Symbols are used in a story to help the reader understand the characters and thoughts the author intended for the reader to have. In the story, the Scarlet Letter, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many symbols to connect the reader to the main characters of the story and the ideas he wanted to express through them. Hawthorne’s symbols in the story consist of: a letter “A”, a rose bush, and a prison. In the story, Hester Prynne is found guilty of adultery and is forced to stitch a red letter “A” onto her chest to symbolize her sin. Hawthorne literally uses a symbol to express the sin she has committed to the reader as she becomes, “... the figure, the body, the reality of sin.” (Hawthorne 7), to the entire community. The “A” follows Hester everywhere she may go because the “A” transforms her,
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The two are exact opposites of each other, one being a place of sin and darkness while the other is delicate and beautiful. Hawthorne uses this juxtaposition to foreshadow the “sweet moral blossom” (Hawthorne 42) that takes place later in the story. The “moral blossom” taking place is once again that of the main character, Hester. Hawthorne uses the rose bush’s growth in a place of sin to represent Hester’s transformation in the midst of her sin. Hester still becomes a beautiful person with “so much power to do and power to sympathize.” (Hawthorne 145) while facing the cloud of sin she is surrounded by. In another instance of Hawthorne literally putting a symbol on a tee for us to use for connection is the birth of Pearl. Pearl is literally born in the act of Hester’s sin, yet becomes a normal, even beautiful child, just as the rose bush grew in front of the prison door. When asked where she was born Pearl states “that she was plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison door.” (Hawthorne 99) even further solidifying the connection between her and the rose
The two are exact opposites of each other, one being a place of sin and darkness while the other is delicate and beautiful. Hawthorne uses this juxtaposition to foreshadow the “sweet moral blossom” (Hawthorne 42) that takes place later in the story. The “moral blossom” taking place is once again that of the main character, Hester. Hawthorne uses the rose bush’s growth in a place of sin to represent Hester’s transformation in the midst of her sin. Hester still becomes a beautiful person with “so much power to do and power to sympathize.” (Hawthorne 145) while facing the cloud of sin she is surrounded by. In another instance of Hawthorne literally putting a symbol on a tee for us to use for connection is the birth of Pearl. Pearl is literally born in the act of Hester’s sin, yet becomes a normal, even beautiful child, just as the rose bush grew in front of the prison door. When asked where she was born Pearl states “that she was plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison door.” (Hawthorne 99) even further solidifying the connection between her and the rose