Exploring Hawthornes use of Symbolism

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Exploring Hawthornes use of Symbolism

• The Scarlet Letter

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Presented By Autumn Brickle and Jessica
Remick
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FLOWERS

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• The flowers in the story represent the good
  side of the human soul.

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Prison
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• The prison symbolizes the fact that sin is an
  unavoidable part of human life.

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Sun
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• The sun represents untroubled, guiltless
  happiness.

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Pearl
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• Pearl is the living symbol of Hesters sin.
  Even if Hester did not have to wear the A, she
  would still be reminded of her sin daily by the
  presence of her little Pearl. Pearl is probably
  the most important element of the story, because
  without her Hester would probably not have
  survived.

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Night
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• The night symbolizes the concealment of sin.
  Only in the night do Hester and Dimmesdale meet
  face-to-face to talk. The night is also when
  Dimmesdale finds it fit to mount the scaffold to
  confess his sin.

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Day

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• The day symbolizes the exposure of sin.
  Hesters sin is exposed on the scaffold in the
  light of the day.

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Letter A in Sky
A
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• The A that appears in the sky can best be
  described as a symbol of the pain in Dimmesdales
  heart. Hester wears her confession of sin on her
  breast, while Dimmesdale wears his only within
  his own heart.

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The Scaffold

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• The scaffold symbolizes the open
  acknowledgment of personal sin. Hester reveals
  her sin on the scaffold in front of an audience
  of townspeople. Dimmesdale attempts to reveal
  his sin atop the scaffold during the night.
  During the Election Day sermon, Hester stays
  close to the scaffold.

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Dimmesdales Hand Over His Heart
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• Dimmesdale puts his hand over his heart,
  symbolizing his guilt and remorse for the sin he
  has committed. Pearl notices this action, and
  continuously asks Hester why he does it. Pearl
  concludes that he does this because The Black Man
  has left his mark on Dimmesdale under his shirt,
  unlike Hester who received her mark on her
  blouse.

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Sun Running Away From Hester
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• This suggests that wherever Hester goes, bad
  things will happen. The fact that Pearl pointed
  this out shows that Pearl is somewhat aware of
  her mothers problems.

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Works Cited

• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Class notes taken over The Scarlet Letter
• www.sparknotes.com
• www.ditto.com