Figurative Language In The Scarlet Letter Essay

The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, depicts a woman’s opposition to strict Puritan society in the 1700’s. Nathaniel Hawthorne shares a story of the Massachusetts Bay Colony ostracizing Hester Prynne. According to the laws of the church, adultery calls for severe punishment. Therefore, the Puritan society bestows harsh punishment unto Prynne after she commits adultery with an unknown man. Hawthorne’s choice of words indicates his disagreement with the Puritan society’s verdict of Hester Prynne’s punishment. He creates various tones to portray his feelings towards the characters but also emphasizes the communities tone towards Prynne. Thus, in the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals different tones with the use of symbolism, imagery and figurative language to further his underlying feelings towards the characters and Puritan society. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the novel to portray an admiring tone …show more content…
While atop the scaffold with the townspeople eyeing the scarlet letter “A” upon her breast, Hester Prynne feels dejected. Revealed in Hawthorne’s use of figurative language, “As if her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon” (Hawthorne 62). Clearly, Prynne’s heart stayed within her chest, yet the hyperbole supports the claim that the community severely judges and wounds her emotionally. Through a sense of empathy, the reader shares a general disgust of the Puritan society with Hawthorne after the scene. The Puritan’s aggressively antagonistic tone towards Prynne allows Hawthorne to persuade the reader to agree with his unstated argument; Puritan society represents the antagonist of the novel. Ergo, the antagonistic tone the Puritan community shows toward Prynne allows Hawthorne to persuade the reader to agree with his feelings toward Prynne and the Puritan