In order to understand how injustice is portrayed in "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the reader must analyze all of the different symbols and imagery used by Hawthorne. Two pertinent examples of this are through the light imagery and symbols of punishment.
             The injustice in this novel is clearly adultery, which was committed by Hester Pryne and the reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester is permanently punished for the crime by being forced to wear the letter "A" on her breast forever. This crime, however, runs its course through the story because Hester and Arthur are willing to run away together and live in their sin.
             One of the creative methods Hawthorne uses to display this injustice is through imagery of light. In the novel, the sun is used as a depictor of goodness and purity. When Hester commits the crime she is thrown into a dark prison and loses her youth and beauty. Then when she is released the Hawthorne states "Her prison door was thrown open and she came forth into the sunshine ... as it was meant for no other purpose than to reveal the scarlet letter on her breast"(82). After that, as a result of the adultery, she is kept out of as when illustrated "It was only the darkened house that could contain her. When the sunshine came again she wasn't there"(156). Another way light imagery is used is when Hester takes the scarlet letter off her chest and throws it into a brook. Right as she does this the book states " All at once, as with a sudden smile of heaven, forth burst the sunshine, pouring a very flood into the obscure forest"(192). That quote is a great example of how Hawthorne uses visual imagery to depict the sunlight and the forest and also on that page it describes how all her beauty and youth comes back to her upon the removal.
             Through various symbols, Hester is reminded of her punishment everyday. The most obvious reminder is the scarlet letter t...