浅析红字中象征主义手法的运用AnalysisofSymbolisminTheScarletLetter

1、浅析红字中象征主义手法的运用Analysis of Symbolism inThe Scarlet Letter1 Aim and Sign ifica neeNathaniel Hawthorne is a great romantic novelist in America in the nineteenth cen tury He is deeply in flue need by Purita nism con scious ness Tran sce nden tal philosophy and mysticism As a result in stead of giving th

2、e objective descripti on of the world he always gives a symbolic meaning to an objective thi ng to express his true un dersta nding of the world trying his best to discover the hidde n meaning through the symbols Therefore if we want to deeply understand Hawthornes writing style it is essential for

3、us to make a thorough research on the symbols and symbolism in his works The Scarlet Letter is Hawthor nes masterpiece which makes him well known around the world and it is also one of the most remarkable works in American literature This novel with an everlasting glamour mainly lies in Hawthornes s

4、killful handling of symbolism From the title to the arrangement of the plot then to the descripti on of the characters and objects the author uses only a few words to express rich meanings which leaves us much room for imagi nati on The author of the paper develops a deep interest in The Scarlet Let

5、ter after having finished reading this novel What strikes the author most is the scarlet letter A It runs through the whole no vel and manifests in various forms at different time places and scenes Furthermore the meaning of the scarlet letter A becomes richer and more complicated as the plot furthe

6、r develops2 Mai n Methods and Ways of StudiesThe research into the symbolism in The Scarlet Letter can make readers deeply un dersta nd Hawthor nes writi ng style First by way of explori ng the various symbolic meanings of the scarlet letter A to differe nt characters and the cha nging symbolic mean

7、ings of the scarlet letter A at differe nt time places and sce nes the thesis can help readers have a better un dersta nding of the rich mea nings of the letter A in the no vel and the process of moral growth of the mai n characters Sec ond the research into the symbolic meanings of the characters n

8、 ames various objects in the no vel and the symbolic meanings of Pearl can make readers deeply un dersta nd Hawthor nes unique artistic writing characteristics the profound social significance revealed by the novel and the authors writing aimsAbstractNatha niel Hawthor ne is a great roma ntic no vel

9、ist in America in the 19th cen tury As a great romantic novelist Hawthorne is outstanding in handling application of symbolismThe Scarlet Letter is Hawthornes most important symbolic novel which is the best work of Hawthorne and one of the indubitable masterpieces of American Literature And it is th

10、is no vel that makes Natha niel Hawthor ne known all around the world In this work Hawthor ne uses the symbolism so skillfully that it enhan ces the artistic effects of his work greatly In The Scarlet Letter symbolism runs through the whole novel The most important symbol is the scarlet letter itsel

11、f Not only does A man ifest in various forms but also it has cha nging meanings from adultery to able eve n an gelic in the no vel Besides the n ame of the four major characters in the no vel Hester Prynne Arthur Dimmesdale Roger Chillingworth and Pearl also have their own symbolic meanings Some oth

12、er 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 the thesis will explore the usage of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter from the three aspects mentioned above and anal

13、yze Hawthor nes skillful use of symbolism in The Scarlet LetterKey Words the scarlet lettersymbolismHester Prynn ePearl纳撒尼尔霍桑是十九世纪美国伟大的浪漫主义小说家作为一位伟大的浪漫主义小说家霍桑对象征主义手法的运用可以说是独具匠心长篇小说红字是霍桑重要的象征主义代表作品无疑也是美国文学浪漫主义时期最著名的作品之一也正是这部巨著使得霍桑誉满全球在这部作品中作者 巧妙运用了象征主义手法加强了作品的艺术效果整篇作品象征主义手法贯穿始 终其中最重要的要数红字 A本身的象征意义它不仅

14、以各种各样的形式出现并且 其象征意义不断变化从通奸到有能力的甚至天使般的此外小说中四个主要角色海丝特丁梅斯代尔齐灵沃斯珠儿也都有其各自的象征意义小说中描述的景物和 场景例如监狱森林玫瑰花园等等也都寓意深刻本文正是从以上这几个方面着手 探究作者在小说红字中对象征主义手法的巧妙运用关键词红字象征海丝特普琳珍珠Ackno wledgeme ntsThis thesis is the product of the author and the supervisors three mon ths of efforts It has bee n repeatedly revised un der the

15、guida nee of Professor XXX It was the joint efforts of both the author and the teachers in Foreig n Lan guages Departme nt I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Professor XXX and the teacherswho have helped the author in the process of the thesis writi ng I will also give my tha nks to my c

16、lassmates and friends who have helped me revise the thesis Last but not least I will give my heartfelt thanks to my parents who have been always supporting and encouraging meCon te ntsIn troduct ion 11 Various Symbolic Meanings of the Scarlet Letter A 311 The Cha nge of the Symbolic Mea nin gs of th

17、e Scarlet Letter A 3111 Adultery 3112 Alo ne and Alie nation4113 Able Admirable and Angel 512 The Scarlet Letter and the Strict ness of Purita n Society 52 The Symbolic Meaning of the Four Main Characters 621 Hester Prynne 622 Arthur Dimmesdale 723 Roger Chillingworth 824 Pearl 93 The Symbolic Mea n

