Universal Truth In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Tell the truth. Every child is told these words by parents, teachers, adults. Truths denote facts and genuineness. Human beings struggle with honesty as part of the human condition. People need to be true to themselves before they can be so to others, but sin constructs challenges. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic, The Scarlet Letter, offers to reveal these human conditions, allegorizing through each of the characters. Pearl characterizes universal truth through her interrogation of Hester, her attitude towards Reverend Dimmesdale, and her acclamation of whom she is and where she’s from. Hawthorne has Pearl question and analyze Hester frequently to assist in his purpose of truth. Pearl begs her mother, even as a toddler, to tell her who she is. She announces to Hester in chapter six, “It is thou that must tell me!” In the Governor’s hall, Pearl dashes to the armor and summons her mother. Hester notices, “[…] the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportion, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature in her appearance.” As Pearl develops, she continually points out Hester’s scarlet letter, forming a bond with it more so than her mother. When Pearl is seven she constructs her own letter out of seaweed, placing it on her little bosom, wondering whether her mother will ask what it means. The author even suggests, …show more content…
Questioning Hester, challenging Reverend Dimmesdale with her attitude, and claiming her mysterious identify, Hawthorne applies these and much more to Pearl’s symbol of universal