Answer the following in at least 2 well developed paragraphs that include textual evidence to support your argument(s):
At this point in the novel you have seem many symbols. Identify at least two of those symbols, explain the symbol, determine how and why these symbols are integral parts of the novel, and explain the purpose of the symbol in its use.
Respond to two of your classmates in a well developed paragraph. Due 1/29 at midnight (30 Points)
One important symbol in "The Scarlet Letter" is Pearl. She is a living version of her mother’s scarlet letter. She shows the consequence of her mother's sin and the indicator of a transgression. Pearl is more a blessing than a punishment to her mother. She also functions as a reminder of an unsolved mystery. Another important symbol in the novel is the scarlet letter itself. The A is supposed to represent "adulterer," and is to be a punishment. However, Hester turns it into a part of her identity. Like Pearl, the letter works as a physical reminder of Hester’s sin. But, compared with a child, the letter seems insignificant, and therefore helps point out the uselessness of the town's judgment and punishment.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Pearl is an important symbol in the story. Hester does see Pearl as a blessing, her own "treasure" she calls her. But she also has suspicions that Pearl isn't human and is evil. Pearls are supposed to be pure and since Pearl is a child born from sin, she is portrayed as the complete opposite. I agree that the letter is important, (I just realized I reworded your sentence in my post sorry) but I do not agree it becomes insignificant. It is a continuous symbol throughout the entire story. The town's judgement should have lessened as time passed but it continues to make Hester an outcast even seven years after the fact.
DeleteI agree with you about how Pearl is an important symbol in the story. I find it intriguing that she can find absolute strength just from her daughter really. I also agree with how Pearl is basically a result of Hester's sexual sin. I also believe in what the letter "A" signifies towards Hester. Not only does the community already know that she's an adulterer, but she has to wear the "A" as proof to show that she is an adulterer.
DeleteI agree with you about Pearl's symbolization, she is a mark of her mother's sin and mistakes. However, I do think that Pearl is representative of purity and happiness to juxtapose her mother's original representation of sin and past mistakes. Pearl's significance just grows throughout the story, and she, in my opinion, becomes the most important character in the whole ordeal.
DeletePearl too is another physical symbol of her mother's sin. Pearl is an important symbol in the story. I also agree that Hester sees her child Pearl as a symbol of a blessing. I do think that Hester also thinks that the child isn't to fault for, the child isn't to fault for her mother being stupid and sexually interacting with another guy. I agree with gloria, the letter does not become insignificant, because the letter is the whole point of the story. Possibly the only thing to change of the letter is the meaning, but not the significant, because after all the letter is the whole point of the story "The Scarlet Letter".
DeleteI agree with you when she talks about Pearl being a living version of her mother's sin. Hester believes her child as being a "treasure", Since her mother sinned then Pearl is evil (as the townspeople believe) because she is the outcome of that sin committed.
DeleteI also agree with you Anessa, because i obviously read yours first before i began to write my own and used some of your information to gain a better summary and find a comparison in symbol. Other than that, I also agree on how you said she is a punishment to Pearl. But also she helps strengthens Hester throughout the novel.
DeleteThere are many symbols in the novel "The Scarlet Letter." One symbol is the scaffold in the center of town. This scaffold is where Hester had to stand in front of the townspeople and be shamed for her sin. Seven years later on the same scaffold Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl stand together hand in hand. The scaffold symbolizes the pedestal the puritans put sin on. Even though sin is bad, it becomes the main focus in Dimmesdale's sermons. Sin is one of the major themes of the novel. The scaffold alienates all three characters from the town and its residents. This symbol plays an important role because it reveals or hints to who is Pearl's father.
ReplyDeleteAnother important and more obvious symbol is the scarlet letter itself. The letter on Hester's chest is supposed to mean "adulterer," and it had held this meaning for awhile in the story. After years had passed and the townspeople became accustomed to Hester and her embroidery work it changed from "adulterer," to being "able." It symbolized her beautiful embroidery skills. Towards the middle of the novel a meteor lights the sky with the letter "A" and it reminds Dimmesdale of his sin and secrets but the townspeople take it as it being a symbol of an angel. This shows how the puritans beliefs about the letter changes periodically. The act of clutching his chest could also be a symbol of the scarlet letter because Pearl notices his actions and it is in response to thinking about his sins.
