红字是美国小说家霍桑最杰出的代表作，也是整个美国浪漫主义小说中最有声望的权威作品之一，小说的故事发生在十七世纪中期加尔文者派统治下的波士顿，作者从当时的现状入手，通过一个感人的爱情故事来揭露当局对人们的精神，心灵和道德的摧残，这是一部关于灵魂的小说，每个人都有自己的灵魂，但有的人维护着灵魂，有的人损害着灵魂。读红字，站我感受到了压抑后的平静，痛苦后的快乐。
小说叙述一位名叫海丝特*白兰的女人在婚姻上遭到不幸的故事, 年轻美貌的她却嫁给了身体畸形多病的术士罗杰*齐灵沃斯先生,夫妻间没有爱情,后来罗杰在海上失踪,杳无音讯,白兰孤独的过着日子.这时一个英俊有气魄的青年牧师,亚瑟*丁梅斯代尔闯入了她的生活,他们真诚的相爱了,度过了一段隐私但热烈的爱情生活.不久, 白兰由于怀孕的隐情暴露,以通奸罪被抓,在狱中生下了女儿小珠儿. 按照当时的教规,白兰只有交代奸夫的姓名才能获得赦免,否则将受惩罚.然而执行审讯任务的却正是他的情人.白兰宁愿独自忍受任何惩罚,为了把她和丁梅斯代尔之间的爱情深深地埋在心中,她坚强的挺住了. 海丝特受到了惩罚，终生穿着一件带有红色A（ adultery）的外衣，她在倍受折磨的道德鞭苔下进行着灵魂的救赎. 狱中出来后，她带着小珠儿离群独居,在郊外偏僻的茅舍中过者孤寂的生活.
小说中另一个主人公丁梅斯代尔牧师，也是受宗教迫害最苦的人，成为人类社会虚伪道德的牺牲品。用心险恶的前夫罗杰发现了丁梅斯代尔的反常表现,利用牧师痛苦和矛盾的心情,不断地在精神上折磨他,终于丁梅斯代尔在他即将升为主教的前夕,当众宣布了自己的秘密。丁梅斯代尔向周围的人们展露了这首爱情的颂歌，当他把自己的胸衣扯开时,一个猩红的A字烙在他的胸前.他在自己的爱人身边离开了人世. 但他还是有罪的。他不敢面对自己的错误。通奸不是海斯特一个人能做的事，可是她却承受了所有的惩罚，他却在她的荫庇下继续做高高在上人人景仰的牧师。他在人前冠冕堂皇地说教，声情并茂地做着关于神关于道德的演讲。多么虚伪的人，他既然如此虔诚于上帝，怎么能忍受自己对上帝虚伪，怎么能忍受自己在人们面前道貌岸然了那么久。作为一个神职人员，他应该是爱人的，可是他却可以忍受自己的情妇和孩子受尽屈辱！七年，情人和孩子和他呼吸着同一片空气，可是，他却不敢承认她们。他没有尽到保护女人和抚养孩子的责任。他不敢和她们接触也不敢让公众知道他的另外一个面目。
他很虚伪，对神不忠诚，对待百姓没以身作则。或许他爱神虔诚，可是却抵制不住美色的诱惑。他还要标榜自己是个神。他在女人和上帝面前纠结，摇摆不定，真是悲哀。作为一个男人，他应该有所取舍，既然已经选择了女人，他就应该走下去，对她好，保护和爱护她。可是他没有。他连好好活着的勇气都没有。可悲。她鼓励他离开这个伤心地，去另外一个世界。那里没人认识他们，这样他们一家三口就可以在一起了。可是在要离开之际他又动摇了，他选择了忠实于上帝。我的上帝啊，他就不能好好活着吗？他就不想想他死了，她们母女俩该怎么活呀？可是，他没有，他追随他的上帝去了！哎！多么虚伪懦弱的男人啊！
文章的反面人物罗杰是一个没有灵魂的家伙，他以窥视别人为乐，表面上像一个和蔼的老朋友，背地里却像蚯蚓一样不断钻入别人的灵魂，窥探别人的秘密，他把海丝特推向了悲惨命运，将牧师带向死亡，他不懂宽恕，以折磨为乐趣，充满了仇恨，成为一个肮脏卑劣的人，是一个邪恶的魔鬼，从他身上，可以看出一种人性的丑恶。
我很气愤，非常生气！
海丝特为什么会那么死心塌地地爱丁梅斯代尔？海丝特是圣女一般的人物。她优雅美丽性感，做得一手无人能及的针线活。她贤惠，是个真正聪明的女人。她明白事理，这样一个女生无论站在哪里都是一道吸引所有人的风景，可是她却很低调很低调地活着。她对这个世界不索求任何东西，却把自己奉献给世界上的穷人，病人，受苦受难的人们，还有那些虚伪的小姐太太绅士们。这样的女人如神般伟大！可是，她的爱情却是悲剧的，她唯一的错误是在丈夫下落不明的时候和牧师丁梅斯代尔发生关系并且生下孩子，从此被冠以“通奸”的罪名，被置于刑台上，众目睽睽之下，可是不管牧师们和市民如何逼问，为了保全“奸夫”的名声，关于他的任何信息她丝毫都没透露。人们在背后唾骂她们，向她们扔石头，用各种各样的方式侮辱折磨她们。可是，就为了能和他呼吸同一处的空气，她依旧没有离开，远远地看着他。傻女人啊，真是傻女人啊。也正是这种“傻”表现了海特丝是一个不屈于命运的女人，在她的一生中充满了对命运的蔑视，她怀疑这世俗道的合理性，但是又矛盾的意识到灵魂的邪恶，人性的复杂可见一斑，而整篇小说中表达了获得自由和解放就要去斗争的思想，海丝特就是这样，她坚强，对爱情忠贞不渝，虽然被统治着认为有罪，但她是清白的，纯洁的，她的精神不断上升，成为真、善、美的化身，因为这样，她才成了一个高尚的人，受到了人们的尊敬，从而洗刷了身上的耻辱。
整部书中，作者运用了精湛的艺术手法对伦理道德的标准进行了挑战，剖析着人的内心世界，展现了人性的光辉与丑恶道德伦理的正确与否。这或许也是这部小说流传的原因。作者通过用蔷薇花象征美与善，用一道光，一只鸟象征着丁梅斯代尔与白兰的爱情结晶----珠儿。
作品最后，白兰与牧师的墓碑上刻着：一片墓地上，刻着血红的A字，漆黑的土地，血红的A字，虽然它没有惊心动魄，却让我魂牵梦绕，无法忘怀。
第二篇：The Scarlet Letter(红字)英语读后感,总共有五篇!!!
第一篇
