Typical Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter 《红字》中象征手法的应用

Typical Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter Abstract: Nathaniel hawthrone is a great novelist in the American history. In 1850, he published his masterpiece The Scarlet Letter, which was written with rich content, excellent plot and exact description of the characters. The author also applied many techniques, symbolism was one among them. It also makes the characters live before us. This essay is mainly talking about symbolism used in The Scarlet Letter.
摘要：霍桑是美国历史上一名杰出的小说家。

1850年，他出版了他的代表作《红字》。

《红字》内容丰富，情节优美，对人物的刻画非常深刻。

其中作者也使用了许多表现手法，象征手法是其中的一种，并使得人物鲜明的呈现在我们的眼前。

本文主要讲述了《红字》中象征手法的运用。

Key Words: symbolism The Scarlet Letter the letter “ A”
关键词: 象征红字字母”A”
Introduction: Symbolism is a kind of artistic technique, using specific images to express abstract things and meanings so as to express the author’s viewpoint. Symbolism is applied in many places. This essay highlights and interprets the symbolism of the book represented by the colors, and the letter “A”.
引言: 象征是一种艺术手法,用具体形象表达抽象的事物及意义,从而表达作者的观点,小说中多次使用象征手法,本文中着重谈论关于红色及字母A的象征作用.
2. The scarlet color and the character “A” are the most typical symbolism used in the novel.
2.1 The scarlet color
The scarlet color goes through the whole book from beginning to the end. The story is set against a gloomy background and a miserable plot, however, the author merely makes “the scarlet letter” as an exception. During the whole process of reading the book, ”scarlet” always draws our attention and our nerve. Even after finishing reading the book, the letter still haunts around our mind and leaves a deep impression for us, which drives you to associate with wider and richer content. The color should have represented beauty, purity and intense love and this kind of love is the basis for human beings’ lives and should be extolled at any time. Yet under the serious rule of the Puriton thought, truth is often as a mistake, what should be sung is often condemned conversely. The scarlet letter, which symbolizes the sacred love and the life source, should be wore on the breast to show punishment. There is no doubt that this is an absolute satire. And on the other side, the scarlet letter is like an intensely flaming fire, giving her warmth and courage when she was lone, desperate and hopeless. The people’s discrimination and condemnation couldn’t make her give in, on the contrary, they make her start a new life, have a better understanding of the society. With the strong belief that the bright days would come, she finally passed the hard time and overcame the mental pressure. Formly, the heroine-Hester accepts the punishment without any resistance, but in reality, she ignores all the rules of the society morality. There are some implications:
Stretching forth the official staff in his left hand, he laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward; until, on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free-will.
The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale.
Those who have before known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a
disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped.
These are strong enough to show that she is a disobedient image who strives bravely for the rights in human life, she doesn’t regard “sin” as a shame, but as a “honor”. She is brave enough to believe herself, belittle the possibility existed in the new world, believe the rights and power for love.
Scarlet is a symbol for lust for love, it happens naturally and spreads rapidly. It can also bring endless happiness, but if it overfired without control, it may become the disastrous power to make the player burn himself. Scarlet is also a symbol “sin”, which originates from the Bible. a scarlet letter “A” for her is like a equals to label “lust” for her. The scarlet letter makes the souls purified in the mind and punished forever.
2.2 Letter “A”
Letter “A” is another symbol.Firstly, she makes adultery, so she wears the letter, and it stands for adultery. Wearing it is to cover her behavior and educates her morality. After she gets out of the jail, she brings up Pearl and she is accepted by people, ”A” stands for “art”, she is so able that she not only gains income for her but also for other people, this time it stands for “able”. “A” also stands for love and passion, although Hester has so much trouble with Pearl, she still feels that Pearl is her treasure.。