Hester Prynne wears a scarlet letter A on her chest as a symbol to represent that she has committed adultery. In the beginning, the letter is a means of reminding the town of Prynne’s sin, and therefore, negatively affects how society views her. Adorning the letter A is something that Prynne, originally, is meant to be ashamed of. The beautifully embroidered A’s intent is to humiliate her and enable her sin to haunt her for the rest of her life, “‘Ah, but,’ interposed, more softly, a young wife, holding a child by the hand, ‘let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart’” (63). However, after years pass and Prynne continues to wear her letter, it starts represent new meanings other than adulterer.…
Symbolism is the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. Almost everything in a literary piece can be used as a symbol. If the author takes the time to write about it then it’s important. If the object doesn't seem relevant than it is probably being used as a symbol and probably has a deeper meaning. Anything can be used as a symbol, and in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne there are many different symbols. A certain import symbol to me in the book is Pearl, Hester’s daughter.…
Symbolism was a literary movement during the nineteenth century that influenced many poets. Symbolism is anything that stands for or represents something else. "The Scarlet Letter", by Nathaniel Hawthorne is filled with symbolism which he uses to unify the novel and add a deeper level of meaning to the story. In the novel, the three most important symbolisms were the forest, the scaffold, and the scarlet letter "A" on Hester's bosom. But the symbolism of the scarlet letter "A" outweighs every other symbolism.…
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, is a fantastic piece of symbolism, which delves into the society of seventeenth century Puritans, in colonial Boston. Centered on Hester Prynne, a young woman sent to the colonies by her husband, Roger Chillingworth, she is first introduced standing upon the scaffold, bearing to society her guilt of adultery through the scarlet A on her chest and her daughter, Pearl, in her arms. Here Hester refuses to confess Arthur Dimmesdale’s identity as her lover and Pearl’s father. Dimmesdale, a newly ordained minister, recognizes his transgressions, yet is still unable to admit his relation to Hester and Pearl, a secret which serves to cause restless turmoil until he confesses in the third scaffold scene. Because of his public confession in the third scaffold scene, Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl are each freed from two burdens that the adultery caused and that each character carries into the scene.…
The beginning of The Scarlet Letter, it is taken as a description of punishment and sin. Hester was made to wear the letter A on her blossom as a symbol of Adultery. Now that she wears the symbol, town’s people see that she has committed Adultery by having a child with some other soul than her husband, Roger Chillingsworth. For example she gets…
The next symbol is Pearl. As I said before, Pearl is a physical consequence of her mother's sin and a reminder of her transgressions. She also represents the vital spirit and passion that provoked the sin. Despite this, Pearl is more than just a punishment. She's also a blessing. She serves as Pearl's reason for living, strengthening Hester's spirits when she is tempted to give…
The prison door is very dark in comparison to the rose bush next to it that “by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness, so long after the fall of the gigantic pines and oaks that originally overshadowed it”(34). The dark prison door is representative of the unrelenting Puritan laws that are in place at the time.The bright rose bush, an opposite of the door, represents forgiveness and decency that are still somewhat present; no matter what the circumstances are, there is always room for hope, and the rose bush is that hope. The most renowned symbol in Hawthorne’s book is the scarlet letter on Hester’s chest. As punishment for having an illegitimate child, Hester Prynne is not executed, the standard of the time, but is forced to wear a red letter “A” on her chest that represents adultery. A greater punishment than any prison sentence, the scarlet letter has “the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity , and inclosing her in a sphere by herself”(37). The contrasting colors of red and black on Hester’s dress show how the “A” has changed her literally and psychologically. The people to the right of Hester are talking about Hester and making appalling faces. The prison door was close to the marketplace, where she was going, but it seemed like an…
passed judgment on Hester and her sin is laid bare to the reader's opened eye.…
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel set in the mid-seventeenth century, which tells the story of Hester Prynne, a woman who commits a sin in her home in Boston. With a child in her arms from another man who is not her husband, Hester is obligated to wear a scarlet ‘A’ (which stands for adultery) on her chest. As part of her sentence, she is locked up in prison with her daughter Peal, until she confesses who the child’s father is. As she refuses to name him, she is forced to stand in the town’s pillory for a few hours while being tormented by the civilians’ frightful comments. In most of The Scarlet Letter, Hester is haunted by her sinful act, since the town people use her as an example. However, Dimmesdale, Pearl’s father, also suffers with this situation, even though his identity as Pearl’s father is unknown, his lie lives with him and as the novel progresses, Hester gradually begins to be accepted in society, while Dimmesdale’s life becomes worse.…
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s writing would not have been a successful story without the usage of symbolism. There were many different types of symbols from playing an enormous role or playing a petite roll such as the pink ribbons, the staff, the devil, faith, and Young Goodman Brown himself. The theme is portrayed by the symbols that is why it is such a big deal that the symbols are used in the…
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne displays many examples of love and hatred throughout the story. Though Hawthorne shows that love and hatred both have the potential to harm, hatred has a greater tendency to cause pain. This is clearly seen in Hester’s love for Pearl and Chillingworth’s hatred for Dimmesdale.…
One of the symbols was the scarlet letter itself. Due to Hesters sin of adultery, the letter “A” is…
In the ancient times of our world, two very powerful empire/dynasties arose. Han china and Imperial Rome came to be two of the biggest empires that the ancient world had ever known. Both areas conquered vast areas of the eastern hemisphere, however their techniques differed. Although Han China and Imperial Rome were similar in that they both had strong militaries, ultimately they are more different because of political structure and economic abilities.…
The Scarlet Letter is a story that characters have to live and deal with the effects of sin in different ways. Of all the characters in the book, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is the character represented as the most weak. He is a much stronger guy than he is given credit for. The amount of control he has over handling and dealing with burdens is out of this world.…
The outcome of the punishment and how well it worked or didn’t work depends on the person dealing with the consequences. Towards the beginning of the book, The Scarlet Letter, I think Nathaniel Hawthorne is making the scarlet letter seem so terrible and cruel for Hester. But as the book comes to a close, you realize that it has done some good things for Hester. Though this punishment of wearing a red “A” on your chest to show adultery seems cold, there were some positive outcomes and it was effective after all.…