Using Symbolism to Engage an Audience : The Scarlet Letter
In literature, symbolism is when something holds a deeper significance or meaning to add detail to a story. Authors will often use symbolism to keep the reader’s attention and pull them into the story. Symbolism allows readers to relate, on a deeper level, to imaginary characters and it brings a story to life. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne gives things a greater meaning to capture reader’s attention and engage them. He allows his audience to be drawn into the storyline by utilizing the symbolism in simple things and always remembering to add little details and descriptions. Hawthorne, causes his audience to think deeply in his novel, The Scarlet
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The letter is a symbol of strength and endurance, a symbol of adultery, and a symbol of guilt and shame. Hester was initially ashamed by the letter “A” stitched on her chest and she often tried to cover it up with Pearl, her daughter, and hide from the stares, but "one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another" (54). Throughout the storyline, Hester comes to terms with her “token of shame” (54) and learns to embrace it. She uses the letter “A” as a way of showing the community how strong she is and how she can overcome the stereotypes of an adulteress and be a strong, independant and talented …show more content…
The scarlet letter was stitched onto the chest of every woman who committed adultery and was caught. It was like a warning to another woman not to commit adultery and it was a way to punish those who did and keep them from doing it again. The scarlet colour of the letter represented blood and sin while the “A” stood for “adulteress” because that’s what the woman was now titled and it was her new identity. The letter “A” was also a symbol of guilt and shame, the town no longer saw a person but just a scarlet letter. Dimmesdale may not have had to wear a scarlet letter on his chest or raise Pearl, his daughter, but he did have to deal with the guilt and shame every time he saw a scarlet letter. For example, when he passed Hester in the street and saw the big, bright symbol stitched to her chest, he knew he was the reason for her shame and felt an overwhelming guilt. Or, when the meteor traced across the sky making a letter “A” he chose to see and interpret it as a symbol of his sexual sins being displayed for to the entire Puritan community. "No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true" (224) and he became so overwhelmed he burned an “A”
First, Hester is a main symbol in the book and she is a symbol of sin, confession, shame, and repentance. The first two symbols Hester represents are shame and sin. She has committed adultery and was forced to stand on the scaffold for public humiliation. She has to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’. The scarlet letter ‘A’ stands for adultery and is a symbol of shame. Hester is forced to wear this so she will always be reminded of the sin she has committed and so everyone knows that she has committed adultery. Although Hester has to wear the scarlet letter, she is a very strong, independent woman even without a male influence in her life. Hester is also a symbol of strength because she has to hold all of the shame and punishment in the sin that her and Reverend Dimmesdale committed. On Election Day Reverend Dimmesdale gives his sermon and people say it is the most powerful speech he has ever given. They think that
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes imagery to convey that Dimmesdale can represent Puritan Society rather than the round character that can be seen on the surface level. This is seen through the imagery and symbolism of hypocrisy, Dimmesdale as a Christ figure, and the scarlet letter.
4. The Scarlet Letter was written and published in 1850. The novel was a product of the Transcendentalist and Romantic period.
The letter "A," worn on Hester's bodice, is a symbol of her adultery against Roger Chillingworth. This letter is meant to be worn in shame, and to make Hester feel unwanted. "Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment . . ." Hester is ashamed of her sin, but she chooses not to show it. She committed this sin in the heat of passion, and fully admits it because, though she is ashamed, she also received her greatest treasure, Pearl, out of it. She is a very strong woman to be able to hold up so well, against what she must face. Many would have fled Boston, and sought a place where no one knew of her great sin. Hester chose to stay though, which showed a lot of strength and integrity. Any woman with enough nerve to hold up against a town which despised her very existence, and to stay in a place where her daughter is referred to as a "devil child” is a very tough woman.
The scarlet letter is first introduced as a mark of shame for Hester, a young married woman who commits adultery resulting with a child. In this time, during the 17th century, women are expected to stay loyal and obedient to their husbands. However, since Hester broke these standards, her puritan acquaintances see this as an immense and horrible crime. Along with a punishment of prison, she was forced to wear the brand of an A on her chest, representing adulteress. She is ostracized from
The scarlet "A" is the most important symbol in the Scarlet Letter. The letter "A" does not have a "universally symbolic relationship" with adultery. The letter "A" was the first letter of adultery and the Puritans put the negative connotation on the letter. The community interprets the cosmic "A" as Angel, signifying the passing of Governor Winthrop. The letter on Hester's bosom represented the sin of adultery, yet as that it meant different things to Hester, Dimsdale, Pearl, Chillingworth and the Puritan community. To Hester it represented "alienation and unjust humiliation" .
