The Name Game Hidden behind their physical names, certain character’s names have a deeper, more intelligent meaning. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, he uses symbolism to tell a story of a woman named Hester Prynne who is married to Roger Chillingworth and then later commits adultery with a man by the name of Arthur Dimmesdale. The symbols Hawthorne uses sometimes jump right out the reader, while others might stay hidden. Whether hidden or not, most of the symbols change in meaning as the novel progresses. Specifically, Hawthorne chooses character names that develop new meanings throughout the novel. In Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, he uses the names of characters to develop the story and he makes the meaning behind
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This persistence ultimately hurts him mentally and causes him to lash out and he ends up torturing Dimmesdale when he finds out it was him. Chillingworth exclaims, “He has been conscious of me. He has felt an influence dwelling always upon him like a curse” (Hawthorne, p. 141). Chillingworth admits he has been “like a curse” to Dimmesdale, when he was once a kind man in which many people respected and trusted. But then, Chillingworth attempts to deny these actions, “What evil have I done the man?” (Hawthorne, p. 143). These two contradicting quotes show how Chillingworth’s attitude changes and how he does not want his sin to be known. Therefore, this dark side brought out by Chillingworth causes the reader to think of him as the evil in the novel. Chillingworth’s wife, Hester Prynne, cheats on him with Dimmesdale, causing him to become angry and live up to the base of his name. Together, Dimmesdale and Hester have brought in to the world a little girl by the name of Pearl. Pearl’s name is used to represent positive vibes, when originally she represents …show more content…
Therefore Pearl is a living representation of the sin and this is seen when she exclaims, “we stood with him on the scaffold yonder” (Hawthorne, p. 198). The town punishes and ridicules Hester and forces her to stand on a scaffold in front of the town with her daughter, Pearl, to show the sin and adultery to all of the citizens. In reality, Pearl is just an innocent little girl; “Mother, was that the same minister that kissed me by the brook?” (Hawthorne, p. 182), and she just wants to make her mother happy and find her real dad. The name Pearl gives off a shiny, perfect, and extremely valuable image, but at the beginning of her life she represents sin and evil. Her life continues and she transforms more into a blessing and the shiny gift her mother desperately needs. Nathaniel Hawthorne perfectly picks the names Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Pearl to show progression and regression of the characters personalities throughout the novel. Each character fights battles of their own and represents different things, but they all transform into someone else with a new meaning and a new purpose. Hawthorne purposely picks these three names to effectively foreshadow the character’s different personalities and attitudes they
This persistence ultimately hurts him mentally and causes him to lash out and he ends up torturing Dimmesdale when he finds out it was him. Chillingworth exclaims, “He has been conscious of me. He has felt an influence dwelling always upon him like a curse” (Hawthorne, p. 141). Chillingworth admits he has been “like a curse” to Dimmesdale, when he was once a kind man in which many people respected and trusted. But then, Chillingworth attempts to deny these actions, “What evil have I done the man?” (Hawthorne, p. 143). These two contradicting quotes show how Chillingworth’s attitude changes and how he does not want his sin to be known. Therefore, this dark side brought out by Chillingworth causes the reader to think of him as the evil in the novel. Chillingworth’s wife, Hester Prynne, cheats on him with Dimmesdale, causing him to become angry and live up to the base of his name. Together, Dimmesdale and Hester have brought in to the world a little girl by the name of Pearl. Pearl’s name is used to represent positive vibes, when originally she represents …show more content…
Therefore Pearl is a living representation of the sin and this is seen when she exclaims, “we stood with him on the scaffold yonder” (Hawthorne, p. 198). The town punishes and ridicules Hester and forces her to stand on a scaffold in front of the town with her daughter, Pearl, to show the sin and adultery to all of the citizens. In reality, Pearl is just an innocent little girl; “Mother, was that the same minister that kissed me by the brook?” (Hawthorne, p. 182), and she just wants to make her mother happy and find her real dad. The name Pearl gives off a shiny, perfect, and extremely valuable image, but at the beginning of her life she represents sin and evil. Her life continues and she transforms more into a blessing and the shiny gift her mother desperately needs. Nathaniel Hawthorne perfectly picks the names Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Pearl to show progression and regression of the characters personalities throughout the novel. Each character fights battles of their own and represents different things, but they all transform into someone else with a new meaning and a new purpose. Hawthorne purposely picks these three names to effectively foreshadow the character’s different personalities and attitudes they