红字英文介绍The-Scarlet-Letter.ppt

1、红字,the scarlet letter,Nathaniel Hawthorne 纳撒尼尔霍桑 (1804-1864),An American novelist and short story writer in the 19th century. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, dark romanticism（黑色浪漫主义).,Many of his works featuring moral allegories (寓言）with a Purit

2、an inspiration. A man of literary craftsmanship, extraordinary in the use of symbol: symbols serve as a weapon to attack reality. It can be found everywhere in his writing. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity. His works often have moral messages and deep psychological co

3、mplexity.,Important Work,Novels: Fanshawe (1825，范肖） The Scarlet Letter(1850,红字） House of the Seven Gables (1851,七个尖角阁的房子) The Blithedale Romance (1852,福谷传奇) The Marble Faun (1857,玉石雕像) Short stories: Twice-Told Tales （1837，故事重述） Mosses From an Old Manse (1846,古屋青苔),Background,17th Century Boston, Ma

4、ssachusetts, New England colony Puritan 清教徒:Puritans believed God and Satan were present in everyones soul. They were constantly fighting against each other. They believed that the relationship of an individual to the community was an important concern. Antinomian 唯信仰论者：主张基督徒可以废弃道德，依靠信仰来拯救灵魂。 Quaker

5、 教友派：靠内心意识指引的教派 Witch 巫女,The Scarlet Letter: Background,The setting of The Scarlet Letter is Boston in the 1640s.Persecuted in England, the Puritans came to North America to form their own communities. Life in the Colonies was harsh, but it gave the Puritans the opportunity to form a society based o

6、n their religious ideals. Puritans sought the freedom to live by their beliefs. However, the Puritan leaders did not tolerate religious beliefs that differed from their own.,Introduction,The Scarlet Letter told a story of a puritan woman Hester Prynne who was punished to wear a scarlet A which stood

7、 for the crime of adultery. The pretty young lady tried to settle down in Boston with her old and ugly husband Chillinggworth, a scholar. But the latter did not appear for years. During this time, Hester committed adultery with a local Minster Dimmesdale, and gave birth to a girl Pearl. Facing the t

8、errible punishment, Hester refused to give her lovers name away to protect him. Years later, the husband Chillinggworth came to the town and found out the whole truth, and he operated an horror revenge on Dimmesdale, with hiding his own true name. Yet, as the story going, Hester and Dimmesdale becam

9、e sympathetic figures, while Chillinggworth was a devil at last. Just because of the ending, The Scarlet Letter was defined as nothing but a coarse and vulgar book with ideas that would pervert the minds of readers, when it was published at first. However people realized that it was a thoughtful boo

10、k with great value and worthy to study again and again.,The achievements of the novel, The Analysis of Various Subjects On the thinking side, the topics of those achievements varied as widely as from feminism to nineteenth-century male identities, from Puritanism to Race and Slavery, from Transcende

11、ntalism to Policy. For instance, from the point of religion, Feng Guoling said the religious ethics stopped the author from uniting the lovers with wedlock, The Study of Writing Skills It is the first point that he was good at putting symbols into full play. The second one is the phantasmagoria that

12、 was imbedded into his novel. The Use of Intertextual Reading This mode covers two parts that intertextual reading of different literary works as well as of literary works and history.,In contrast, the studies of Hawthorne in America, put focus on the concept of romance with drawing on the achieveme

13、nts of science community, like electric theory. There are so many great achievements concerning all kinds of ideas, however, when readers think of Hawthornes attitude to religion, they are limited to the idea that Hawthorne was in a dilemma: either betray his religion or depress the nature. But in f

14、act Hawthorne found the balance between them in The Scarlet Letter when he treated religion as a tool of regulation function rather than pure belief. 相比之下，中国的研究主要是文学研究，而美国则关注于作品中的科学原理。 虽然研究众多，但是读者在思考霍桑的宗教态度时候总是认为霍桑处于两难境地，是背叛信仰还是抑制人性。但是在红字中，霍桑其实已经找到了两者之间的平衡点他把宗教当成是一种具有调节社区的工具而不是纯粹的信仰,Major characters

15、 in The Scarlet Letter,Hester Prynne,Arthur Dimmesdale,Roger Chillingworth,daughter,lover,husband,heroine,Pearl,Characters in the the scarlet letter,Hester Prynne Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable, woman. She speculates on human nature, social organization, and larger moral questions. H

16、esters tribulations also lead her to be stoic and a freethinker. She cares for the poor and brings them food and clothing.,Arthur Dimmesdale Dimmesdale was a scholar. The fact that Hester takes all of the blame for their shared sin goads his conscience, and his resultant mental anguish and physical

17、weakness open up his mind and allow him to empathize with others. The personal guilt drives Dimmesdale to further internalize his guilt and self-punishment and leads to still more deterioration in his physical and spiritual condition.,Characters in the the scarlet letter,Roger Chillingworth Roger Ch

18、illingworth is a man deficient in human warmth. His twisted, stooped, deformed shoulders mirror his distorted soul. He is interested in revenge, not justice, and he seeks the deliberate destruction of others rather than a redress of wrongs. His desire to hurt others stands in contrast to Hester and

19、Dimmesdales sin.,Pearl Pearl，Hesters daughter，makes us constantly aware of her mothers scarlet letter and of the society that produced it. Pearls innocent, or perhaps intuitive, comments about the letter raise crucial questions about its meaning.,Symbolism in the Novel,Nathaniel Hawthorne is a maste

20、r of symbolism The Scarlet Letter : the first symbolic novel to be written in the United States.,The Symbolic Meaning of the Four Major Characters,Hester - beauty “The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, ” - strong will and endurance “I will not speak. It is too deeply branded.

21、Ye cannot take it off. And would that I might endure his agony,as well as mine!” - kindness,Arthur Dimmesdale - Arthur Dimmesdale AD Adultery - weak and coward Roger Chillingworth - “chill” cool - heartless and merciless - his misshapen body reflects or symbolizes the evil in his soul, which builds

22、as the novel progresses.,The Symbolic Meaning of the Four Major Characters,Symbols of The Letter “A”,“A” firstly stands for the crime Adultery. To the puritans it is a symbol of just punishment. to Hester, a device of unjust humiliation. to Dimmesdale, a piercing reminder of his guilt. to Chillingwo

23、rth, a spur to the quest of revenge to Pearl, a bright and mysterious curiosity “A” varies its meaning as the development of the story, Adultery - Alone and Alienation-Able-Angel and Award.,Symbols of the Names,Hester Prynne Hestia The Virgin Goddess in Greek mythology, symbol of beauty and virtue,

24、showing the authors praise to Hesters beauty and saint, Goddess-like beauty.,Hastier her marriage to Chillingworth is hasty. her love with Dimmesdale is hasty. her joy with Dimmesdale the priest is hasty.,Hester Prynne Prurient (desire for physical love), which is considered as the root of sin and c

25、rime. Prune (purify or get rid of), which foreshadows Hesters self-save from the sin or crime. Pry (probe into), probe into the human nature (sin),Arthur Dimmesdale The initials AD are the beginning of “Adultery”; “Dim” means lack of light; “dale” means valley It symbolizes the ministers dim interio

26、r world of his love and the shadow of sin and guilt of his mind.,Roger Chillingworth Jolly Roger Pirates nature is to explore treasures and revenge. Chillingworths act to his wife and to Dimmesdale.,Roger Chillingworth “Chilling” means chilly. He is a man deficient in human warmth. He is a cruel and cold-blooded man.,Pearl Prynne Trea