Symbolism in the Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism in his writing to give subtle hints about the Puritans way of life. He uses symbols such as the scaffold, the scarlet letter, and lightness and darkness. These symbols are all connected to the sin of Hester Prynne. Hawthorne used the symbols to show how Hester and those around her are all affected by her sin. The scarlet letter is one of the main symbols Hawthorne uses in the novel.
“Wherefore not; since all the powers of nature call so earnestly for the confession of sin, that these black weeds have sprung up out of a buried heart, to make manifest an unspoken crime?” This quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, represents the truth upheld by a person, and how it carries with them through eternity. Hawthorne captures the truth of reality and sin in The Scarlet Letter. By using many literary devices, he reveals the truth of the Scarlet Letter and the characters in his novel. Being a novel during the romantic period, Hawthorne makes many symbolic and archetypical references to the power of nature, and the supernatural. Hawthorne uses these archetypes and symbols in addition to light motifs to demonstrate
No one person is born with sin into their hearts. It is not until we become aware of right and wrong that sin is committed. Unfortunately, we, as humans, are open to corruption and sin. When we sin against our God given nature, we must ask God for His forgiveness. The Bible teaches us that “all men originate their own moral depravity” (Genesis 6:12; 8:21) The Puritans believed that all men and women, due to human nature, had the capacity for sin and evil, especially women.
Compare and Contrast Essay In the short story “The Minister’s Black Veil” Mr. Hooper states, ‘... this veil is a type and a symbol...’and he also says, ‘and if I cover it for secret sin, what mortal might not do the same?’. In the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” it says that “There is the dreadful Pit of the glowing Flames of the Wrath of God; there is Hell’s wide gaping Mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, not any Thing to take hold of: there is nothing between you and Hell but the Air…”. Both Jonathan Edwards in his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Nathaniel Hawthorne in his short story “The Minister’s Black Veil” deal with how sins affect you in life by using imagery, descriptive language, and symbols, but they do so in different ways. In Jonathan Edwards sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, He uses imagery and descriptive and fierce language to explain the effects of sin. Edwards uses a stricter and more straight up approach at speaking to his audience.
In gods eyes a sin is a sin, he had a universal way of looking at things. To God it doesn’t matter who you are or what you did on earth. If you sinned, then you were to be punished. Even a priest wasn’t safe from his eternal suffering if he deserved it. God made sure he had a certain outline of rules to be followed so no one could say I didn’t know.
The author wrote this novel in a satirical tone that is present throughout the entire book and “Twain Knew well what he was doing” (Powell). Huck Finn appears to, on a very basic level, attack religion and African Americans heavily but in actuality the author uses a great amount of satire to fight for the rights of blacks and he is in no way attacking any religion. Religion seems to be a constant target for criticism in the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Those who are religious are often seen as too trusting, and many of them are manipulated because of that. It is apparent that Twain pits religion against racism and in the book Huck feels like he has to give up all religion in order to save his new found friend, Jim.
English III, Period 1 11/7/2012 Innocent or Guilty Puritans lived their lives under the word and command of God. They had punishments for every kind of sin expressed in their holy book. So if this is the case what should have happened to baby Pearl? She was born into the Puritan world from a sin. In Nathaniel Hawthorn's, The Scarlet Letter, Pearl is the symbol of sin and adultery as portrayed by society.
The Scarlet Letter In a time where evil was believed to lurk amongst the puritan colonies, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Author of “The Scarlet Letter” discusses religious mind sets and prosecutions of the convicted sinners. The depth and complexities discussed in this historical fiction fulfills William Faulkner’s definition of a writer’s purpose. The writer has a responsibility which through Hester he shows the intensity of her experiences that she endeavored. William Faulkner delivered a classic speech upon receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature. Faulkner’s perspective on a writer’s responsibility should portray “love and honor and pity and pride and sacrifice”.
For Edwards this included his view on religion. He believed that “There is nothing between you and Hell but the air; it is only the power and the mere pleasure of God that holds you up.” (41) He wanted to convince to repent, to be reborn in Christ. Last but not least, he wanted to save sinners from a decent into Hell’s fury. The moral of his sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” was therefore that if sin is committed, a persons tie with God is broken and they will fall into the hands of Hell. Edward’s diction and tone gives his listeners and readers an eerie feeling, a fear for sin, and an awakening for the wrath of God about to come.
I look around me and, lo! On every visage a black veil” (Hawthorne 275). Mr. Hooper is saying that everyone else sins just like he has, yet he is judged more than anyone because he is a reverend and also because he wears the black veil. He is not afraid to say that he sins and make peace with his mistakes. Also, because of Mr. Hooper’s belief in predestination, the belief that an elect group of people are selected by God to go to Heaven, his sins do not matter.