The Scarlet Letter

4 Pages 1087 Words

Scarlett Letter

In the Scarlet Letter, the author uses many different types of symbols to show what he has experienced as a young man, and what he has to say about the society during his time. The different settings of the story are ways in which he describes his environment and how it has treated him as a child. One symbol he uses a lot was the scarlet letter. The scarlet letter takes on different meanings as the course of the story progresses. It also takes on various appearances and symbolism.The letter changes from meaning 3adultery2 into meaning 3able.2 Not only does the letter symbolize Hester1s punishment, but it also serves as different personal meanings to the various characters in the story such as Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, and Pearl to name a few. In the Scarlet Letter, there are many different forms of the letter A , not only that, but the letter A also acquires a variety of meanings. Hawthorne describes the prison as 3the black flower of civilized society2 (p.48) Here he uses the buildings to describe the crime and punishment of his early life. And by using the symbol of a tombstone at the end of the story, he1s probably trying to say that crime and cruel punishment could lead to your death. He also uses the grass plot, saying that it is 3much overgrown with burdock,....and such unsightly vegetation2 (p.48) which symbolizes the things that make people corrupt and why these lead to them being in prison. He also uses the wild rosebush to symbolize 3....sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow.2 (p.48). The author also gives somewhat of a dim, chill, social, unkind atmosphere to Puritanism. In Chapter 2 he describes by saying 3like a black shadow...grim and grisly...with a sword by his side, and his staff of office in his hand.2 (p.52).The letter A appears in a variety of forms and appearances. It is the elaborately gold-embroidered A on He...