Symbols In The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter Symbols can have many different meanings varying from a group of people to the sins an individual has committed. In many works of literature symbols are used to stand for something that’s deeper than the object or person itself. This is seen when Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbols as a way describing the atmosphere, events, and that are taking place in The Scarlet Letter. To begin with, the most distinct of the symbolism used in The Scarlet Letter is the letter A embroidered on Hester Prynne's bosom. Hester Prynne was forced by the magistrate to bear the letter A at all times Hawthorne describes it as, “It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself”(Hawthorne 52). Clearly, the magistrate uses the

Hester takes Pearl on a walk in the forest to resolve an internal conflict on whether or not she should inform Dimmesdale about Roger Chillingworth’s malicious intentions. Pearl and Hester have taken a seat next to a brook Hawthorne describes this situation has, “Pearl resembled the brook, inasmuch as the current of her life gushed from the wellspring as mysterious, and had flowed through the scenes shadowed as heavily with gloom”(Hawthorne 183). Clearly, the brook is a symbol for how pearl comes from a father that remains mysterious to the public. As a result, the father whose perceived to be Dimmesdale tortures himself because, the guilt he feels for concealing the truth about his paternity is causing him to feel extreme sorrow in silence. Many of the characters in The Scarlet Letter are experiencing some kind of conflict in their lives which are expressed through symbols. This gives the reader a deeper insight of the characters inner or external conflict. Symbols have been used to tell stories and describe scenarios as seen in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel