In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the letter "A"
             changes it's meaning many different times. This change is significant.
             It shows growth in the characters, and the community in which they
             live. The letter "A" begins as a symbol of sin. It then becomes a
             symbol of her ability to do and help things, and finally it becomes a
             The letter "A," worn on Hester's bodice, is a symbol of her
             adultery against Roger Chillingworth. This letter is meant to be worn
             in shame, and to make Hester feel unwanted. "Here, she said to
             herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the
             scene of her earthly punishment . . ." (84) Hester is ashamed of her
             sin, but she chooses not to show it. She committed this sin in the
             heat of passion, and fully admits it because, though she is ashamed,
             she also received her greatest treasure, Pearl, out of it. She is a
             very strong woman to be able to hold up so well against what she must
             face. Many would have fled Boston, and sought a place where no one
             knew of her great sin. Hester chose to stay though, which showed a lot
             of strength and integrity. Any woman with enough nerve to hold up
             against a town which despised her very existence, and to stay in a
             place where her daughter is referred to as a "devil child," either has
             some sort of psychological problem, or is a very tough woman.
             The second meaning that the letter "A" took was "able." The
             townspeople who once condemned her now believed her scarlet "A" to
             stand for her ability to create her beautiful needlework and for her
             unselfish assistance to the poor and sick. "The letter was the symbol
             of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her- so much power to do
             and power to sympathize- that many people refused to interpret the
             scarlet 'A' by its original signification." (156) At this point, a lot
             of the townspeople realized what a high q
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