Rob Harvey
Mrs. Johnson & Ms. M
H English 11
October 19, 2015
Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter
In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses an abundance of symbolism. The most obvious symbol is the scarlet letter itself, which has several meanings which are dependent on its context. It can be a sign of adultery, able, angle, and multiple others. In the book, it first appears as an actual object in The Custom House introduction and it is hinted that it was something bad. The letter in the story is an immense gold-embroidered A over Hester's heart, a green A of eel-grass arranged by Pearl for herself, an A on Dimmesdale's chest seen by some spectators at the Election Day procession. In the story we can see that between these characters …show more content…
But the community initially sees the letter on Hester as a mark of just punishment and a symbol to deter others from sin. This does not stop Hester she wears it as a symbol of ownership and pride in honesty because she is not embarrassed to where it or doesn’t not hid from what she did. On the other hand, for Dimmesdale it is a thing of guilt and hiding. He is ashamed of what he did and is not willing to speak out until the end of the novel. But in turn he dies shortly after so some may see that as his finial confection to god. Pearl is another symbol of the A because during a scene in the forest Hester casts away her A to show that it is behind her. Pearl throws a temper tantrum because of this saying that a is a part of Hester and that she doesn’t even recognize her because that A has been on Hester since pearls birth and that’s all she has known Hester to were. When she through away the A it was if she was throwing away her sin but her sin includes the birth of pearl. Later in the book, when Hester becomes a frequent visitor in homes of the less fortunate, the A them seems to represent "Able" or "Angel" because of the work she does for them. Hester working to help
Mrs. Johnson & Ms. M
H English 11
October 19, 2015
Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter
In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses an abundance of symbolism. The most obvious symbol is the scarlet letter itself, which has several meanings which are dependent on its context. It can be a sign of adultery, able, angle, and multiple others. In the book, it first appears as an actual object in The Custom House introduction and it is hinted that it was something bad. The letter in the story is an immense gold-embroidered A over Hester's heart, a green A of eel-grass arranged by Pearl for herself, an A on Dimmesdale's chest seen by some spectators at the Election Day procession. In the story we can see that between these characters …show more content…
But the community initially sees the letter on Hester as a mark of just punishment and a symbol to deter others from sin. This does not stop Hester she wears it as a symbol of ownership and pride in honesty because she is not embarrassed to where it or doesn’t not hid from what she did. On the other hand, for Dimmesdale it is a thing of guilt and hiding. He is ashamed of what he did and is not willing to speak out until the end of the novel. But in turn he dies shortly after so some may see that as his finial confection to god. Pearl is another symbol of the A because during a scene in the forest Hester casts away her A to show that it is behind her. Pearl throws a temper tantrum because of this saying that a is a part of Hester and that she doesn’t even recognize her because that A has been on Hester since pearls birth and that’s all she has known Hester to were. When she through away the A it was if she was throwing away her sin but her sin includes the birth of pearl. Later in the book, when Hester becomes a frequent visitor in homes of the less fortunate, the A them seems to represent "Able" or "Angel" because of the work she does for them. Hester working to help