5.2　考研真题与典型题详解

I. Fill in the blanks.

1．Pearl is a character in _______ written by _______.（大连外国语学院2007研）

【答案】The Scarlet Letter; Nathaniel Hawthorne

【解析】Pearl是美国作家Nathaniel Hawthorne小说《红字》中的人物。

2．As a reflection of Hester Prynne’s moral development, the ______ symbolically undergoes a gradual and imperceptible change from “______” to “able” and last to “angel”.（天津外国语学院2008研）

【答案】scarlet letter A; adultery

【解析】霍桑的小说《红字》中海斯特·白兰经历了道德的洗礼，红字A的含义也逐渐由“通奸”转变为“能干”以至后来的“天使”。

3．Tashtego, Daggoo and Queequeg are the three main harpooners in the novel ______.（首师大2008研）

【答案】Moby Dick

【解析】这三个人是《莫比·狄克》里的捕鲸手。

4．The way in which ______ wrote The Scarlet Letter suggests that American Romanticism adapted itself to American puritan moralism.

【答案】Nathaniel Hawthorne

【解析】纳撒尼尔·霍桑的小说《红字》暗示了美国浪漫主义遵循美国清教伦理道德。

5．Hester Prynne is the heroine in Hawthorne’s novel ______.

【答案】The Scarlet Letter

【解析】海斯特·白兰是霍桑小说《红字》中的女主人公。

6．______ is famous for writing stories about the sea and the islands of the Southern Pacific. In his masterpiece ______, he tells a story of a whaling voyage which is set a symbolic account of the conflict between man and his fate.

【答案】Herman Melville; Moby Dick

【解析】赫尔曼·麦尔维尔因写南太平洋的大海和岛屿的故事而著名。他的代表作《白鲸》讲述了以人与他自己命运的冲突作为象征的捕鲸航程。

7．______ is the narrator in Moby-Dick.

【答案】Ishmael

【解析】以实玛利是小说《白鲸》的叙述者。

II. Multiple Choice.

1．The most influential novelist in Romantic period is ______.（北二外2009研）

A. Nathaniel Hawthorne

B. Edgar Allan Poe

C. Emily Dickinson

D. Fennimore Cooper

【答案】A

【解析】美国十九世纪最有影响的浪漫主义小说家是霍桑。

2．In ______, Captain Ahab is obsessed with the revenge on a whale which sheared off his leg on a previous voyage, and his crazy chasing of it eventually brings death to all on board the whaler except Ishmael, who survives to tell the tale.（天津外国语学院2007研）

A. Typee

B. White Jacket

C. Moby Dick

D. Billy Budd

【答案】C

【解析】Captain Ahab（亚哈船长）是梅尔维尔的小说Moby Dick（《白鲸》）里的主人公。

3．______ is the most ambivalent writer in the American literary history.

A. Nathaniel Hawthorne

B. Walt Whitman

C. Ralph Waldo Emerson

D. Mark Twain

【答案】A

【解析】纳撒尼尔·霍桑是美国文学历史上最为矛盾的作家。

4．The finest example of Nathaniel Hawthorne's symbolism is the recreation of Puritan Boston in ______.

A. The Scarlet Letter

B. Young Goodman Brown

C. The Marble Faun

D. The Ambitious Guest

【答案】A

【解析】《红字》（The Scarlet Letter）是美国19世纪影响最大的浪漫主义小说家和心理小说家纳撒尼尔·霍桑（Nathaniel Hawthorne）的代表作。该小说是成功运用象征手法的典范。

5．“There is evil in every human heart, which may remain latent, perhaps, through the whole life; but circumstances may rouse it to activity. ” The thought is reflected in______.

A. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown

B. Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

C. Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass

D. Herman Melville’s Moby Dick

【答案】A

【解析】霍桑认为罪恶是人生来所带的标记。几乎他的每一部作品都涉及到了罪与恶。

6．______is an appalling fictional version of Nathaniel Hawthorne's belief that "the wrong doing of one generation lives into the successive ones" and that evil will come out of evil though it may take many generations to happen.