Through the divergent views of Hester, the villagers, Pearl, and Hawthorne, one can see that the symbolism of the scarlet letter cannot be limited to one idea. Much like the story itself, the scarlet letter is layered in meaning and dependent on which character’s view it is seen through. Penance, shame, truth, and fortitude are all themes that hide behind the Scarlet “A”, each one a forewarning lesson, a universal message to not try to hide one’s sins in fear, but to accept oneself in one’s faults, learn to move on, and
Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, has an extremely elaborate, and well-depicted vocabulary. Many of his sentences and paragraphs tend to be very verbose, but at the same time very helpful in giving the reader an accurate representation of the exactly how Chillingworth reacts when he first sees Hester. Within the passage on page sixty-seven Hawthorne is giving an intricate description of Chillingworth’s reaction when he first sees Hester after she is released from prison. With his usage of both syntax and imagery throughout this passage, he most effectively illustrates his vision of Chillingworth. Hawthorne gives us quite a bit of description within this passage, which allows us to see an intellectual side of Chillingworth. Generally people are intellectual or religious, the big bang vs. Genesis. Chillingworth is portrayed as intellectual, which conflicts with the Puritan views of religion.
“Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used by the author to represent abstract ideas or concepts.” Symbolism in literature is the depth and hidden meaning in any piece of work. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a powerful and evocative novel laced with symbolism. The most obvious is the symbol of the scarlet letter itself, representing Hester’s sin of adultery. Hawthorne’s other symbols are less obvious and are very often obscured in the novel.
...ter's bosom as a mark of just punishment and a symbol to deter others from sin. Hester is a Fallen Woman with a symbol of her guilt. Later, when she becomes a frequent visitor in homes of pain and sorrow, the A is seen to represent "Able" or "Angel." It has rejuvenated Hester and changed her meaning in the eyes of the community.
A symbol is an object used to stand for something else. Symbolism has a hidden meaning lying within it; these meanings unite to form a more detailed theme. Symbolism is widely used in The Scarlet Letter to help the reader better understand the deep meanings Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays throughout his novel. He shows that sin, known or unknown to the community, isolates a person from their community and from God. Hawthorne also shows this by symbols in nature around the town, natural symbols in the heavens, and nature in the forest.
Often in novels writers use symbolism as a device to make their themes and ideas come across clearly to the reader. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many forms of symbolism. People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts of hawthorn throughout the course of the book. The Scarlet letter itself is a symbol he uses to contradict the puritanical society of the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Pearl both as a symbol in the novel, and to work on the consciences of Hester and Dimmesdale.
In the beginning of the story, Hester is being punished for adultery, and is forced to wear the letter A on her bosom. It is shown so that people will know her as an adulteress. The letter A also gives Hester some supernatural abilities. When some women look at the letter A on Hester’s chest, they make a face and look at her with disgust. Other women look at Hester and they seem to share something; “But sometimes...she felt a human eye--upon the ignominious brand, that seemed to give a momentary relief, as if half her agony were shared” (79). Hester knows that she is not the only one who committed adultery, and having the letter with her all the time seems to give her an intuitive power about it. As time goes on, people seem to forget that Hester had committed a sin and see her as a lovely and respectable person.
Secondly, letter A is an indication for Hester's ability to change her life from darkness and sin into wealth and respect. "Lonely as was Hester's situation, and without a friend on earth", a woman with great mental strength managed her hazardous life by the talent and skill on needle. As a result, "her needle work was seen on the ruff of the Governor; military men wore it on their scarfs, and the minister on his band" and "the exception indicated the ever relentless vigor with which society frowned upon her sin" (77). By that, Hester really had ability to earn living for herself and little daughter Pearl. Not only was she is strong enough to raise a child but Hester can helps the others around as well. The letter became the "symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her - so much power to do, and power to sympathize" and "they said that it meant "able""(131). Such helpfulness for the communi...
"Let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart."(59). The scarlet letter was place upon Hester Prynne bosom as a punishment for the crime she committed; the letter A to signified adulteress. The letter A on her bosom was there as a reminder the townspeople, strangers and Hester herself of the crime she committed. Likewise, it was there to ensure that such a crime would not again befell upon their Puritan community.