The Individual versus Society in the Scarlet Letter

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The Individual vs. Society in the Scarlet Letter

The society we live in today grants us a variety of freedoms. No one tells us how to think or what to believe in. We decide what clothes to wear, what to do on Sundays and our religion – with no law to persuade us. These permissive decisions would not be looked highly upon in stern Puritan Society. There is no sense of individualism in 1600s Salem because laws envelop every bit of human society. With all these severe rules in place, there are bound to be rebellious actions. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne addresses the theme of an individual’s struggle against society by implementing three symbols: the wild roses, the scarlet letter and Pearl.

In the beginning of the novel, Hawthorne describes a wild and saintly rose-bush next to the prison. This rose-bush, by some odd occurrence, has stood the test of time and all of man’s activities. Even with all of society’s hideous constructions, such as the ugly and rusty prison door, it is still blooming and well. “But on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in…” (Hawthorne 35). A reference to Anne Hutchinson is another reason why this rose bush is a symbol of an individual’s struggle against society. Hawthorne recognizes Anne as one of the possible reasons why the rose-bush sprang up next to the prison. “…or whether, as there is far authority for believing, it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson as she entered the prison-door, we shall not take upon us to determine” (Hawthorne 36). Hawthorne bestows Hutchinson becaus...

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... temper. “Pearl felt the sentiment, and requited it with the bitterest hatred that can be supposed to rankle in a childish bosom” (Hawthorne 71). In addition to ridicule, society, suspecting Pearl is evil and of demon origins, tries to separate her and Hester but to no avail.

The harshness of Puritan Society in The Scarlet Letter is opposed by the rose-bush, the letter “A” and Hester’s illegitimate child. By utilizing these three symbols, Hawthorne demonstrates the resistance of the individual opposing the society. Because as long as there’s society, people, in someway or another, will always attempt to rebel against it. These actions can either be welcomed or reviled but opposition to society’s conformity is essential to our individualism and our uniqueness. Without any type of resistance, we would cease to be distinct and our sole identity would be lost forever.

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