What Does The Rosebush Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

“The scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it.” (120) Hawthorne’s description of the distorted scarlet letter illustrates the townspeople’s prejudiced view of

Entry 6 (page 101-120) In English class, Melinda’s teacher, whom she calls Hairwoman, is stating that “it’s all about SYMBOLISM, says Hairwoman. Every word chosen by Nathaniel [Hawthorne], every comma, every paragraph break- they were all done on purpose” (101). Hairwoman also explains whom Hawthorne is by claiming that “this is Hawthorne, one of the greatest novelist! He didn’t do anything by accident he was a genius” (102).

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, focuses on the life of Hester Prynne—the unlucky soul who is caught committing adultery and forced to live a life of shame and ignominy. The scaffold is not only the start of her predicament, but it is also the end of the once seemingly perfect Reverend Dimmesdale’s own guilt. The scaffold is the setting of a scene three times throughout the novel: the beginning, middle, and end. For such a lifeless object, it is difficult to recognize its significance in the novel; however, the scaffold is used by Hawthorne to portray the changing relationship between the characters, specifically Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a novel that focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hawthorne revolves the theme around the four main characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth., and Pearl. Hester Prynne is forced to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ after committing adultery against her husband Roger Chillingworth, with the minister Arthur Dimmesdale. As a result an odd child is born.

Whereas the writer described the prison as “unsightly,” he describes the rose bush as “ covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him.” Immediately what comes to mind is the protagonist vs the antagonist. The rose bush, the noble creature, against all odds, fighting for good, and this society, ugly and evil, fighting against what is right. This difference in diction immediately juxtaposes the society from the “wild” rose bush, and signals the shift in tone, revealing Hawthorne’s attitude towards the two different

In conclusion, the Scarlet Letter was following the story a lady who committed adultery and was punished, and the father of the child didn’t know he was the one until he was told and he finally came forward. The theme of sin, crime and punishment was the majority of what happened through the whole book. The characters gave an idea of what it was like to live during that time period, and also the way that they interacted with each other. The tone of the story helped to give a better understanding of what was going on and how they author wanted the mood to be like in each chapter. Symbolism helped follow along with the story so that we understood what was going on.

In the novel, Hawthorne uses the symbolism of the Scarlet Letter, Pearl, and Dimmesdale to contribute to the overall theme of guilt. To begin, Hawthorne uses the Scarlet Letter to contribute to the theme of guilt. The Scarlet Letter “A” is a symbol that Hester Prynne, the protagonist of the story, has to wear as punishment for committing adultery. Hawthorne explains, “It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (Hawthorne 51).

In literature, motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that help inform the reader of the text’s major themes. Motifs are an important device used in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. This novel takes place in seventeenth century Boston, then a Puritan settlement. At the time, a young adulteress, Hester Prynne, must wear a scarlet “A” on her breast to mark her ignominy.

The scarlet letter itself becomes an even weightier symbol in these chapters. Whereas at first it represented Hester's adultery and her needlework skills, it now takes on two more meanings. First, the letter begins

Red is very fitting for the Scarlet Letter because red symbolizes passion, love, and seduction. These characteristics fit the Scarlet Letter to a T. 6) In Chapter 3, the last sentence is: “It was whispered, by those who peered after her, that the scarlet letter threw a lurid gleam along the dark passageway of the interior.” (Hawthorne, Pg 67). The meaning of this sentence is that some the highly religious Puritans thought the scarlet letter was brightly glowing, which they could have assume was from hellfire due to their religious beliefs. Chapter 4 1) Hawthorne describes the child to be a “type...of moral agony which Hester Prynne had borne throughout the day.”

In “The Prison Door” from The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses imagery and parallelism to convey his tone while introducing the setting of the book. He uses a gloomy and depressed tone in the beginning of the chapter using imagery while describing different places through the town. Later on in the chapter, he moves on to discuss the rose-bush. This is looked at as a joyful symbol to the sad citizens. This is the parallelism he uses to shift the tone to be brighter and

According to Dictionary.com symbolism can be defined as, “the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character.” Nathaniel Hawthorne places many symbols in The Scarlet Letter, such as Pearl. In the novel, Pearl is known as a symbol of treasure for Hester, sin, and unusualness. In the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne refers to the book of Matthew when he gives the name Pearl to the character.

Nathaniel Hawthorne used symbolism of burrs, a black blossom, and the scarlet letter to contribute to the overall theme of sin. First, was the symbol of the burrs, the burrs stuck to Hester’s scarlet letter when Pearl threw them at at her Hawthorne explains “...she arranged them along the lines of the scarlet letter,... Hester did not pluck them off.” (Hawthorne 121). The quote shows that Hester was revealing them because you can’t remove sin.

The Scarlet Letter covers much pain but the underlying romance throughout provides readers with a little happiness. Throughout the book, readers are rooting for the future romance between Hester and Dimmesdale. In being exposed to Dimmesdale’s extreme guilt as well as Hester’s constant suffering, everyone desires the happy ending where they run away together in order to make better life. The underlying tone being romance and devotion, Hawthorne continuously plays on the idea of forbidden love. He subtly expresses this idea through Dimmesdale’s emotional remarks such as “love, whether newly born or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it overflows upon the outward world” (Hawthorne, 282).

Hawthorne described three things in The Scarlet Letter. Sin, guilt, and redemption. Hawthorne uses people to symbolize them. Hester Prynne was one. Hawthorne allows the reader to get a better understanding by using biblical references.