The Scarlet letter红字.doc

具体分析作品的语言风格、主题展现、所属文学流派、作者的创造风格等；（35%） Scarlet letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Literary Genre: 19th C American Romanticism –Dark Romanticism style – typical romantic writer a man of literary craftsmanship，extraordinary in 1 the use of symbol: The symbol serves as a weapon to attack reality. It can be found everywhere in his writing 2 the use of ambiguity: to keep the reader in the world of uncertainty – multiple point of view 3 revelation of characters’ psychology 4 the use of supernatural Writing Skills Allegory Ambiguity supernaturalism symbolism Symbolism: Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent things such as ideas and emotions. Hawthorne抯 Stylea an anatomist of the heart using symbols and setting to reveal the psychology of the characters soft and flowing style ambiguity Major Themes Public Guilt vs. Private Guilt Punishment vs. Forgiveness Sin and Judgment Civilization vs. Wilderness The Town vs. the Woods Sin knowledge The story of Hester and Dimmesdale is similar to that of Adam and Eve. 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. As for Dimmesdale, the “burden” of his sin gives him “sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so that his heart vibrate[s] in unison with theirs.” His eloquent and powerful sermons derive from this sense of empathy. The Nature of Evil The characters in the novel frequently debate the identity of the “Black Man,” the embodiment of evil. Over the course of the novel, the “Black Man” is associated with Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Mistress Hibbins, and little Pearl is thought by some to be the Devil’s child. It may implies that evil is an inseparable part of human being. The characte