Throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the two main symbols, Hester and the scarlet “A”, change profoundly. As a recurring symbol, the “A” first represents the reality of sin, and more specifically, Hester’s sinful act of adultery. Despite this, the letter eventually transforms into other ideas, such as power, courage, and adept, contrasting against the first meaning of the scarlet “A”. The letter also relates to Hester’s daughter, Pearl, various times throughout the novel
Alex Almer Mrs. Voshell Honors English 10 8 January 2016 Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Use of Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a large amount of symbolism in his book, The Scarlet Letter. “The characters and the action are soaked in symbolism” (Wagenknecht 61). Symbolism is the use of an object, character, or event to represent something else. Hawthorne uses the symbols in the book to convey the meanings of the story in a creative, interesting way. Hawthorne uses all of the main
In the Nathaniel’s Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter we see a hierarchy of sins. Roger Chillingworth’s pursuit of revenge is considered a "worse sin" than the passion that led Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale to commit adultery. All the characters recognize that sin will be punished, if not on earth immediately, than by God after death. The puritans believed many sins were punishable by death. Hester is spared execution because the Puritans of Boston decided it would benefit the community to transform
The scarlet letter, given to Hester Prynne as an eternal condemnation for committing adultery, is symbolic of change. While it initially symbolizes sin, the scarlet letter ultimately symbolizes the change and development in Hester over the course of the book physically and in the way that she is seen by society as she experiences cruelty from the people surrounding her. An, “ignominious letter on her breast,” the scarlet letter is initially seen as a horrible sin (41). Hester was a fine and polished
seventeenth century puritan community, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne revolves around the product adultery committed by Hester Prynne with pastor Arthur Dimmesdale. Hawthorne was a remarkable romanticist who shared a theme among all romantic authors whom withheld the capability to create a character that is passionate and true who questions the true essence of the higher truth which is bestowed upon the romantic hero of the novel. The Scarlet Letter, which used the romanticist idea of deep
evil, symbolized perfectly in the novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne “The Scarlet Letter.” In The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses a lot of symbolism to make points about the world. Color and Light Images in The Scarlet Letter, an article written by Hyatt Howe Waggoner, shows that red is the most allusive symbolic color, sunlight means truth, goodness and revelation, whereas false light means evil, but what the article does not describe is the importance of the sunlight in Hester’s hair. Out of
Nathaniel Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter in 1850 in a time much later than the Puritan setting. The main character, Hester Prynne, commits an act of adultery, subsequently has a child, and is forced to wear the scarlet “A” as punishment. The child produced from Hester’s sin is called Pearl. Pearl is her mother’s greatest treasure, as well as the greatest price Hester has ever paid (Hawthorne 499). In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Pearl to symbolize the Scarlet Letter; her fiend-like actions,
At first glance, The Scarlet Letter is a story of sin, guilt, love, and revenge set in a strict Puritan community shortly after the Salem witch trials. However, the story is more than it appears to be at first glance. Beneath its sinful cover, it uses psychological elements to portray a deeper understanding and meaning. Nina Baym’s article, The Scarlet Letter in the Scarlet Letter, examines the importance of the scarlet letter in the story and how it rejects Puritan laws and beliefs. Baym’s article
symbolized by her scarlet letter as she is able to become a better person even though she was ostracized from Puritan society due to her sin. The scarlet letter symbolizes her change as a character throughout the novel as it stands for different meanings throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Hester is seen as an adulterous and a terrible person because of her sin which makes the scarlet letter, “A”, represent adultery, but, as she progresses as a person, the scarlet letter begins to stand
Author Study on “The Scarlet Letter” and “The House of the Seven Gables” by Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne is a very unique and distinctive author. By reading some of his works, it is very easy to recognize Hawthorne’s writing style. For this author study, of all of his novels, I have chosen only two books to review. The first book I read is “The Scarlet Letter”. The second book I read was “The House of the Seven Gables”. Both books are undoubtedly written by Hawthorne and are very fine