Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter uses the character Hester Prynne, the symbolism of the Scarlet Letter ‘A,’ and foreshadowing to show how sin grows and manifests with a lack of mercy. Hester morphs into this sinful creature because of this lack of mercy. Her sin of adultery was an act of passion without thought. Her sins after her public humiliation were all premeditated into something much worse than her original sin. The scarlet letter also shows this, it shows that this merciless sin causes harm to others as well not just as the embroidery on her chest but a symbol that appears in all sorts of places. Foreshadowing brings these two together showing that no matter what Hester tries to do to earn mercy and feel love the Scarlet Letter will
