From the scaffold representing unity to the scarlet letter frightening away townspeople, there are numerous allegories in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. An allegory, by definition, is a symbolic representation, which has been seen to correspond with the plot of the story. Hawthorne bestowed all of the characters as allegories themselves, from the devil to Adam and Eve. Even more so, the commonality items of the novel represent a deeper meaning that when evoked to the reader, the allegory can pose a profound image of idealism not found from reading the text itself. Hawthorne portrays both characters and objects as allegories that serve as substantial representations to the deeper understanding of the plot. Overall, the allegories …show more content…
The scaffold served its purpose in all three scenes it was shown: to unite and identify the characters. In the first scene, Hester is shown publically dismayed on top of the scaffold, awaiting her fate. She stated that “she saw her father’s face… her mother’s too…there she beheld another countenance of a man well stricken in years, a pale, thin, scholar-like visage with eyes dim and bleared by the lamplight that had swerved them to pore over many heavy books.” (Hawthorne 15) Hester has noticed this disfigured man that was very vividly described. He was “well stricken in years” which indicated he was old, and had eyes that indicated he read many novels. This character will later be indicated to be Chillingworth, whose own demeanor reflects his own allegory of evil. A few lines down, Dimmesdale is introduced and described. “Next rose before her, in memory’s picture-gallery, the intricate and narrow though fares, the tall, gray houses, the huge cathedrals, and the public buildings, ancient in date and quaint in architecture…” (Hawthorne 15-16) Hester …show more content…
The forest scene characterized a sense of rejuvenation from the brittle lifestyle Hester faced in the town. As the town represented oppression, the forest represented its antithesis, a laissez faire community. The forest is personified with personifications such as “sudden smile of heaven, forth burst the sunshine, poring a very flood into the obscure forest, gladdening each green leaf.” (Hawthorne 171) This indicates the forest as a tranquil community where Hester actually had the courage to take off the scarlet letter. The scarlet letter itself was one of the only allegories in the story that was dynamic however. During the onset of the novel, Hester was shunned from the community as this prostitute that was viewed as the epitome of the Devil’s work. By the middle of the plot, “Hester Prynne did not now occupy precisely the same position in which we beheld her during the earlier periods of her disgrace. Her mother… had long been a familiar object to the townspeople.” (Hawthorne 126) Her scarlet letter is later represented as “Hatred, by a gradual and quiet process, will even be transformed to love.” (126) Hester is slowly becoming a martyr that symbolized the absolute wrongdoings of society. She is to the point that the townspeople started to feel pity for her and wanted her to remove the scarlet letter. Even until the end, the scarlet letter is even engraved on her grave to serve as a legacy for generations
In the novel The Scarlet Letter and the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil”, Nathaniel Hawthorne incorporates romantic elements, such as beauty, truth, innocence, and sin, in his criticism of Puritan societies. In both texts, Hawthorne argues that all people, even those in strictly religious societies with corrupted standards, are capable of sin. Hawthorne uses symbolism and light and dark imagery to convey his argument.
Throughout his literary endeavors, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes symbolism to present a certain theme that pertains to human nature and life. In his works, The Scarlet Letter and "The Minister's Black Veil", Hawthorne uses symbolism to present a common theme pertaining to religion; that though manifested sin will ostracize a person from society, un-confessed sin will destroy the soul.
The Scarlet Letter is a tale of constant trial and punishment. For Hester Prynne, there is no escape from the shame and belittlement she has been forced to endure within puritan society. However, like the puritans who had escaped prosecution by migrating from England to the New World, characters in The Scarlet Letter can escape the prosecution of puritan society by visiting the forest. It is a symbolic realm that embodies freedom and privacy, and the only sanctuary for those who seek liberty to express their true nature, whether it be through acts of love, or heresy. The forest as a symbol of escape from puritan society is persistent throughout the novel through its use by the witches and the Black Man, Dimmesdale and Hester?s interactions there, and Pearl?s union with nature there.
The Scarlet Letter is full of many psychological and moral aspects, and most of them relate very well to things that are going on right now in the world. They all go hand in hand meaning that the aspects that were explained in The Scarlet Letter, can also be explained in the same way as they can be explained now. Although times were very different in the times where The Scarlet Letter took place, they are all relevant for what people have to say about certain things in today's world. The moral aspects of the Scarlet Letter are almost the same as moral aspects of today.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's bold novel, The Scarlet Letter, effectively employs three major symbols: light, dark, and the scarlet letter. The novel relies heavily on light and dark symbolism to represent the eternal struggle of good versus evil.
