Jerrett Schlachter Mrs. Goins English 3 December 6, 2016 Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter The symbolism is a great topic to be chosen because it shows the interesting way Hawthorne uses words to tell the story. Three symbols have been chosen for this essay. They are light and dark, also weeds and flowers and the variation of the letter "A". The third symbol is Pearl, that represented sin and later a blessing. The authors use of these three symbols in the book help the reader to understand the thoughts of that time. First of all let's discuss about how Hawthorne uses light and dark in the book. Hawthorne uses light and dark concepts to help the readers know more about the scene so they can get more in engaged when reading. A example of light and dark in the book would be if the …show more content…
Some events happen in the sunlight that are acceptable by the people. Then there are some events that are covered up because by darkness of night because the event could make you subject to punishment if exposed during the day. Daylight exposes an individual’s activities and makes him or her vulnerable to punishment. Night, on the other hand, covers up activities that would not be tolerated during the day. Dimmesdale witnessing Hester and Pearl on the scaffold is a example of this. These concepts of daylight versus darkness are linked to two of the book’s themes. Night is a time where things can be covered up. Day is when nothing can hide even the most secret evils because it is exposed in the daylight. The scarlet letter is meant to be a symbol of shame, but instead it becomes a powerful identity to Hester. The meaning of the letter changes as time passes from evil to good. In the beginning the symbol "A" is meaning adulterer, but in the end the “A” comes to stand for “Able". The Native Americans who come to watch the Election Day pageant think it marks her as a person of importance kinda of like a angel. The letter "A" and Pearl our reminders of