'Symbolism In The Scarlet Letter'

The story 'The Scarlet Letter ' if filled to the brim with symbolism, both in the form of the letter 'A ' itself and the way people see it and the people themselves. The letter, the main form of symbolism has many different meanings varying from the living embodiment found in Hester 's daughter to the version where it was 'burned ' into Arthur 's flesh, to the different ways that it is viewed while Hester wears it over the years. symbol, or symbolism, is generally a concrete (physical) object that represents something else, and idea or message. These symbols range from the most simple substitution of one thing for another to a more complex symbol like that of Moby Dick. An allegory, however, is when a character, object, or event is used …show more content…
The symbolism in 'The Scarlet Letter ' changes, mainly the characters, and defies the mindset of the puritan people. This symbol, or idea, is presented in its finest when Dimmesdale gives his verbal and physical confession Hawthorne uses the people themselves as symbols of an unbending, disclosed, grim underside of puritanism that lurked beneath the public piety. Some of Hawthorne 's symbols were not as straight foreword as that, however, and their meaning changed throughout the novel, or didn 't change at all – such as Reverend Mr. Wilson who was an accurate representation of the church, or Governor Bellingham who seemed to represent the state - however, these examples are few in …show more content…
He is a secret sinner whose private, and public, faces are complete opposites. He is the pure image of hypocrisy and self centered intellectualism; he knows what is right, but refuses to follow through with the actions that would make the necessary amends for his actions. He claimed and proclaimed that the settlement was a place where, "... iniquity is dragged out into the sunshine..." and yet does not go through with that proclamation until the very end. Dimmesdale 's inner struggle is the most intense, as a personal opinion, in the entire piece, as he struggles to do the right thing. He realizes the scaffold is the best place to confess, and is also a shelter from his tormentor. Dimmesdale, like Hester, has an ironic point which is that his symbol of being a secret sinner is also the thing that redeems him. The acknowledgment of the sin he has committed humanizes and relieves Dimmesdale, that he fights the good fight for his soul, and, eventually wins.

Every single chapter in 'The Scarlet Letter ' is filled to the brim with symbolism displayed through characterization, settings, colors, and even the lighting described. Perhaps the most dramatic of the symbols used are the scenes scaffolding scene and the meetings between Hester and Dimmesdale in the forest. Though this paper was short, too much so to give any of the symbols in this great romance novel much justice, the hope is that the