She lost all her fiery passion on the scaffold, by which society mocked and watched and she was punished for the sins she committed. The scaffold became the essence of sin and hatred for Hester, Hawthorne created the meaning of this by stating things like the scaffold was “the very ideal of ignominy [and] was embodied and made manifest in this contrivance of wood and iron”. Hester makes her transformation on this scaffold and although she is silent ad still filled with anger, she will never be the same due pain she felt on that scaffold. Through society's punishments and harsh bias, Hester is stripped of all passion and this is continually argued with her change as she wears the scarlet letter. In the beginning, Hester tries to cover it up, but the burn of those eyes who look upon her still stand. ONce in the free spirit environment of the forest and she takes the scarlet A off she becomes happy and passionate once again that even her own daughter doesn’t recognize
The first scaffold scene takes place at the very beginning of the story. In this particular scene, Hester has moments before walked from the prison door carrying her baby and donning the scarlet letter, which stands for adultery. She must make this procession in front of the entire town. After the march, Hester is forced to stand alone on the scaffold until an hour past noon.
Hawthorne symbolizes the scaffold as being a symbol of “sin and public shame”. In The Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne Pg #65), Hawthorne calls the scaffold, “A miserable eminence.” Clearly stating that the scaffold does not symbolize a good thing, but a negative idea, and if someone is on it, they are going to feel that miserable type of shame feeling. The scaffold is suppose to make someone feel guilt as they stands on it and let everyone look at them judge them. Like, in The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne has to stand on the scaffold and let everyone look at her a judge her with the big red “A” on her chest. Hawthorne made it easy to symbolize the scaffold by leaving well explained context clues.
5. The Scarlet Letter portrays the radical role of religion within the early stages of America. Nathaniel Hawthorne is essentially a transcendental whistleblower in society, depicting the absurdity and irrationality of religion through Hester Prynne’s extreme retribution from her congregation and clergymen.
The forest is generally sought out as a place where no good happens in many stories such as Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe. It is no different in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. It is where many mysterious things reside in the wilderness. The town in the book can contrast the forest as a sanction where people are are immune from the darkness. They differ, but they also aid in conveying the bigger themes of the story. Some people might see the forest as a “happy place” for Hester and Pearl, but it should really be looked upon as a place of sin when comparing it to its foil, the town, which in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter contrasts to aid in the themes of the nature of evi, civilization versus wilderness, and identity
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.
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross once said, “Guilt is perhaps the most painful companion of death.” This quote truly captures Dimmesdale’s death and journey to death, it is guilt that drives him to the grave and it accompanies him throughout all five grieving stages. Dimmesdale is one of many characters in The Scarlet Letter that is faced with problems both personally and spiritually. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a romantic novel about a young woman, Hester Prynne, who is permanently marked with her sin by a scarlet A she must bare on her chest and also by her daughter Pearl. Hester committed adultery with the young minister of Boston, Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester, and her beloved child Pearl, learn to over come the A and change the meaning of it from adulterer to able, while they are changing the way society views them, Dimmesdale is withering away under the “care” of Rodger Chillingworth, Hester’s past husband. Chillingworth knows about the sin and seeks revenge on Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is helpless and in a downward spiral. He let the sin become who he is, even though the towns people don’t know of his adultery until his dying breath. The Scarlet Letter is a story about overcoming the darkness that hangs above you and stepping out of the sin or gloom that controls you. For characters like Hester this is a fairly easy thing to handle, but on the flip side characters like Dimmesdale struggle and can not seem to escape their heinous acts and don’t find peace of mind until they die. The Scarlet Letter mainly focuses on the process of overcoming these troubling times and how each individual character handles the pressure, stress, and guilt that come along with it differently. Arthur Dimmesdale is a lost soul after his sin, he expe...
By having the three scaffold segments, the readers are able to see the effectiveness of the events of the plot development. Altogether, the scenes are able to provide the readers with the major literary elements of a plot: character, plot, setting, and theme. In addition to that, each piece is a different meaning for the characters. For the first scene, it shows Hester’s view towards the scaffold: embarrassment and shame. As for the second one, it is a place of forgiveness for Dimmesdale. And lastly, the third symbolizes redemption for both the reverend and Hester. This shows that the scaffold not only represented different meanings, it also let the readers identify the importance of each section to the the characters. Throughout the novel, the scaffold representation changed from a place of humiliation to a place of freedom, to finally, a place of redemption and
Hawthorne's use of symbols clearly enhances The Scarlet Letter. From the setting to the characters themselves, the novel is filled with symbols that work together to provide a deeper, allegorical meaning. The symbolism contained in Hawthorne's works provokes much thought in the reader, through which the reader can enjoy the story much more. For this reason, The Scarlet Letter can accurately be described as a "symbolic masterpiece."
The Scarlet Letter is a blend of realism, symbolism, and allegory. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses historical settings for this fictional novel and even gives historical background information for the inspiration of the story of Hester Prynne in the introduction of The Scarlet Letter, ‘The Custom-House’. The psychological exploration of the characters and the author’s use of realistic dialogue only add to the realism of the novel. The most obvious symbol of the novel is the actual scarlet letter ‘A’ that Hester wears on her chest every day, but Hawthorne also uses Hester’s daughter Pearl and their surroundings as symbols as well. Allegory is present as well in The Scarlet Letter and is created through the character types of several characters in the novel.