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Rosebush In The Scarlet Letter Essay

462 Words2 Pages

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s rosebush in The Scarlet Letter represents the prisoners who are living within the shadows of the prison. Throughout the novel Hester, a prisoner, is seeking redemption, so she’s willing to sacrifice her reputation for the sake of her daughter. The rosebush is a symbol for those who are suffering or going through a difficult time. The rosebush is growing in the shadows of the prison, as are the prisoners who have a chance at redeeming themselves. Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne overcomes several challenging obstacles that come her way and try preventing her redemption. Hester was accused of adultery after she was found to be pregnant while her husband was not in the states. As punishment for her crime, Hester was required to wear the letter A on her chest, which stands for adultery. Hawthorne explains that the women of the town believed “they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s …show more content…

Hawthorne portrays Chillington as a man with good intentions when he first appeared as he gave Hester’s child medicine to help it calm down. Chillington attempts to use the scarlet letter as a weapon towards Hester “Doth thy sentence bind thee to wear the token in thy sleep? Art thou not afraid of nightmares and hideous dreams”(68). The scarlet letter as portrayed by Hawthorne, is perceived as a burden of some kind, that hurts you mentally.
Based on the first few chapters I read The Scarlet Letter is a novel about becoming a better person. Throughout the novel Hester tries saving her daughter and proves those who didn’t believe she could raise her child, even with all the humiliation she was receiving It’s all about those who have the opportunity of getting a second chance and choose to use it wisely. The Scarlet Letter gives a life lesson, but Hawthorne uses symbolism to describe

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Hester's divine beauty outshines others corrupt beliefs of her. While Hester walks stumbles out the prison doors and onto the dreaded scaffold, Hawthorne describes Hester as "the young woman [who] was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale" (40). Hester Prynne is being publicly shamed for the act of adultery she committed along with the minister who condemns her. She is forced to stand on the scaffold and beat the sorrow of he sins with the scarlet letter "A" on her bosom to represent her shameful acts. This mark of embarrassment serves a purpose to make her appear unrighteous, but the author chooses to focus on her beauty, which outshines this emblem.

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The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, focuses on the life of Hester Prynne—the unlucky soul who is caught committing adultery and forced to live a life of shame and ignominy. The scaffold is not only the start of her predicament, but it is also the end of the once seemingly perfect Reverend Dimmesdale’s own guilt. The scaffold is the setting of a scene three times throughout the novel: the beginning, middle, and end. For such a lifeless object, it is difficult to recognize its significance in the novel; however, the scaffold is used by Hawthorne to portray the changing relationship between the characters, specifically Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl.

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The context that Chillingworth gives to the scarlet letter is unlike any other character. Chillingworth is Hester’s long, lost husband in disguise. He is said to be the “devil’s emissary”. In the article, Johnson claims that “Pearl, who sees through everyone, is the first to associate him with satan” (J 135). The “A” again can stand for artist.

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Blindness In The Scarlet Letter

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Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne exposes the blindness of the Puritan people through the treatment of Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale’s external characters. Hester Prynne is labeled as an adulteress and mistreated by society because of their unwillingness to see her true character. Chillingworth, the husband of Hester, leads the town to believe he is an honorable man and skillful doctor, when his true intents root from his vindictive nature Finally, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester’s lover and the father of her baby, acts as the perfect man therefore the town views him as an exemplar model, while he is truly a sinner. In the novel, Hawthorne portrays Hester as a strong, resilient woman, though the members of her community

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The “A” was also used to represent the product of her sin which was her daughter Pearl. The “A” had a scarlet red color to represent the fiery flames of hell. The scarlet colored “A” was also used as a reminder for Hester and those around her that even though she was not executed she must live with the sin even after death. The scarlet letter must be engraved on the tombstone of Hester and Dimmesdale to show the act of adultery lasts in the afterlife and only God can judge those involved.

