The English language is flawed in that it fails when trying to describe certain senses, feelings, and abstract ideas. It is difficult to reduce even the most mundane of lives and the most boring of people to a disciption of only two or three words. People are multi-faceted and their many aspects take on more than a few syllables or one general idea. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it has often been noted that the central characters symbolize types instead of realistic human beings, and Hawthorne seems to have no trouble in diminishing a person into a few well thought- out characterisitcs. While Nathanial Hawthrone is a prized writer, there may be more to his ease in describing characters than just his writing talent. Hawthorne's characters, as far as the reader can tell, appear to be one or two dimensional. While some less romantic writers tend to first create characters, get to know them, and then build from their personality in order to make the story more realistic, Hawthorne seems to have taken ideas and shoved them down his character's throats for them to relay back to the reader. Natahanial Hawthorne tells his story by having different characters represent different archetypes of human beings, and he creates within a quartet of people, a skewed micochosm of the world. Hawthrone neglects though that those who have one outstanding trait, still have many others which help govern how they live. Hawthrone's four main characters, Hester Prynne, Dimesdale, Chillingworth, and Pearl, take on large responsibilities, as Hawthrone makes them each the epitome of their own trait. Hester Prynne is the symbol of the courageous, passionate, determined type. Reverend Dimesdale takes on the cowardly and unfaithful personality. Chillingworth's character is fixated on revenge. Hester's daughter, Pearl's attributes are her strong perceptiveness and sincerity. Although Hawthorne focuses on only two dim...