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Analysis Of ' The Scarlet Letter '

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Analysis of The Black Man In The Scarlet Letter
Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. In the novel “The Scarlet Letter”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, symbolism is the main feature of the story. Symbolism is used throughout the novel to describe every object in the story from the characters to the rosebush to the scarlet letter itself. One of the major symbols in “The Scarlet Letter” is the black man, who can not only be connected to the development of the characters: Chillingworth, Pearl, Hester, and Dimmesdale, but also to the history of Puritanism (the time period at which this novel takes place).
“Temptation is the devil looking through the keyhole. Yielding is opening the door and letting him in” (Billy Sunday). The influence of Satan and witchcraft played a major role in the development of Puritan colonies. Due to the Puritan’s strict way of life and fear of Satan and his influence, they became a haven for hysteria. The idea that anyone could have made a pact with Satan caused this mass hysteria and it peaked between 1560 and the 1600s. If accused for witchcraft, you were tortured and eventually killed for you assumed sin; Puritans justified their actions against the accused with their belief that Satan was the ultimate evil and those who follow him deserve to be punished.
Puritan 's believed that God had complete and utter control over the universe, including nature and all of its

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