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Scarlet Letter Symbolism Essay

455 Words2 Pages

Lawaan Harris
English II Honors
Ms. Litos
Scarlet Letter Essay

There can be a lot of important symbols in a novel, and some characters may be a symbol. The narrator uses symbols to foreshadow and perceive events in the novel. During the course of the entire novel, Hester’s daughter Pearl was seen to be an important character and symbol. In the novel Hester tell us that “Pearl is the Scarlet Letter”, and this is very symbolic in many ways. The way the characters are portrayed in the novel tells the readers a lot about them and how they would play out throughout the rest of the novel. In the book the Scarlet Letter, the character Pearl has been portrayed as both a sin and a gift of Hester. For instance, Hester says Pearl “is the Scarlet Letter”. …show more content…

It also says in the book if pearl was taken away from her, she would have given herself to the devil. This shows the readers how symbolic she can be in the story. If pearl wasn’t born, the story would have changed drastically because she influenced most of the events that had occurred. Everyone in town hated Pearl even the children. They all believed that she is a sin and her mother should have suffered more consequences. Hester’s daughter pearl was mistreated by every child and wasn’t viewed the same. Even though she didn’t cause these things to happen, society made her feel as if she didn’t belong. In the towns eyes Pearl symbolizes sin and corruption. In Hester’s eyes Pearl symbolizes purity and life. In conclusion, Hester’s daughter Pearl plays a major role in the novel the Scarlet Letter. As I said in the one of the paragraphs above Pearl symbolizes both a gift and sin in Hester’s eyes. Everyday Hester is reminded of the sin she has committed but, also she is reminded of what she has created in the process. The people of the town view Pearl as a sin that should have never happened. Without Pearl in the story, most of the plot would have been changed. She symbolizes various things in the story, but the most important things she symbolizes are explained in the paragraphs

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