The Scarlet Letter offers an extraordinary insight into the norms and behavior of the 17th century if American Puritan society. The basic conflicts and problems of its main characters, however, are familiar to readers in the present. The female protagonist, has borne a child out of wedlock and has been jailed for over three months and sentenced to wear a symbol of her adultery, a scarlet “A” on her dress at all times. It concerns about the moral, emotional and psychological effect of the sin on people in general. It’s not simply a love story or a story of sin. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the scarlet letters to symbolize the harshness of Puritan society, showing how they brand sinners for life.
The story happened in Boston about 200 years ago. It narrates love affairs between three persons. The punished woman. Hester Prynne and his husband. Who called himself Roger Chillingworth . He is an old misshapen man and a doctor. Hester does not love him at all. Another man is a young minister, Dimmesdale, who has a high position among ministers and is highly respected among his people in town. Hester and Dimmesdale love each other. But their love is forbidden in that time . It is sinful. Due to this,Hester is punished by society with a letter A on her chest, which considered an evil, a shame.
In this novel, the mainline seems to be around the letter A. Hester is brave enough to face the cruel reality. She is always with a mind of courage. She has been alone with her child for so long , with litter communication. Shame! Hopelessness! Loneliness! Hester has to wear the letter A day after day, seven years as for punishment and ill fame.
When a woman has lived through a difficult experience, her character changes a great deal. If she be all tenderness, she will die. If she survive, the tenderness will leave her .Hester’s charitable deeds and quiet humility have earned her a reprieve from the scorn of the community. The letter on her chest represents her work on earth , always helping others, without expecting any thanks. Never afterwards, does that scarlet letter leave her chest. The townspeople no longer view the letter as a punishment , but rather as representing her great strength and bravery and thy say it means “Able”.
But Arthur Dimmesdale, his sin against Hester and Pearl is that he will not acknowledge them as his wife and daughter in the daylight. He keeps his dreadful secret from all those under his care in the church for seven years for
fear that he will lose their love and will not be forgiven. He is too weak to admit his sins. He suffers from mysterious heart trouble, seemingly caused by psychological distress. What’s worse, he is an advisor to the townspeople about their sins.
