... either as adultery, or adulterer when worn by someone such as Hester. Another part of the punishment is that she must stand on the scaffold in front of everyone. She is brought out, with her baby Pearl, to show everyone what she has done. Now that she wears this letter, she is labeled as a sinful person. The narrator shares, "When the young women- the ... come walking by after leaving Governor Winthrop's deathbed. Dimmesdale asks them to stay with him for a while. While the three of them are standing on the scaffold together a bright read meteor appeared in the sky, leaving behind a gre...

• Word Count: 571
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... the Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was a well written book. It was difficult reading, but a good lesson is taught. It is not just a book dealing with the topic of sin. It goes much deeper. It talks about choices and life, and what the choices cause. Before the class discussion, I enjoyed the book, but did not feel there was any other symbolism than the scarlet ... and class could all be thrown out if the public took his sins and looked down on him. I was glad for Hester when Dimmesdale finally did stand up at the scaffold and confess his sins. That event clear...

• Word Count: 702
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... humiliation. This is Hester's first public appearance with her child and the scarlet letter on her bosom. She maintains a confident poise about her, despite the judgement that comes along with standing on the scaffold. Hawthorne's usage of the scaffold depicts Hester's isolation from the Puritans, and illustrates the theme of punishment that is common throughout the novel. Roger Chillingworth is present, ... the scaffold. Through preaching his last sermon to the townspeople, both his body and soul are finally given rest; as he dies immediately after. Chillingworth, frustrated at his ult...

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... reasons that the tone in The Scarlet Letter was generally positive and optimistic. Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter in third person, but being as Hester is the main character, he tells the story through her point of view and her standpoint on the situation. He also uses a lot of symbolism. For example, the character Pearl was mostly all symbolism. Pearl is a symbol of her parents' sin, her parents ... ' love, their passion, and their crime. Hawthorne carried the reader through the novel through the three Scaffold scenes. These scenes serve as a connection between the beginning, the midd...

• Word Count: 914
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... and the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commit adultery. Hester's sin becomes publicly acknowledged when she has a child; she is forced face humiliation by standing on a scaffold in the center of town and must wear a scarlet letter "A" on her chest. At the same time, Dimmesdale suffers in secrecy and his guilt causes him endless misery. As the novel progresses, Hawthorne makes it ... clear that Dimmesdale's deceit is a much more severe form of punishment than that faced by Hester. Hawthorne's theme of honesty is supported by the events that take place on the scaffold and the symbolism of the...

• Word Count: 891
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Hawthorne's novel "The Scarlet Letter" was published in 1850 and when it was first released it did not do well. It was not until later that it became popular and a success as a book. Although Hawthorne wrote many novels, none of them were as successful as "The Scarlet Letter". It was set in Puritan Boston in the early years of a Massachusetts Bay Colony. Many things can affect what happens in a story and one of those things is setting. In the Scarlet Letter, there is the symbolic significance of various settings: the scaffold; the forest, which ironically becomes an oasis of freedom for Hester...

• Word Count: 1003
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... . 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

... for quite some time, anonymous to the people of Salem. As a punishment for her sin, Hester must wear the Scarlet Letter "A" on her bosom for the remainder of her life. Hawthorne also uses many literary elements in The Scarlet Letter, such as symbolism and irony. The Scarlet Letter, pearl, and sunshine are examples of symbolism. What is ironic about The Scarlet Letter is that Hester holds both the role as ... of this Puritan community. Pearl's role was not to only further Hester's punishment for her sin, but she was also sent to give her father a name. Eventually, after pressuring her sup...

• Word Count: 634
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... often used to represent a moral or religious belief or value. Without symbolism literature is just a bunch of meaningless words on paper. The most symbolic piece of work in American Literature is Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne's use of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter is one of the most significant contributions to the rise of American Literature. Much of Hawthorne's symbolism is very hard to find but several symbols are also obvious. ... novel is undoubtedly the scarlet letter A. It initially symbolizes the immoral act of adultery but by the end of the novel the "A"...

