Light In The Scarlet Letter

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In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author points out contrasting light and dark concepts in nature. Visual representations in nature are given to show how the characters really feel and what it says about themselves. Hawthorne uses light and dark to assign traits of truthfulness, guilt, and sin among the characters. Hawthorne uses the presence of light in the form of sunshine, colors, and illumination to show truthfulness in the characters. First of all, sunshine is used in this purpose when it shines down on characters or a setting. Sunshine is often used to show the lack of purity in Hester. During the scene in the forest, the sunshine fleets away from Hester when she reaches out to it. Even Pearl notices nature’s reaction…show more content…
This is nature’s way of telling us that Hester has certainly turned from the Puritan customs, and has committed a great sin. She is not deserving of the sunshine, the rays of truth. A way that the sunshine does show truth within Hester is when she stood on the scaffolding in broad daylight, clearly visible to the public eye. From the start, we see how light is attracted to pearl. This symbolizes the truth-seeking nature of Pearl. When Pearl and Dimmesdale are with each other at the scaffolding for the first time in the middle of the night, Dimmesdale grabs Pearl by the hand and feels a “tumultuous rush of new life” and soon after “a light gleamed far and wide over all the muffled sky” (150). Light is also used to show the extreme connection between Hester and Pearl. Hester sees “intelligence that threw its quivering sunshine” over her daughter (85). In addition, when they are in the forest, Hester tells Pearl to “catch the sunshine” because it “will soon be gone” (180). Finally, we see Hawthorne use bright colors as a form of light…show more content…
Darkness is used to symbolize sin, hatred, and guilt. We see the use of shadowy scenery when Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest. The dense forest is surrounded by a “gray expanse of cloud” and described as being thick and shady (179). This implies that the two characters have not truly connected with each other yet, and each possess a certain amount of guilt and regret. The secrets buried deep inside the characters is manifested in nature by darkness in the forest. Shadows are mentioned again when Dimmesdale is “walking in the shadow of a dream” towards the scaffolding (143). Secondly, darknesses can hide deeply buried secrets within the characters. Dimmesdale visits the scaffolding in the middle of the night. Shielded from the public eye, as well as “the dark gray of midnight”, Dimmesdale stands on this place of public shame while only himself can feel the anguish return. The dark scene represents the guilt that is still boiling in the bottom of his heart. This sharply contrasts with Hester’s public humiliation on a day-to-day basis. These secrets have not moved from the bottom of his heart. When Hester leaves the prison towards the beginning of the book, she is described as “a black shadow emerging into the sunshine” (50). The black shadow shows that Hester is someone that has sinned, and is feeling hatred. The sunshine is added into this part because it represents the public
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