After Mr. Dimmesdale’s death , no one changes more in appearance than Roger Chilling worth. All his strength and energy has been used to harm his patient . This unhappy man has made his aim in life to add to the suffering of the young minister. When the evil old man no longer has such a purpose, the devil takes him back to the hell . It is a curious subject of observation, however, whether hatred or love are not of the same place. Each takes a great deal of emotion from one person. The two feelings seem basically the same, expect that one is smiled upon by God, while the other is worshipped by the devil. The two lovers has ever decided to flee to Europe, where they can live with their dauthter Pearl as a family .They feel a sense of release there. However, their plan fails…… When Hester dies, she is buried next to Dimmesdale. The two share a single tombstone, with a deep colored letter A shining brightly.
第二篇
"The Scarlet Letter" Book
"The Scarlet Letter" is the American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne's most outstanding representative of the United States as a whole romantic story in the most prestigious works of one of the authority.'s Novel The story takes place in the mid-seventeenth century Calvin who were under the rule of the Boston, the author At that time, the social status quo from the start, through a touching love story to expose the tragedy of the spirit of the people, spiritual and moral destruction.
* Hester Prynne is a marriage was on the unfortunate women, young and beautiful, but married to a physical deformity of the sick patients * Shiluo Jie Ling Qi Worth, a lack of love between husband and wife, and later, Roger Also missing at sea, Yaowuyinxun, Prynne lived a lonely life. At this time there is a handsome and ambitious young minister, Arthur Dimmesdale * into her life, they are sincere love, time After a period of privacy but warm love life. In the near future, Blenheim pregnant as a result of the hidden exposure to the crime of adultery was arrested, in prison, gave birth to a daughter, Pearl small.
At that time, in accordance with the rules, the only explanation adulterer Prynne's name in order to be pardoned, they would be punished. However, the implementation of the mandate of the trial but it was his lover. Prynne alone would rather put up with any punishment for her generation and Dimmesdale Seoul between the deeply buried in the hearts of love, she has a strong hold on.
* Hester Prynne was punished, she must be wearing a life-long embroidered red A word of the coat. A letter on behalf of adultery (Adultery) of the word. Prynne Pearl with a small retreat from living alone in remote huts on the outskirts of In those who have been lonely life. Sinister and former Fu Luojie Dimmesdale found the abnormal performance of the minister to use such mixed feelings and suffering, continue to torment him, Dimmesdale finally promoted to bishop in his forthcoming On the eve of, publicly announced their secret, Dimmesdale to expose people around the love of the first carol. When he himself say a few words of bras, of a scarlet A word in defense of his chest. In his own wife who passed away.
* Hester Prynne, his strong, perseverance, love of the faithful. Although the ruled that the guilty, but she has a clean, pure. Her spirit rising to become truth, benevolence and beauty in disguise. She moves on to teach and the right of the feudal regime of oppression under the love, human rights and freedoms fully affirmed.
Prynne and Dimmesdale initially had a red-hot love, although he had to retreat, to cover for their own comfort, but the heart of the suffering has not been affected by his calm and security, on the contrary, more and more strongly. He Prynne and the date, he flails on the stage of self-punishment of repentance, and their escape plans, as well as the final public speeches have become Dimmesdale's love toward the altar of the approaching step by step by step. Finally, he say a few words T-shirt, people see a large cake in his chest A red characters. A word that is actually baked in his mind, this is the distillation of love.
Rose spent by the author with good symbol of the United States, with prison a symbol of death, with a light, a bird ... ... Prynne and Dimmesdale a symbol of love between the crystallization - Pearl so that the work is full of a Charming drive.
In the last works in combination Prynne and Dimmesdale's words inscribed on the tombstone: a cemetery, inscribed A word of the blood red. This indeed is
the phrase meaningful！
第三篇
The Scarlet Letter offers an extraordinary insight into the norms and behavior of the 17th century if American Puritan society. The basic conflicts and problems of its main characters, however, are familiar to readers in the present. The female protagonist, has borne a child out of wedlock and has been jailed for over three months and sentenced to wear a symbol of her adultery, a scarlet “A” on her dress at all times. It concerns about the moral, emotional and psychological effect of the sin on people in general. It’s not simply a love story or a story of sin. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the scarlet letters to symbolize the harshness of Puritan society, showing how they brand sinners for life.
The story happened in Boston about 200 years ago. It narrates love affairs between three persons. The punished woman. Hester Prynne and his husband. Who called himself Roger Chillingworth . He is an old misshapen man and a doctor. Hester does not love him at all. Another man is a young minister, Dimmesdale, who has a high position among ministers and is highly respected among his people in town. Hester and Dimmesdale love each other. But their love is forbidden in that time . It is sinful. Due to this,Hester is punished by society with a letter A on her chest, which considered an evil, a shame.
In this novel, the mainline seems to be around the letter A. Hester is brave enough to face the cruel reality. She is always with a mind of courage. She has been alone with her child for so long , with litter communication. Shame! Hopelessness! Loneliness! Hester has to wear the letter A day after day, seven years as for punishment and ill fame.