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The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other woman dared not tread. Shame, despair, solitude! Those have been her teachers, - stern and wild ones, - and they had made her stronger but taught her much amiss” (157). Hawthorne uses the scarlet letter to illuminate on Hester’s strength and ability. By presenting Hester in this manner Hawthorne reveals her strength and ability in the beginning of the book so Hester could stand up and be honest and courageous, which enabled her to be able to stand up to the ridicule and

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The main character, Hester Prynne, wears a scarlet letter “A” on her bosom as a token of

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From the beginning to the end of the novel, the meaning of the scarlet letter can only be assumed by the reader because it is never explicitly written by Hawthorne. He uses this undefined letter to illustrate the views of sin in Puritan society. In the beginning of the novel, a woman describes to a stranger, who is later revealed as Chillingworth, that Hester

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Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the Scarlet letter to display the sin and indecency people see Hester as. The detail represents ,the deep beauty Hester has inside although most people do not see her as a beutiful women. The deep red is a representation of adultery which shows her being an oncast from society. The symbol of the letter “A” is repetitive throughout the novel and grows with Hester and overcomes this with time as people start to see her as a person again and not just a adulterer. Hester acknowledges her sin in her puritan faith but swears to secrecy on the father of Pearl.

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What Does The Ambush Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

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Throughout The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many symbols that correlate with the main characters. Symbolism is a major part of this novel and is shown most prominently through the characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Pearl. The rosebush, the prison door, and the scarlet letter are the most important symbols that are dispersed throughout the novel and are within each of the three characters. The rosebush can be seen as the symbol that represents Hester Prynne, and her beauty and light within a dark Puritan society.

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1337 Words | 6 Pages

(Hawthorne pg. 146 chp,13). Through the use of detail in the quote it can be seen how the scarlet letter changed from being a symbol of sin to a symbol of tenderness. The use of the detail allows the reader to realize how much the scarlet letter has evolved allowing Hester to fully realize her innate strength, and completely change the meaning of the burning “A” upon her chest. Furthermore, “individuals in private life, meanwhile, had quite forgiven Hester Prynne for her frailty; nay, more, they had begun to look upon the Scarlet Letter as the token not of that one sin…but of her many good deeds”

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Similarly, Hawthorne uses symbolism of sin in The Scarlet Letter and “The Minister’s Black Veil” to display the negative effects of guilt and sin. Hawthorne uses symbolism in The Scarlet Letter to convey a deeper meaning about the sins the characters have committed. Symbols such as the ‘A’ Hester Prynne is forced to wear on her chest, and the mysterious mark on Dimmesdale’s chest are used to represent the sins the characters committed. When the Puritans of Hester’s community look at her, all they see is sin due to the red letter on her chest. Hawthorne describes this scene as, “Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast,—at her, the child of honorable parents,—at her, the mother of a babe, that would hereafter be

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The book “The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne” is regarding to the strenuous life of a young woman by the name of Hester and her young daughter Pearl as they withstand the perils and suffer through a lifelong consequence of Hester committing the act of adultery. The initiation of the book came about due to the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, coming upon an article in a Customhouse’s attic in Salem, Massachusetts. After being relieved of his customs post Nathaniel Hawthorne then began to write his own fictional description of what happened in the narrative that was discovered with a gold-embroidered cloth in the shape of an “A.” From this narrative came what is now known as “The Scarlet Letter”. Hester Prynne is the main character and the

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Hester Prynne was an example of sin, guilt, and redemption. Hawthorne uses bible passages as examples. The consequences for our sins are determined by God and where we will go. Hester’s punishment is wearing the letter, ‘A’ on her breast. " God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child, whose place was on that same dishonoured bosom, to connect her parent for ever with the race and descent of mortals, and to be finally a blessed soul in heaven!"- (pg 55).

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Adultery, Able, Angel. The Scarlet Letter is about a woman who can take a symbol that means one thing and changes it to mean the complete opposite. In this novel a woman named Hester Prynne had committed a sin of adultery and is forced to wear the letter “A” on her chest in remembrance of her sin. The story takes place in the mid 17th century in a Puritan town of Boston. The rest of the story is based upon trying to find out who the father of Hester 's baby is.

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