... sought for those truths in an area that has hardly been explored even today -- the human heart and mind. Hawthorne believed that the natural world around us, as well as ordinary humans, contained dark places that the cold light of reason alone could not break through. Relating directly to allegories is Hawthorne's use of symbolism in his stories. This is very ... the fatherhood of the devil. Terence Martin sums up the meaning of Hawthorne's best known book, The Scarlet Letter in three sentences: "Taking its form in Hawthorne's imagination, the total context of The Scarlet Letter inheres...

• Word Count: 855
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... culture in his 1965 book, The Long Revolution, as "a particular way of life which expresses certain meanings and values not only in art and learning, but also in institutions and ordinary behavior. The analysis of culture, from such a definition, is the clarification of the meanings and values implicit and explicit in a particular way of life, a particular culture." According to this conception ... to the symbols they create (e.g., red is a lucky color during a wedding in Chinese tradition; red represents danger in traffic lights). That is to say, the meaning of symbols is also context-...

• Word Count: 1950
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... living creatures. All life seems relative to Jim, as the map in his head is "immensely expanded". Jim is an ordinary human being, who through his journey conveys what it is to be fully human. Facing up to challenges, even in the context of the "madness" of war, brings Jim to a far deeper understanding of life and the inevitability of change than ... ...

• Word Count: 951
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate