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A modern interpretation of the scarlet letter
Nathaniel hawthorne scarlet letter imagery nature
Nathaniel Hawthorne and symbolism
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Author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, in chapter 1 of his classic novel, “The Scarlet Letter” describes the surrounding of the prison. Hawthorne’s purpose in the first chapter of the novel is to establish a setting through the continual use of imagery, symbolism, and irony. He embraces an ominous tone of despondency and despair that helps the reader foreshadow the nature of the chapters and events to come. Hawthorne’s use of imagery helps the reader create a mental representation of the environment in which the story takes place. In the 1st sentence of the chapter, it reads, “A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of …show more content…
a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak and studded with iron spikes.” In puritan culture, black, or dark-colored clothing, even gray, are normally associated with sin or death. Because of the use of Hawthorne’s vivid and descriptive imagery, the reader is able to infer that a sinner is going to walk out of the wooden prison door which was decorated with iron spikes. Since The Scarlet Letter’s setting is in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, they follow John Winthrop’s ideology of the “City on a Hill.” This term is a concept used throughout Puritan society where Puritans believe that their culture and religion was higher than everyone else’s.
This reference implies that Puritan society is perfect and their city should sit on top of a hill to show non-Puritans how to live their lives in a way that God would accept. In Chapter 1, Paragraph 2 it says, “The founder of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of a prison.” This selection from Chapter 1 contradicts the belief that Massachusetts Bay is a “City on a Hill.” If Puritan society is an example of how everyone should live, they shouldn’t need a prison in their community. A Utopia is defined as a place where everything is perfect. Seeing that the Puritans claim to live in a Utopian society where no one sins, there is no need for a jail. Hawthorne’s use of irony causes the reader to stop and question what the passage is saying and relate it back to the central idea, which in this case is a Utopian
environment. “The Scarlet Letter” manages to be a classic because of its use of literary elements and rhetorical strategies enhances Hawthorne’s writing. Literary devices such as imagery, irony, and symbolism play a big part in the Scarlet Letter and allows the readers to predict what is yet to come.
Pearl is an example of the innocent result of sin. All the kids make fun of Pearl and they disclude her from everything. She never did anything wrong, but everyone treats her like she committed the sin also. Pearl acts out against the children that make fun of her and acts like a crazy child. She cannot control the sins that her parents committed.
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.
Hawthorne’s theme is developed by the saddening, laid back style he uses. The saddening mood that Hawthorne creates helps to develop the theme, which is people will judge you if you change your appearance.Also Hawthorne was very descriptive, such as in this line “swathed about his forehead, and hanging down over his face, so low as to be shaken by his breath, Mr.Hooper had on a Black veil”(Hawthorne,29-30). The precise description causes a decent image in your head to form.
Beginning with the very first words of The Scarlet Letter the reader is thrust into a bleak and unforgiving setting. “A thong of bearded men, in sad-colored garments,” that are said to be “intermixed with women,” come off as overpowering and all-encompassing; Hawthorne quickly and clearly establishes who will be holding the power in this story: the males (Hawthorne 45). And he goes even further with his use of imagery, painting an even more vivid picture in the reader’s mind. One imagines a sea of drab grays and browns, further reinforcing the unwelcoming feeling this atmosphere seems to inheren...
In the acclaimed novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses juxtaposition, as well as parallel structure, to illustrate the negative effects of Puritan’s religious traditions, and the harmfully suppressive nature of Puritan culture as a whole.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a truly outstanding author. His detailed descriptions and imagery will surely keep people interested in reading The Scarlet Letter for years to come. In writing this book he used themes evident throughout the entirety of the novel. These themes are illustrated in what happens to the characters and how they react. By examining how these themes affect the main characters, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, one can obtain a better understanding of what Hawthorne was trying to impress upon his readers.
In Chapter 1, the beginning scene of the novel, Hawthorne describes a group of Puritans in front of the prison. They were wearing “sad-colored garments and gray…hats.” Some were wearing hoods (Scarlet 42). Already Hawthorne is sh...
What exactly is this secondary community? Hawthorne creates this sort of secondary community that is always there and is able to express emotions that are the very opposite of what the Puritans show by using nature. “Nature personification, for Hawthorne, is an effective vehicle with which to bridge the gap between the community of humankind and the community of nature” (Daniel 3). Hester and Pearl are outcasts from the Puritan society due to Hester’s sin. She broke their rules of morality, and for this reason nature must be used as their peer. “Mother and daughter stood together in the same circle of seclusion from society” (Hawthorne 78) and so, it is nature who lends a hand and helps.
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.
Hawthorne manages to create many metaphors within his novel The Scarlet Letter. The rose bush outside the prison door, the black man, and the scaffold are three metaphors. Perhaps the most important metaphor would be the scaffold, which plays a great role throughout the entire story. The three scaffold scenes which Hawthorne incorporated into The Scarlet Letter contain a great deal of significance and importance the plot. Each scene brings a different aspect of the main characters, the crowd or more minor characters, and what truth or punishment is being brought forth.
Symbolism is using a character or object to represent an idea. Hawthorne displayed much of it in his novel, The Scarlet Letter. He displays it in his characters and objects in the novel. He even symbolizes the book by calling it, “A tale of human frailty and sorrow.” Other displays of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter, are like, the rosebush, the scaffold, and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Symbolism can sometimes be hard to understand, or difficult to figure out what a character or object is symbolizing.
Symbolism plays an important role in the Scarlet Letter. The scarlet "A" is used to represent sin and anguish along with happiness. The "A" has different meanings to people other than what was originally intended. The scaffold is used as a place of repentance and judgment by God. Pearl is another major symbol used as a reminder of the scarlet letter.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, symbolsim is constantly present in the actual scarlet letter “A” as it is viewed as a symbol of sin and the gradally changes its meanign, guilt is also a mejore symbol, and Pearl’s role in this novel is symbolic as well. The Scarlet Letter includes many profound and crucial symbols. these devices of symbolism are best portayed in the novel, most noticably through the letter “A” best exemplifies the changes in the symbolic meaning throughout the novel.
The first chapter sets the scene for the novel: Boston, during the seventeenth century. During this period, religion is the foundation for both the laws and the society. We are introduced to the town's cemetery and nearby prison. Next to the prison grows a wild rosebush. We can think of the wild rosebush as representing the beauty of nature, and the prison as the symbol of societies need to tame nature.
The story setting is the impetus in The Scarlet Letter because New England during the mid- 17th century had unique customs and values that impelled conflicts and character transformations. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne accentuates certain settings within New England to portray the strictness and hardships in the town, while he counters with the forest and the isolated cottage settings. Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter portrays a strict, rigid Puritan town through utilizing both the physical and historical settings of the time period.