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.
Symbolism used in The Scarlet Letter In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathanial Hawthorne, there were many different aspects that are used as symbols. One symbol is the letter “A”. Hester got pregnant with a man that is not her husband and she was forced to wear a big letter A on her chest. The A that she was was big, beautiful, and made her powerful.
In Chapters Fifteen and Sixteen, of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester recognizes her true hatred of Chillingworth just before she finds Pearl, playing at the beach, and creating a green letter A on her own chest out of seaweed. Later, Hester goes to hopefully “run into” Dimmesdale in the forest to reveal to him the truth about Chillingworth’s identity. Pearl comes along, and as they wait, she curiously asks her mother about the Black Man. When Pearl sees Dimmesdale’s figure appear in the distance, she asks whether the approaching person is in fact the Black Man himself, which Hester rejects. Pearl, however, ponders if Dimmesdale clutches his heart, as he does, because the Black Man has left his mark on him, similar to how the
By wearing the “A,” Hester was publicly humiliated, however, her development in character causes a change in the meaning of the Scarlet Letter, which leads her to taking pride in the letter as it grows a part of her. After Hester’s sin the Puritan community places a false
It is uncommon for readers to realize that among many famous works, there is Biblical symbolism implanted within. It does not matter what faith, or lack thereof, the reader or author identifies as, the symbolism is still present in several ways. The Scarlet Letter is set in the Puritan days where the protagonist, Hester Prynne, has been punished for the committing of adultery. Speak is a more contemporary book based on a high school girl, Melinda Sordino, who has been shunned due to a decision she made. Biblical symbolism is embedded in the content of these books through the punishment of The Scarlet Letter, the lack of faith in Speak, and the immorality in both novels.
The namesake letter in the story is one main symbol that represents the entire meaning of the novel. The letter throughout the story takes on many forms and changes color several times throughout the story. At first it stands very clearly for the sin that Hester has commited. But, as the story continues and Hester grows as a woman it comes to mean something very personal to Hester as a person, and she wears it as a sign of her individuality and strength. Like pearl, the letter is a constant reminder of Hester's deeds, and a puritans society's fascination with purity and punishment.
Hawthorne’s use of symbols in The Scarlet Letter serves as a mean to denounce the social behavior of the characters, such as the sinful soul of Hester Prynne, the troubled stand of Reverend Dimmesdale or the perverse
“Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder old Black Man will catch you! He hath got hold of the minister already. Come away, mother, or he will catch you! But he cannot catch little Pearl!”
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.
The Scarlet Letter Symbolism Essay In the book The Scarlet Letter there is a lot of symbolism and it is used throughout the book a lot. In the beginning of the book the first use of symbolism is when the rose id in the front of the jail cell. That was the symbol for hope and for people to know that not everything is going to stay the way it is. And that you can get through and grow through the hardest times of your life.
Even though the Puritans may have designated the letter as a representation of sin, Hester’s renewed sense of pride does not want society to define the A for her. Rather Hester wants to define it herself and by doing so she develops responsibility and power over her own actions. Because Hester has the power to change who she is, she also has the power to change what the Scarlet Letter represents. By letting the letter be “embroidered with gold thread” readers are able to see how for Hester sin is not something to be fearful of; furthermore, it allows one to see how Hester has developed into an independent individual who accepts who she is and the situation she is presented with. Hester’s lover unfortunately
There are various examples of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter, but one of them wraps the whole story together: the meaning of the scarlet letter A. In this passage, Hester Prynne wears an embroidered letter A on her bosom as punishment. At first the A stood for “adulterer”, but the townspeople later gained respect for her and said “Such helpfulness was found in her-so much power to do and to sympathize-that many people refused to interpret the scarlet “A” by its original significance. They said it meant ‘Able’” (Hawthorne 107).
Most readers are entangle in the meaning of the letter A, only adulatory of Hester Prynne? No, it is not that simple. Firstly, the letter A is represent angel. Hester Prynne didn’t harbor a deep resentment for the punishment and abuses, instead of that she still treated nice and gentle to others. Secondly, it is able.
Hester doesn´t reflect that when she wears it. At first, for Hester the scarlet letter represents the loneliness that she feels, the sense of guilt and how society is judging her for her sin. Later, however, she comes to terms with her fate and accepts it. This is when the letter “A” becomes something secondary because Hester finds the strength and confidence inside her, to a point where she refuses to take the scarlet letter off, saying that is has grown too deep in her. It has become part of
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”
