学年论文 红字 英语

英文版红字

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红字：我所理解的象征主义 专 业 题 目

2010 年 6 月

英文版红字

Symbolism and the Scarlet Letter: As I See It

Thesis statement

The Scarlet Letter, referred asNathaniel Hawthorne’s most successful masterpiece and the first American symbolic novel, employees many symbolic writing skills through the novel .Characters , settings ,colors ,A ,all have the profound meanings .I think the author gives us much more freedom to obtain our own understanding .

Outline

1. Introduction

2. Symbolism:

2.1. Changing meanings of the A

2.1.1 Sin

2.1.2 Alone and Alienate

2.1.3 Able and Admirable

2.2. The rest of the symbolism is showed through the setting and objects

2.2.1 Gray

2.2.2 Positive symbol

3. Conclusion

英文版红字

1. Introduction

In Hawthorne's novel, Hester Prynne is married but her husband, Roger Chillingworth, is absent. Hester engages in an affair and has a child to Arthur Dimmesdale, a local preacher. She doesn’t reveal her lover’s identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy.Though she has sinned, Hester struggles to live a life of repentance and dignity with her daughter, Pearl .Just when Hester was punished on the public scaffold, an elderly onlooker, her missing husband, appears, who swears to intent on revenge. He disguises himself as a doctor and approaches the preacher .Torturing Dimmesdale’s mental from time to time, he makes him waste away and suffers from mysterious heart trouble. Finally Dimmesdale is defeated completely. At one night, leaving the church after his sermon sees Hester and Pearl standing before the town scaffold. He impulsively mounts the scaffold with his lover and his daughter, and confesses publicly. He falls dead, as Pearl kisses him. Frustrated in his revenge, Chillingworth dies a year later. Hester lives alone in her old cottage and resume her charitable work.

2. Symbolism

2.1 Different meanings of the scarlet letter A:

The most obvious symbol in the novel is the actual scarlet "A". There are many different forms throughout the novel. This change is significant. It shows growth in the characters. The letter "A" begins as a symbol of sin. It then becomes a symbol of alone and alienation, and finally it becomes a symbol of able and admirable.

2.1.1 Sin

The letter "A", worn on Hester's bosom, is a symbol of her adultery against Roger Chillingworth. This is the puritan way of treating her as a criminal. As Hester walks through the streets, she will be 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 Hester feel unwanted. Though she is ashamed, and fully admits it because, she also receives her greatest treasure, Pearl, out of it. She doesn’t regret all

英文版红字

that have happened; by contrast, still loves the preacher and struggles to live. She is a very strong woman to be able to hold up so well against what she must face.

2.1.2 Alone and Alienation

The scarlet letter "A" also stands for Hester's lonely life in New England. After she is released, Hester lives in a cottage near the outskirts of the city. 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 habits of the emigrants. Only when needing exchange needlework for money to live or help those in need, does Hester go outside her cottage. Hester has no friends in the world, let alone a companion except her little Pearl .On the whole, she leads a lonely life. What causes this situation is the scarlet letter A .It seems to own a sort of evil power, keeping others stay away from Hester and Pearl. That’s why I call A a symbol of the words "alone" and "alienate".

2.1.3 Able and Admirable

Later, the scarlet letter "A" changes its meaning into being able, angel and admirable. The townspeople who condemned her now believe the scarlet letter to stand for her ability to her beautiful needlework and for her unselfish assistance to the poor and sick. "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 ."Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge? It is our Hester – the town's own Hester – who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comforting to the afflicted!" At the same moment, Hester overcomes the shame of her sin through the purity and goodness of her soul. Such an affair must be done by somebody like Hester who is very brave. She is worthy of admiring.

2.2. The rest of the symbolism is showed through the setting and objects

2.2.1 .Gray

英文版红字

The setting influences the overall mood of the book. That’s to say, the entire atmosphere is gray. At the beginning of the novel, Hawthorne uses the prison building to describe crime and punishment in contrast with the tombstone at the end of the novel. On the one hand, it is a symbol for the Puritanical severity of law. The description of the prison indicates that it is old, rusted, yet strong with an "iron-clamped oaken door." And the world is cold .On the other hand; this represents the rigorous enforcement of laws and regulations and the inability to break free of them. The prison also serves as the symbol of the authority of the regime.

Darkness usually always represents a world of evil, whiles the brightness of the day, is the symbol of exposure, where everything is seen. Hester tries to stretch her hand into the circle of light, but the sunshine vanishes. She then suggests that they go into the forest and have rest. This short scene actually represents Hester's daily struggle in life. The light represents what Hester wants to be, which is pure. The movement of the light represents Hester's constant denial of acceptance. Hester's lack of surprise and quick suggestion to go into the forest, where is dark, shows that she never expected to be admitted and is resigned to her station in life. But we know later in the life she becomes brave and tough-minded.

2.2.2 One positive symbolism

One positive symbol is the rosebush outside the prison. I feel it represents a sweet person hidden in the encasements of a dark prison, a true diamond in the rough, just as Hester is being prisioned. What’s more, it indicates a hope and an attitude to life. The rose, experiencing numerous hard days, is beautiful but grows beside the old prison. Few townspeople appreciate them .it’s an image of Hester’s life. Even if she sinned, only if, she is tough-minded, Hester can obtain a nice tomorrow.

3. Conclusion

Symbolism is a traditional artistic form, then helps to relate a situation to a position the reader knows about .As a famous writer, Hawthorne is skillful at the using of symbolism in his works. The various usage of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter makes the novel a profound work of the world.

英文版红字

Works Cited

Cooper, Michael. 2005.

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/wiki/The_Scarlet_Letter April 09.2008

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姚乃强 《红字》. 霍桑 . 译林出版社 .1989

侍衍 杨万 侯巩 .《红字 福谷传奇》.上海译文出版社 .1996

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