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Symbols In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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The Impact Of the Scarlet Letter Throughout the 18th century, Transcendentalist novelists used many symbols in their works. Nathaniel Hawthorne is a prime example, using symbols like he does in The Scarlet Letter. He introduces a character named Hester Prynne, who wears a letter "A" on her chest which is called the "Scarlet Letter." She wears this letter symbolizing the sin she made by committing adultery. This scarlet letter alienates her from society because people see her as a sinner, but the interpretation that the reader has of the symbols is what Nathaniel Hawthorne was trying to convey. In the beginning the scarlet letter started out as a punishment for Hester committing adultery, it also alienated her from society. …show more content…

“...Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter; and, of a truth, moreover, there is the likeness of the scarlet letter running along by her side! Come, therefore, and let us fling mud at them!” (87) Pearl was a fearless child, "...She frowned, stomped her foot, and shook her little hand in several threatening gestures. Then she suddenly charged at her enemies, sending them scattering away. Pursuing them, Pearl seemed like a baby pestilence...She screamed and shouted so loud that the children’s hearts must have quaked with fear. Victorious, Pearl returned quietly to her mother and looked up, smiling, into her face.."(87) Even the young kids think that Hester should not be a mother. They all assume that because Hester committed a big sin she is an evil person, but she is not. She is a mother and because of her sin she now has to live with the outcome of the sin, Pearl. She is reminded every day by Pearls existence of what she …show more content…

She uses her innate strength to transform her punishment, and she questions the insane, hypocritical morals of her community. Puritan society, ruled by a set of strict rules, is essentially in the dark and can not itself see the light. The Puritans can not see the faults within themselves. Society is seen as a place where "iniquity is searched out, and punished in the sight of rulers and people."(50) An accurate comparison to this view would be the Garden of Eden. The Puritans see themselves as the perfect humans within the garden. People who become sinful "must be scourged out of the town."(46) Hester Prynne is able to see the light of truth when nobody in the society can. They have punished her for her

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She was an outcast to society and would never be accepted because she was considered the child of sin. Hawthorne says, “...whose place was on that same dishonored bosom,...” (Ch 6, 77), this shows that not only is the scarlet letter symbolic to the adultery, but Pearl is also a lasting symbol of Hester’s sin. Chapter 6, Pearl, is entirely dedicated to the child and it is in this chapter the Pearl states, “ “He did not send me!” cried she positively.

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Her defiance becomes stronger and will carry her through different hardships. Her determination and lonely stand repeats again when she confronts Governor Bellingham over the issue of Pearl’s guardianship. When Bellingham wants to take Pearl away from Hester, Hester reply’s with, “God gave me the child! I will die first!”(Ch.). When also pressured even more for the child’s care, Hester pleads, “God gave her into my keeping.

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The novel The Scarlet Letter uses a type of symbol thats meaning changes as the story unwinds and progresses. In the novel, Hester Prynne is obligated to wear an embroidered letter “A” as a punishment for committing the crime of adultery. The scarlet letters meaning changes from adultery, to able, and eventually to awe, throughout the course of the novel. As the news spread of the crime that Hester committed, the people of town weren’t hesitant to judge Hester for the sin against God and her husband.

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966 Words | 4 Pages

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman, commits adultery with Reverend Dimmesdale. As a form of punishment, the judge forces Hester to wear a scarlet letter to signify her wrongdoing. The purpose of the scarlet letter is to correct Hester’s conduct. With the symbol of the scarlet letter, Hester’s Puritan community publicly judges and ridicules her. Today, judges sometimes still use public shaming as a form of punishment.

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137 Words | 1 Pages

Pearl does not fit in with the other child in the community. She is described to be devilish. Similar to her mother, Pearl is isolated as an individual in the community. She is aware of her isolation, and senses that the isolation of both her and her mother have a relation to the scarlet letter. As Pearl asks Hester to explain the scarlet letter, Hester thinks that Pearl is completely controlled by an evil spirit.

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Hawthorne’s setting in the Scarlet Letter are also symbolic and play a huge role by having the theme stick out. The most influential symbol was the Scarlet A. The letter A in The Scarlett Letter has various meanings and is the more popular symbol in the book. The letter A is a sign of adultery, penance, and penitence. Hester’s A on her bosom brings out that she is suffering and that she is lonely.

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This shows Pearl’s attitude towards those who had outcasted her and her mother and also demonstrates her wild imagination, that she lives her in own little world. In chapter seven, the hall is described as old fashioned and prim, with rows of portraits representing the

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To Hester’s shock she discovered that Pearl was more mature and imaginative. Hester practically raised Pearl by herself and Pearl turned out to be a Godly, honest, and innovative young girl. People saw how hard it was for Hester and so things changed. Hester became known as the woman who was able to do anything.

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Hawthorne cleverly uses the main characters name for an opportunity for symbolism naming her Hester which is very similar to Hestia the Greek goddess of hearth, agriculture, and the right ordering of domesticity the family and the state of Greek mythology(Lei 2164). By doing this Hawthorne is comparing her to a goddess that had a substantial amount of admiration. The scarlet letter A is one of the most symbolic items in the book, because of this solely letter Hester is able to grow and become the woman she is that aids others and loves all. The reason behind this is because of the letter

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The townspeople “[began] to look upon the scarlet letter as a token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since.” This quote exemplifies how sin is not a death sentence for Hester. Through hard work and charity it allowed the rigid Puritan society to see her as something different, and as someone who would not let society define who she was. Hester, thus, was not only able to change herself, but also the image in which society viewed her by working hard to benefit the public. Likewise, the scarlet letter which was supposed to represent sin was instead “fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom.”

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Voltaire once said, “It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.” This quote explains how there are double standards in society. For example, people condemn murders, yet still go to war with other countries. There are a lot of double standards in society regarding women, men, and wealth. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s seminal novel

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Throughout The Scarlet Letter a great deal of symbolism is used. Nathaniel Hawthorne does this when assigning the A to Hester, or relating Pearl to the flower or rose-bush. The novel is based during the seventeenth century and beginning with Hester Prynne and her child Pearl leaving prison. This is where the A is brought to our attention. The A represent the adultery that Hester has committed.

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515 Words | 3 Pages

The local tribe that belonged to the Adelaide and Adelaide planes area was called the Kaurna people, which consisted approximately 300 Karrawirra Pari (red gum forest river) is the Kaurna name for the watercourse called the “River Torrens by the colonists”. This they used as a resource area and a favourite camping place for the Kaurna people, providing water, fish and other foods. The Kaurna people were a society that were very good at hunting along with fire stick farm, this is where they deliberately lit bushfires for hunting purpose. The reason that they did this was to help grow grass for the Emus and Kangaroo, Although the fires sometimes caused damage to others farmlands. Teaching young people was a big part of the Kaurna life, and

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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”

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The Puritan society thinks that it was their job to punish people who committed crime severely because they believe they were doing god’s work. They persecuted Hester for committing adultery while they are blinded by

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