【正文】 r ief ness i n space. 2. There are t wo broad t ypes of li t erary sym bol s Symbol is gener al y acknowl edged t o be one of t he most f r equent l y em ployed devi ces i n poet r y. I n wor ks of f icti on it i s no l ess fr equent and no l ess im por tant. The f act i s that, when a r eader r eads a wor k of fi ct i on, his f ocus i s mostl y cast upon the pl ot , t he char act er, and t he l anguage used, so t hat he sym bol s are aut om at ical y backgr ounded on t he r eader ’s part . But i n som e novel s and st ori es, t he sym boli sm l oom s so lar ge t hat t he r eader wil l fail t o get a pr ehensive under st andi ng of t he wor k wi t hout payi ng special at t enti on t o the sym bols. The Scarl et Let er by Nat hani el Hawthor ne i s one of such wor ks. The very t it l e poi nt s t o a doubl e sym bol : the scar l et l et ter A wor n by Hest er conveys a m ul ti ple of senses whi ch di f er gr eat l y f r om what it l it er al l y st ands f or, and t he wor k event ual l y develops i nt o a t est and cr it i que of sym bol s t hemselves. Thomas Pynchon’s V. conti nues along m uch t he sam e l i ne, t esti ng an al phabeti cal sym bol. Anot her exam pl e i s Her man Mel vil le’s Moby Di ck, i n which t he huge whi te whal e i n t he ti tl e of t he book acqui res gr eat er m eaning t han t he li t er al di ct i onar y def i nit i on of an aquat i c m am mal. I t al so suggest s mor e than t he devil , to whom som e of the char act ers l i ken it . The huge whal e, as t he st ory unf ol ds, es t o im pl y an am pli tude of meani ngs: among t hem t he f orces of nat ur e and t he whol e universe. Li t er ar y sym bols ar e of t wo broad t ypes: one t ype i ncl udes t hose embodyi ng uni versal suggest i ons of meaning. Fl owi ng wat er suggest s tim e and eter ni ty, a j our ney i nt o t he under worl d and r et ur n f r om it i s i nt er pret ed as a spir it ual exper i ence or a dark ni ght of t he soul, and a ki nd of r edem pt ive odyssey. Such sym bol s ar e used wi del y ( and sometim es unconsci ousl y) i n west er n li ter at ure. The ot her t ype of sym bol secur es i ts suggesti veness not f r om qual it ies i nher ent i n it self but f rom the way i n whi ch it i s used i n a gi ven wor k, i n a speci al cont ext. Thus, in Moby Di ck t he voyage, the l and, and t he ocean ar e objects pr egnant wit h meani ngs that sem alm ost i ndependent of t he aut hor ’s use of them i n t he st ory。 f or i nst ance, the ways sent ences ar e connect ed. This i s the i nt ernal or gani zat i on of a t ext . Under context, r oughl y t he m at eri al , m ent al, personal , i nter acti onal , soci al, i nst it ut i onal, cult ural, and hist or ical si tuati on in whi ch t he di scour se i s made, we consi der t he ext er nal r el ati ons of t he li ter ar y t ext or a part of t he t ext , sei ng i t as a discour se pr esupposi ng a soci al r elati on bet ween it s part ici pants ( aut hor and r eader, character and char act er , char act er and r eader, etc.) , and a shar ing of knowledge and asum pti ons by par ti ci pant s. Cohesi on: Does t he text cont ai n l ogi cal or other li nks bet ween sentences ( eg coor dinati ng conj uncti ons, li nking adver bial s) , or does it t end to r epl y on i mpli cit connecti ons of m eani ng? What sort of use is m ade of cr oss r ef erence by pr onouns (she, i t, t hey, et c), by substi t ut e f or ms ( do, so, et c), or el ipsis? I s t here any use made of el egant vari at i on —the avoi dance of r epeti ti on by substi t ut i on of a descr i pt ive phr ase ( as “t he ol d l awyer ” substi t ut es f or t he r epet it on of an ear li er “Mr Jones”) ? Ar e m eaning connecti ons rei nf orced by r epeti ti on of wor ds and phr ases, or by r epeatedly usi ng words f rom the sam e sem ant ic f i el d? Cont ext : Does the wr it er addr ess t he reader dir ect l y, or t hr ough t he wor ds or t hought s of some f i ct ional char act er ? What li ngui st ic cl ues ( eg fi r st person pronouns I , me, m y, m i ne) are t her e of t he addresser addressee r el at i onship? What at it ude does t he aut hor im ply t owar ds hi s/ her subj ect ? I f a char act er ’s wor ds or thought s are r epr esent ed, is t his done by dir ect quot ati on, or by som e ot her met hod ( eg i ndir ect speech, fr ee indir ect speech) ? Are t her e si gnif i cant changes of st yl e wit h r espect t o dif f er ent persons (nar ator or char act er ) who i s supposedl y speaki ng or thi nki ng the wor ds on the page? What i s t he poi nt of vi ew of t he stor y? Are t he fr equent shi ft s of poi nt vi ew? I f so, i n whose voi ce i s the nar ator speaking? Chapt er Seven Sym bol What i s sym bol ? Sym bol, i n t he sim plest sense, anyt hi ng t hat stands for or repr esent s som et hing el se beyond it—usual ly an i dea convent i onal y asoci ated wi t h i t. Obj ect s li ke fl ags and cr osses can f unct ion sym boli cal y。 of tr ansi ti ve or i ntr ansit i ve ver b constr uct i ons)? Are t her e any unusual or deri ngs ( i ni ti al adver bial s, f ronti ng of obj ect or plement, et c) ? Do speci al ki nds of cl ause constr uct i on occur (such as those wit h pr eparat or y i t or t here) ? Noun phr ases: Are t hey r el at i vel y sim ple or pl ex? Wher e does the plexit y li e ( in pr em odi f icat i on by adj ect ives, nouns, etc, or in postm odi fi cat ion by pr eposit ion by pr eposit i onal phr ases, r elati ve clauses, et c)? Ver b phr ases: Ar e there any si gni fi cant depart ur es f r om t he use of t he sim ple past t ense? For exam pl e, noti ce occur rences and f uncti ons of the pr esent t ense, of t he pr ogr essive aspect, of t he per fect aspect , of m odal auxi li ari es. other phr ase t ypes: I s there anyt hi ng to be sai d about other phr ases t ypes, such as preposi ti onal phrases, adver b phrases, adj ect ive phr ases? Word c