A. The Marble Faun

B. The House of Seven Gables

C. The Blithedale Romance

D. Young Goodman Brown

【答案】B

【解析】《红字》（The Scarlet Letter）发表后获得巨大成功，霍桑继而创作了不少作品。其中《带有七个尖角阁的房子》（The House of Seven Gables）描写品钦家族的祖先（Colonel Pyncheon）谋财害命而使后代遭到报应的故事，说明财富是祸患，“一代人的罪孽要殃及子孙”；这部小说也反映了资本主义发展初期的血腥掠夺。

7．Which is not Nathaniel Hawthorne's long novel?

A. The Marble Faun

B. The Blithedale Romance

C. The House of Seven Gables

D. Dr. Heidegger's Experiment

【答案】D

【解析】《黑德格医生的实验》（Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment）是霍桑的中短篇小说。其余三项《玉石雕像》（The Marble Faun），《福谷传奇》（The Blithedale Romance），《带有七个尖角阁的房子》（The House of Seven Gables）都是霍桑的长篇小说。

8．In Moby Dick, the voyage symbolizes______.

A. the microcosm of human society

B. a search for truth

C. the unknown world

D. nature

【答案】B

【解析】小说《白鲸》中航程象征了对真理的探寻。

III. Read the following quotations and answer the questions.

Passage 1（北航2009研）

Young Goodman Brown came forth at sunset into the street at Salem village: but put his head back after crossing threshold, to exchange a parting kiss with his wife. And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons on her cap while she called to Goodman Brown.

Questions:

(1) This passage is taken from “Young Goodman Brown”, who is the author?

(2) What is the symbolic meaning of “pink ribbons”?

(3) What is a symbol in literature?

Key:

(1) Nathaniel Hawthorne

(2) In this story, “pink ribbons” appear three times. They symbolize the faith Brown holds toward God and human that religion and human are pure and upright.

(3) A symbol is a sign which suggests more than its literal meaning. In other words, a symbol is both literal and figurative. A symbol is a way of telling a story and a way of conveying meaning. The best symbols are those that are believable in the lives of the characters and also convincing as they convey a meaning beyond the literal level of the story. If the symbol is obscure or ambiguous, then the very obscurity and the ambiguity may also be part of the meaning of the story.

Passage 2（北航2007研）

“Who is that man, Hester?” gasped Mr. Dimmesdale, overcome with terror. “I shiver at him! Dost thou know the man? I hate him, Hester!”

She remembered her oath, and was silent.

“I tell thee, my soul shivers at him,” muttered the minister again. “Who is he? Who is he? Canst thou do nothing for me? I have a nameless horror of the man.”

“Minister,” said little Pearl. “I can tell thee who he is!”

“Quickly, then, child!” said the minister, bending his ear close to her lips. “Quickly!—and as low as thou canst whisper.”

Pearl mumbled something into his ear, that sounded, indeed, like human language, but was only such gibberish as children may be heard amusing themselves with, by the hour together At all events, if it involved any secret information in regard to old Roger Chillingworth, it was in a tongue unknown to the erudite clergyman, and did but increase the bewilderment of his mind. The elvish child then laughed aloud.

“Dost thou mock me now?” said the minister.

“Thou wast not bold!—thou wast not true!” answered the child.

“Thou wouldst not promise to lake my hand, and mother’s hand, tomorrow noontide!”

Questions:

(1) Which fiction is this excerpt from?

(2) Who is the author? What are the major artistic features of the author?

(3) Try to comment on the irony in this excerpt.

Key:

(1) This excerpt is from The Scarlet Letter.

(2) The author is Nathaniel Hawthorne. Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England, many works featuring moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His fiction works are considered part of the Romantic movement and, more specifically, dark romanticism. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity.

(3) When Pearl asked Mr. Dimmesdale to stand with her and her mother on the platform the next day, the minister refused. He only promised to stand together with them before the judgment-seat at the great judgment day, and thus “the daylight of this world shall not see our meeting”. In fact, he did not want to make known publicly his relationship with Hester and Pearl. So, Pearl’s words “Thou wast not bold!—thou wast not true!” are ironic.

Passage 3

Hester Prynne’s term of confinement was now at an end. Her prison-door was thrown open, and she came forth into sunshine which falling on all alike, seemed, to her sick and morbid heart, as if meant for no other purpose than to reveal the scarlet letter on her breast. Perhaps there was a more real torture in her first unattended footsteps from the threshold of the prison, than even in the procession and spectacle that have been described, where she was made the common infamy, at which all mankind was summoned to point its finger. Then, she was supported by an unnatural tension of the nerves, and by all the combative energy of her character, which enabled her to convert the scene into a kind of lurid triumph.

