The Scarlet Letter essay

The Scarlet Letter Essay

 Naomi Giancola 802

            In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many symbols that the author chooses to use. He uses a rosebush in the beginning, a child for most of the book, and Europe in the end. The symbol that stands out to me the most is the scarlet letter that the main character, Hester has to wear for the entire book. Hester must wear the letter because she committed the sin of adultery. In the story, the letter has many different meaning and in the end, Hester learns to embrace all of them. The letter on Hester’s chest is a very important symbol in the story.

            One of the reasons I think that the A is an important symbol is because it represents things that we would consider happy. “’Thy mother is yonder woman with the scarlet letter.’” The letter represents Hester being a mother. Pearl, her daughter only recognizes her when she has her letter. The letter, to Pearl, represents what her mother went through in order to bring her to life. “The scarlet letter was the object of love and interest.” In the end, the people in the town realize that the letter didn’t really represent what they thought it was supposed to represent. They realized that it symbolized love for her daughter and even love for her self. The letter represents many good things.

            The scarlet letter represents good things, but it also represents bad things. For example, “The scarlet letter was [Hester’s] passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude!” The letter represents the struggle that she went through. She was isolated in her house in the outskirts of the town for most of the time she was struggling with what she had done and the shame that was brought upon her. ““Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom.” The letter also represents how people will always not really be comfortable around her and not completely happy because of the dark cloud that the letter brings along. Hester will never really be able to escape the shame of the letter.

            In the end, Hester’s letter represents a lot more then what it was supposed to represent. It has good and bad things that will be forever attached to it. All of the meanings are very important to the story. The scarlet letter is the most heavily weighed symbol in the book.