【正文】 most mon battle of all time, good versus evil. When Hester and her daughter are walking in the forest, Pearl exclaims: “Mother, the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is, playing a good way off. Stand you here, and let me run and catch it. I am but a child. It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet.”[7] Hester tried to stretch her hand into the circle of light, but the sunshine vanishes. She then suggests that they go into the forest and have rest. This short scene actually represents Hester’s daily struggle in life. The light represents what Hester wants to be, which is pure. The movement of the light represents Hester’s constant denial of acceptance. Hester’s lack of surprise that she never expected to be admitted and is resigned to her station in life. Another way light and darkness is used is in the way Hester and Dimmesdale’s plan to escape is doomed. Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the shadows of the forest with a gloomy sky and a threatening storm overhead when they discuss their plans for the further. The gloomy weather and shadows exemplify the fact they can’t get away from the repressive force of their sins.III. Ambiguity in Morality Hawthorne’s ambiguity about man’s moral nature in The Scarlet Letter is the greatest challenge and pleasure for his readers. Is Hester guilty of anything beyond the transgression of the parochial beliefs of her immediate environment? Is her “sin” Christian and human love? Is she the noble heroine of a love story ordained in Heaven? Such ideas were confusing to many 19th century readers and are confusing to readers of today as well. Hawthorne leaves them as questions and readers must take the challenge to decide by themselves.In this novel Hawthorne examines the phenomena of guilt and shame in Puritan New England. It generates a mixture of confusion of pleasure and disquietude in the readers. The confusion is the result of a moral ambiguity in the story’s situations and characters. In this novel, this confusion brings the reader’s own beliefs into question, proving that its themes are still relevant in today’s culture.The moral ambiguity in The Scarlet Letter starts with the situation of the novel. The heroine, Hester, is an adulteress, a sinner found guilty and tired by the Puritan religious court. It seems that Hawthorne keeps on insinuating throughout the novel whether Hester deserves her punishment. Hester’s crime is reduced to a crime of passion, an expression of her individualistic rebellion against the harshness of her society, Hawthorne writes, “She has wandered without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness。這一手法的運(yùn)用，盡管使得這部作品顯得隱晦，意義含糊、摸棱兩可，從而導(dǎo)致了多種不同的、乃至相互矛盾的解釋，但是毫無疑問，在很大程度上，也正是這一藝術(shù)表現(xiàn)手法的成功運(yùn)用，才使得這部小說成為霍桑的杰作，讀后令人回味無窮。即便在150年后的今天，它仍值得人們拜讀。 as vast, as intricate and shadowy as the untamed forest…Her intellect and heart…roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods. ”[8] “The tendency of her fate and fortunes had been to set her free.”[9] Is Hester’s crime made less sinful because it is an individualistic expression? Hester’ ultimate fate seems to suggest not. She does oft die of her guilt as her lover, the Reverend Dimmesdale, does。ll from her parents, the individuality of her character, and from the evil Chillingworth, Hester’s rightful husband, the property and money that allow her to live a happy life.Chillingworth is another character that contributes to this moral ambiguity. Although he is described as dark, evil, even demonic, the reader’s sympathies favor him somewhat。17Notes 《紅字》中的模糊性可見與諸多方面，對自然環(huán)境的描寫，道德觀在四個(gè)主要人物中的體現(xiàn)以及紅字本身對海絲特，珠兒以及狄姆斯臺(tái)爾的不同意義等等。也正是這個(gè)緣由，才使得霍桑的魅力有增無減，經(jīng)久不衰；從而也使他在美國文學(xué)史上的地位愈顯突出。20Bibliography therefore permitting the reader to draw his or her own conclusions. One is constantly weighing the natural versus the marvelous reason for an event.The first occurrence of ambiguity is concerning the rosebush, outside of the prison where Hester was kept. No one truly know the origin of the rosebush, Hawthorne leaves it up to the reader to decide the rosebush “had survived out of the stern wildness”[4] or “whether it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson”[5]. There is also an additional instance of ambiguity with the rosebush. But, this time it also concerns Pearl. When passing the rosebush at the Governor’s home, Pearl asks her mother for a rose. Later, when she is being questioned where she came from, Pearl replied, “that she had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison door.”[6] The natural reason for this is that Pearl wanted a rose from the Governor’s home. The internal reason for this is Pearl wanted to enter the society. More plex ones, however, are those that Hawthorne sustains throughout the novel, allowing each of them to develop and take on various appearances and meanings as the book progresses. In most cases, recurring events show great significance and elucidate the truth beneath appearance. Take the scaffold in the novel for example, Hawthorne chooses the scenes to show powerful similarities. Each scaffold scene foreshadows the next and brings great understanding of the novel. By beginning with the first, continuing with the middle, and ending with the last platform scene, we can gain a better understanding of the masterpiece. These three important events in the novel have great significance. The first one signifies love。 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