Authors sometimes will use a symbol, such as an object, person or idea, in their novels to represent different things. This is referred to as symbolism. One example is the S on Superman's uniform, which symbolizes him being “super.” In "The Scarlet Letter," Hester Prynne is sent to America alone to wait for her husband to come back from Europe. While she is waiting she becomes pregnant with her minister. In the Puritan days the punishment for adultery was to wear a big, scarlet colored “A” on the chest. Nathaniel Hawthorne creates the symbol of the letter "A" to have meaning more than just adulterer. As the novel unfolds, the letter "A" on Hester Prynne's bosom changes many times.

In the beginning of the novel, the letter "A" that Hester wears is meant to symbolize the true mean

As the novel nears the end, the meaning of the "A" made a change for the better in Hester's life. She began to help the sick, and the troubled. She even made clothes for the poor. Through her actions she started to gain respect from some of the people who once looked down on her. Now the letter represented a more positive meaning, able. "Such helpfulness was found in her, so much power to do and power to sympathize, that many people refused to interpret the scarlet ‘A’ by it's original signification. They said that it meant ‘Able’...” (146) People were realizing that she was a very kind and caring person.

Hawthorne uses many elements of symbolism in “The Scarlet Letter.” He uses hypocrisy, guilt, and even characters such as Pearl. The letter "A" was obviously the most significant. It is able to take on many different

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