Hawthorne’s Usage of Irony Throughout The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is notoriously known to many students as having a rather deep and complex plot, making literary analysis a difficult task for those unable to grasp Hawthorne’s use of irony and the reasoning behind it. Literary critic Mason Cooley explains, “Irony regards every simple truth as a challenge”. Although this quote is not specifically referencing the simple truth found in The Scarlet Letter, it can be contextualized alongside the reader’s analysis of Hawthorne’s literary and thematic decisions. Hawthorne uses irony in the novel as a way to make the reader plunge into the text in order to properly understand his truth regarding hypocrisy that he strategically
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As Hawthorne is describing the setting which consists of a cemetery and a prison, he purposely mentions a rose bush located at the entrance of the prison. Hawthorne’s ironic positioning of the rosebush acts as a thin blanket overtop of his simple truth and his intended symbolism. By introducing the symbolic and ironic placement of the cemetery, prison, and rosebush, Hawthorne is providing a thematic base for the reader to build off of. The base, however, is of such simplicity that it applies universally. The presence of a rose has been employed throughout literature as to symbolize both love and beauty. In The Scarlet Letter, the placement of the rosebush is the basis for Hawthorne’s simple truth that even with judgement, love persists, and truth is inevitable. When applied to the text, the love parallels Hester and Dimmesdale’s hidden romance; the prison parallels society; the cemetery parallels …show more content…
“...A pure hand needs no glove to cover it!” says the sexton to Reverend Dimmesdale, unintentionally alluding at the sin burdening the Reverend himself. The significance of this statement can go as far as relating to Dimmesdale’s weary heart, and the compulsion he has to constantly hold it. What the sexton’s words mean, is that if you have nothing worth hiding you will not need to hide anything. Hawthorne’s placement of such a significant quote can be referred to as odd considering it is hidden between an exchange of dialogue involving a subordinate character and a main character; However, the placement of this quote fell directly during Dimmesdale’s time spent as the “acting force” in the novel. By Hawthorne including the irony during this part of Chapter XII, it backs up the simple truth by supporting the idea of love persisting and truth being inevitable; even though Dimmesdale has yet to admit to his wrong-doings, this quote strongly relates to the redemption that he finds in Chapter
As Hawthorne is describing the setting which consists of a cemetery and a prison, he purposely mentions a rose bush located at the entrance of the prison. Hawthorne’s ironic positioning of the rosebush acts as a thin blanket overtop of his simple truth and his intended symbolism. By introducing the symbolic and ironic placement of the cemetery, prison, and rosebush, Hawthorne is providing a thematic base for the reader to build off of. The base, however, is of such simplicity that it applies universally. The presence of a rose has been employed throughout literature as to symbolize both love and beauty. In The Scarlet Letter, the placement of the rosebush is the basis for Hawthorne’s simple truth that even with judgement, love persists, and truth is inevitable. When applied to the text, the love parallels Hester and Dimmesdale’s hidden romance; the prison parallels society; the cemetery parallels …show more content…
“...A pure hand needs no glove to cover it!” says the sexton to Reverend Dimmesdale, unintentionally alluding at the sin burdening the Reverend himself. The significance of this statement can go as far as relating to Dimmesdale’s weary heart, and the compulsion he has to constantly hold it. What the sexton’s words mean, is that if you have nothing worth hiding you will not need to hide anything. Hawthorne’s placement of such a significant quote can be referred to as odd considering it is hidden between an exchange of dialogue involving a subordinate character and a main character; However, the placement of this quote fell directly during Dimmesdale’s time spent as the “acting force” in the novel. By Hawthorne including the irony during this part of Chapter XII, it backs up the simple truth by supporting the idea of love persisting and truth being inevitable; even though Dimmesdale has yet to admit to his wrong-doings, this quote strongly relates to the redemption that he finds in Chapter