I agree with the points you made about both of the symbols you mentioned. You make a good point about the scaffold being a pedestal for sins. I never thought of it that way, but it makes so much sense. It goes along with the misaligned priorities of many of the townspeople. I believe the scarlet letter is hugely important and the more obvious meaning of the letter dies slightly throughout the novel as the underlying meaning becomes more apparent.
DeleteWe have similiar statements about the Letter itself. It becomes a great sign of respect and hope in the village, and becomes a form of guilt for dimmesdale, which I personally did not think about.
DeleteGloria, I agree with your points. The part where I agree with you concerns the letter itself. The scarlet letter "A," was supposed to be a representation of Hester's sin. However, as the story progresses, the letter changes its meaning due to different interpretation. The letter is now see as "able" instead of "adulterer." It is a much more positive interpretation.
DeleteDuring the novel "The Scarlet Letter" the Puritans made the letter "A" a symbol towards her shame. But like Anessa said she uses it as part of her identity. As as the letter is a symbol, so is her daughter Pearl. At one point in the book, it describes Pearl as "the scarlet letter endowed with life." Like the letter, Pearl is Hester's very private sin. Yet, Pearl also becomes Hester's strength.
ReplyDeleteAlso, throughout The Scarlet Letter Dimmesdale repeatedly puts his hand over his heart. Which indicates that he has a secret, a metaphoric scarlet letter on his own chest. But acutually Dimmesdale shows that he is Hester's baby daddy in the beginning when he's standing over the balcony with his hand over his heart. Hawthrone indicates that gesture of ones hand over there heart, means they're hiding a secret. The secret is that Dimmesdale is the father, No Maury! :D
FIRST OFF, you spelled actually wrong. Otherwise I agree with you. The letter symbol "A" does symbol towards Hester's shame of adultery. I also believe that Pearl becomes Hester's strength throughout the story. I'm also shocked that you ACTUALLY did the discussion. Nice job bud.
DeleteI obviously agree with you first paragraph. However you said something I hadn't thought of in your second paragraph. The idea that Dimmsdale putting his hand over his heart is a symbol for hiding a secret ja something I'd never thought of. Good point!
DeletePearl is a very important symbol in this book. Pearl is the physical consequence of Hester's sexual sin. Pearl is more than a mere punishment to her mother but she is also a blessing towards Hester. She not only represents sin but also the vital spirit and passion that engendered that sin. Pearls existence gives her Hester a reason to live, bringing Hester's spirits up when she's eager to give up on things.
ReplyDeleteThe meteor is also another important symbol in the book. To Dimmesdale, the meteor implies that he should wear a mark of shame just like Hester has. The mark of shame is the "A" that Hester wears around town. The meteor also made a "A", which makes Dimmesdale feel this way. To the community the "A" made by the meteor stands for "Angel" and marks Governor Winthrop's entry into heaven.
I agree with you that the meteor makes Dimmesdale consider wearing the mark of shame as well. HIs guilt lets us know that Hester is not the only person who has committed sin. While the meteor is a symbol, all of the people in the book interpret the symbol in their own way.
DeleteYes, I totally agree with you. I think the part of Hester's "bastard" child, Pearl, being a blessing for Hester is especially true. The love Hester has for her child can be seen in how fearful she is of having Pearl taken away. Nice shot pointing out the meteor symbol!
DeleteAlright because everyone thinks I BS these, I am going to write a wonderful and completely non-BS response. Yeah, that's right. I'm not going to BS. Yeah, shocking isn't it? You might be thinking, "OMG, he's not going to BS?" Well, guess what, child. I am not. Yeah, so here we go. No BS because everyone just thinks everything I say is BS. Well you know what--ugh, you people are something else.
ReplyDeleteSymbol number one:
Pearl. It's pretty obvious that she's a symbol. The book basically says the bastard is a symbol. "A symbol of what?" you might ask. Well let me pull out my Scarlet Letter and put down the quotes for your intellectual self. "God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child, whose place was on that same dishonoured bosom, to connect her parent for ever with the race and descent of mortals, and to be finally a blessed soul in heaven!" (pg number) Nahh, God sent that thing to remind Hester that she slept with another guy. Every single day, Hester looks at the "demon offspring." Yeah, take that Hester. But Pearl is beautiful, remember? What’s up with that? Why isn’t she ugly? Because if I was God, I would have given Hester an ugly child if I really wanted to punish her. But nah, God makes her beautiful, Hester’s Pearl. Everyone bullies Pearl because of her mother. No one likes her since she’s an illegitimate child. Now, you might be confused. I am. But, anyways, you might be thinking, "Alejandro, so Pearl is just a symbol for the act that Hester did? Isn't that just the product of it? Is that really all she symbolizes?" Well, my fellow peer, silence your opinion. Pearl is the human representation of Hester's sin. That's what she is. It's symbolism.
