How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Symbols In The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne focuses more on the symbolic meaning than on characterization. The Scarlet Letter revolves around the themes of sin, guilt and redemption, which are conceptualized through an adulterous life story in Massachusetts. Adultery is expressed in a means, which is not only psychologically disturbing but also reflects upon understanding of the human heart. Hester Prynne is an adulteress who is forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her gown according to Puritan practices. Arthur Dimmesdale, struggles in the background with guilt for fathering her secret child, Pearl yet the woman gets to be castigated independently. Furthermore, Dimmesdale is a cleric and Chillingworth who is Hester’s husband, from

    To begin, Hawthorne uses The Scarlet Letter to symbolize sin. Hester is the main character in the story, she wears The Scarlet Letter as a symbol of shame, because the letter she wears on her chest stands for Adultery. Hester Prynne was a woman who had been married by one man then had a baby with another man. Doing this caused a secret sin upon Hester and

Webster defined "symbol" with these words: "Something concrete that represents or suggests another thing that cannot in itself be pictured." This concept has been particularly applied to literature and used by writers throughout history. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter uses multitudes of symbols in such a manner. One of the most prominent, and most complicated, of such symbols is the scarlet letter "A". The scarlet letter "A" is a symbol of a daughter's connection to her mother, isolation, and the devil and its associations.

Using symbolism gives a story meaning like the objects and people that the story contains, and it causes the reader to make relations with what events are occurring. In The Scarlet Letter, symbolism is used in order to describe Hester Prynne’s sin and disgrace. Even though the story is about her and how she handles the shame, the other culprit behind the lust, Arthur Dimmesdale, does not actually come forward until the end, but he suffers throughout the book by beating himself. In the end, however, he dies because he withheld the guilt while Hester suffers with their child, Pearl, who is one of the symbols of the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices, especially symbolism, in order to show objects have deeper meanings than what they actually represent when he describes the scene when Hester Prynne is standing on the scaffold in the middle of the town in front of thousands of citizens.

In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of Dimmesdale, Pearl, and Hester’s Cabin to contribute to the overall theme of Imperfection.

Authors employ symbolism to convey a complex idea and incorporate a deeper understanding of a novel. Many writers exert symbolism through an object, character, or a circumstance that signifies a deeper meaning rather than directly pointing out how they feel about their novel. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne includes symbols to represent his life experiences under Puritan ideals. Hawthorne uses symbolism in the names of the following characters; Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Pearl which represents different aspects of each characters personality. Hawthorne selected these names based on biblical references, Puritan era, and evocative names. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne writes a historical and romantic fiction novel riddled with symbolism to help portray a profound understanding of the main characters.

She never forgets the symbol, which is constantly the center of her interest and in her thoughts. It has a strange enchantment for her. She cannot see her mother without the scarlet letter. “Dimmesdale sees Pearl as the "freedom of a broken law"; Hester sees her as "the living hieroglyphic" of their sin; and the community sees her as the result of the devil's work.” (Cliffs Notes). Throughout the novel, Pearl transitions to symbolizing truth and hope. ‘Doth he love us?’ said Pearl, looking up with acute intelligence, into her mother’s face. ‘Will he go back with us, hand in hand, we three together into the town?’” (Hawthorne 407). Even though Dimmesdale claims he loves them Pearl questions why he cannot and will not go back in town as such, speaking truth. Later in the novel, representing hope, she shows that although sin condemns one, life is not over. “So Pearl-- the elf-child, --the demon offspring, as some people, up to that epoch, persisted in considering her,--became the richest heiress of her ay, in the New World.” (Hawthorne

A symbol is something used to stand for something else. In literature, a symbol is most often used to represent an idea more complex in scope and meaning — often a moral, religious, or philosophical concept or value. “Nathaniel Hawthorne has a perfect atmosphere for the symbols in The Scarlet Letter because the Puritans saw the world through allegory.” (Cliffs Notes).

