The Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorn, is a story about love, evil, revenge, and sin between four people. Two lovers, Hester Prynne and Dimmesdale commit adultery and were separated from their sin, but only Hester was caught. The husband of Hester, Chillingsworth, comes back from his voyage across the sea and finds she has a child from her lover and he devotes his life to seek revenge on him. Dimmesdale feels guilty to reveal his sin because of his position in the town so the story goes on for seven years before the secret comes out. There are many symbols throughout the story that become connected with the characters feelings and emotions. In the story a scaffold is used for punishment. It is a symbol throughout the story and becomes the setting for the beginning and the end of the scenes in the story. Hester Prynne's punishment for committing adultery is to stand on the scaffold for three hours every day. In the beginning of the story Hester is let out of jail and is to stand
These symbols were only three out of many other symbols used to represent the characters and their emotions in the story. Because of this sin she is to wear it at all times as an example for other women to not make the same mistake. Towards the middle of the story, Dimmesdale feels so guilty he stands on the scaffold at midnight hoping that by doing this his guilt will diminish. The scaffold was were all the emotions started and ended between Hester, Dimmesdale, Chillingsworth, and Pearl. In the end, Dimmesdale is so sick from guilt, after his last sermon he stands on the scaffold and calls Hester and Pearl to stand by his side and he reveals his sin to the townspeople. In the end, the two lovers are buried by eachother in Boston, together at last for eternity and their daughter, Pearl, is happily married with good fortune. The scaffold was a symbol of punishment for Hester, The letter "A" was a symbol of punishment and sin, and the rosebush was a symbol of hope. The only time the main Characters are all together in the story was on the scaffold. In the story a rosebush is shown by the jail. Hester wears the letter "A" on her bosom, which represents adultery. The Scarlet Letter was a gloomy story with a sad ending. In the end, on the scaffold, Pearl kisses Dimmsdale on the lips and by doing this it shows that she is a real human being and has real feelings unlike the way she acts in the story. The hope of Pearl's good fortune is like the rosebush by the jail. Before sinners went to jail the rosebush was the last beautiful thing they saw before their punishment.
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