The Lord says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18) God is addressing all of mankind in this statement, telling us that we are all sinners and that our sins are as noticeable as crimson or scarlet. However, he sets the precedent of forgiveness by explaining that through him those crimson sins will become as white as snow. This idea of forgiving is clearly outlined in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne, the protagonist of the novel, committed an act of adultery against her husband, which was one of the worst sins that an individual can commit during the time of Puritan law. Unlike the everlasting mercy of God, the Puritan
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What made the symbols he used so effective was the progression and growth of them as the story unfolded. The symbol that exhibits this the most was the scarlet letter itself. When Hester Prynne had first been put in prison, a large scarlet A was placed directly on her chest. It symbolized at first a reminder of the sin she committed and that she would never be clean or pure again. The large A stood for adulterer. This symbol progressed to actually a blessing when Hester realized that the only thing that she truly had was her daughter, Pearl. Near the end of the novel, the scarlet letter actually symbolizes the bond between Hester and Dimmesdale. At one point, Hester had even ripped it off of herself and thrown it towards the river. Shortly after she had thrown the scarlet letter from her chest, she realized that the letter was not the horrible sign it was intended to be so she returned it to her chest. This bond between Hester and Dimmesdale is sealed on the scaffold when Dimmesdale is dying and had his own scarlet letter imprinted on his flesh. Until this event, Hester was the only one receiving punishment for the sin that both her and Dimmesdale had equally committed. This revelation led to the forgiveness of the two adulterers because the people of the Puritan people had finally realized that even the Reverend makes mistakes, and that they are not the ones to judge their
What made the symbols he used so effective was the progression and growth of them as the story unfolded. The symbol that exhibits this the most was the scarlet letter itself. When Hester Prynne had first been put in prison, a large scarlet A was placed directly on her chest. It symbolized at first a reminder of the sin she committed and that she would never be clean or pure again. The large A stood for adulterer. This symbol progressed to actually a blessing when Hester realized that the only thing that she truly had was her daughter, Pearl. Near the end of the novel, the scarlet letter actually symbolizes the bond between Hester and Dimmesdale. At one point, Hester had even ripped it off of herself and thrown it towards the river. Shortly after she had thrown the scarlet letter from her chest, she realized that the letter was not the horrible sign it was intended to be so she returned it to her chest. This bond between Hester and Dimmesdale is sealed on the scaffold when Dimmesdale is dying and had his own scarlet letter imprinted on his flesh. Until this event, Hester was the only one receiving punishment for the sin that both her and Dimmesdale had equally committed. This revelation led to the forgiveness of the two adulterers because the people of the Puritan people had finally realized that even the Reverend makes mistakes, and that they are not the ones to judge their