《红字》意义英文论文.doc

Meaningful Letter A In Different PhasesSubmitted to English Departmenof Foreign Languages School of Shandong UniversityIn Partial Fulfillment of the RequirementFor the Degree of Bachelor of ArtsContentAbstract.1.摘要.1Introduction.2Chapter One Adultery.31.1 The origin of scarlet letter A.41.2 Analysis of Puritanism.41.3 Different views about letter A.4Chapter Two Alone and Alienate.51.1 Causes the aspects of loneliness in The Scarlet Letter.61.2 From adultery to alone and alienate.61.3 The loneliness of three other characters.7Chapter Three Able.81.1. From alone to able9.1.2 A brief sum of this phase10Chapter Four Admiration and Angel.111.1 Analysis of Hesters symbol.121.2.The final meaning of letter A12Conclusion.13Bibliography.14AbstractThe Scarlet Letter makes the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne known all around the world. In this literary work, red cloth A has profound and varied meaning with the development of the plot of fiction.At the beginning ,Hester Prynne ,the protagonist of this text ，commits adultery and is forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her breast .Obviously ,here A is considered as a symbol of sin of adultery,which is untolerable in a puritans opinion.Beacause what they advocate and glorify is nothing but asceticism、stressed work、thrift、piety and sobriety; After Hester getting out of prison, its primary meaning is substituted by alone and alienate;.Gradually its malicious meaning becomes more and more important,even changes to a beautiful mark embodying able in linght of Hester Prynne making a living and raising her daughter dependently by sewing and needling,moreover doing her utmost to being accepted by others using her own hands. In this phase ,letter A stands for able ;.In the end of the story,Hester Prynne gives somebody a hand at the same time she constantly makes up for her past mistake ,letter A is explained as a kind of entire new understand by almost all the townpeople that is,admiration angel.摘要红字使得美国作家纳撒尼尔霍桑，一举成名。在这部文学作品中A深刻的象征意义随着作品的发展而不断发生变化.故事刚开始时，故事的主人公海斯特白兰因犯有通奸罪被迫在胸上带上红字A.很明显在这里A是通奸罪的象征,这对于清教徒来说是不可容忍的，因为他们所宣扬和美化的是禁欲主义、劳苦工作、节俭、虔诚以及冷静持重。海斯特出狱后,红字的最初含义被孤独和疏远所取代.后来白兰靠做针线活儿维持生计全心抚养珠儿用自己的双手劳动得来了世人的认可，在这个阶段A渐渐代表能干，而它的不良含义也渐渐变淡。由于白兰在为自己过去的过错赎罪的同时还帮助了别人,在故事的最后，红字A被几乎所有的村民赋予一种全新的含义，即敬佩、和天使。KeywordsScarlet Letter A,adultery,alone,alienate ,able,angel,background，phase ，symbolIntroduction Scarlet Letter is regarded not only as Haw-thornes greatest accomplishment,but frequently as the greatest novel in American literary history.The ScarletLetter was written and published in the middle of the nineteenth century It arose wide concerns and attracted thousands of millions readers.almost immediately after its publication in 1850, and it has stayed in print and in favor ever since. With the publication of The Scarlet Letter in 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne became one of the greatest writer at that time and built his reputation as a major American author. Since that time on, people began to take great interest in all aspects of his life and a great many biographical and critical studies had been written about him and his works. He is also becoming more and more popular and familiar with Chinese readers,and scholars and readers in this country have shown an ever-increasing interest in his works. iThe Scarlet Letter has been hailed both as the first symbolic novel and as the first psychological novel(even though it was written before there was a science called psychology). but what really secures the place of the scarlet letter in the literary history is its treatment of human nature, sin, guilt, and pride-all timeless, universal themes-from a uniquely American point of view. In this novel,Nathaniel Hawthorne applys and underlines skillfully symbol,which marks a great breakthrough in writing method. .ScarletLetter A almost impenetrates the whole story and is also the most typical symbol. in this fiction in light of the plot starting with it as well as ending with it . As Scarlet Letter suggests, the book is about labeling, about the Puritan and later the American desire to eliminate ambiguity, to get the meanings right. The tale shows that even so simple a label as the first letter of the alphabet is full of burgeoning meaning,and this text attaches the importance to four phases,in which letter A expresses four kinds of entirely different meanings depending .on changing contextsChapter OneAdultery1.1 The origin of scarlet letter AThe story begins in seventeenth-century Boston, which is under Puritan command. A young woman, named Hester Prynne, is sent ahead to America by her husband-an old and ugly scholar. However, for many years, he himself doesnt 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 Hesters Pregnancy, the secret is finally discovered. The female protagonist, has borne a child out of wedlock and has been jailed for over three months and sentenced to wear a symbol of her adultery, a scarlet “A” on her dress at all times ,which is considered an evil, a shame. In a times ,Puritans dominating thte country ,what she did undoubtly is profane to the noble Calvinism,an important branch of Christianity. Thus they can only use Gods criteria to decide whether or not a person is sinful. Gods criteria are The Ten Commandments and The Seven Deadly Sins . P uritiansmain doctrines includes such as asceticism、stressed work、thrift、piety and sobriety. Apparently the birth of Hester PrynnedaughterPearl offended the rule of asceticism ,tha t is,she violates the seventh commandmentYou should not commit adultery in The Ten Commandments and the Lechery in The Seven Deadly Sins.1.2 Analysis of