Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne isn't noted for perfecting any famous literary style, for writing multiple best sellers, or even for contributing largely to classic American literature. His only real claim to fame is The Scarlet Letter: a novel that was originally only meant to be yet another Hawthorne short story. Because of this, it actually possesses many short story characteristics. "It is simpler and more complete than his other novels." (James 285) It also has an excellent plot backed by an expert use of literary techniques. One technique Hawthorne used was borrowed solely from drama: the use of the aside. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale delivers an aside in the midst of the action in chapter three, incorporating the reader into his personal thoughts and feelings directly. Many other things in The Scarlet Letter weren't so direct, though. Typically, Hawthorne left the reader implying events by being vague and not answering posed questions. An example of this technique is through the women's discussion about Hester Prynne in chapter one. But, among all of his techniques used in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne truly mastered only one. He refined the art of symbolism. Symbolism is found throughout all of The Scarlet Letter. Nearly every person or object is symbolic of some other thing or idea. The scarlet letter, the black glove Dimmesdale leaves on the scaffold, and the scaffold itself all have deeper significance. This makes the theme of The Scarlet Letter even more ever-present. It aids in illustrating the true intolerance and hypocrisy of Puritan customs.
At first reading, one might safely say that the scarlet letter means "Adulteress." Although this is partially correct, it lacks in-...
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Works Cited
Bruckner, Sally. "The Scarlet Letter." Masterplots. Vol. 10 Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasadena, California: Salem, Press, 1996. 5849-51.
Feidelson, Jr., Charles. "Hawthorne as Symbolist." Hawthorne. Ed. A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1996. 64-71.
James, Henry. "Densely Dark, with a Spot of Vivid Color." The Scarlet Letter. Ed. Norton Critical. 1978. 287-91.
Van Doren, Mark. "The Scarlet Letter." Hawthorne. Ed. A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. 129-40.
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Ziff, Larzer. "The Ethical Dimension of 'The Custom House.'" Hawthorne. Ed. A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: P2
A. The Scarlet Letter. Enriched Classic ed. of the book. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
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...
Griswold, Rufus Wilmot. "The Scarlet Letter." The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors. Ed. Charles Wells Moulton. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Peter Smith Publishing, 1989. 341-371.
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.
Lang, H.J.. “How Ambiguous Is Hawthorne.” In Hawthorne – A Collection of Critical Essays, edited by A.N. Kaul. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Smiles, Samuel. "The Scarlet Letter." The Critical Temper. Ed. Martin Tucker. New York City: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1962. 266.
Gerber, John C. "Form and Content in The Scarlet Letter." The Scarlet Letter: A Norton Critical Edition. Eds. Seymour Gross, Sculley Bradley, Richmond Croom Beatty, and E. Hudson Long. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1988.
either Slow-Wave or REM sleep, and I hope future essays will delve more fully into these subjects. Luckily for researchers
Sleep is defined as a period of reduced activity in which an individual’s response to his/her environment is decreased (Healthy Sleep, n.d.) The body undergoes fluctuations in brain wave activity, breathing, heart rate and other functions. These changes occur during two main stages of sleep. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is the stage in which dreaming typically occurs and absorption of newly learned information takes place. The deep restorative sleep known as slow-wave sleep consolidates memories (Healthy Sleep, n.d.) Recent studies have found that some individuals may not experience both stages of sleep. This can contribute to problems in learning, memory and brain restoration.
The sleep-cycle is what makes everyone sleep and wake up every night and morning. The basic mechanisms of the sleep-wake cycle consist of approximately 8 hours of nocturnal sleep and 16 hours of being awake. This cycle is controlled by combination internal influences of both sleep homeostasis and circadian rhythms. Homeostasis is “the process by which the body maintains a steady state of internal conditions such as blood pressure, body temperature, and acid-base balance”, and Circadian rhythms “refer to the cyclical changes-like fluctuations in body temperature, hormone levels, and sleep that occurs over a 24 hour-period”. (NSF)
Sleep is one of our basic needs to survive and to function in day to day operations, but not everyone needs the same amount of sleep. Some people can survive on very little sleep, i.e. five hours a night, and some people need a lot of sleep, to the extend that they are sleeping up to 10 to sometimes 15 hours a night (Nature, 2005). According to Wilson (2005) the general rule states that most people need from seven to eight hours of sleep. The deprivation of sleep in our society in continually increasing with the demands in society increasing work loads, the myth that a few hours of sleep is only necessary to function properly and that sleep is sometimes considered as killing time (Nature, 2005). Sometimes sleep deprivation is also caused by other situations like sleep disorders, i.e. sleep apnea, chronic insomnia or medical conditions such as stress (Wilson, 2005).
Telepathy is more loosely defined. In general, telepathy is a method of receiving information about someone. Telepathy is different from psychometry in that an object is not used. The information pertains to past, present or future events. The way it is transmitted can be visual, as with clairvoyance,...
Bruckner, Sally. "The Scarlet Letter: Critical Evaluation." Masterplots. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasadena: Salem, 1996. 5847-5851.
Sleep is an integral part of life, but differs from other states of reduced consciousness in that the brain is still somewhat active. Sleep is an “altered state of consciousness, [with the sleeper losing] substantial contact with the external world.” (Gazzaniga, M., & Heatherton, T., 2016). Nonetheless, brain activity has an extensive role in the creation of “sleep”, generating two distinct types - slow-wave sleep, also referred to as deep sleep, and rapid eye movement, also called the dreaming stage. Comprised of five stages, sleep is a complex state of mind, also consisting of patterns known as circadian rhythms. Operating as a behavior, sleep alters to suit our bodily needs, and informs us of such needs through an intricate network of nerves. Furthermore, without obtaining an ideal amount of sleep, problems can arise that may affect one’s wellbeing. Detailed research and studies previously conducted on the subject of sleep allows the accumulation of information to be
The historical context, psychological exploration of the characters, and realistic dialogue make this fictional novel more realistic. The symbolic representation of the scarlet letter, Pearl, and the settings along with the morals taught by the stories of the characters make the novel more insightful, symbolic, and allegorical. These aspects of The Scarlet Letter make the novel a brilliant combination of the literary devices of Realism, symbolism, and allegory, and fill the novel with profundity, suspense, romance, and tragedy.