Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism to present a specific theme is his works. He tends to show the concept of sin the most, particularly that confessed sin will bring the confessor judgement and ridicule, while secret sin will destroy the soul. In The Scarlet Letter, both Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale have a great sin conflicting them. Hester’s sin was confessed and she was publicly shamed, Dimmesdale kept his a secret and his health declined as a result. Hester’s sin was eventually forgotten and she was thought of as a wonderful person for making clothes for people in the town. Dimmesdale seemed to be dying right in front of them and people got worried. He even goes as far as to torture himself physically to try and relieve the pain. The pain was finally relieved when he publicly confessed his sin and claimed Pearl as his …show more content…
Paranoia started to affect the town as people tried to figure out why their minister was covering his face. Hooper refused to ever remove the veil, even to his fiancee, who, as a result of this, left him. Hooper left the veil on his head until he was dying, and even then, still refused to remove the veil. Hooper died and was buried with the black veil still on his head. The common theme in these two stories, sin and its effects. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Hooper all had a sin plaguing them. In the end, Hester and Dimmesdale confessed their sins, while hooper took his to his grave. Hooper’s veil was a voluntary punishment, he randomly chose to wear it, whereas Hester was forced to wear the letter, as was Dimmesdale, but he hid his beneath his clothes. Dimmesdale’s sin weighed on him and devoured his soul so that he no longer was able to have happiness in his life. Hooper never showed signs of pain or depression but he made everyone around him sad, fearful, or