kind. She stood apart from moral interests… seemed to be the sole portion that she retained in th

36、e universal heart." Hester has no friends in the world, and little Pearl is the only companion of her lonely life. In other peoples eyes, Hester is a criminal and most of them regard communicating with her as a shameful thing. Therefore, the scarlet letter “A” is also a symbol of alone and alienatio

37、n. 1.1.3 Able, Admirable and Angel “The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness is found in her so much power to do and power to sympathize - that many people refuses to interpret the scarlet letter ‘A by its original signification.” (Rubinstein, 1988, ) We can see that the meaning

38、of the scarlet letter “A” changes from adultery to being able, angel and admirable. At the beginning, people living in the town looked down upon the woman because of her crime. But later, they find that Hester is so skillfully in needlework and she always help the poor and sick without expecting any

39、 return or thanks. She is unselfish and always ready to help others considerately and patiently. People in the town then realize her noble nature and change the view on her. “Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge? It is our Hester – the towns own Hester – who is so kind to the poor, so he

40、lpful to the sick, so comforting to the afflicted!” (Hawthorne, 1994) The people in the town soon begin to regard the letter “A” as a badge served to ward off the evil. This is a kind woman who should not shoulder the shame and be looked down upon by others. Hester is an angel sent by God to the peo

41、ple in the town. And she should win the respect and sympathy of others instead of being punished by having to show her crime to the public by wearing the scarlet letter. People and the author of the novel really admire her pure nature and ability. The three changes in the scarlet letter are signifi

42、cant; they show the progressive presentation of her sin, her lonely life, and her ability. Hester is an admirable woman who experiences more emotional torture than most people go through in a lifetime. 1.2 The Scarlet Letter and the Strictness of Puritan Society The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Haw

43、thorne uses the scarlet letters to symbolize he harshness of Puritan society, showing how they branded sinners for life. Although Puritan society is unforgiving towards the sinful scarlet letter, their strictness improved the bearers of the sin. The scarlet letter was also an example of how Puritan

44、society will always remember the sin. “When strangers looked curiously at the scarlet letter-and none failed to do so, they branded it afresh into Hester’s soul.” (Hawthorne, 1994) A letter “A” but freshly green, instead of scarlet was created by her, showing how Hawthorne made a jest at the punishm

45、ent Puritans put upon Hester. And the scarlet letter was also a toy to Pearl, something that she enjoyed. Hawthorne uses the scarlet letter to depict his feelings of the exaggerated emotions of the puritans and their dramatic punishments. The author of the paper thinks that the symbolism in this nov

46、el is used quite skillfully. The technique Hawthorne uses makes his novel more artistic. 2 The Symbolic Meaning of the Four Main Characters 2.1 Hester Prynne Hester Prynne is one of the most important characters in The Scarlet Letter. Hester is the symbol of love, beauty, kindness and truth. She

47、was described by Hawthorne like this: “The young woman was tall, a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale, she had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which, besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had

48、the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes…” (Harold, 1990：104) It is true that Hester is beautiful and attractive in appearance. But the most precious part of the character lies not only in her kindness toward other people, but also in her great courage of facing her love. He

49、r love for the minister Dimmesdale is pure and true. This is the reason that she refuses to speak out the name of her partner in sin, but takes over all the punishment by herself. Instead of running from the hostile colonists, Hester withstands peoples insolence and pursues a normal life. She proves

50、 her worth with her uncommon sewing skills and provides community service. Hesters sin gives her “sympathetic knowledge of the sin in other hearts.” Even though the people she tries to help “often reviled the hand that was stretched forth to succor them.” (Xia,1996:34 ) She continues her services be

51、cause she actually cares. At last, the colonists come to think of the scarlet letter as “the cross on a nuns bosom”, which is not small accomplishment. Hester is the homophone of the word haste. At first, she gets married to Roger Prynne, an ugly man who gives his best years to feed the hungry drea

52、m of knowledge. Not having got the news about her husband who should have arrived by ship from England, she falls love with Arthur hastily and gives birth to Pearl, for which she is condemned to wear on the breast of her gown the scarlet letter "A", which stands for adultery. However, the author of

53、the paper thinks that it is natural and understandable. Hester has the freedom to pursue the true love of her deep heart and the happiness of the life. The punishment of puritan society is somehow too harsh on a woman who is led by human instinct. She doesnt love her husband and when she falls in lo

54、ve with Dimmesdale, she is tortured physically and mentally for her sin. The strictness of Puritan society accounts for Hesters sympathetic fate and Dimmesdales tragedy. 2.2 Arthur Dimmesdale Arthur Dimmesdale is a young minister, whose initials are AD, which also stands for adultery. Obviously,

55、he should take part in the punishment for Hester. He loves Hester deeply and is the father of Pearl, but he is not brave enough to admit their relationship. Only in the forest or in darkness, he can show his passion and love for Hester. So the word Dimmesdale also has symbolic meanings. Dim means da

56、rk and weak and dale means valley, so the name here is actually a symbol of the “dim-interior” of the clergyman. The scarlet letter “A” in his heart symbolizes his condemn to himself in his deep heart. Meanwhile, it is also the symbol of the mental control of the Puritanism. “If thou feel it to be f

57、or thy souls peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer” (Fan,2003:56 ) He feels that he will never been seen the same as before in front of God, and that no amount of penitence

58、 can ever return him to Gods good graces. He hates his hypocrisy to sin, but dares not tell the truth that he is the fellow-sinner of Hester. When he finally decides to expose the truth and tell his followers of how he deceives them, his fixation on his sin has utterly corroded him to the point of d

59、eath. The only good that comes out of conceding his guilt is that he passes away without any secrets. At the end of the story, the writer put the morals that press upon the readers from the poor ministers miserable experience into one sentence, “Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, i

60、f not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!” (Hu，1997: 89 ) As a man, Dimmesdale couldnt even relate to, and shouldered the obligation. He is not brave enough to admit the truth. However, his tragedy is also the result of the strict puritan society and the psychological tie o

61、f the local religion. 2.3 Roger Chillingworth Another main character Roger Chillingworth is a man of complicated nature and abnormal psychology. The words “chilling” and “worth” compose the surname Chillingworth. Chilling comes from the word “chilling” which means this man is a merciless avenger.

62、He is calm and kind in appearance, but keeps evil intentions. All his strength and energy has been used to avenge. This unhappy man has made his aim in life to add to the suffering of the young minister. When the evil old man no longer has such a purpose, the devil takes him back to the hell. He is

63、really an unforgivable criminal. According to the explanation of the Christian and the Romantic period, the unforgivable crime means to infringe on others soul and feelings in order to know about their reaction toward something. Chillingworth intends to look into the young ministers heart depending

64、on some knowledge of medical science and miracle ways in religion. He pretends to be the young minister true friend, moves close to him in order to torture and devastate Dimmesdales heart. His curiosity and intention of avenge make him become the symbol of monster and evil. Due to his abnormal psych

65、ology, he also becomes a victim in the story. This character symbolizes the great influence of the sin on people. Chillingworth married Hester, a woman with youth and beauty, deluding him with the idea that intellectual gifts might veil physical deformity in a young girls fantasy. He married Hester

66、not because he loved her but because he wanted to light a household fire in his lonely and chilly heart. He is a bookworm who spends his best time in libraries, and shows no love to his young wife. It is he that has destroyed Hesters flower like youth, and indirectly leads to Hesters tragedy. After he discovers that his wife bore another mans child, Roger gives up his independence. His life center has become punish the man who seduced his wife. For seven year