Symbolism in the Scarlet Letter

[Justin Williamson]

Steph i disagree with the first part of your review with out the symbolism and the "Junk" it would not have had the staying power that it has all i got to say is think about this how many recent authors can you name that have got the staying power like Hawthorne and others

[ken]

that was kinda bad. no offense. instead u should do it like:<br><br> chapter one- the rosebush symbolizes hester's beauty and life coming out of the weeds-the puritans. <br><br>like that....its sooooo much easier. <br><br>ok. get it right

[Typheny]

Where Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte? No female author is included in the "great authors and novels" highschool students are forced to read. I for one found Hawthorne long-winded and pompous. I will give him the credit that he at least had enough sense to criticize the "iron men" and thier so called discipline. I would also like to note that the Reverned Dimmsdale is the epitome of male existence...even in those times men were pusilanimous jerks who were to concerned about their own well being to take responsibility for their actions. <br><br>The only reason Hawthorne even got credited to a "great" author is because he had connections. His best college buddy was Franklin Pierce aka President Pierce. <br>

[Stephanie]

The Scarlet Letter is a little slow but if you get through all the "junk" and all the symblism it's a great book. The main theme of the book is sin and guilt. The theme of sin in guilt is the predominant theme in The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne is the main symbol of sin in the puritan society. She is marked by the “A”, for adulteress, to represent her wrongdoing to the townspeople. Moreover, Pearl is an even greater symbol of sin: she is the physical reminder of Hester’s sin. Some townspeople think of her as the devil child. The townspeople, at one point want to take away Pearl. They say that either way they would be doing good. Either they would take away Pear, the devil child, from Hester or they would take Pearl away from Hester, the sinner. Chillingworth also has sinful background. In the book, Hester and Dimmesdale even believe that he has the greater sin for deceiving Hester to marry him and then misleading the town of his background. Dimmesdale, however, committed the act of adultery with Hester and never came forward until the end. The character names even imply sin and guilt. Chillingworth’s name gives the impression of his cold heart. Dimmesdale’s name reminds the reader of dim, dark or weak. Prynne rhymes with sin showing her role in the book. And Pearl’s name “suggests a biblical symbolism device, ‘pearl of great price’ which means salvation.” Also in the Scarlet Letter, there are three scaffold scenes which all represent sin. The first scaffold scene is when Hester Prynne is accused of being an Adulteress. She has sinned. The scaffold scene represents committing a sin. The second scaffold scene is when Dimmesdale sits upon the scaffold during the night. He thinks of the sin that he has committed by not standing on the scaffold seven years ago when Hester was accused. The thoughts are so overbearing that he screams. The second scaffold scene represents public sin. The third and final scaffold scene is when Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold and he calls for Hester and Pearl. He then reveals his sin and dies. The final scaffold scene represents revealing sin and repenting sin. The scaffold scenes are the main structures of the book and give the books its theme of sin and guilt.

[sara ls4]

i want you to answer these questions

from the scarlet letter Chapter one 1

1- this chapter begins abruptly with a forceful descriptive sentence. Explain why this sentence is a good beginning to the novel ?



2 - what does the word " utopia " mean ? and why it used here ?


3- explain the references to the cemetery and the jail ?

4 - what is the " black flower of civilized society" ? why does hawthorne describe it this way ?

5 - what does the rosebush symbolize ? why it described as " wild " ( not from a garden ) ?

6- why is a flower from the wild rose bush a " sweet moral blossom " ?

[SoFtBaLoVeR]

Steph i disagree with the first part of your review with out the symbolism and the "Junk" it would not have had the staying power that it has all i got to say is think about this how many recent authors can you name that have got the staying power like Hawthorne and others

all u gotta do is go to pinkmonkey.com and u can find a special part just talking about the symbolism w/everything in the book!!! lata a girl

[wshill]

i want you to answer these questions

from the scarlet letter Chapter one 1

1- this chapter begins abruptly with a forceful descriptive sentence. Explain why this sentence is a good beginning to the novel ?



2 - what does the word " utopia " mean ? and why it used here ?
used where?


3- explain the references to the cemetery and the jail ?
those were two things the puritans purposly set land aside for. a cemetery and a jail.

4 - what is the " black flower of civilized society" ? why does hawthorne describe it this way ?

5 - what does the rosebush symbolize ? why it described as " wild " ( not from a garden ) ?
the rosebush was sprung up from the footprints of a woman earlier. not sure of her name at the moment. sorry. and it symbolizes pearl in a way. and she was pretty wild. =)

6- why is a flower from the wild rose bush a " sweet moral blossom " ?

uhm i answered the ones i was pretty sure about. the others i'm kinda shakey on. i don't wanna give you the wrong answers!=)


and if anyone else finds anything i said wrong. please correct it. but from my notes from school..it SHOULD be right.

