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What Does The Color Red Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet A was written on Hester Prynn’s chest, a key point of symbolism within one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s most famous and prominent works of literature, The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne was able to effectively use symbolism to express his characters and refer to his own personal opinions and experiences. Throughout his ancestry he was related to many Puritans, one of which was a judge. Hawthorne did not agree with their beliefs and customs and later even added the “w” to his last name to separate himself from his family. Within his work The Scarlet Letter he uses the main character Hester Prynn to express the symbolism of adultery and sin, and the toll it took on those affected by it. He also uses the color red to express the sin and “evil” Hester carried with her. Overall, the symbolism in The Scarlet Letter is prominent and successfully implemented to analyze the characters and Hawthorne himself. …show more content…

When the news is released to the colony they force Hester to bear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest on all her clothing to show to everyone her sin she committed. Hawthorne was able to use this to analyze the colony and how they treated the “sinners”, but he also analyzes himself. Hawthorne was born and raised into a Puritan family, but he did not believe the way or the ideas they thought. Hawthorne was able to look past people’s sins and see who they truly were; by implementing the “A” he was able to develop the story of the protagonist, and validate her right to live a normal life because of his own beliefs and

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