浅析《魔桶》中的象征意义重庆大学“英语文学赏析”结课论文.docVIP

An Analysis of Symbolism in The Magic Barrel 浅析《魔桶》中的象征意义 Liao Ruoqian 廖若倩 Student NumberCourse Paper Submitted in partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the Literature Course College of Automation Chongqing University December 2013 Abstract Among Bernard Malamud’s short stories, The Magic Barrel is regarded as one of the most superb literary works, which reflects the author’s style most distinctively. In order to know Bernard Malamud more objectively and comprehensively, it is necessary to make a further study about this short story. This paper targeting above-mentioned purpose seeks to analyze the symbolism in this literary work in the hope that the readers can get a better understanding of the whole novel and its brilliant author - Bernard Malamud. Composed of 3 parts – introduction, an analysis of symbolism and conclusion, this paper gets the final results that the magic barrel is taken as the symbolism of the magic of true love, fish stands for the slyness of Pinye Salzman and the two colors – red and white separately symbolize the evil and innocence while the change of the seasons emblems the process of Leo’s life. Key words: Bernard Malamud, Symbolism 1. Introduction 1.1 An Overview of the Author In American and Jewish American literature of the twentieth century, the name of Bernard Malamud (1914 - 1986) equals to that of Saul Bellow, Issac Bashevis Singer, and Philip Roth. He was born in a Russian Jewish family in New York, leading a poor life in his early years and losing his mother when he was only 15. Bernard Malamud took up writing since the 1940s, and thenceforth produced a series of works in succession, contributing to American literature seven novels and fifty – five short stories. Among Bernard Malamud’s short stories, The Magic Barrel is regarded as one of the most superb literary works. The same titled collection of short stories won the National Award for him in 1959 and established him as a well – known writer in America