[freespiritjill]

i want you to answer these questions

from the scarlet letter Chapter one 1

1- this chapter begins abruptly with a forceful descriptive sentence. Explain why this sentence is a good beginning to the novel ?
It grabs your attention and directs you to focus on certain topics.


2 - what does the word " utopia " mean ? and why it used here ?
Utopia- a perfect society. Because the Puritans wish the New World to be perfect (see 3)

3- explain the references to the cemetery and the jail ?
It is describing how the colonies were not perfect and there was evil adn wrongdoing there as well

4 - what is the " black flower of civilized society" ? why does hawthorne describe it this way ?


5 - what does the rosebush symbolize ? why it described as " wild " ( not from a garden ) ?
it is wild because it grew on its own from the tears

6- why is a flower from the wild rose bush a " sweet moral blossom " ?
it shows taht good things can come from bad occurences


Does this help any? We answered questions almost identical for my honors english class. I wrote what I remembered.

[biggestchris1]

uhm i answered the ones i was pretty sure about. the others i'm kinda shakey on. i don't wanna give you the wrong answers!=)


and if anyone else finds anything i said wrong. please correct it. but from my notes from school..it SHOULD be right.

Could you tell me where I can find a discussion of the symbols used in the book.

[biggestchris1]

The Scarlet Letter is a little slow but if you get through all the "junk" and all the symblism it's a great book. The main theme of the book is sin and guilt. The theme of sin in guilt is the predominant theme in The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne is the main symbol of sin in the puritan society. She is marked by the “A”, for adulteress, to represent her wrongdoing to the townspeople. Moreover, Pearl is an even greater symbol of sin: she is the physical reminder of Hester’s sin. Some townspeople think of her as the devil child. The townspeople, at one point want to take away Pearl. They say that either way they would be doing good. Either they would take away Pear, the devil child, from Hester or they would take Pearl away from Hester, the sinner. Chillingworth also has sinful background. In the book, Hester and Dimmesdale even believe that he has the greater sin for deceiving Hester to marry him and then misleading the town of his background. Dimmesdale, however, committed the act of adultery with Hester and never came forward until the end. The character names even imply sin and guilt. Chillingworth’s name gives the impression of his cold heart. Dimmesdale’s name reminds the reader of dim, dark or weak. Prynne rhymes with sin showing her role in the book. And Pearl’s name “suggests a biblical symbolism device, ‘pearl of great price’ which means salvation.” Also in the Scarlet Letter, there are three scaffold scenes which all represent sin. The first scaffold scene is when Hester Prynne is accused of being an Adulteress. She has sinned. The scaffold scene represents committing a sin. The second scaffold scene is when Dimmesdale sits upon the scaffold during the night. He thinks of the sin that he has committed by not standing on the scaffold seven years ago when Hester was accused. The thoughts are so overbearing that he screams. The second scaffold scene represents public sin. The third and final scaffold scene is when Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold and he calls for Hester and Pearl. He then reveals his sin and dies. The final scaffold scene represents revealing sin and repenting sin. The scaffold scenes are the main structures of the book and give the books its theme of sin and guilt.

Where can I find more on this topic?

[skasian]

All that is covered in sparknotes - themes, motifs and symbols.. Check out www.sparknotes.com and search for the scarlet letter.

[romanticlit]

Hi, Im a newcomer Im looking at how the sin of concealment was greater then the sin of adultery. Can anyone help me???

[Wardog232]

hi i have a little project i have to do and it is due next Thursday and what i have to do is creat an alphebet of words from the book scarlet letter and tell what the word has in relation to the book or what it symbolize and the letters that i need are S-Z Can any one help me i fso could u send it to my email if not it is ok thanks
[email] [email protected]

[azcrazy]

can someone please help me and list all the symbols Hawthorne uses, the literal meaning of the symobol, the symbolic meaning of the symbol, and a specific example from the novel of each of the symbols you listed.............please help me , in anyway possiable , my email is [email protected]

[shahzadsaani]

hello....guys very nice and keep it up

[amiev]

Where Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte? No female author is included in the "great authors and novels" highschool students are forced to read. I for one found Hawthorne long-winded and pompous. <br>

I'm currently in highschool and I can vouch for at least the entire state of Texas when I say that highschool students are indeed forced to read all of the above mentioned authors. I also think that Hawthorne's use of symbolism is what makes his novel so interesting. Sure, it's difficult to understand at times, but its a story that makes you think instead of just spelling everything out in the way some books -*cough* Twilight- do. I mean, seriously, Meyer even had to clue people in when she was employing the use of sarcasm, like readers aren't bright enough to deduce that on their own. If any author is to be labeled as "long-winded" I believe the title goes to Hemingway, not Hawthorne.

Are you a feminist or something? Is that what you have against him?