When a woman has lived through a difficult experience, her character changes a great deal. If she be all tenderness, she will die. If she survive, the tenderness will leave her .Hester’s charitable deeds and quiet humility have earned her a reprieve from the scorn of the community. The letter on her chest represents her work on earth , always helping others, without expecting any thanks. Never afterwards, does that scarlet letter leave her chest. The townspeople no longer view the letter as a punishment , but rather as
representing her great strength and bravery and thy say it means “Able”.
But Arthur Dimmesdale, his sin against Hester and Pearl is that he will not acknowledge them as his wife and daughter in the daylight. He keeps his dreadful secret from all those under his care in the church for seven years for fear that he will lose their love and will not be forgiven. He is too weak to admit his sins. He suffers from mysterious heart trouble, seemingly caused by psychological distress. What’s worse, he is an advisor to the townspeople about their sins.
After Mr. Dimmesdale’s death , no one changes more in appearance than Roger Chilling worth. All his strength and energy has been used to harm his patient . This unhappy man has made his aim in life to add to the suffering of the young minister. When the evil old man no longer has such a purpose, the devil takes him back to the hell . It is a curious subject of observation, however, whether hatred or love are not of the same place. Each takes a great deal of emotion from one person. The two feelings seem basically the same, expect that one is smiled upon by God, while the other is worshipped by the devil.
The two lovers has ever decided to flee to Europe, where they can live with their dauthter Pearl as a family .They feel a sense of release there. However, their plan fails…… When Hester dies, she is buried next to Dimmesdale. The two share a single tombstone, with a deep colored letter A shining brightly.
第四篇
The whole story of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is centered on this piece of scarlet cloth, with the shape of letter “A”, which had been wrought with wonderful skill of needlework, and might had sparkled brilliantly on one’s bosom. However, such extraordinary masterpiece has so special meanings and symbols that it burned the author’s hand at the touch of it and grasped the readers’ heart throughout the novel.
The first, yet most obvious symbol of letter “A” is adultery, the crime that Hester committed and had been punished for. Her love affairs with Arthur Dimmesdale and the birth of an illegitimate child Pearl was viewed as ignominy. She was forced to stand on the scaffold of the pillory, an infant on her arm, under the heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes, all fastened upon her,
and concentrated on the scarlet letter, so fantastically embroidered upon her bosom. In the eyes of Puritans, from governors, clergyman, to matrons and children, Hester was a sinner, with the scarlet letter “A” as a mark of shame, which should be remained for the rest of her life as a punishment. As for Hester, she accepted her crime and the identity the society assigned for her, and spared no effort to make atonement for her sins. She lived in a mall thatched cottage, with no neighborhoods, earned her living by handiwork, and led the most plainest and ascetic life. Besides, she employed in making coarse garments for the poor and spared her money for charity.
However, Hester had never yielded and she shaped others’ view on the interpretation of the letter at last. When insulted by John Wilson in public, and threatened by Chilingworth in the prison, she never gave in Pearl’s father’s name and chose to bear the shame and punishment on her own. Though the letter bore the meaning of ignominy, she exhausted her imagination and craftsmanship to make it illuminated on her bosom. She named the infant “Pearl”, cherished her with all she had, allowed her imaginative faculty its full play in the arrangement and decoration of the dresses the child wore, strived for her rights to breed her when the governor tried to take it away. These behaviors best reflect the most rebellious spirit and unrestricted thought, in which she questioned the whole system of society, and expected that women could be allowed to assume a fair and suitable situation. Her benefactions and ascetic life finally moved others. They refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. Instead, they said it meant Able and regarded it as something sacred as a cross on a nun’s bosom. Many years later, when she settled back to New England, local women, with wounds and sorrows, sought for her counsels and comforts. She was an angel in their eyes and served as a prophetess, who assured them that a new relation between man and woman is to be established on a surer ground of mutual happiness.
All in all, the plot progressed with the shift of the meaning of scarlet letter and the identity society assigns to Hester, from the original mark of “Adultery”, and Hester’s “Atonement”, through her “Ability” and “Antagonism”, to the pure and spiritual “Angel”, full of love and “Affection”.
第五篇
Angel or Devil?
Abstract: Is Pearl an angel for Hester or a devil who makes Hester suffer more? The child and the scarlet letter parallel each other; both represent the mother's sin--the child being a physical representation and the scarlet letter being a symbol. So she always reminds Hester of her sin, however she is Hester's love and mentor of life. Hester, without a helpless child to protect and guide, might not accept her punishment quite so passively as she seems to. However, would she be happier than now?