Symbol number two:
The Letter “A.” This is another that is pretty basic in the story. The letter stands for “Adulterer.” If you didn’t get that by the end of the 44 page introduction—actually you should have known that even before you started reading the sparknotes because Lord knows most of you didn’t read—then something is wrong with you. However, don’t worry about that because I’m here to present to you the obvious. So, obviously, the letter “A” written on Hester’s clothes stands for “Adulterer” due to her sin. The letter is for other people to look at her and judge her based on this letter. You ever heard of that saying, “never judge a book by its cover,” you know the one they say all the time? Well, the idea of the letter “A” is to do the opposite of that saying. It screams, “JUDGE HESTER! JUDGE HER BASED UPON THIS LETTER! SHE IS AN ADULTERER! AN ADULTERER!” But wait, this is a letter. “Adulterer” isn’t spelled on her chest—which should have been if they really wanted to label her as that. The letter “A” has no permanent meaning which allows it to change throughout the story. As you can tell, at the beginning the people viewed her as a whore. However, getting to the middle of the book, people begin to interpret it differently, as “able.” So, I like to believe that this letter symbolizes her. In the beginning, she was an adulterer, however, later, she begins to change; the letter symbolizes that she is more than what she was originally labeled. Or something like that.
I agree with you that Pearl is a symbol for Hester's sin. Pearl being beautiful was just a way to add insult to injury. However I don't agree that Pearl was just a symbol in the book, she was also the only thing keeping her mother sane while they were isolated from everyone else.
Deletewell, someone seems a bit upset about their BS....
DeleteBut, I would have to agree with you Alejandro, Pearl is basically a symbol for Hester's sin. Many look at Pearl and automatically think about Hester's sin and her punishment.
And i would agree with you about the letter "A". It basically does just simply classify her as a horrible person.
Great point Eric. Perhaps, Pearl isn't just a symbol. Of course, she is a person too. Foolish of me to think that symbols can't be people, too. Pearl is a person and helps out her momma threw out these hard times. However, don't you think that if Pearl never existed, Hester's problems wouldn't have existed as well? Is Pearl the blame for everything? Or is Hester? Is it still a sin even if no one finds out? Would Hester have a better life if she was just infertile? Or is Hester the blame for it all? Or is the guy the blame for it? What if he was infertile? What if Hester gave virgin birth? Food for thought.
Delete*throughout
DeleteHad to correct that because of Mr. Lear's sign above the board: "Find an error, get a bonus point." Maybe it will apply for this as well. Anyways, yes. Pearl is a symbol in the book. I definitely agree with you that she is a constant reminder of her mother's sin.
DeleteHer problems may have been a bit different if she never had Pearl. She could have hid the information and hoped that no one would find out. BUT! The bible says that everything done in darkness shall come to light. It would have come out and been dealt with anyways. Yes, it is a sin even if no one finds out. You'll have the guilt on the inside of you and you'll know what you did was wrong. Just repent.
Luke 12:2-3 if you want to look up what I was referring to
DeleteThe most obvious symbol in the story is the letter itself. It is supposed to represent the sin of adultery. It is a constant reminder of Hester's sin. The letter is supposed to be Hester's punishment for committing adultery, but as the time goes on, the letter has a different meaning. The letter soon became a piece of art that reminded the people of Hester's amazing embroidery.
ReplyDeleteAnother symbol in the story is Pearl. She is a living representation of the letter that Hester wears. Since she was born from the sin of Hester, she is seen as evil. When Hester sees her daughter, she is reminded of her sin and she is worried for her daughter, because they are treated differently.
I'd have to say we're on the same page about the symbols in the novel. The letter does end up having a new meaning as you keep reading the novel.
DeleteAs for Pearl, i agree with you as well. She is just a symbol of Hester's sin.
I like your second paragraph. Pearl was "born from the sin of Hester, she is seen as evil." However, Pearl is beautiful. Evil is ugly. Pearl is beautiful. Perhaps, this is to bring attention that Pearl isn't evil and questioning the judgment placed upon Hester and Pearl.
DeleteEric, I agree with you on both points. The most important symbol in the story is the scarlet letter "A" itself. The letter symbols Hester's sin, but changed meaning as time goes on. The other important symbol is Pearl. Originally Hester's hope, she inherited all of Hester's bad traits. It is also very ironic that a child who is suppose to be pure has all the bad qualities of Hester.