• Word Count: 502
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many different objects and people as symbols to express his message throughout the book. He begins using a plant, then the namesake of the book, then continues on to uses two people as symbols to get his message across. Although seemingly simple, all of these symbols are extremely complex, and used in a multitude of ways. First, the rosebush outside the prison; in the first chapter, it is used as a symbol of hope, or maybe a symbol of redemption. It represents a glimmer of happiness outside the grim, ugly walls and heavy oaken door of the prison....

• Word Count: 777
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... for her sin. Hawthorne used this scaffold as a symbol of the hypocrisy of the Puritans, for every spectator of the scaffold scene should have been, in reality, on the scaffold themselves. Hawthorne, through this symbol, allowed the readers to realize the Puritans were punishing and humiliating Hester for something they themselves possessed in their own life: sin. Also, Hawthorne used the scarlet letter itself, the elaborate cloth "A" which ... turned it into one for strength, endurance, and compassion. Hawthorne used this symbol to contradict the stubborn judgments of the Puritan leader...

• Word Count: 548
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... "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

... other such works such as Birkerts. However, the universal symbol is the most frequent and recognizable because of its easy association with a multitude of individual's situations. If the steps and concept of symbolism are then applied to the Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, we would find a multitude of example of symbols in the characters' lives, objects and the characters themselves. Pearl, Hester Prynne's daughter, can be seen ... 144). Pearl is always seen by her mother's side allowing us to have a repetition of her appearance and allows her as a character, to have mo...

• Word Count: 1244
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Shame, Despair, Solitude! The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the great novels in American Literature. Hawthorne's use of symbolism in the novel is very significant. Many symbols are underlying and hard to find, but symbols such as the letter "A" could not be more obvious. "The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! Those ... in the mind of the reader Hawthorne displays the letter in a variety of altered profiles. Besides being the beacon from Hester's breast the letter "A" is presented in several forms. It is o...

• Word Count: 661
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• Grade Level: High School

... exceedingly rich, both thematically and symbolically. Hawthorne uses these many themes and symbols to convey his story soundly and strongly. The themes of personal guilt and an individual's place in society are examined in this novel and the symbol of the scarlet letter A is used to illustrate the manner in which the main characters deal with this guilt. Hester Prynne bears this symbol on ... his guilt is symbolized by the A-shaped meteor that flashes across the sky while he stands with Pearl and Hester on the scaffold. To Reverend Dimmesdale, the meteor is a symbol of his own personal ...

• Word Count: 872
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... child. At first, Pearl is curious of why her mother wears the scarlet letter on her chest. Throughout the novel, Pearl develops into a dynamic character of the story. Pearl is a beautiful child like no other in the town and her actions prove her to be independent and unlike other children of the town. Hawthorne presents symbolism from three main time periods of Pearl's life, birth, age three ... to obey her mother. In conclusion, Pearl develops into a normal person who is used to being around people. Her understanding of the scarlet increased. She showed this the day Dimmsdale got on th...

• Word Count: 442
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... around us, as well as ordinary humans, contained dark places that the cold light of reason alone could not break through. Relating directly to allegories is Hawthorne's use of symbolism in his stories. This is very evident in The Scarlet Letter where he uses setting and characterization to create an image of the various characters who each symbolize a different human trait. The Minister's Black Veil is ... Martin sums up the meaning of Hawthorne's best known book, The Scarlet Letter in three sentences: "Taking its form in Hawthorne's imagination, the total context of The Scarlet Letter ...

• Word Count: 855
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Satan in The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter is a novel packed with religious symbolism, and Hawthorne subtly assigns the role of the devil to Roger Chillingworth. Throughout the novel, there are many references and associations that confirm the fact that Chillingworth is representative of the ultimate evil. First, Hawthorne sets Chillingworth up as the antithesis of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, the obvious Christ-like symbol of the novel. Chillingworth ... words "Pitiless" and "Unforgiving" show that Chillingworth is the devil. Symbolically, on another more obvious note, Chillingworth...

• Word Count: 307
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School