Key Words: The Scarlet Letter, Pearl, angel, devil, Hester
To be frank, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is the unique book I have read in this semester. However I feel lucky for it is not boring at all, furthermore, it attracted me at the beginning. So I want to and have to write my paper about this novel.
Most literary critics agree that The Scarlet Letter is Nathaniel Hawthorne's finest and most important work , so do I. In this novel, the one who impressed me most is not Hester, Chillingworth or Dimmesdal but Pearl. Sometimes, she looks like an angel, but sometimes she is like a devil. So I cannot help wondering whether Pearl is an angel or a devil? When I am asking this question, actually, I mean just for Hester, is Pearl like an angel or like a devil?
First, Pearl is Hester Prynne's daughter. With rare exception, wherever the mother is found, the child is also there. When the town official escort her from the prison so that the townspeople might see her. Pearl is also there --a baby of three months old, winking and turning her little face from the bright sun. As Pearl grows older, her mother dresses her in brilliant colors, for Pearl is her one proud possession. Later, her mother has named her Pearl, with meaning of treasure. Little Pearl has beauty, intelligence and physical gracefulness. She is described as a lovely flower, having sprung from a guilty passion. Sometimes Pearl is fanciful to the point that she is almost amusing. For instance, while her mother talks with Roger Chillingworth near the seashore, the imaginative child
makes herself a mermaid's costume our of seaweed. Then, as a crowing touch, she gathers some eel-grass and makes for herself a green letter "A", imitating as closely as possible her mother's scarlet letter. Pearl often plays in the sunshine; whereas the sunshine will not shine directly on Hester. The child is so close to nature that the little animal in the forest scene, such as partridges, pigeons, and squirrels, almost completely ignore her when she is passing by them. They recognize a wildness in the human child comparable to their own. Pearl is also very sympathetic person. For example, during the festivities of the New England Holiday, it is Pearl who describes Dimmesdale. She remarks that in the dark nighttime and in the forest he is one type of person--loving and friendly; in the sunny days, he is a different sort of man, for he does not know them. She remarks:"A strange, sad man is he, with his hand always over his heart!" Pearl, by instinct, has supposed some things to be true which are true.
All of these express the good aspect of Pearl. However, there are also majority of words that will give the opposite impression.
She is also Hester's child of sin. She obeys no ruled unless she wishes to do so. Her moods change quickly. If she is crossed in any way, the child flies into a passion. At one moment, she is wild, desperate, and filled with bad temper and gloom; then, suddenly, she can change in the sunny, happy child who wants to assure her mother of her love by kissing her. Pearl seems to have no set standard to govern her own behaviour-- she reacts according to her particular feeling of the moment. Moreover, she has a certain peculiar look on her face which sometimes causes Hester to question whether or not Pearl is a human child or a being from another world like a little elf. Her eyes are wild, bright, deeply-black. She is described as an imp of evil, emblem and product of sin. The Puritan children flee in fear when resentful Pearl chases after them, flinging stones and shrill words at them. Once, Hester is frightened when she looks into the mirror of Pearl's eyes. She sees a freakish, elfish look there. In the headpiece of the armour in Governor Bellingham's hall, Hester is disturbed to see Pearl's expression, as it is reflected in the metal mirror. The child has an elfish look of naughty merriment, as if an imp were seeking to mould itself in Pearl's shape. Attracted by the brightness of her mother's scarlet letter, the three-year-old Pearl plays game, flinging wildflowers at her mother's symbol of
sin. When Pearl playfully declares that she has no Heavenly Father, Hester remembers that some of the townspeople regard Pearl as an offspring of the devil.
Then, is Pearl an angel for Hester or a devil who makes Hester suffer more? The child and the scarlet letter parallel each other; both represent the mother's sin--the child being a physical representation and the scarlet letter being a symbol. So she always reminds Hester of her sin, however she is Hester's love and mentor of life. Hester, without a helpless child to protect and guide, might not accept her punishment quite so passively as she seems to. However, would she be happier than now? Do you remember the scene when she defends her capability to care for Pearl when she talks with Governor Bellingham, one of people planing to take the child from her? She loves Dimmesdal in a sense, so she must love their child, Pearl. It is Pearl who stay with her for a so long time. From my point of view, she is an angel for Hester, and this is also the reason why Hester gave Pearl this kind of name.
In fact, in our real life, how can a mother hate her own child? This is the strongest reason for my understanding. Totally speaking, Pearl, like an angel, is always guarding Hester all the time, and so does Hester, who always keep protecting Pearl in her whole life.