Free Essay on Symbols and Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter - The Symbolic Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Highly Symbolic scarlet Letter Hyatt Waggoner, a noted Hawthorne scholar, says, The Scarlet Letter is Hawthornes most widely read and admi blood-red novel and is withal the one that has inspired the most inconclusive debate . . . (Waggoner 118). Much of the c be in interpreting The Scarlet Letter stems from the fact that the story is super exemplary. The Scarlet Letter opens with the stark image of the throng of people adjoin the prison door. Hawthorne creates a mood by using the, sadcolored, garment and, gray, steeplecrowned hats, to bring out the reader a feeling a gloom and sadness. Among these dark, sad images Hawthorne interjects the enraged red rose. As Hawthorne puts it, to symbolismize some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening mingy of a tale of human frailty and sorrow (McMichael, 1033). The prison is exemplary of moral evil which would be sin and the cemetery is a symbol of natural evil which would be death. It is commonly agreed that the colors are used extensivly in The Scarlet Letter as symbols. This is illustrated by the pictorial matter by the prison door, exclusively the use and importance of the symbol grows as the book moves along. drop, is often identified with the color red, which Waggoner identifies as evil. Pearl is not an evil child in the true sense of the word, but she is a reflection of her parents immorality and their love. The color red, along with images of bright impertinence show Pearl to be the product of a moment of hotness between Hester and Dimmesdale. Just like the red rose at the sop up of the story, Pearl is meant to relieve the sorrow and misery. The most famous symbol is of mannequin the scarlet garner itself. Called, The Elaborate Sign, by Waggoner, the letter A exhibits itself a number of times and in a number of ways passim the story. The A may appear on Dimmesdales chest, it appears as Pearl, in the thrash as a huge letter formed by a comet in the mirror at the Governors mansion and on Hesters tombstone (McMichael 1150). The letter itself is red, which at first glance would seem to confirm Mr. Waggoners theory that red in the story is a representation of evil. A case derriere be made, however, that even in the letter A that red is symbolic of hope and spirit.