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to Dimmesdale it is clearly an announcement of his adultery.Hawthorne’s ambiguity forces readers to reinterpret for themselves. Emerson plained that Hawthorne invites his readers too much into his study, opens the process before them. He researches indefatigably for emblems. For instance, the central symbol of the letter worn on Hester’s bosom is excellent, being both real and figurative. But Hawthorne cannot resist having a large A in the night sky, or on Dimmesdale’s flesh. Too rarely does he trust himself to convey an idea: he must be heavily explicit.Praise or plaint, it goes saying that it is introspection demanded by Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, which is brought about by the use of ambiguity that makes it a lasting piece of literature. (3926words)Notes1. Rubinstein, Annette T, American Literature: Root and flower (Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 1988) 80.2. Stuart, C. K. Ed. An Anthology of American Literature Vol. I. (Inner Mongolia University, 1985) 183.3. Feidelson, Jr. Charles. Symbolism and American Literature. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1953) 8.4. 梁泉勝,Oxford Concise Dictionary of Literary Terms. (上海:上海外語教育出版社,2000)67.5. 謝宇 紅字 (上海:上海外語教育出版社,2002)2.6. .7. .8. .9. .10. Kirkpatrick, D. L. Ed. Reference Guide to American Literature (Chicago。 No evil of the past be redeemed by better service.” [13] Are Dimmesdale’s hopes in vain? Dimmesdale confesses his sin after an inspired Election Day sermon, dying as he reveals the truths. Is this an indication that no works, no matter how miraculous, are enough to keep a sinner from his fate? Or, since his life was such a torture, are his death not justice, but mercy? Has he earned death and a respite from the pain of guilty? This is but another example of the moral ambiguity in Hawthorne’s novel. We cannot make any inferences bases solely upon the next. Therefore, The Scarlet Letter has created a “healthy confusion” in its readers.The moral ambiguities in The Scarlet Letter force readers to reevaluate their own beliefs as if plays with the reader’s sympathies. It is the introspection demanded by Hawthorne’s work that makes it a lasting piece of literature. The questions asked by The Scarlet Letter are so timeless that they remain relevant in today’s society.IV Ambiguity in Scarlet Letter “A”Another important use of ambiguity concerns the scarlet letter “A” itself. The important thing is that it means different things to different people.To Hester, the letter “A” is a symbol of her adultery against Roger Chillingworth. This is the puritan way of treating her as a criminal, for the crime of adultery. The puritan treatment continues, because as Hester walks through the streets, she will be looked down upon as if she is some of demon from hell that mits a terrible crime. This letter is meant to be worn in shame, and to make Hester feel unwanted. “Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment…”[14] Hester is ashamed of her sin, but she chooses not to show it. She mits his sin in the heat of passion, and fully admits it because, though she is ashamed, she also receives her greatest treasure, Pearl, out of it. She is a very strong woman to be able to hold up so well against what she must face. Later, the scarlet letter “A” changes its meaning into being able, angel and admirable. The town people who condemned her now believe the scarlet letter for her ability to her beautiful needlework and for her unselfish assistance to the poor and sick. “The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness is found in her so much power to do and power to sympathize – that many people refuses to interpret the scarlet letter ‘A’ by its original signification.”[15] At this point, a lot of the townspeople realize what noble character Hester possesses. “Do you see that woman with embroidered badge? It is our Hester – the town’s Hester – who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so forting to the afflicted!”[16] The town people soon begin to believe that the badge served to ward off evil, and Hester grows to be quite admirable amongst the people of the town. Hester overes the shame of her sin through the purity and goodness of her soul. Unselfishly offering her time and live to those who need her most proves that she is not worthy of the fate, which has been dealt to her. To Hester, the scarlet letter “A” also stands for her lover, Pearl’s father, Arthur Dimimesdale. Her fantastically embroidering the scarlet letter “A”, which means adultery, is somewhat a way she shows her passion for Arthur. Her refusing to tell to is the place where her lover stays. “There dwelt, there trod the feet of one with whom she deemed herself connected in a union, before the bar of final judgment, and make that their marriage―alter, for a joint futurity of endless retribution.”[17] She wears the scarlet letter for seven years, and misses her lover in this way. Only when she meets Arthur again in the forest seven years later, deciding to flee to somewhere else, does she throw the scarlet letter away. After Dimmesdale’s death, Hester and Pearl disappear for several years. Despite living with her daughter, Hester es back to live the rest of her life in her cottage again, and pick up the scarlet letter for the third time. To Hester, there is a more real life in New England than in that unknown region where Pearl has founded a home. “Here had been her sin, here, her sorrow, and here was yet to be her penitence.”[18] Moreover, here is where her lover lies. Hester eventually dies and is buried in the King’s Chapel Cemetery. “ It was near that old and sunken grave, yet with a space between, as if the dust of the two sleepers had no right to mingle. Yet one tom