The Symbol of Pearl In Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, Pearl, is the human symbol of the sin of adultery in the fact that she leads her mother, Hester Prynne, and Arthur Dimmesdale to accept and admit to their sin. Pearl is the beautiful daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale. She is the living symbol of the scarlet letter and has unique traits that make her sometimes appear as a demon. Her love for nature and freedom, her spirit, her wildness, her loneliness and separation from the world, her curiosity, and her innocent but symbolic comments reveal her distinct personality. Pearl senses...

• Word Count: 1030
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Man, His Tales and Romances, published by the Continuum in 1989, Edward Wagenknecht gives the following analysis of The Scarlet Letter: "Because Hawthorne did not believe that law can deal with sin as distinct from crime, he makes a whole paragraph of the sentence: "The scarlet letter had not done its office." He seems to have felt that in placing it upon Hester's breast, the magistrates had blasphemously usurped the function of God, as Chillingworth later usurps it in his plot against Dimmesdale. Yet it serves her well in freeing her from all danger of trying to li...

• Word Count: 942
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The Scarlet Letter can be considered a satire of Puritan beliefs because the book is full of angry people who mock and ridicule the unfortunate one who bears the letter "A" on her chest. The people of Puritanistic faith claim to be the ones raised in good nature and proper upbringing, as not to lead to such a sin as adultery, as Hester had committed. They also claim to be somewhat of a more perfect society of friends, though it is one of their own who they turn against. They believe in the term predestination, where their God has chosen their fate in life before their very souls even existed, ...

• Word Count: 568
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School