DeleteI agree with you on this. As time passes, the letter has a different meaning. Mostly when Hester begins to embrace it when she starts being accepted by others.
DeleteYes, since Pearl is the product of sin, she is seen as walking sin. They are definitely treated differently because of the evil that is supposedly in them because of the sin.
One symbol in the The Scarlet Letter is Governor Bellingham’s mansion. Bellingham planned his not-so-humble abode “after the residences of gentlemen of fair estate in his native land.” (pg 95) Even the serf is wearing the custom uniform of servants in England. Another example are the portraits of his ancestors’ (Englishmen) he has on on display. In short, Bellingham’s mansion (and what is in it) symbolizes the ties the New World has to the one they “left behind.” It’s an integral part of the novel because those who immigrated to America did so to get out from the thumb of the king. They wanted freedom of beliefs, of speech, e.g.. The mansion symbolizes that they didn’t leave everything behind, which includes intolerance.
ReplyDeleteMy second symbol is Bellingham’s garden. “...The proprietor appeared already to have relinquished, as hopeless, the effort to perpetuate on this side of the Atlantic, in a hard soil amid the close struggle for subsistence, the native English taste for ornamental gardening.” (pg 97) The garden had been planted in an English style and wasn’t doing well at all. This symbol’s purpose is to show that not all English ties that can be brought over to the New World. The governor wishes to bring old plants aka old principles to the New World but they do not work here.
I think you picked very different symbols than everyone else but they were still spot on. I didn't even think about how the mansion was a symbol in the novel. The Puritans were supposed to live a simple life while their governor is still holding on to the past. This can also be tied back into how the townspeople cannot let go of Hester's past and her sin. The point of leaving to the New world was for trying a different way life than they had known but they continue to act the same way regardless.
DeleteIn the novel the Scarlet Letter the main symbol would have to be the letter itself. It represents Hester's sin throughout the entire novel. Even after a while Hester seems to embrace the letter, she is still seen as "that women" who committed a sin by the rest of society. Even though the letter does change a bit during the novel is still a symbol of adultery.
ReplyDeleteAnother symbol in the novel is Hester's daughter Pearl. In many cases a pearl is suppose to symbolize pureness and innocence. Yet, pearl is looked at as a child who was born from sin. Just being Hester's daughter makes certain people look at her differently.
The scarlet letter is definitely the biggest symbol in The Scarlet Letter. Her adultery is the gunshot that started the race, theoretically speaking. I agree that even though the letter was placed to symbolize Hester's adultery, as the story progresses you can see that it seems to change. Pearl is definitely demonized for her "bastard" status.
DeleteI agree with you that the letter was a main symbol because it was the thing that started the whole novel. Her committing adultery was a huge sin in those times and they punished her with wearing the letter "A", however, she begins to stop caring about what people think and embrace who she really is.
DeleteAs per usual in this class, the novel we have read treats us with the usual dose of Symbolic figures and we as the reader is left to determine their meaning. Thanks Hawthorne. Anyways, the first symbol that stuck out to me was pearl herself. Pearl is a juxtaposition to her mother's sinfulness, as Pearl symbolizes innocence anf purity. However, even though Pearl herself is a wonderful child, the town still avoids her like the plague, not seeing her for who she is, but rather seeing her as the product of her mother's mistake. However, this begins to change later on.
ReplyDeleteThe other symbol I'll discuss is the letter itself. Of course, the Puritan culture created the A as a form of punishment for an adulterer to wear. However, over the years, her A goes from Adulterer to Able, as her mastery with a needle improves. The A also becomes a sign of hope to the town when the meteor in the sky spells out an A.
It's literature, Kale. I'm pretty sure it's going to have symbolism. What do you expect? However, I still agree on your points. Pearl is a juxtaposition. Instead of being ugly, she is beautiful. And the letter is also symbolic. Good stuff.
DeleteKale, your BS is not as good as Alejandro's. Anyways, I agree with your points, but I don't see Pearl as a wonderful child. She is very bad. Needs someone to take their belt off on her. I also agree that the A becomes a symbol of hope for the town.