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, displays many symbols. The story takes place in 17th century Salem, Massachusetts. The people in this story are Puritans and they live in a very strict community. The main character is Hester Prynne, who committed adultery and became pregnant. Her punishment was to wear a scarlet letter on her dress at all times. Hawthorne uses many symbols to tell the story, including the scarlet letter Hester has to wear, a meteor displayed in the sky, and Pearl.

“But she named the infant ‘Pearl,’ as being of great price,—purchased with all she had,—her mother’s only treasure!” (74). Pearl is the quintessential symbol of Hester Prynne’s life after her punishment is determined. In the novel, the author takes the reader back to the Puritan days where a woman, Hester Prynne, commits adultery and is sentenced to wear a scarlet letter ‘A’ for life. Throughout the novel, Hester raises Pearl, her daughter, alone while her partner, Dimmesdale, carries on his life as a well respected minister. The scarlet letter isolates her from the rest of the townspeople with only Pearl to accompany her. Hester’s isolation is exemplified many different, powerful symbols. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the major symbols includes Pearl who represents the joy, sorrow, and punishment in Hester’s life.

The book The Scarlet Letter has an absurd amount of symbolism in it. It seems like there is symbolism on every page of the book. The author Hawthorne uses everything he can as symbolism and he uses it well. He could use something as simple as a letter to symbolize a much larger concept. A concept so big that a woman based her life on it and had to live with what she did and must raise a child in the world. To understand symbolism and how it's used in The Scarlet Letter, it must be explained.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter began in a small town in Boston on a very important day where Hester Prynne and her young child, Pearl were forced to stand on a scaffold and for Hester to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest for her crimes of adultery that created Pearl. The story continues to tell how Hester and her daughter grew up around the unknown father, Arthur Dimmesdale, who later reveals himself as such, and a Hester Prynne’s former husband who seeks revenge and now goes by the name of Roger Chillingworth. In the end after Dimmesdale and Chillingworth’s deaths Hester and Pearl move away and start a new life, although once Pearl has grown Hester comes back to her small town to live out the rest of her life in shame.

The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne stands as one of the most famous works in the history of American literature. Set in Puritan Boston during the mid-1600’s, the renowned tale presents the story of a young, beautiful woman, Hester Prynne, who commits adultery against her husband, Roger Chillingworth, who was presumed dead. Due to her pregnancy, Hester is forced to admit her sin. After giving birth to a daughter, named Pearl, Hester is forced to stand on a scaffold in the center of town for three hours and endure heckling from the townspeople. Furthermore, she must wear a scarlet letter “A” that stands for “Adulteress” for the rest of her life. In the events to follow each major character shows glimpses of an evil nature that drives their stories. In The Scarlet Letter author Nathaniel Hawthorne weaves the theme of evil into the lives of Roger Chillingworth, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Pearl Prynne.

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne's most prominent use of symbolism revolves around the use of a scarlet letter, “A.” Throughout the novel, the meaning of this letter transforms as the main character, Hester Prynne, herself evolves. From “adultery” to “able,” the scarlet letter ultimately comes to function as a representation of Hester’s inner identity, defining her very being. In using this symbol of identity to represent Hester, Hawthorne utilizes the letter to contrast Hester from her Puritan counterparts, and subsequently, criticize their beliefs system and moral

“Under the appellation of Roger Chillingworth, the reader will remember, was hidden another name, which its former wearer had resolved should never more be spoken” (Hawthorne, p. 107). Generally authors include symbols in literature to portray a deeper meaning of a person, place, or thing. In this case, Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, incorporates a hidden meaning inside the character’s actions, personality, visage, etc. The symbolic meanings of Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, and Pearl come within the name which expresses the types of characters they are. For example, “chilling” serves as a synonym for the word “cold,” “dim” also means “strung-out” or “dark,” and “pearl” links to the ideas of “beauty” and “price” in terms of expense. And while these symbols may appear to convey a simple characteristic, they can change into either a positive or negative connotation depending on the symbolic meaning from the beginning of the novel. For Roger Chillingworth, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Pearl, nothing but that of their name describes the type of person they are. While Nathaniel Hawthorne includes a variety of symbols in The Scarlet Letter, the names of Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, and Pearl call for the most unique aspect of the novel due to the underlying meanings in their names.