The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a story about Hester Prynne, a woman who commits a sin. She is crammed with many feelings surrounding that sin such as pride. Her sin is a one of passion. Hester Prynne’s sin is adultery. She commits adultery with the Reverend Dimmesdale. This sin is regarded very seriously by the Puritans and is often punishable by death. The Reverend Dimmesdale is another character that demonstrates the effects of sin. He commits the same offense that Hester commits, adultery. The difference between Dimmesdale and Hester is that Dimmesdale was not publicly punished for his crime. This makes him feel extremely guilty. This feeling of guilt was so atrocious that it mentally and physically withers him, as he feels a very strong need to repent and cleanse his soul. Dimmesdale’s sin is unnoticed. Hester is unable to hide her wrongdoing. Their act of adultery resulted in a child. Her punishment for her crime is to spend a few hours on the scaffold to face public humiliation and wear the letter “A” on her clothes for the rest of her life. The consequences, which Hester faces, are the result of her admission of guilt. This proved to be much less harsh then
Hawthorne employs white and light to oppose darkness as a state of self-containment. White most clearly symbolizes purity. Pearl, who has not committed any great sins nor does he hold herself back from anything, is always portrayed with the light shining on her. When Hester removes her scarlet letter and faces her sin and pride, the sunlight shines on her for the first time. The sunshine is used to express a moment of enlightenment and change. Roger Chillingworth is Hester’s husband. He commits a sin against her. He knew that she did not love him but yet still makes her marry him. He also sent her to America while he studies in Amsterdam. Hawthorn uses reds, darkness, and light to express character’s emotions and the state of their spirit. Red is passion and sin. Darkness represents a poor state with self-denial, as well as representing simple evil. Light symbolizes a state of enlightenment and a refreshed spirit, as well as purity. The color symbols in The Scarlet Letter help to transfer certain themes and ideas to the reader, as they are easily recognized and identified. Pearl the product of Hester’s sin, is usually dressed in red clothing, representing sin. Pearl is also called the names “Ruby”, “Coral”, or “red Rose,” and “a little bird of scarlet plumage,” further extending Pearl as a red representation of Hester’s sin. the internal punishment that Dimmesdale faced. Hawthorne also uses black and darkness as symbols throughout The Scarlet Letter. Black is used to represent evil and
Some topics in this essay:
Hester Dimmesdale,
Satan Black,
Letter Hawthorne,
Scarlet Letter,
Chillingworth Hester’s,
Frequently Hawthorne,
Roger Chillingworth,
Reverend Dimmesdale,
Letter Black,
Letter People,
scarlet letter,
hester’s sin,
symbols throughout scarlet,
hester’s sin hawthorne,
commits adultery,
symbols throughout,
throughout scarlet,
sin commit,
worse hester’s,
reverend dimmesdale,
scarlet letter sin,
throughout scarlet letter,
roger chillingworth,
darkness light,
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Approximate Word count = 1044
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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