6.Nathaniel_Hawthorne.pptVIP

The Scarlet Letter You will not know it yet. But even this early, Hawthorne has marked the thematic boundaries of his novel: law and nature repression and freedom The Scarlet Letter is peopled with characters who are meant to be the embodiments of moral traits, rather than realistic, living figures. The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter Questions: What differences between the novel and the movie adapted from the novel? The beginning of the story: The novel: begins with Hester is brought onto the scaffold for her adultery in front of the prison. The movie: begins with Hester’s husband on the passage to Boston is captured by the Indians. The symbolic objects: The novel: rose bush, meteor（流星）, forest, etc The movie: a scarlet bird Pearl: The novel: Pearl grows up to seven years old and plays an important role in characterization. The movie: just an ignorant infant and baby. The ending of the major characters: The novel: Dimmesdale died of heartbreak on the pillory; Chillingworth died of frustrated revenge one year after Dimmesdale’s death; Hester died in a calm state, directing that the letter A is inscribed on the tombstone of her grave; Pearl moved to Europe where she establishes her own family. The movie: Both Dimmesdale and Hester survive and begin their new life in the end. Chillingworth hangs himself due to his wrong murder. Pearl’s ending is not mentioned at all. The naked swimming and bathe The novel: no. The movie: add the episodes for commercial purpose. The mode of the story: The novel: a psychological work The movie: a melodramatic(情感夸张的) work 小说《红字》几乎没有什么故事，主要描述海丝特、牧师和医生三个人物的内心活动，特别是揭示牧师内心的激烈冲突。这是美国文学中少有的震撼人心的作品，具有浓厚的宗教色彩。根据小说改编的电影却是典型的好莱坞杂耍。早期殖民时期的清教徒成了漫画中的人物；从精神上折磨牧师的医生成了杀人犯，最后莫名其妙地自杀了；没有内心的 冲突，只有热闹的场面，当然少不了爱情和打斗。据说影片结尾印第安人营救海丝特和牧师的场面是扮演女主角的黛米·莫尔的建议，她的理由是反正也没有人去读 那本小说，把结局改成热闹的大团圆，更好看。电影与小说相比有它的优势，在小说中需要费很多笔墨描写的自然景色和房屋、服饰、人物相貌，用电影来表现却非常简单；用电影来展示人物的动作和宏大的场 面，更是电影的强项。但小说中对人物心理活动的描述，却很难用电影表现出来。一般说来，故事情节比较强的小说，容易改编成电影，拍出 来的电影也不会