Everyone comes across something in their life that speaks to them--a symbol as it will be called. In the book, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many symbols, but there is one that really stands out above the rest, and that is the mark on Dimmesdale’s chest. The Scarlet Letter’s primary focus is on the life of Hester Prynne, who had an affair with someone and was accused of the crime and forced to wear a scarlet letter A for the rest of her life. The mark on Arthur Dimmesdale’s chest (although it was never truly stated what the mark actually was) can be seen as guilt in physical form which slowly begins to show over time.
The hypocrisy of 1600s Puritan society was often disguised behind a facade of moral righteousness. Puritans claimed to use public shaming as a way to better the morals of society and lead people to repent; however, it was highly hypocritical as the Puritans found pure entertainment in the downfall of others and completely neglected sinners rather than educating them. Puritan society thrived off of gossip and rumors, which goes against many biblical morals. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a 19th century transcendentalist, tells the story of how 1600s colonial Puritan society reacts to a woman who commits the sin of adultery in the 1850 The Scarlet Letter. In an excerpt from Chapter 13, the transcendentalist ideals of Nathaniel Hawthorne are reflected through
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
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.
In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne published his most well renown, fictitious novel, The Scarlett Letter. Hawthorne described the adversity Hester Prynne, his main character, encountered as a result of the child she birthed out of wedlock. He alluded to the Puritan views of the colony through their reaction to her affair, and the way they treated both Hester and her daughter, Pearl. Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrated that the belief in predestination generated a lack of empathy to those labeled as sinners.
Symbols and Motifs in The Scarlet Letter Symbols and motifs in stories often bring a deeper meaning to the writing all together. A symbol is a thing or character that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract. Motif is a dominant idea or feature in a writing. Symbols and motifs go hand in hand in order to develop the overall theme in a story. However, motif is different from theme in that theme is the central idea (Literary Devices/ Motif).
To finish, the last symbol I will be focusing on Is nature. Nature is a symbol that encompasses the characters in this book but also is a character in the book. Nature first makes its appearance on page 107, “…the ugliest weeds of the garden were their children, whom Pearl smote down, and uprooted most unmercifully.” (Scarlet Letter) In this line Hawthorne writes to introduce the symbol of nature, you see nature being compared to as humans.
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.
According to Erich Fromm’s article, “The Nature of Symbolic Language”, the definition of symbol is “‘something that stands for something else’” (Fromm 121). Laurence Perrine adds his thoughts about symbols in Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, and states that in order to find out what object is a symbol, the reader must be able to “recognize, identify, percept, and tact [them]” (Perrine 175). And he also includes that it is all right to make a mistake rather than “[discover] symbols that are nonexistent”—regardless of the reader (Perrine 175). Going back to Fromm, he mentions three types of symbols that are used.
In the book, The Scarlet Letter, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism to bolster the characters and to help the readers get a better understanding of them. Symbolism is used by writers to better relate to objects. Some examples of symbolism would be in chapter 7. These would have to include: Pearl/the scarlet letter, the sunlight on Governor Bellingham’s mansion, and the reflection within the suit of armor. These three examples are the most paramount to help to reveal the characters and to distribute Hawthorne’s message.
In the story of The Scarlet Letter, there is proven to be symbolism throughout the story. It all starts in the 17th century in a Puritan town. We can see from the names of the main characters to nature that Hawthorne is a master at symbolism. Hawthorne wanted to teach the reader to look deeper into the meaning of things to find out the real truth. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale, burrs, and a meteor to prove that guilt will haunt you.
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.
One of the themes in The Scarlet Letter is sin. The main symbol of sin in this novel is the Scarlet Letter that Hester Prynne wears. As the story progresses, the meaning of the scarlet letter changes from a symbol of shame to a symbol of identity. When Hester first receives the patch of punishment in Chapter 2, she is shamed as an adulterer, which is what the "A" stood for in the first place.
The symbol I'm going to write about is the Scarlet Letter. The letter "A" in this book has a major impact on the major theme of the scarlet letter. How people see this symbol changes throughout the book also. The scarlet letter is the big red letter "A" that Hester is forced to wear after committing Adultry. It effects how people see whoever wears it as.
With Hester changing her ways and helping the poor, the community changed, “They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne 168). While the community originally viewed the “A” as a symbol of sin, they began to see it too as a symbol of being “Able” because all that Hester Prynne had overcome. The Scarlet Letter had many examples of symbolism, but none were more significant that the letter “A”
