摘 要

《丽塔·海华丝和肖申克的救赎》是美国著名作家斯蒂芬·金的中篇小说，也是其代表作和畅销作品，收录于他的中篇小说合集《四季奇谭》中。在《丽塔·海华斯和肖申克的救赎》中，作者巧妙地运用第一人称娓娓道出故事情节，前后环环相扣，而故事的悬念在读者获得每一个细节和给定的信息中得到解码，避开了传统宣扬个人英雄主义的模式，是一曲歌颂美国个人主义和人性的赞歌，诠释了希望与自由的真谛。

本文将从角色塑造、独特的故事情节、并置的主题以及其该小说的语言特色四个方面探讨中篇小说《丽塔·海华斯和肖申克的救赎》的艺术特点，以期在前人研究的基础上让读者更加深入地了解这部作品的艺术特色并对作者史蒂芬·金的写作手法和创作才华有更深入的认识。

关键词：斯蒂芬·金；《丽塔·海华斯和肖申克的救赎》；艺术特色；角色塑造；独特情节；主题；语言

Contents

1. Introduction -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------1

2. Demonstration --------------------------------------------------------------------------------4

2.1 The unique characterization of Andy Dufresne ---------------------------------------- 4

2.1.1 His pursuit of freedom--------------------------------------------------------------------4

2.1.2 His perseverance in achieving his goals -----------------------------------------------5

2.1.3 His utmost calmness in face of captivity-----------------------------------------------6

2.2 The adoption of a unique plot---------- ---------------------------------------------------7

2.2.1 The plot of Andy’s self-redemption-----------------------------------------------------7

2.2.2 The plot of the prisoners’ being institutionalized-------------------------------------8

2.3 The unique themes presented with juxtapositions---------------------------------------8

2.3.1 Good and evil -----------------------------------------------------------------------------9

2.3.2 Freedom and imprisonment--------------------------------------------------------------9

2.3.3 Hope and institutionalizations----------------------------------------------------------10

2.4 The unique usage of language------------------------------------------------------------11

2.4.1 The symbolism used to interpret the themes-----------------------------------------11

2.4.2 The ironies employed to reveal the themes-------------------------------------------12

2.4.3 The gothic elements applied to render the themes-----------------------------------13

1. Conclusion ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------14

Works Cited -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15

Bibliography ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------16

On the Artistic Features of Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

1. Introduction

Stephen King (1947- ) was born in a poor family in the American state of Maine. When he was two years old, his father suddenly left home and never came back. At the age of fourteen, he discovered a box containing some horror novels which were collected by his father. Then he became fascinated with horror stories and aspired to be a horror novelist. In middle school, he began to write for a satirical newspaper. From 1966, he studied English Literature at the University of Maine. After graduation, he went on writing on account of the poor financial situation. And during this time, he wrote a lot of outstanding works. In 2003, King was honored by the National Book Awards with a lifetime achievement award, the Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.  His novels have been widely read and adapted into films and televisions.

King has created lots of outstanding novels, which have brought him a prestigious reputation. Among them, the most famous ones are The Shining (1977), Different Seasons (1982). His well-known publications include Children of the Corn (1984), The Green Mile (1996), The Dark Tower (2012) and so on. King’s first published novel is Carrie (1974). The protagonist Carrie is an introverted and unsociable girl. So she was always teased by her peers. In King’s novels, the protagonists are always those who are treated unfairly by society and family. It has something to do with King’s personal experiences. King was born in a poor family and his parents divorced when King was three years old. King and his brother were raised by their mother whose income was only obtained from an intellectual disability shelter. As a result, Stephen’s poor and miserable childhood is often represented in his novels which shows his fear and hatred towards the outside world. Many of King’s works describe human beings’ collapse and destruction due to their sins. Especially in modern society where because of loneliness and depression, people tend to behave abnormally which lead to many abnormal social phenomena. In many of his works, King conveys a message to his readers: evil is a part of human nature which cannot be ignored and it is the root of destruction. King creates a three-dimensional scene for his horror stories, such as the long road in the novel The Haunted Hotel (1977) and the road that kills pets and children in the novel Pet Sematary (1983). King usually presents fear, death and destruction in an ordinary small place and in ordinary people’s subtle life which let readers see more clearly the hidden human nature in gloom and darkness.

In the mid-1970s, King became known as the master of modern horror fiction by New York Times. Since the 1980s to the 1990s, his novels have consistently topped the bestseller lists in the United State. He has a wide range of readers and is a famous American novelist in the world today. Each of his works which has been adapted into films has become a hit in Hollywood. In 1979, at the age of 32, King became one of the world’s leading billionaires. Today, each of his works has a royalty of more than $10 million.

King’s works transcends the traditional horror fiction. He does not rely on the specific imagery to achieve the effect of terror, but to shock readers through the atmosphere of events. King uses his demoniac fingers to make his readers’ heartstrings move and in the trill of a heartbeat, the readers will enter the abyss of trembling. King says that the best reader response for him is that the reader is “dying of a heart attack when reading his novel.” (King 85) King wants to end up his career when he is at the peak. But he still has one thing in his mind that he wants to be a writer like Mark Twain. However, no matter how hard he tries, people always call him a horror novelist, which is very frustrating for him.

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is one of Stephen King’s most classic novels which tells a story of self-redemption. Andy Dufresne is the hero of the novel. Despite the twists and turns of his experiences, he never loses hope for future. He writes a legendary life with his unremitting efforts and pursuit. Red is Andy’s good friend. Before meeting Andy, he feels numb for the institutionalization of Shawshank. As time goes by, almost all inmates are institutionalized by the jail. The institutionalization erodes their inner heart and suppresses their self-consciousness. Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption reflects the institutionalization of the social reality from multiple levels. In the novella, Red has made a deep analysis of such institutionalization. It is a real reflection of the inner thoughts of an old prisoner who has lived in the high walls for many years. Nevertheless, the darkness in the prison does not make Andy feel intimidated, nor does he lose his hope for the future. Andy has a kind heart. He not only saves himself from institutionalization, but also brings this kind of redemption to the people around him. Institutionalization is actually universal as long as human beings live in society, it is inevitably for them to be institutionalized.