Puritanism“Puritanism was entirely English in its origin, yet the movement achieved its greatest influence in America. The 17th century colonies in New England represent the fullest development of the movement.” Puritanism is the practices and beliefs of the Puritans. The Puritans were originally members of a division of the Protestant Church, who came into existence in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James I. The first Puritans to arrive in America were Separatists. A new group of Separatists fled England in 1607-1609, to the north of Plymouth, in the area around Boston, other Puritans began arriving in 1628-1630. They came over under the auspices of the Massachusetts Bay Company, a corporation with rights to the area of land lying between the Charles and the Merrimack rivers. They came to America out of various reasons, but it should be remembered that they were a group of serious, religious people, advocating highly religious and moral principles. They believe that the church should be restored to complete “purity” , they accepted the doctrine of predestination, original sin and total depravity, and limited atonement through a special infusion of grace from God. Puritans lives were extremely disciplined and hard. As a culture heritage, Puritanism did have a profound influence on the early American mind. American Puritanism also had a enduring influence on American literature. It had become, to some extent, so much a state of mind, so much a part of the national cultural atmosphere, rather than a set of tenets. “Puritans includes people from the humblest to the loftiest ranks of English society, educated and uneducated, poor and rich” “The Puritans were indebted to John Calvin and the example of the Calvinist tradition. Another source of Puritanism was the Bible, considered the sole authority in matters of faith” It has the following thoughts: “The Puritans demand greater purity and stricter obedience to the will of God, Englishmen in the 16th called such person: “Puritans”, a name derived from the Latin word for pure, and intended as a criticism of the reformers for being too extreme in their demands.” “Puritan opposition to pleasure and the arts has sometimes been exaggerated.” It is no doubt that what Hester does is in defiance of the noble code which puritans give high praise on 1.3 Different views about letter AFour main characters Heser、Dimmesdale、Chillingworth and Pearl boast different personalities and features. The scarlet A and the understanding of original sin has different personal meaning to various characters.Sin and knowledge are linked in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Bible begins with the story of Adam and Eve, who were expelled from the Garden of Eden for eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. As a result of their knowledge, Adam and Eve are made aware of their disobedience, that which separates them from the divine and from other creatures. Once expelled from the Garden of Eden, they are forced to toil and to procreate two “labors” that seem to define the human condition. The experience of Hester and Dimmesdale recalls the story of Adam and Eve because, in both cases, sin results in expulsion and suffering. But it also results in knowledge specifically, in knowledge of what it means to be human.; For Hester, the scarlet letter functions as “her passport into regions where other women dared not tread,” leading her to “speculate” about her society and herself more “boldly” than anyone else in New England ;With regard to Pearl, the distinct evidence of Hesters adultery guilty.,. is the embodiment of the scarlet letter.She and Hester rightly clothes her in a beautiful dress of scarlet, embroidered with gold thread, just like the scarlet letter upon Hesters bosom. Pearlprimary function within the novel is as a symbol i.e sin. she is a naughty and almost unearthly little girl,so to her leter A is A bright ad mysterious of curiosity; As for Chillingworth,he is certainly a kind of devil who is gradually destoring himself in his lust for revenge,so to him letter A is a spur to the quest for revenge; To Dimmesdale, the “cheating minister” of his sin gives him “sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so that his heart vibrates in unison with theirs.” His eloquent and powerful sermons derive from this sense of empathy. he appears to begin in purity. He ends in corruption. The subtlety is that the minister is his own deceiver, convincing himself at every stage of his spiritual pilgrimage that he is saved,from the view of flat character,he can be described asa man who is torn by a guilty conscience but without the strength to announce his guilty,; so in his opinion letter A is a sharp reminder of his own guilty; .;As for Hester she is a strong woman of independent mind who is brave、even defiantly,accepting the punishment,so Hester,letter A is a mark of just punishment.Chpter Two Alone and Alienate1.1 Causes the aspects of loneliness in The Scarlet Letter A Hawthornes Loneliness in His Personal Life Hawthornes father, who is a well known ship captain died at sea and left his wife. Then his wife at the age of twenty-eight, with children aged 6 and 4 and an infant of a few month. She withdrew entirely from society, and permitted the habit of solitude to grow up to such a degree that she actually remitted a strict hermit to the end of long life. Hawthorne himself though that such an unhealthy and separated family atmosphere provided a morbid consciousness that paralyzed his powers. When Hawthorne after leaving the Bowdon College, he returned to his uncles old house in Salem. He devoted himself to reading and