《红楼梦》和《红字》中的象征主义比较研究_英语论文

A Comparative Study of Symbolism between The Scarlet letter and A Dream of Red Mansion

摘要

《红楼梦》作为中国中学生必读书本之一，它精妙的布局结构和细腻的情感表达都是其伟大价值体现之处。而《红字》是美国第一部象征主义小说，同时作为美国中学生必读书本之一，它对人物心理的细致分析和独特的结构主题也使其成为经典之作。作为中美两国具有代表性的两部文学作品，《红楼梦》和《红字》无疑是在各自的时代背景下最能反映当时历史，政治，经济和文化的产物。而这两部作品的相通之处在于它们都使用了象征主义手法来对小说中的人物，饰物及场景设置等等进行一一描绘。《红楼梦》的主人公贾宝玉衔玉而生，这块玉就是他性格及命运的象征。同样的，《红字》的主人公海斯特，胸前佩戴的红色字母A，也是作者对她一生不同阶段经历的象征。然而,在象征手法使用方面，两部作品也有很多不同之处。比如小说中出场人物姓名的象征，《红楼梦》中几乎每个阶层的人物姓名都有其独特的象征意义，而《红字》中人名的象征手法应用仅限于四位主人公的姓名上。并且，《红楼梦》与《红字》两部作品对“红”这个颜色的象征意义也有着不同的解读。红楼梦中所体现的红是可怜的，悲戚却又神圣的，而红字所要表达的红却是恶毒的，罪恶却又勇敢的。

关键字：《红楼梦》,《红字》, 象征主义

Abstract

As a book which the Chinese middle school students must read, the great value of A Dream of Red Mansions is reflected by the exquisite layout and structure and the delicate emotional expression. While The Scarlet Letter has been regarded as the first novel of symbolism in America, also as one of the set books that American high school students are required to read, the detailed psychological analysis of its characters and the unique structure and themes makes it a classic. As two representative literary works in China and America, A Dream of Red Mansions and The Scarlet Letter are undoubtedly the products which can best reflect the history, politics, economy and culture in different era. The similarity between the two works is that they both use the symbolism to depict the characters, accessories and scene settings in the novels. The hero in A dream of Red Mansions, Jia baoyu , is born with a piece of jade. This jade is exactly the symbol of his personality and fate. Also, the letter A wore by the heroine Hester in The Scarlet Letter symbolizes her various experiences and thoughts in different periods. Meanwhile, the two works still have lots of differences in using the symbolism. For example, in terms of symbol of the names of the main characters, almost every character with a real name in each class has its own unique symbolic meanings in A Dream of Red Mansions. While in The Scarlet Letter, only the four main characters’ names have implied meanings. And the two works have different interpretations in the color Red. For A dream of Red Mansions, the red color is pathetic, sorrow but sacred. However, the red color embodied in The Scarlet Letter is vicious, evil but brave.   

Key words: “A Dream of Red Mansions”, “The Scarlet Letter”, Symbolism