DeleteThe first symbol in the book is the scarlet letter "A" itself. The "A" is the result of the adultery Hester committed. Throughout the whole book, Hester wears the scarlet letter as a representation of her sin. However, as the story progresses, the symbolism of "A" began to change. At the beginning, it was viewed as "Adulterer," which has a negative view. Later in the story, people viewed it as "able" due to Hester's ability and work over the years. It is something positive. The symbol of the scarlet letter changes as the story progresses
ReplyDeleteAnother symbol in the story is Pearl herself. Pearl, who is Hester's daughter, is suppose to her whole hope. She places everything in her and loves her. Pearl, however, is bad and a troublemaker. In a way, she inherited all of Hester's bad traits. She represented Hester's sin and past wrong deeds. Pearl, who is also a symbolism of Hester's sin, is a important part of the story. The fact that Hester's hope is a a symbol of her sin is hypocrisy itself. It is a theme that Hawthorne loves to use.
I agree with you, Hester worked hard for herself and her daughter and did not want to be labeled for her sinful actions. The one pushing her forward was Pearl, who is also a symbol for Hester's act of adultery. This helps keeps the story flowing since without Pearl the meaning of the letter "A" would not have changed.
DeleteOne symbol in the book is Pearl. Pearl is a living version of her mother’s scarlet letter. She is like a reminder of Hester’s sin. She represents not only Hester's sin, but she is also a blessing. Pearl’s existence gives her mother reason to live when she is tempted to give up.
ReplyDeleteThe second symbol is the scarlet letter itself. It is supposed to be a symbol of shame, but rather becomes a symbol of identity for Hester. She thinks of it as meaning "able" not "adulterer." She thinks of it as being able to move on with her life and not let it impede on her every day life.
Don't put me on blast in class Mr. Lear
Yes, Pearl is most definitely a living version of Hester's scarlet letter. Being seen as something evil by people make this even more apparent.
DeleteYes, the letter becomes a symbol of identity for Hester as she embraces having the wear it. I agree that she decides to move on in a way because she doesn't have a choice of wearing the "A" or not.
One symbol seen in the novel is Pearl. Pearl is a symbol because she is considered to represent "walking sin". Although Hester sees her daughter as a blessing & beautiful as an actual pearl, the town sees her as something evil. At one point, Hester begins to question this herself.
ReplyDeleteAnother symbol is the scarlet "A". This letter was originally meant to embarrass Hester & shame her for sinning. Hester eventually begins to embrace having to wear this "A". Many people began to see the "A" to stand for being "Able" instead of just standing for the sin. This simple scarlet letter begins to change Hester during this shift of how people interpreted the meaning of the letter.
I agree with you Pearl is seen as a walking sin. Hester does see her daughter as a blessing,and the townspeople see her as a bastard. The scarlet letter was originally meant to be a sign of shame, and used to put Hester out in front of all the townspeople, but eventually Hester take it as an ID for herself. The point that i most agree wit you is that the letter's meaning is going to begin to change through the book, because she the towns people see that the meteor traces a letter "A", the only one to see it as a symbol of shame is Dimmesdale. The towns people actually see it as a symbol of heaven as if an "Angel".
DeleteI agree with you on how Hester does begin to embrace the letter and she becomes immune to it and it seems to not bother her anymore. She even kind of flaunts it around like she is proud and has no shame because she knows what she did was wrong, but does not let that bring her down.
DeleteThird time i type this .....
ReplyDeleteSo Hester... The letter that she carries everywhere she goes is a symbol of adultery. This letter the letter "A", is the symbol that she carries through out the book, because it is a symbol of her sin. The letter is also seen when is chapter 12 a meteor passes through the town and is traces out a letter "A". The towns people take it as a good thing as if symbolizing heaven, but Dimmesdale on the other hand takes the letter as it is the symbol that he too should be displaying across his chest or somewhere.
The second symbol that most stand out in the book is Pearl, Hester's Daughter. The word Pearl is suppose to be symbolism of being pure and innocent, this is somewhat ironic, because Pearl is actually the result of her mother being an adulterer. Pearl is seen as a demon child, because of her origin, and is being judge by the towns people over something her mother did, and i personally think she is not to fault for her mother's stupidity, but it's how the story goes. The towns people see Pearl as a "bastard", an illegitimate child.
The meteor is also a very important symbol, which you mentioned briefly in your first paragraph. It shows that not everyone is going to take something in the same light. No two people are going to look at something the same way. This can be shown in how the villagers and Dimmesdale look at it.
DeleteOne of the many symbols in the book would obviously be the actual letter itself; the "A". This letter represents that she had committed adultery and she is made to wear it around town to shame her. After many years of Hester still wearing that letter embroidered into her clothes she begins to embrace it and it become "one with her". The townspeople noticed how Hester would carry herself proudly with the letter that instead of it standing for "adulterer" it now meant "able".
