摘 要

生活中随处可见的事物被赋予特定的意义，人们的社会交往和思想文化交流以这些事物为载体，通过一定的活动方式来展示，这些事物，又被称作物象。从物质文化的角度来讲，物象不仅是客观存在的物质，又是一种能够论述人性和人类世界的论据。在物质文化的人际交往物象研究中，具有代表性意义的书信和礼物以一种亲密的方式深入人类世界，充分地体现了写信人的内心活动以及赠送者的情感态度。

本文通过分析小说中出现频率最多的书信和礼物，展现小说人物之间的情感变化以及主人公之间表达心声的方式，书写一段历久弥新的跨国友情，从物象角度对怎样维系感情做出较为全面的阐述，希望唤起现代人对纸质信件的美好记忆，并对那些物质至上的人做出劝说。

关键词：物象 友谊 书信 礼物

Contents

1. Introduction .................................................................................................................1
2. Demonstration..............................................................................................................2
   1. Letters........................................................................................................................2

2.1.1 The language of letters........................................................................................3

2.1.2 The frequency of letters ......................................................................................4

2.1.3 The emotion of letters.........................................................................................5

2.2 The gifts......................................................................................................................6

2.2.1 Before the British ration policy..........................................................................6

2.2.2 After the British ration policy............................................................................7

3. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................8

Works Cited .....................................................................................................................9

Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 10

Objects in 84, Charing Cross Road

1. Introduction

In the 20th century when information technology was not yet well-developed, Helene Hanff, a female writer who loved reading, could only buy a discount book because of her poverty. One day she sent a letter of purchase according to the advertisement which published by Marx and Engels bookstore, No. 84 Charing Cross Street,on Saturday Literature Review. What she did not expect was that 20 days later, she actually received a reply and there were out-of-print books. The letter provided a detailed answer to the question of Helene and promised to do best to find Helene' desired book. The agreement between the two sides (in oral form) is reached at this time. In the course of the 20-year communication in writing, Helene has established a deep friendship with the staff of the bookstore especially Frank who is the manager of bookstore. In the past 20 years, they just communicated through letters. Although they never met, they trusted each other and gave presents to each other. The letters across the Pacific Ocean contain too much emotion and yearning. However, until the death of Frank, Helene and the bookstore employees still did not meet each other.

" The objects in the novel, being separated from the traditional poetry, aim to portray characters." (张福圣, 2017 ) Object, a tangible and visible entity, is the base for the writer to pour into subjective feelings. In the meantime, the object is a combination of subjective and objective because of author's emotional expression. Additionally, it is a clue to develop the plot by giving abundant life experience and unique sensibility. As the core object of 84, Charing Cross Road, letters and gifts not only bear the weight of the subjective affection of the protagonists, but also become the point of the author's narration at the critical moment. 84, Charing Cross Road, a typical epistolary novel, is characterized by the shortening of the plot, because the novel describes the letters with a great many of pages in the protagonists. The objects in high frequency imply the attitude of the writer, and to a certain degree, push forward the storyline. An object can mediate messages between time, or space, or both between people who are not together. A work of art, for example, can transfer a message from the creator to the viewer and share an image, a feeling, or an experience. Material can contain memories and mutual experiences across time and influence thoughts and feelings. A study found that couples who have more items that were jointly acquired and more favorite items among them had higher-quality relationships. In other words, if there is a deep friendship between friends, they will express themselves to each other by variety of objects.