【正文】 t Let ter by Nat hani el Hawt hor ne is one of such works. The ver y ti tl e poi nts t o a doubl e sym bol: t he scarl et l et t er A worn by Hest er conveys a m ul ti ple of senses whi ch di f er gr eat ly f r om what it l it er al l y st ands f or, and t he wor k event ual y devel ops i nt o a test and cr it que of sym bol s them sel ves. Thom as Pynchon’s V. cont inues al ong much t he sam e l ine, t est i ng an al phabet i cal sym bol . Anot her exampl e i s Herm an Mel vi l e’ s Moby Dick, i n whi ch t he huge whit e whale i n t he ti l e of t he book acquir es gr eat er m eani ng t han t he l it eral dicti onar ydefi niti on of an aquati c m amm al . It al so suggests m ore t han t he devi l, t o whom some of t he char act er s li ken it. The huge whale, as the st or y unfol ds, es t o im ply an am pl it ude of m eani ngs: am ong t hem t he f or ces of natur e and t he whole uni ver se. Lit erar y sym bol s ar e of t wo broad types: one t ype includes those em bodyi ng uni versal suggesti ons of m eani ng. Fl owi ng wat er suggests t im e and et er nit y, a j ourney i nt o t he under wor l d and r etur n fr om i t is i nt er pr et ed as a spi ri t ual experi ence or a dar k ni ght of t he soul , and a ki nd of redem pti ve odyssey. Such sym bols ar e used wi dely ( and som et im es unconsciousl y) i n west er n li t er at ur e. 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 i tsel f but f r om t he way i n whi ch it i s used i n a gi ven wor k, in a speci al cont ext . Thus, i n Moby Di ck t he voyage, t he l and, and t he ocean ar e objects pr egnant wit h meani ngs t hat sem al most i ndependent of t he aut hor ’s use of them i n t he st ory。 it s syl l abl es, the nar at or t el s us, “cast an East er n enchantm ent over me.” Even a l ocal e, or a f eat ure of physi cal t opogr aphy, can pr ovi de ri ch sym boli c suggesti ons. The caf 233。, but an i sland of r ef uge f r om sleepl es ni ght , chaos, l onel ines, old age, t he m eaninglessness of l if e, and im pendi ng deat h. I n som e novel s and st ori es, som e char act er s are symboli c. Such char act ers usual ly appear br iefl y and r em ai n sli ght l y m yst er i ous. In Joseph Cor nar d’s H eart of Darkness, a steam shi p pany that hi r es m en t o wor k i n Congo m ai nt ai ns in i ts wai ti ng r oom t wo wom en who knit bl ack wool —t hey sym boli ze t he cl assi cal Fat es. Such a char act er i s sen as a port rait r ather than as a person, at l east port rait l i ke. Faul kner ’s Miss Emi l y, t wi ce appear s at a wi ndow of her houses “l(fā) i ke t he car ven t or so of an i dol i n t he ni che. ” Though Faul kner i nvest s her wit h li f e and vi gor , he al so clot hes her in symboli c hi nt s: she sems alm ost t o personi f y the vani shi ng ari st ocracy of the South, st il l mai nt ai ning a bl ack ser vant and bei ng r ut hl es betr ayed by a moneym aki ng Yankee. Som et im es a par t of a char act er ’s body or an at ri but e may convey sym boli c m eaning, f or exam pl e, a bal eful eye in Edgar Al an Poe’ s “The Tel l Tale H eart. ” 4. Sym bol used i n works of f i ct ion i s t he sym bol ic act Anot her ki nd of sym bol m only em pl oyed i n wor ks of fi ct ion i s t he symboli c act : an act or a gest ure wit h lar ger si gnif i canc e than it s li t er al m eani ng. Capt ai n Ahab i n Mel vil le’ s Moby Di ck del iberat el y snaps his t obaco pi pe and t hrows i t away bef ore seti ng out in pur sui t of t he huge whal e, a gest ur e suggest i ng t hat he i s det e rmi ned t o t ake his r evenge and wil l let not hi ng t o di st ract hi m fr om i t. Anot her t ypi cal sym bol ic act is t he bur ning of t he bar n by t he boy’s f ather in Faul kner’ s “Barn Burni ng”: it i s an act of no m er e dest royi ng a bar n, but an expr esi on of hi s pr of ound spit e and hat red t owar ds t hat cl as of peopl e who have dri ven hi s f ami l y out of hi s l and. Hi s hat r ed ext ends t o anyt hi ng he does not posses him sel f and, beyond t hat , bur ni ng a bar n r ef lects t he fat her ’s m em or i es of t he “waste and extr avagance of war ” and the “element of f ir e spoke t o som e deep m ainspr i ng” i n his bei ng. 5. A sym bol is a t rope In a br oad li ter ar y sense, a sym bol i s a tr ope t hat bi nes a l it eral and sensuous qual it y wi th an necesar y or suggesti ve aspect . However, i n l it er ary cr it icism it i s necesary t o di sti ngui sh sym bol f r om im age, metaphor , and, especial y, al legory. An im age An i mage is a l it eral and concr et e repr esent at i on of a sensor y exper ience or of an obj ect t hat can be known by one or m or e of the senses. I t i s t he m eans by whi ch experi ence i n i ts r ichness and em oti onal plexit y is m uni cat ed. ( Holm an and Harm on, A Handbook t o Li ter at ur e, 1986) I m ages may be li t er al or f i gur at ive, a li ter al im age bei ng one t hat i nvol ves no necesar y change or ext ensi on i n t he obvi ous m eani ng of t he wor ds. Prose wor ks ar e usual y f ul l of this ki nd of im age. For exam ple, novel s and st or i es by Conar d and Hem i ngway ar e not ed f or t he evocat i ve power of t heir l it er al im ages. A fi gur ati ve im age i s one t hat i nvol ves a “t ur n” on t he li ter ar y m eaning of t he words. For exam ple, i n t he li nes “I t is a beauteous evening, calm and f ree。 wher eas a symbol f uncti ons l i ke an i mage but di f ers f r om it i n going beyond t he evocati on of the obj ecti ve ref er ent by m aki ng t hat r ef er ent suggest t o the r eader a meani ng beyond i tself . In ot her wor ds, a sysm bol i s an im age t hat evokes an obj ecti ve, concr ete r eal it y, but t hen t hat r eal it y suggest s anot her l evel of meani ng dir ect l y。 for i nst ance, the ways sent ences ar e connected. Thi s is the int er n