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Scarlet Letter Weeds Symbolism

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In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays that flowers and weeds can symbolize people’s guilt because of their sins, and expresses the importance of confessing and repenting for the sins that people commit. Outside the prison was a “wild rose bush” that offered “fragrance and fragile beauty” (44) as each prisoner entered, “in token that the heart of nature could pity and be kind” (44) to the criminal. The wild rose bush outside the prison symbolizes the hope and comfort offered in the time of doom and despair that lies within the prisoners. Dancing up and down, Pearl, “gathered wild-flowers, flinging them, one by one, at her mother’s bosom” (89). The flowers here symbolize Hester’s guilt for her sin and how she doesn’t feel any acceptance …show more content…

Because of Hester’s guilty heart, Chillingsworth explains that, “all the powers of nature call so earnestly for the confession of sin, that these black weeds have sprung up out of a buried heart” (122). Chillingsworth's description of weeds symbolizes Hester’s need for repentance and release from judgement and shame. Hester’s heavy heart causes nature to beg her to confess her sin. To urge her to repent, more guilt settles into her heart. The rose bush outside the prison symbolizes Hester’s need for acceptance and repentance by offering her their fragrance and beauty. The fragrance and beauty of the roses often instills peace and comfort into the prisoners as they enter or leave the prison, and gives some relief from their guiltiness; something that Hester is still trying to find. When Pearl was throwing wild flowers at her mother’s bosom, her innocence kept her from realizing the meaning behind her actions. The flowers symbolize Hester’s pain and suffering so throwing the flowers at the scarlet symbol, made Hester feel even more isolated and ashamed. The black weeds symbolize the guilt that is always instilled into Hester’s heart. Nature planted the black weeds to urge Hester to repent and confess her sin. The symbols conveys the theme that people need to repent for their sins so that they can

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In the very beginning of the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne presents the readers with a scene with the tone, at first, of a gloomy and drowsy prison door, but then the tone seems to change a bit as Hawthorne introducing the rose bush by the prison door. “It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track.” (Chapter 1; The Prison Door. Line 19) The rose bush is part

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In the first few chapters, the scaffold serves as the exposition of the novel to introduce Hester’s “walk of shame” and Dimmesdale’s absence from the very same fate. During the first scene, Hester is “dragged out into the sunshine” and displayed to “the crowd of spectators” (38). Hester likely feels dreadful as she is like a circus animal viewed upon by people uncaring about her physical well being and only worried about the entertainment. She is “dragged” into the sunlight; hence, she is being forcibly extracted from her one hiding place, the dark jail, and exposed so that everyone can see her guilt. By likening

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While reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is obvious that he uses a lot of symbolism throughout his writing to give the readers a deeper understanding of the Puritans and their views in these times. In this book, the community forces Hester Prynne to wear a scarlet letter on her chest to show her abashment for committing adultery and having a child, Pearl. However, Pearl is actually used as a symbol throughout this book to represent the physical embodiment of Hester’s sin, the repercussions of her breaking the law, and an unworldly being in the usual strict Puritan society. In the beginning of the book, Hawthorne uses Pearl as a way to constantly remind Hester of her sin and as a link between the secret relationship of Hester

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Symbolism Within The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne created symbolism throughout The Scarlet Letter in order to develop the theme throughout Hester’s life. Hester is portrayed as a sheltered soul, shunned from society due to her adulterous acts. The red A and her daughter, Pearl, are symbols of Hester’s shame which she bares proudly despite society's harsh judgements. Hawthorne is able to use symbolism to develop themes, characters, and analogies in the Scarlet Letter.

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In the article “Three Orders: Natural, Moral and Symbolic” by Hyatt Howe Waggoner analyzes how three of the main importances of “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne are natural, moral, and symbolic components of the story. “The Scarlet Letter” is a figurative novel that has a lot of comparisons to the natural, moral, and symbolic pieces of the Puritan community. Hawthorne uses several different items to represent natural, moral and symbolic pieces in his novel. Waggoner’s article shows that Chillingworth is closely in relation to the weeds and black flowers in the cemetery, the letter Hester wears around her chest is close in relation to the red rose, and Pearl is exceedingly close in relation to the wild rose bush next to the prison.

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The sunlight entering the dark forest casting joy and rejuvenation upon the shadows parallels the emotions that come with casting something off that has defined her for so long. The relief is felt within Hester when the conflict is resolved between social obligations and personal feelings. The release Hester feels comes from and end of fighting her responsibility to the community by wearing the scarlet letter and being defined by her sin. All her life in the puritan community had been a struggle to keep her spirited personality against the community trying to brand her as a bad person and once she is free from the community’s judgements, represented by the letter, the pleasure felt comes from the release of her life long

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The book The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne has symbolism all throughout it. People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts. Throughout the book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to signify philosophies that are evident during this time period. Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against their ways, committing adultery. For this sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life.

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While describing the muddled community, Hawthorne notes the wild rose bush growing outside the prison as an “[offering],” to the doomed prisoners. He also suggests the flowers sprung up beneath the feet of the “sainted Anne Hutchinson.” His specific vocabulary suggests that these flowers are a symbol of opposition because they emerged from a “saint” like Anne Hutchinson who challenged Puritan standards. Not only that but these holy flowers are also offering hope and grace to prisoners condemned by the new colony. Hawthorne’s dictation at this point projects the idea that these prisoners are not at all guilty of a horrible crime and deserve to feel hope from a “delicate gem” and not be persecuted in the “black flower of civilized society.”

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The scarlet letter itself becomes an even weightier symbol in these chapters. Whereas at first it represented Hester's adultery and her needlework skills, it now takes on two more meanings. First, the letter begins

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Throughout the history of literature, forests or woods were used to symbolise a lost in morals or spirituality. The devil or The Black man was used to symbolise corruption or evil. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses forests and The Black Man to embody the spiritual and moral struggles of Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth in his novel The Scarlet Letter. The first time Roger Chillingworth appears to the readers, is during the first scaffold scene. He was deformed and hunchbacked.

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Pearl is a symbol of the scarlet letter. She was born due to adultery, which is the same reason as to why Hester wears the scarlet letter A. In chapter 7, Pearl is coincidentally put into a red tunic, “...arraying her in a crimson velvet tunic … and flourishes of gold-thread” (Hawthorne 92), which makes Hester realize that she is the human version of the scarlet letter. By Hester realizing this, it shows to the reader that Pearl can be a “sin” and a “blessing” all at the same time.

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“Pearl took some eelgrass, and … imitated, on her own bosom, the decoration… on her mother’s : A letter “A”, but freshly green, instead of scarlet!”, a quote pulled from Chapter 15, is another attempt by Hawthorne to convey the contrasting ideal of Pearl’s innocence and purity to Hester’s sin. The green of this imitated scarlet letter worn by Pearl is associated with nature and purity, while the scarlet of Hester’s original letter is typically associated with passion and

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He was feeling guilty for what he did with Hester. The Massachusetts bay colony and the city of Boston symbolizes guilt and sin because these events happen here. The city of boston symbolizes sin because the town is still known for Hester's sin and the townspeople can not forget. I also think the town feels guilty for letting such a thing happen. The author is talking how the town is always dark and dark could mean sin and evil.

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