... . Our first instance occurs during the second famous scaffold scene. Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl are atop the scaffold when, "a light gleamed far and wide over all the muffled sky. It was doubtless caused by one of those meteors the minister, looking upward to the zenith, beheld there the appearance of an immense letter-the letter 'A'-marked out in lines of dull red light" (Hawthorn). This is God ... 's condemnation of the two sinners, most especially Dimmesdale. Hester has ... this is true as she lives her final years alone in her cottage on the outskirts of town, still with the scarl...

• Word Count: 1118
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... "The Scarlet Letter" written by Hawthorne has lot of changes within it. The Scaffold in the beginning of the book is represented as a place for transgressors. But each time it reappears in the story, it changes its meaning. So, it changes three times in the book from a place of retribution for transgressors to a place of unity and finally to a place of introspection. The Scaffold in the beginning of the book ... not find the courage to make for himself. So, in the beginning of the book the Scaffold symbolizes to the reader that it is a place of retribution for the transgressors and also...

• Word Count: 695
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... create a sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance that it overflows upon the outward world" (186). Extending this metaphor of the radiance of ! love, Hawthorne often refers to Hester's scarlet letter as glowing and thus figuratively lighting up the dark and cruel world around it. When Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold, connected to Hester by Pearl, another symbol of their love, "there [comes] what [seems ... ] a tumultuous rush of new life, other life than his own, pouring ... the wild rosebush. It is the sweetness of this blossom that may "relieve ... human frailty and sorrow" (4...

• Word Count: 1485
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School