Free College Essays - Symbolism in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scarlet Letter Symbolism The book The Scarlet Letter is entirely about symbolisationism. People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts. Throughout the course of the book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, pull together, and Arthur Dimmesdale to symbolize Puritanic and Romantic philosophies. Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner she has bygone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery. For this irrevocably harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life. However, the Romantic philosophies of Hawthorne put down the Puritanic beliefs. She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, simply is forgiven. Hawthorne portrays Hester as divine maternity and she give the sack do no wrong. Not only Hester, but the physical ruddy letter, a Puritanical sign of disownment, is shown through the authors tone and diction as a beautiful, gold and shrill piece. Pearl, Hesters fry, is portrayed Pu ritanically, as a child of sin who should be treated as such, ugly, evil, and shamed. The reader more manifestly notices that Hawthorne carefully, and sometimes not subtly at all, places Pearl above the rest. She wears colorful clothes, is extremely smart, pretty, and nice. More often than not, she shows her intelligence and free thought, a attribute of the Romantics. One of Pearls favorite activities is playing with flowers and trees. (The reader will recall that anything assort with the forest was evil to Puritans. To Hawthorne, however, the forest was beautiful and natural.) And she was gentler here the forest than in the grassy-margined streets of the settlement, or in her mothers cottage. The flowers appeared to know it (194) Pearl fit in with natural things. Also, Pearl is always effervescent and joyous, which is definitely a negative to the Puritans. Pearl is a virtual shouting match between the Puritanical views and the Romantic ways. To most, but especially the Puritans, one of the most important members of a community is the apparitional leader Arthur Dimmesdale is no exception.