《红色英勇勋章》中的象征

学号：42100280《红色英勇勋章》中的象征主义课程美国小说学生郑智慧指导教师姜涛教授年级2010级专业英语语言文学学院西语学院SymbolisminTheRedBadgeofCourageHARBINNORMALUNIVERSITYCOURSE:AmericanNovelsSTUDENT:ZHENGZhi-huiTUTOR:JIANGTao（Professor）GRADE:Grade2010MAJOR:EnglishLanguageandLiteratureCOLLEGE:FacultyofWesternLanguagesandLiteraturesMay,2010HARBINNORMALUNIVERSITYSymbolisminTheRedBadgeofCourageZHENGZhi-huiAbstract:InTheRedBadgeofCourage,StephenCraneusedalotofsymbolstofoiltheterrorofthewarandtheinhumanconsequencesofthewar.Atthesametime,thesymbolsalsogiveprominencetotheironyofheroism.ThispaperanalyzedtheimageandthecolorCraneusedinTheRedBadgeofCourage,expectingtopresentthesignificanceofsymbolisminthisclassicwork.KeyWords:TheRedBadgeofCourage;Symbolism;Image;Color1.IntroductionTheprotagonistHenryFlemingisayouthwitharomanticherodream.Hejoinedthearmyagainsthismother’swill.However,whenthebattlewasjustbegun,Flemingwasscaredtorunaway.Ironically,inthisbattle,Fleming’sarmywon.Sohehashadsenseofshameandhewasfindingseveralreasonsandexcusesforhisrunaway.Thenhemarchedwithatroopofinjuries.AtatteredmanwasdeeplyconcernedaboutHenry’swound,butFlemingdidn’tknowhowtosaybecausetherewasnowoundatall.Theyouthdesiredaredbadgesymbolizedcourage.Oneday,accidentally,hemetatallsoldier,JimConklin.Andhewitnessedtheprocessofhisdeath.Afterthat,Flemingconfrontedwithateamoflamasters.Whenheexpectedtoasksomeinformationofthebattle,hewashurtontheheadbyaccident.WhenFlemingcamebacktohiswontroop,hewasrespectedasaherosincehiscomradesinthearmsthoughtthatwoundofFlemingwastheresultoffightingwiththeenemybravely.Thesecondday,Flemingfoughtlikeabeastandheconsideredhimselfasarealhero.Hethoughtthathewasgrownintoarealman.Thenhecamebackwithhiscomradestooriginalcamp.Itseemedthatthereexistednobattlesatall.2.SymbolisminTheRedBadgeofCourage2.1IntroductionofSymbolismSymbolism,ahugelyinfluentialinternationalmovementintegraltothedevelopmentofmodernism,beganinthe1870samongagroupofParisianpoetsinspiredbytheearlierpoetCharlesBaudelaireandledbyStephaneMallarme.However,theremarkabledevelopmentofsymbolismintheliteratureofthenineteenthandtwentiethcenturyisoftenattributedtothegrowthofidealismandtotheartists’revoltagainstthedesertsupremacyofpositivisticandmaterialisticviewsoflife.Inotherwords,symbolismgrewupandreachedmaturityasfaithinprogressfaded,asliberaloptimismwasstruckblowafterblow,bothbydevelopmentsinscienceandbygreatpoliticalevents.Whiteheadlistsfivemajorcausesoftheunderminingofthe“humanitarianideal”fosteredbyeighteenth-centuryhumanitarianismandthereligioussenseofthekinshipofmen:Hume’scriticismofthedoctrineofthesoul;thebreakdownofunmitigatedcompetitiveindividualismasapracticalworkingsystem;thescientificdoctrineoftheeliminationoftheunfitastheengineofprogress;GaltonianandMendeliandoctrinesofheredity;andtherejectionoftheLamarckiandoctrinethatusagecanraisethestandardoffitness.(Whitehead43)TothesefivecausesJosephWoodKrutch,inhisTheMeasureofMan,addsFreudianpsychologyandMarxisteconomics.(Krutch43)Itisthegrowingdoubt,distrustanddespairthatgiverisetosymbolism,whichmighthavesetouttoconverttheblank,colorlessgeographyofthescientificworldintoamoralgeography,towedmindtonature.Mandwellssimultaneouslyintwoworlds,anincorporealworldofthespiritandthecorporealworldofmattermovinginspaceandtime.AsmenintheRenaissancesaid,manisthemicrocosm,partakingofthetotalcosmos,fromthemostetherealtothemeanestandlowest.Insofarasmanlivesintherealmofspiritheisconfrontedwithunchangingessences,eternalimages.Itisaworldofart,ofmind,oftheghostlyformsknownonlybyaghost;itisthusinasenseanonexistentworld,anothingness,asnominalistshaveheld.Toliveinsuchaworldmaybeakindofdeath—unlesstheunchangingparadiseofessencesistheonlytruehomeofman.Ontheotherhand,insofarasmanlivesinnature,heisimmersedintheflux,inchaos,inthewildandelemental,theprimitive,theamoralorpagan.Thisworldinmotionisdestructiveoranabyss,butitisalsocreativeandaliveandifitishostiletothespirit,itisperhapscongenialtothelife-andpleasure-affirminganimal.Hence,idealistsmayaffirmthatspiritisall,materialiststhatmatterisall,butwhateverone’sphilosophy,theworldmanencountersis,asexperienced,asortofembodiedcontradiction,aradicalparadox.Itis,andisnotideal;is,andisnotcorporeal.Instead,itisaworldofnormalloveandpleasure,beneficentanditisalsoaworldofpainanddeath,hostile,maleficent.Therefore,onefindssymbolistsrefusingtochooseoneextremeortheotherandseekingsomesymbolofahealthyrapprochementormarriageoftheidealandtherealinlife.Thischoiceofwholenessisfoundinanespeciallywell-developedforminthesatirictradition-intheridiculebothofexcessiveintellectualityandofexcessivecorporeality.Withitsanimatingnotionofproportionanditsstressontherightbalanceofheadandheart,satiretendsimplicitlytoopposetheChristianidealofetherealizationaswellasthenaturalisticreductionofmantoapurecorporealityofbruteparticlesjostledandjostlingaccordingtoimmutablelaw.Instead,itspeaksforgoodsense,forareality-principle,arecognitionofthecomplexityofexperienceandthedifficultyofachievingproportion.Itsays:“onlyconnect.”Thisideaofproportionandconnecting,unitingtheopposedhalvesofthehumanperso