The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthornes classic overbold The Scarlet Letter revolves around the tarradiddle of Hester Prynne, a woman who commits the sin of adultery. Set in an archean New England colony, the harbour shows the terrible imp movement that Hesters single, passionate act has on the lives of the main sections of the community. The emotions and feelings that surround the impact are enjoin by Hawthorne through the use of a multitude of themes. Colors, with an idiom upon thinly and apparition, is a persistent theme of contrasting ideas end-to-end the novel. These colors are non just used for scenic description, save the likes ofwise to give the reader a get around under outdoor stageing of the characters. Although traditionally authors use light and shadower to destine good and evil, in The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne breaks tradition by gr testifyup light and crepuscularness new and deeper centres in which light conveys righteousness and innocence while darkness symbolizes guilt and deceit, as personified by Dimmesdale, pearl and Hester.

        Mister Dimmesdale is the dark, untruthful character in the novel. He lives a life of guilt and dishonesty, and is advised of this, yet he is not able to confess and commute this fact. It is his panic that his public public figure lead be damaged that leads him to a life of fraudulence. Dimmesdale is sensible of his hypocritical action and tries to repent by confessing on the scaffold, but uses the fundament of night to protect himself. While standing amongst Hester and dip on the scaffold and feeling energy surge through him, free fall innocently asks the minister, Wilt thou stand here with mother and me, to-morrow noontide?. Dimmesdale replies that he will not, for fear that the townspeople might see him. Dimmesdale commits himself to Hester by engaging in a relationship with her, yet never publicly acknowledges his loyalty to her. In the forest, darkness temporarily leaves Dimmesdale as he opens up to Hester and they plan their escape to Europe. Though it seems all is well and Dimmesdale is at persistent last revealing his true emotions, Hawthorne outlines the sky as a muzzy sky and the heavy foliage had darkened the noontide. In the forest, disposition acts as God, and by casting a shadow of darkness it rejects Dimmesdales words. Nature tummy see through the obvious, and uniform God, knows that Dimmesdale is channeling his feelings in vain. Hawthorne uses darkness and shadows to signify how Dimmesdales actions are deceitful and cowardice, because horizontal though the reverend knows of his true responsibilities towards Hester and Pearl, he refuses to recognize these obligations publicly.

        Hawthorne also uses black and darkness as symbols throughout The Scarlet Letter. sick is used to represent evil and hiding. Hawthorne calls the prison the black blossom of civilized society, meaning it is evil and a place concealment the truth. Pearls eyes are called a small black mirror, meaning they are empty and filled with sin as they theorize Hestors chromatic letter. Hawthorne explains black weeds growing from a sinners weighty as evil coming out and dying hope. The Puritans describe Satan as the bootleg Man in the forest. Black is used to symbolize the worst and most evil realm of an object or person. Frequently Hawthorne makes references to darkness turning to light, suggesting darkness as a call down of hiding where the person will not accept lifes experiences and holds back.

        Hawthorne employs white and light to oppose darkness as a state of self- containment. White most all the way symbolizes purity. Ironically, Dimmesdales offspring is the opposite of her father and is the light of the novel. Pearl is the alone pure and truthful character in the novel and is the light of the dark and deceptive Puritan world. Early in the book Pearl has an affinity with sunlight. While in governor Bellinghams mansion, Pearl inquires about playing with the sunlight. Hester responds, Thou must gather thine own sunshine. I have none to give thee!, admitting that she is living a guilty and dishonest life. Like light, Pearl sparkles and glitters but her glowing never fades. Pearl is aware that she emits brightness and innocence and insists that she was pluck off the rosebush outside the prison. Pearls self-reference to the rosebush, which Hawthorne describes as a sweet chaste blossom reinforces her theory that she is the light in a dark world. Due to her young age, Pearl does not understand or care what the public thinks of her. As a result of this purity, Pearl is blunt and completely honest with her feelings. Light, similarly as darkness, can act as God, by having the power to reveal a persons true identity. When a dishonest person is in the light, he/she cannot hide from his/her wrongdoings and as a result the person avoids light.



Pearl does not fear the truth, because she knows that she is true to herself. She is also aware that by standing in the light, nothing new about her character will be revealed, because she is open and truthful to the public as well as herself. Not only is Pearl aware of societys judgmental views toward herself, and Minister Dimmesdale, but she also understands its intolerant digest of her mother. Pearl, who has not committed any great sins nor held herself back from anything, is ever portrayed with the light shining on her.

        Hester, unlike her daughter, is a perplexed character, who is stuck between the light and darkness. Initially Hester is a captive of darkness because of her passionate sin. Her honest and caring actions, helping the low and sick, alleviate her guilt, but do not clear her name. When Hester removes her scarlet letter and faces her sin and pride, the sunlight shines on her for the first time. The sunshine is used to express a moment of enlightenment and change Remember that the sunlight never falls on Hester until she lets pop her hair and casts away the scarlet letter. This is Hawthornes way of saying that nature, like God, is often much forgiving than man is. As long as Hester feels sinful, nature shuns her but when she mentally steps into the light, nature gives her the light to step into physically, making her seem even more lovely. Through her actions in the novel, Hester emerges from a state of darkness to a higher level of lightness, resembling her radiant daughter.

        Hawthorne uses light and darkness to express characters emotions and the state of their spirit. Darkness represents a poor state with self-denial, as well as representing simply evil. Light symbolizes a state of enlightenment and a refreshed spirit, as well as purity. The color symbols in The Scarlet Letter help to impart certain themes and ideas to the reader, as they are easily recognized and identified. Hawthornes novel shows the simplest events of one person permeating throughout a society, and how the native ideas of symbolism of light and dark can parallel this passage.         

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