Questions:

(1) Which novel is this selection taken from?

(2) What is the name of the novelist?

(3) What do you think is the symbolic meaning of the scarlet letter on Hester’s breast?

Key:

(1) The Scarlet Letter

(2) Nathaniel Hawthorne

(3) Symbolism is traditionally a sign or token of something. In the matter of literature, the definition of the literary device, symbolism is more complicated. Symbols of literature are usually metaphysical. In this novel, the scarlet letter “A” changes its meaning in many different times. This change is significant. It shows growth in the characters, and the community in which they live. The letter “A” begins as a symbol of sin. It then becomes a symbol of alone and alienation, and finally it becomes a symbol of able, angel and admirable.

IV. Short answer questions

1．Give some different explanations of the symbolic meaning of “A” in The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne.（人大2006研；南京大学2008研）

Key: The letter “A” begins as a symbol of adultery, which is worn on Hester’s bosom. This is the puritan way of treating her as a criminal, for the crime of adultery. It then becomes a symbol of alone and alienation. Hester's social life is virtually eliminated as a result of her shameful history. And little Pearl is the only companion of her lonely life. Finally it becomes a symbol of able, angel and admirable. The townspeople who condemn her now believe the scarlet letter stands for her ability to her beautiful needlework and for her unselfish assistance to the poor and sick. Hester is a strong admirable woman who goes through more emotional torture than most people go through in a lifetime. A may also represent Adamic, or prehistoric, an archetypal vice suggestive of “original sin”.

2．What does the white whale in Moby Dick symbolize? Why do you think so?（国际关系学院2007研）

Key: For Captain Ahab, the white whale represents evil. After the loss of his leg in his encounter with the white whale, Ahab begins to hate Moby Dick and tries his best to kill the whale. It seems that he embodies all of the evil he once consigned to the white whale. For other members on the whaling ship, the white whale symbolizes the unknown, mysterious natural force of the universe. For the readers, the white whale is capable of many interpretations, for it is “paradoxically benign and malevolent, nourishing and destructive,” “massive, brutal, monolithic, but at the same time protean, erotically beautiful, infinitely variable.”

3．Moby-Dick features several seemingly insane characters. How does insanity relate to this story? How do these characters contrast with one another?（北航2009研）

Key: In Moby-Dick, Ishmael describes Ahab as mad in his narration, and it does indeed seem mad to try to fight the forces of nature or God. However, some of the other characters in the novel whom Ishmael labels insane—notably Pip and Gabriel—might be viewed as wise rather than crazy, thus calling into question the possibility of making a clear distinction between sanity and insanity. Gabriel, the prophet figure aboard the Jeroboam, behaves irrationally and makes a number of ridiculous-sounding predictions. If viewed in a certain light, however, his prophecies sound not like silly attempts to foresee the future but like cleverly phrased efforts to effect change aboard his ship. Gabriel’s prophecies are aimed at gaining the crew just treatment from the ship’s officers and at avoiding the danger that will come from trying to hunt Moby Dick. Like Ahab, he manipulates the crew’s superstitions and religious beliefs in order to gather support. But whereas Ahab’s obsession is monomaniacal and selfish, Gabriel’s “madness” is a response to irrational and unjust behavior on the part of those who control his ship.

4．Discuss the allegory and symbolism in Young Goodman Brown.

Key: Young Goodman Brown, essentially an allegory, which is included in Hawthorne’s Mosses from an Old Manse, is one of his most profound tales. Through the story, Hawthorne sought to bring about the moral that, “There is evil in every human heart, which may remain latent, perhaps, through the whole life; but circumstances may arouse it to activity.”

While using allegory to hold fast against the crushing blows of reality, the symbol serves as a weapon to attack and penetrate it. Hawthorne took his symbolism from Puritan tradition and bequeathed it to American literature in a revivified form. His view of man and history originates, to a great extent, in Puritanism. Hawthorne was burdened with a sense of guilt due to his ancestor’s notorious role in Salem Witch Trials. This sensibility led to his understanding of evil being at the very core of human life, which is typical of the Calvinistic belief that human beings are basically depraved and corrupted, hence, they should obey god to atone for their sins.