18、ings of the Objects in the Novel 12Con clusi on 15Bibliography 16In troduct ionNatha niel Hawthor ne was born in Salem in 1804 He was born in a prestigious New England family closely related with Puritan church his ancestorsattended the persecuti on of people bel onging to differe nt churches such a

19、s Quakers Whe n he was born his family decli ned He was aware of his an cestors misdeeds and thus black ness 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 huma n n ature He wrote

20、 lots of works on everlasti ng evil side in huma n n atureHawthor ne graduated from Bowdo in College Henry Wadsworth Lon gfellow and Franklin Pierce the 14th American presidents were his classmates After graduation he lived in seclusi on and wrote Later he worked in the US Custom House After Pierce

21、became preside nt he was asked to be the con sular in Liverpool and ItalyHawthor nes masterpiece in cludes his short story collecti ons Twice-Told Tales Moses from an Old Manse and no vels The Scarlet Letter The House of Seve n Gables The Blithedale Roma nee The Marble FaunHawthor nes writi ng skill

22、s can be summarized as follows Hawthor ne seems to be in flue need a lot by the sin and evil in his sense He believes evil exists in huma n heart all the time For example in the no vel The Scarlet Letter the mi nister Dimmesdale tries to prete nd how pure and pious he is He wants to cover up the evi

23、l in his mind Not only Dimmesdale wants to do like this but also all the people in the world because we are only huma n beings And the evil just likes a mark that exists in our mi nd whe n we are born And in Hawthor nes mind people who commit a crime must be puni shed because people can get experie

24、nee from this way And also he supports people to tell the truth and not to offend Nathaniel Hawthorne is a great romantic novelist in America in the 19th cen tury and is con sidered to be the first greatest America n fictio n writer in the moralistic traditi on Hawthor ne is outsta nding in literatu

25、re skill especially in han dli ng symbolism His work-The Scarlet Letter is no table for its symbolism and is regarded as the first symbolic novel in American literatureThe story begins in seventeenth-century Boston which is under Puritan command The husband-an old and ugly scholar sends a young woma

26、 n n amed Hester Prynne ahead to America However for many years he himself does nt 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 Beca

27、use of Hesters Preg nancy the secret is fin ally discovered Hester and Dimmesdale love each other But their love is forbidde n in that strict society It is sinful Due to this fact Hester is puni shed by society with a letter A on her chest which is considered to be an evil a shameHester is brave eno

28、 ugh to face the cruel society She is always with a mind of courage She has been alone with her child for so long a time with little com muni cati on Hester has to wear the letter A day by day seve n years as for punishment and ill fame However Hester is a kind-hearted woman and is always ready to h

29、elp other people in the community 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 AbleBut Arthur Dimmesdale his sin against Hester and Pearl is that he will not a

30、ck no wledge them as his wife and daughter in the daylight He is too weak to admit his sins He suffers from mysterious heart trouble seem in gly caused by psychological distress Whats worse he is an advisor to the townspeople about their sinsAfter Mr Dimmesdales death no one changesmore in appearanc

31、ethan Roger Chillingworth All his strength and energy has been used to harm his patient This un happy man has made his aim in life to add to the sufferi ng of the young mini ster When the evil old man no longer has such a purpose the devil takes him back to the hellThe Scarlet Letter is a cultural a

32、llegory in which the author indirectly tells the future of Puritanism The Scarlet Letter is a sample in which American Roma nticism adapted itself to America n Purita nism The theme of the story shouldI Various Symbolic Meanings of the Scarlet Letter AII The Cha nge of the Symbolic Mea nin gs of the

33、 Scarlet Letter AIn 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 beg inning the letter A is regarded as a kind of sin or evil The n with the developme nt of the s

34、tory it becomes a symbol of alone and alie nati on of the female character Hester Finally it becomes a symbol of able admirable and angelIII AdulteryIn the no vel the letter A worn on Hesters bosom is a symbol of her adultery aga inst Roger Chilli ngworth Putt ing the letter A on her bosom and letti

35、 ng her show to the public is the puritan way of treating her as a criminal for the crime of adultery Hester is looked dow n upon as if she is some sort of dem on from hell that commits a terrible crime This letter is meant to be worn in shame and to make Hester feel unwan ted This is the com mon wa

36、y to expla in the symbolic meaning of the letter The color of scarlet is the symbol of blood and desire Hester and Dimmesdale cannot con trol their love for each other and become the crimi nals of God A woma n loses her purity and a holy minister is punished for bringing shame to his holy occupation

37、 Red should be regarded as the symbol of love and life but un der the con trol of the Purita n strictness Hester has to wear the scarlet letter A in order to be regarded as a symbol of shame and punishmentHere she said to herself had bee n the sce ne of her guilt and here should be the scene of her

38、earthly punishment Brown2002 Hester is ashamed of her sin but she choosesto face the reality rather than escapefrom it Many people may choose the way of leav ing for some other places where no body knows of her sin However Hester is brave enough to continue to live her life which shows great strengt

