Symbolism in Scarlet Letter

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The Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter Abstract Nathaniel Hawthorne’s unique gift was for the creation of strongly symbolic stories which touch the deepest roots of man’s moral nature. The finest example is the recreation of The Scarlet Letter. It is a representative one of his ideal and artistic style and is regarded as the first American symbolic fiction and is one of the few books that is remarkable, because it deals with alienation, sin, punishment, and guilt, or the emotions that will continue to be felt by every generation. The scarlet letter “A”, which covers through the whole novel, was given a variety of symbolic meanings. He expressed his feelings, emotions, will and concept through the scarlet letter” A”, some natural scenery, and some of the major characters. The use of symbolism gives romantic thoughts and great subjective ideals to readers. This paper researches the symbolism in the novel from the following aspects: the changing symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter “A”, the colors, prison, the forest, the names of the major characters described in the novel to make the symbolism clear to the reader. Key words: The Scarlet Letter, symbolism, sin 摘要 霍桑创作象征主义小说的独特天赋触及人类的道德的最深根源,其代表作是《红字》。 它也是最能代表其思想和艺术风格的杰出作品,被视为美国第一部象征主义小说。它是少数卓有建树的作品之一,因为它涉及疏远,罪恶,惩罚及内疚,或是那种使一代一代人们所感受的感情。在《红字》中那个牵动着读者内心的鲜红字母“A”贯穿全篇,并被作家赋予了丰富的象征涵义。霍桑通过鲜红的字母“A”,通过大自然中的一些景象,表达出了自己的某些感觉、情思、意志和观念,使作品充满了丰富的浪漫主义想象和强烈的主观色彩。本文主要从以下几方面研究《红字》中的象征主义: 红色字母A、颜色、监狱、森林的象征意义在文中做出阐述。 关键词: 红字 象征意义 罪恶 Ⅰ Introduction Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered to be the first greatest American fiction writer and his greatest symbolic contribution is The Scarlet Letter, which is regarded as the first symbolic novel in the American literature. In the novel, each word, image, and event works toward a single effect. It is a complex story of guilt and sin. Hawthorne tries every bit
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