Summary: Symbolism Within The Scarlet Letter

Throughout the book The Scarlet Letter, there are many cases of symbolism. One of the most prominent ones is the scarlet A on Hesters chest. The A was a symbol for adultery. Pearl was a symbol of the sin that Hester committed. Pearl is also a symbol of the sun between Hester and whatever his face is.

In the novel the scarlet letter, the scarlet letter is shown through the use of imagery and figurative language to demonstrate that judgment through society as well as sin is bad while the scarlet is a symbol of sin wrapped in good and beauty. Hester is able to take something that was meant to be a punishment for a crime she committed and turn it into something absolutely stunning. Hawthorne portrayed Pearl

Hester works towards redemption of her sins after her experience on the scaffold. The townsmen “begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token...of her many good deeds since” (147). The scarlet letter, as the title of the novel suggests, indicates Hester’s death in social status and in spirit. In the beginning of the novel, Hester surrenders to the society’s judgement, thinking about suicide. However, Hester redeems her reputation through labor and receives compliments from the townsmen.

Hawthorne depicts his message by using symbolism of the letter “A”. When Hester sewed her letter to her bosom, this illustrated that she is in control of her path of redemption and her power over society's

A scaffold is a free standing wooden platform used for public humiliation and punishment for sin in Puritan times. The scaffold is an important device, highlighting important themes and events. It is significant throughout the novel, one example including the beginning where “...this scaffold constituted a portion of a penal machine...” (49; ch. 2). In this scene, Hester climbs the scaffold as punishment for her sin of adultery.

However, as you dig deeper, you will see Hawthorne’s true purpose for writing the novel. In the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses irony to criticize the Puritan ideals. Hester’s Scarlet “A” is used to show how imperfect the Puritans are. The narrator describes Hester’s scarlet letter when he says: “On the breast of her gown,

While reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is obvious that he uses a lot of symbolism throughout his writing to give the readers a deeper understanding of the Puritans and their views in these times. In this book, the community forces Hester Prynne to wear a scarlet letter on her chest to show her abashment for committing adultery and having a child, Pearl. However, Pearl is actually used as a symbol throughout this book to represent the physical embodiment of Hester’s sin, the repercussions of her breaking the law, and an unworldly being in the usual strict Puritan society. In the beginning of the book, Hawthorne uses Pearl as a way to constantly remind Hester of her sin and as a link between the secret relationship of Hester

From Adultery to Able: The Meaning Behind the Scarlet A Prompt #1 One significant plot point to The Scarlet Letter was the backlash received by Hester for wearing it on her chest. This letter that she is forced to wear signifies that she has committed a sin and she must now wear the shame upon her bosom for the rest of her life. Despite the horrible connotations attached to this piece of garment, there is a shift of its meaning as the story progresses.

The scarlet letter itself becomes an even weightier symbol in these chapters. Whereas at first it represented Hester's adultery and her needlework skills, it now takes on two more meanings. First, the letter begins

“Pearl took some eelgrass, and … imitated, on her own bosom, the decoration… on her mother’s : A letter “A”, but freshly green, instead of scarlet!”, a quote pulled from Chapter 15, is another attempt by Hawthorne to convey the contrasting ideal of Pearl’s innocence and purity to Hester’s sin. The green of this imitated scarlet letter worn by Pearl is associated with nature and purity, while the scarlet of Hester’s original letter is typically associated with passion and

Hester has to wear a letter A on her chest for her punishment of adultery. In The Scarlet Letter, the meaning and significance of the letter A is altered as the novel goes on. Hester, the townspeople, and Pearl all have views of the letter that change. Through their views of the letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author, reveals what his view on the letter is. Hester’s view of

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne the symbol of the A on Hester’s bosom differentiates throughout the entire novel. Hester is given the A on her bosom due to her act of adultery. The letter has set many statements and feelings among all people who encounter it. Hawthorne displays four different points of view, including his own, in order to emphasize the transitions of the bright, scarlet letter. As Hester is first introduced to the villagers after giving birth, she is up on the scaffold.

Symbolism is a great literary device used to enhance a piece of writing by taking a particular object and giving it an entirely different meaning that is much more significant than what the object actually is. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, written in 1850, the author uses many symbols throughout the book to reflect Dark Romantic themes and conflicts and to show the Puritan way of life. Three important symbols that Hawthorne refers to repeatedly throughout the book are the scaffold, the scarlet letter, and Pearl, being a child of nature. Scaffolds in a Puritan society were used to publically embarrass sinners and criminals. This was first seen in The Scarlet Letter in Chapters 1-3 when the protagonist Hester Prynne stood on the scaffold before the people of the Puritan society.

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.

Receiving the scarlet letter changed every aspect of Hester’s life. Especially at the start of the story, the letter symbolized the solitude and great suffering Hester faced just because of a letter placed on her bosom. The “A” also depicted how no one viewed Hester the same way as before her peccant actions. “…she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance” (Hawthorne 109). The pejorative community Hester lived in never saw Hester as the beautiful, young woman she was, but now, as a horrible fiend.