39、h and integrity of her112 Alo ne and Alie nationThe scarlet letter A also symbolizes Hesters Ion ely life in New En gla nd Hesters social life is virtually eliminated as a result of her shameful past She has to live in such a community regardless of others ironical words and with great courage and a

40、bility It had been built by an earlier settler and abandoned because the soil about it was too sterile for cultivatio n while its comparative remote ness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already marked the habits of the emigra nts Hester comes to have a part to perform in the w

41、orld with her n ative en ergy of character and rare capacity Chase 1957 However there was nothing that made her feel as if she bel on ged to it Every gesture every word and eve n the sile nee of those with whom she came to contact implied and often expressed that she was banished and as much alone a

42、s if she in habited ano ther sphere or com muni cated with the com mon n ature by other orga ns and sen ses tha n the rest of huma n kind She stood apart from moral in terests seemed to be the sole portion that she retained in the universal heart Hester has no friends in the world and little Pearl i

43、s the only compa nion of her Ion ely life In other peoples eyes Hester is a crim inal and most of them regard com muni cat ing with her as a shameful thi ng Therefore the scarlet letter A is also a symbol of alone and alie nati on113 Able Admirable and An gelThe letter was the symbol of her calling

44、Such helpfulness is found in her so much power to do and power to sympathize - that many people refuses to in terpret the scarlet letter A by its orig inal sig nificati on Rubi nstei n 1988 We can see that the meaning of the scarlet letter A changes from adultery to being able angel and admirable At

45、 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 n eedlework and she always help the poor and sick without expecting any return or thanks She is un selfish and always ready to help others con siderately and p

46、atie ntly People in the town the n realize her no ble n ature and cha nge the view on her Do you see that woma n with the embroidered badge It is our Hester -the tow ns own Hester -who is so kind to the poor so helpful to the sick so comforti ng to the afflicted Hawthor ne 1994 The people in the tow

47、 n soon beg in to regard the letter A as a badge served to ward off the evil This is a kind woma n who should not shoulder the shame and be looked dow n upon by others Hester is an an gel sent by God to the people in the tow n And she should win the respect and sympathy of others in stead of being p

48、uni shed by hav ing to show her crime to the public by weari ng the scarlet letter People and the author of the novel really admire her pure nature and abilityThe three changes in the scarlet letter are significant they show the progressive prese ntati on of her sin her Ion ely life and her ability

49、Hester is an admirable woma n who experiences more emotional torture than most people go through in a lifetime12 The Scarlet Letter and the Strict ness of Purita n SocietyThe Scarlet Letter by Natha niel Hawthor ne uses the scarlet letters to symbolize he harsh ness of Purita n society show ing how

50、they bran ded 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 Purita n society will always remember the sin When strangers looked curiously at the scarlet letter-

51、and none failed to do so they branded it afresh into Hesters soul Hawthorne 1994 A letter A but freshly green instead of scarlet was created by her showing how Hawthor ne made a jest at the puni shme nt Purita ns put upon Hester And the scarlet letter was also a toy to Pearl somethi ng that she enjo

52、yed Hawthor ne uses the scarlet letter to depict his feelings of the exaggerated emotions of the puritans and their dramatic puni shme nts The author of the paper thi nks that the symbolism in this no vel is used quite skillfully The tech nique Hawthor ne uses makes his no vel more artistic2 The Sym

53、bolic Meaning of the Four Main Characters21 Hester PrynneHester Prynne is one of the most important characters in The Scarlet Letter Hester is the symbol of love beauty kindness and truth She was described by Hawthor ne like this The young woma n was tall a figure of perfect elega nee on a large sca

54、le 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 rich ness of complexi on had the impressive nessbel onging to a marked brow and deep black eyes Harold 1990104 It is true that Hester is bea

55、utiful and attractive in appearanee But the most precious part of the character lies not only in her kindn ess toward other people but also in her great courage of facing her love Her love for the minister Dimmesdale is pure and true This is the reas on that she refuses to speak out the n ame of her

56、 part ner in sin but takes over all the puni shme nt by herself In stead of running from the hostile colo ni sts Hester withsta nds peoples in sole nee and pursues a no rmal life She proves her worth with her uncommon sewing skills and provides community service Hesters sin gives her sympathetic kno

57、 wledge of the sin in other hearts Eve n though the people she tries to help often reviled the hand that was stretched forth to succor them Xia199634She continues her services because she actually cares Atlast the colonists come to think of the scarlet letter as the cross on a nuns bosom which is no

58、t small accomplishmentHester is the homoph one of the word haste At first she gets married to Roger Prynne an ugly man who gives his best years to feed the hungry dream of kno wledge Not hav ing got the n ews about her husba nd who should have arrived by ship from England she falls love with Arthur

59、hastily and gives birth to Pearl for which she is condemned to wear on the breast of her gow n the scarlet letter A which sta nds for adultery However the author of the paper thi nks that it is n atural and un dersta ndable Hester has the freedom to pursue the true love of her deep heart and the happ in ess of the life The puni shme nt of purita n society is somehow too harsh on a woma n who is led by human instinct She doesnt love her husband and when she falls i