writing with less contact with the family members as well as outside world. One of his close friends Jonathan Cilley wrote: I love Hawthorne. I admire him, but I do not know him. He lives in a mysterious world of though and imagination while he never permits me to enter (Rubinstein, 1988:82). From his family and his friends provided clues to Hawthornes life were feelings of gloom and alienation. B. Social and Cultural Backdrops of the novel The story in The Scarlet Letter was happened in Boston in the 1600s. At that time, the puritans were prosecuted in England because they refused to abide by the rules of the Church of England, and then they left their home and came to American as permanent settlers. They were forced to settle in a new land far from homeland. The Pilgrim Fathers suffered terrible hardships during the first winter and half of them died. In order to survive, they had to fight against the natural disasters and endure loneliness in the new world. 1.2 From adultery to alone and alienateAs a result of her impurity ,Hester lived in the seclusion on the outskirts of the town getting out of the prison, in all her intercourse with society, there was nothing that made she feel as if she belonged to it. Every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came in contact, 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. Hester sometimes burst into passionate tears, since she has heart-smitten at the bewildering and confusing spell that so often came between Hester and her beloved daughter. Little Pearl was all her world, but there existed mental distance between the mother and her daughter. sometimes, once in many days, or perchance in many months, she felt an eye-a human eye-upon the ignominious brand that seemed to give a momentary relief, as if half of her agony were shared. The daydreaming indicated that Hester had hoped that her lover could to comfort her and therefore she would be relieved from the state of loneliness for the time being.We can find out some clues indicating Hester s loneness from the story .Whenever Hester appeared, there was wide space separating her from other citizens. As was usually the case wherever Hester stood, a small vacant area-a sort of magic-had formed itself about her, into which though the people were elbowing one another at a little distance, one ventured, of felt disposed to intrude(Nathaniel, Hawthorne.1996:198). The fact that Hester stood in a circle and others kept apart was a typical symbol of Hesters solitude. Sunshine always symbolizes love and warmth whereas darkness is an emblem of alienation and loneliness in literary works. In the governors hall, the shadow of the curtain fell on Hester Prynne, and partially concealed her (Nathaniel, Hawthorne.1996: 66). In the forest, pearl accompanied her mother and jumped in the sunshine. Curiously, the sunshine seemed to shun Hester. When she attempted to gap some of the sunshines, it vanished. Here the striking contrasts between pearl who happily romped in the sunshine and Hester upon whom the shadow fell also implied Hesters loneliness.Hester ha s no friends in the world,and little Pearl is her only companion in her lonely life 1.3 The loneliness of three other charactersA.Chillingworths Lonely Revenge-Seeker Roger Chillingworth was an abandoned husband by his wife. He was an old and lonely scholar in England dehumanized by a life abstruse studying. His twisted, stooped, deformed shoulders mirror his distorted soul. He ignored his wife for most of the time.In view of the striking different between Chillingworth and Hester, their union can be regarded as unnatural relationships of age and youth, deformity and youth, and a studious mind and a passionate nature. When Hester came to Boston alone and she fell in love with Arthur Dimmesdale, which resulted in adultery. When Chillingworth knew the facts，He became a lonely revenge-seeker. He appeared as calm, gentle, passionless. There was yet, we fear, a quiet depth of malice, hitherto latent, but active now, in his unfortunate old man, which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever reeked upon an enemy. All that guilty sorrow, hidden from the world, whose great heart would have pitied and forgiven, to be revealed to him, the pitiless, to him, the unforgiving! All that dark treasure to be lavished on the very man, to whom nothing else could so adequately pay the debt of vengeance. To be a revenge-seeker, forlorn creature that he was, and more wretched than his victim. Roger Chillingworth will lonely in his whole life. B. Dimmesdales Lonely Beggar for Gods Grace Dimmesdale was a hypocritical minister isolating himself from the community and his lover. He fell in love with Hester, he was the adulterer, but he did not admit when Hester had been in quested. Dimmesdale was guilty of two sins. One was the commission of adultery with Hester, and the other was his cowardly and hypocritical failure to confess. Unlike Hester who openly exposed her sin, Dimmesdale lived with a buried sin of his own, which was the source of his endless agony. In private, Arthur Dimmesdale tried to avoid a truly intimate relationship with his flock so that the community could not enter his world. He seemed to be at a loss in the pathway of human existence, and could be only at ease in some seclusion of his own. Dimmesdale was a young clergyman and he should be wholly devoted to god and followed all the strict puritan rules. In a moment of weakness, Dimmesdale and Hester became lovers, and a baby pearl resulted from their union as the product of the sin of adultery. Hester had made her sin publicly known, whereas Dimmesdale attempted to hide the sham