《圣经》精神对霍桑的影响在《红字》中的体现.doc

Sin and Atonement?The Impact of the Bible on Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter I Introduction With the publication of The Scarlet Letter in 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne became one of the greatest writers at that time and built his reputation as a major American author. Since then, people began to take a keen interest in all aspects of his life and a great many biographical and critical studies had been written about him and his works. He is also becoming more and more popular and familiar with Chinese readers. Since the Chinese translation of The Scarlet Letter appeared in 1950s, scholars and readers in China have shown a strong interest in his works. The most obvious impression of his works is the description of spirit of The Bible. The book chiefly discusses sin and how to atone for it. Hester Prynne is the heroine of the novel. This paper researches her life in order to show the influence of the Bible on Hawthorne. Hester Prynne commits adultery and is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her breast. In the beginning, she encounters all kinds of tribulations; they come from both the society and from her own soul. However, she realizes her sin and makes great efforts to atone for it. She dose not choose to avoid her fault. Finally, through her endeavor, God forgives her. So in short, sin and atoning for sin are the purpose of this paper. II Biography of Nathaniel Hawthorn 2.1 livelihood background Hawthorne was born on the fourth of July 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. Some of his ancestors were leaders in seventeenth-century New England, which was under the control of Puritanism. One of them was a colonial leader, notorious for his participation in the persecution of Quakers, and another was a judge at the Salem Witchcraft Trail in 1692. Gradually, the family declined. Hawthorne’s father was a sea captain, who died in an accident and left his mother and him behind to struggle to live for him or herself. Young Hawthorne was quite aware of the misdeeds of his Puritan a