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The Forest In The Scarlet Letter Quotes

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All humans sin; it is human nature. It is how an individual comes back from these sins that defines who he or she is. In Nathaniel hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the forest is a place people can escape in order to find their true identity after they sin. Hawthorne shows how much more freedom the forest gives Dimmesdale by contrasting the forest with the town. When Dimmesdale is in the forest, he is away from his guilt and shame and can think clearly about the situation at hand. However, when Dimmesdale returns to the town, he starts to wonder what the people around him will think if they find out he committed adultery with Hester. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the forest is a symbol for freedom, the unknown, and discovery. …show more content…

Hawthorne shows this through Dimmesdale. While Dimmesdale is in the forest, he feels free. The moment he returns to the town things do not seem the same. Hawthorne writes, “A similar impression struck him most remarkably, as he passed under the walls of his own church’’ ( Hawthorne 171). Dimmesdale does not even recognize his own church when he returns to the town. This is ironic because he is the pastor of this church. This quote shows how much the forest changes Dimmesdale. When he goes into the forest he is held back by shame and guilt. However, when he leaves the forest, he is free and changed. The things in the town he was so familiar with, such as his own church, do not even seem the same. Hawthorne also writes, “he stood out from all the earth to put in his plea of guilty at the bar of Eternal Justice,” (Hawthorne 197). This quotation shows how Dimmesdale has eternal justice because he confesses his sin of adultery. He not only has justice, but he has been saved by God. Without going into the forest he would never have had the freedom from his shame and guilt to admit what he has done. Without going into the forest he would never have been freed from his

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