ReplyDeleteAnother symbol would be Hester's daughter, Pearl. Pearl is a symbol of sin because she is a part of another man who was not her mother's husband. She is a mere representation of the letter because due to Hester committing adultery, the outcome from that sin was Pearl. However, Pearl was created from sin, but she is still beautiful and basically gets bullied for her mother's wrong doings.
I would agree with you about both symbols. I think that the 'A' is important because it helps her overcome the shame that is already brought on her even before she is forced to do it. It serves a reminder to the rest of the town of her sin, even though they probably don't need a reminder. Pearl, in my opinion, is one of the most important symbols so far. To her mother, she is a blessing while to everyone else she is just the product of sin, therefore she is sin herself.
DeletePeal was the outcome of sin from her mother, I agree. Pearl had no say in whether she wanted to be born on not. However, Pearl is the "push" Hester needed to move forward in her life; Pearl is a reminder that Hester made a mistake as well.
DeleteOne of the symbols in the story is Pearl. She is probably one of the most important symbols in the entire book, other than the letter 'A'. When most people think of a pearl, they think of white which signifies innocence and purity. The problem is that people see Pearl as a sin - she was born as the consequence of an adulterous mother. Hester, though, doesn't just see her as a reminder of her sin, but also has her saving grace. While the town sees Pearl as a demon spawn, all Hester sees is her child. This is important because it shows that the town can not get passed the act of the sin and Hester can.
ReplyDeleteA second symbol is the meteor. This symbol is interpreted differently by the different characters in the novel. While Dimmesdale is standing on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl, he believes it means that he should also wear a letter 'A' along with Hester. He believes it means not only should Hester be shamed, but he should also be. The rest of the villagers, though, believe that this is a sign of the governor's passing into heaven. This is important because it shows the different in the mindsets in the midst of Puritans.
I agree with you, Pearl is an representation of her mother's sin that signifies innocence and purity. The townspeople do believe that Pearl is an evil being because she is the outcome of a sin. I also agree that Dimmesdale is accepting the fact that he also sinned and that he should also be wearing the "A".
DeleteAn important symbol in the scarlet letter is Pearl. Pearl is a living representation of her mother's sin. For Hester, Pearl is a "treasure" rather than a blessing. Hester herself believes that Pearl is human and not evil. Pearl is the overall outcome of Hester's sin. People see Pearl as a demon but Hester sees that she is her child and not what people believe she is. Hester sees in Pearl innocence and purity.
ReplyDeleteAnother symbol in Scarlet letter is the "A" that represents adultery. That A that's embroided on Hester's shirt has become part of her. Later on throughout the story the letter "A" represents adultery to other people as well, such as Dimmesdale when the "A" is showed in the sky and he starts to accept that he has also sinned. He believes that he should also be wearing a letter 'A' just as Hester.
There are many symbols throughout the novel "The Scarlett Letter". Pearl acts as a reminder to Hester of the sinful actions she committed, being a married woman and all. The townspeople consider Pearl evil and an act of sin, Pearl is therefore labeled by Hester's actions. However, Pearl represents the innocence of a child since Hester being a whore was not her fault. Hester is also motivated through the grace of Peal and her natural beauty to not give up while they were both isolated in jail.
ReplyDeleteThe second symbol that appears in the novel represents Hester's actions, the letter "A" stands for "Adulterer" at the beginning of the story. Hester is forced to wear the scarlet letter which was embroidered on Hester's shirt and basically meant she had sex with another man. The townspeople later notices that Hester wears the scarlet letter proudly and soon the "A" represents Hester's effort in accepting what she had done and now stood for "Able".
There are many important symbols so far in the Scarlet Letter. The first symbol that I recognized was in the very beginning, in the introduction. In the “Custom House” introduction the narrator describes a statute of a bald eagle that is over the Custom House’s entrance. Although, we as Americans recognize the eagle as a symbol of freedom, this symbol is the same but with a little twist. The eagle in the introduction symbolizes the Puritans’ attitude that is perfectly fine with you being in the nest but will not hesitate to let you go if you make any movement.
ReplyDeleteAnother symbol that is used in the Scarlet Letter is the meteor that shoots through the night sky just as Hester, Pearl and Dimmesdale have a “moment.” The minister sees the meteor in the shape of an “A” which the townspeople think it represents the death of the Governor. Dimmesdale believes that it represents that God sees them.