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American Literature

American Literature. 美国文学史及选读. Nathaniel Hawthorne &The Scarlet Letter. Main Works: Twice Told Tales(1837) Moses from an Old Manse(1846) The Scarlet Letter(1850) The House of the Seven Gables(1851) Blithedale Romance The Marble Faun(1863). Symbolism.

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American Literature

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  1. American Literature 美国文学史及选读

  2. Nathaniel Hawthorne &The Scarlet Letter • Main Works: • Twice Told Tales(1837) • Moses from an Old Manse(1846) • The Scarlet Letter(1850) • The House of the Seven Gables(1851) • Blithedale Romance • The Marble Faun(1863)

  3. Symbolism • Symbolism is a literary movement that arose in France in the last half of the 19th century and that greatly influenced many English writers, particularly poets,of the 20th century.To the symbolist poets, an emotion is indefinite and therefore difficult to communicate.Symbolist poets tend to avoid any direct statement of meaning.Instead,they work through emotionally powerful symbols that suggest meaning and mood.

  4. A symbol is sth. that conveys two kinds of meaning:it is simply itself and it stands for sth. Other than itself.A symbol, in other words, is both literal and figurative.People,places,things can be used symbolically.

  5. II.Characters in the story • 1.Hester Prynne:a young woman wearing the scarlet letter”A”. • Dimmesdale:the local clergyman • Pearl:daughter of the above • Roger Chilingworth:a doctor and the long-absent husband of Hester Prynne • Governor Winthrop Bellingham:an old governor of Boston,Massachusetts

  6. III.Summary of The Scarlet Letter • Hester is brought from jail to the town’s public square for the announcement of her crime and punishment. • The doctor determined to find out her partner in adultery and seek a revenge of his own. • Dimmesdale is a scholarly young clergyman,respected by people. • Hester persuades him to leave town with her and begin new life again somewhere in Europe.

  7. IV.Questions • 1.What’s the punishment for adultery in China? • 2.What sort of woman is Hester? • 3.Was Hester free to leave Massachusetts? • 4.Why didn’t Hester Prynne flee? • 5.How did Hester make a living after her release from prison? • 6.Was her handiwork welcomed by the people without exception?

  8. V.Analysis of Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter • Reading it,one wonders whether it is a story of love.The answer is yes,but then no, for the love is long over before book begins. • The Scarlet Letter is not a praise of Hester Prynne’s sinning,but a hymn on the moral growth of the woman when sinned against. • Symbolic of her moral development is the gradual,imperceptible change which the scarlet letter undergoes in meaning.

  9. At first,it is a token for shame, “Adultery” but then the genuine sympathy and help Hester offered to her fellow villagers,changes it to “Able”.Later in the story,the letter A appears in the sky,signifying “Angel”.The Scarlet Letter,the masterpiece of Hawthorne,shows that he was the literary artist,at his best.

  10. Test on The Scarlet Letter • I.Multiple choice • 1.The mood of gloom is set in the opening scene,which takes in front of • a.a bar b.a theater • c.the jail d.the governor’s house • 2.The women of Boston seem to feel that Hester • a.can be pardoned for being too good-hearted

  11. b.is being punished too severely • c.is not being punished severely enough • d.will not have to suffer her punishment under the eyes of the governor

  12. 3 The usual penalty for adultery in puritan Boston was • a. public whipping • b. death • c exile from Massaachusetts • d branding

  13. 4 Reverend Dimmesdale urges Hester to • a.  leave Boston voluntarily • b. tell where her husband has gone • c name the father of her child • d keep silent about everything

  14. 5.Chillingworth is by profession • a a minister b a lawyer • c a physician d a teacher

  15. 6 After her release from prison, Hester earns her living by • a begging b translating • c sewing d working as a waitress

  16. 7 With the passage of time • a Hester spends all her time in weeping • b the town people begin to do kind things • c the town people are as harsh as ever • d Hester loses her religious faith completely

  17. 8 Pearl is • a an unattractive child physically • b subdued and repressed • c a child of great variety • d quite dull mentally

  18. 9 Hester is pained when Pearl makes the scarlet letter a target for throwing of • a toys b pebbles • c flowers d paper airplanes

  19. 10. When Hester goes to see Governor Bellingham, she accomplishes her main arm, which is • a . to deliver a new ruff she has made • B. to tell him the name of Pearl’s father • c. to keep custody of Pearl • d. to identify Chillingworth publicly as her husband

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