V. Essay questions

1．Due to his family background and his understanding of human nature, Nathaniel Hawthorne seems to be haunted by a sense of sin and evil in life. Explain his “black” vision in The Scarlet Letter.（天津外国语学院2007研）

Key: All his life, Hawthorne seems to be haunted by his sense of sin and evil in life. Reading his tales and romances, one cannot but be overwhelmed by the “black” vision which these works reveal. The blackness of vision which comes as a natural corollary has become his trade mark. It illustrates to some extent the influence that the Calvinist doctrine of “original sin” and total depravity had upon his mind. One source of evil in Hawthorne is overweening intellect. Hawthorn’s intellectual characters are usually villains, dreadful because devoid of fellow feeling.

In The Scarlet Letter, the experience of Hester and Dimmesdale recalls the story of Adam and Eve because, in both cases, sin results in expulsion and suffering. But it also results in knowledge—specifically, in knowledge of what it means to be human. The real villain in The Scarlet Letter is Roger Chillingworth, the scholar, the embodiment of pure intellect, who commits “the Unpardonable Sin”—the violation of the human heart. He keeps preying on Dimmesdale’s conscience until the poor wretch is tormented to death. The end of Chillingworth, when it comes, is also tragic enough. Dimmesdale declares God’s judgment on him before he breathes his last: “Thou, too, hast deeply sinned!” And Chillingworth simply shrivels. The last time we see him, he is kneeling down beside Dimmesdale “with a blank, dull countenance, out of which the life seemed to have departed.” Chillingworth’s misshapen body reflects (or symbolizes) the evil in his soul, which builds as the novel progresses, similar to the way Dimmesdale’s illness reveals his inner turmoil.

2．Make a comment on Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick.（四川大学2008研）

Key: Moby-Dick is often referred to as “the Great American Novel” and is considered one of the treasures of world literature.

In Moby-Dick, Melville employs stylized language, symbolism, and metaphor to explore numerous complex themes. Through the main character’s journey, the concepts of class and social status, good and evil, and the existence of gods are all examined as Ishmael speculates upon his personal beliefs and his place in the universe.

Moby-Dick is a symbolic work, but also includes chapters on natural history. Major themes include obsession, religion, and idealism versus pragmatism, revenge, racism, sanity, hierarchical relationships, and politics. All of the members of the crew have biblical-sounding, improbable, or descriptive names, and the narrator deliberately avoids specifying the exact time of the events and some other similar details. These together suggest that the narrator is deliberately casting his tale in an epic and allegorical mode. The white whale has also been seen as a symbol for many things, including nature and those elements of life that are out of human control.

3．Moby Dick by Herman Melville is one of the few books in American literature that has produced an exciting effect upon readers. Try to discuss the symbolism in the book.

Key: It is a mixture of fantasy and realism based on the South Pacific whaling industry. It might be read as an initiation story about Ishmael, the outcast, finding himself in a real world of hard work and danger and an unreal world of speculation and mystery.

It is a fabulous dramatization of Ahab’s obsessed determination to revenge himself in the pursuit of one particular whale who previously destroyed his boat and humiliated him by ripping off one of his legs. The book has so often been interpreted in so many ways, allegorically and symbolically.

Melville is a master of allegory and symbolism. Instead of putting the battle between Ahab and the big whale into simple statements, he used symbols, that is, objects or persons who represent something else. Different people on board the ship are representations of different ideas and different social and ethnic groups, facts become symbols and incidents acquire universal meanings; the Pequod is the microcosm of human society and the voyage becomes a search for truth. The white whale, Moby Dick, symbolizes nature for Melville, for it is complex, unfathomable, malignant, and beautiful as well.

For the character Ahab, however the whale only represents evil. Moby Dick is like a wall, hiding some unknown, mysterious things behind. Moby Dick is a mystery, an ultimate mystery of the universe, and the voyage of the mind will forever remain a search, not a discovery, of the truth. The whole story turns out to be a symbolic voyage of the mind quest of the truth and knowledge of the universe, a spiritual exploration into man’s deep reality and psychology.