Ambiguity in the Scarlet Letter In his 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s continual use of ambiguous and unclear elements allows him to “mingle the marvelous” and to give the book a certain air of mystery, permitting the reader to draw his or her own conclusions by constantly weighing the natural versus the marvelous reason for an event. To what extent can we say that the ambiguity and imagery are inextricably linked all over the story? Symbolism and allegory of particular events will be explained in a first part, and the study of Pearl’s meaning throughout the story will be done in a second part. To begin with, the prison door is described as having never known "a youthful era.” Yet, the wild rosebush that grows at the side of the portal is its saving grace. The rosebush represents kindness and forgiveness to the prisoners who must face either a prison sentence or a death sentence.
The two stories also compare in that each accusation is not based upon fact, for all is based upon a rumor. The begining line of the Half Hanged Mary states “Rumour was loose in the air hunting for some neck to land on.” This is stating that the accusations were based meerly on rumor, only the act of one pointing out who was next. The Half Hanged Mary and The Crucibles compare in many componets of their story lines, Atwood and Miller also use many of the same ideas to potray the thoughts of the innocent, and the reactions of the townspeople. As the two stories compare in many ways through
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in 1850, was just what America was needing in his time. He composed a both beautiful and tragic story while still creating a deep symbolic novel that few could forget. He captivated his readers with his allegorical novel, depending on symbolism and characters heavily, in the style of true dark romanticism. The novel deals with many issues that were prominent at the time, such as the importance of society versus nature, human temptation versus society’s influence, and many others. In Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, he focuses on the conflicting views of society and nature in the Puritan society and uses contrast, symbolism, and imagery to convey his beliefs.
People are, in theory, all bound to a certain set of natural laws and moral codes and country rules, and part of the Romantic dogma is to break free of these bounds. This is precisely what Victor was attempting to do with his reanimation experiments: “Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world,” (M. Shelley 52) he says, further cementing his existence as a Romantic character. Mary Shelley was a self-professed lover of Coleridge, especially his poem, “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner,” so it comes by no surprise that she also has references to his poem “The Eolian Harp,” which is another topic breached by several of the Romantic poets because of its place in classical poetry as well. The poem grants the idea of somewhat of a breeze of inspiration playing on the heart of the subject (Coleridge). Shelley takes this idea into her novel in several places, and means it as a breeze of discovery, not just as a breeze of inspiration.
In the Scarlet Letter he uses symbolism -the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character - all throughout his novel, to explain the life’s of the puritans and their customs. In the conclusion, Hester and Dimmesdale are buried next to each other which symbolize that the community has, in many ways forgiven them for their adultery. Even after death, the legend of their love continues while their graves are slightly apart, they share a common tombstone, “On a field, sable, the letter A, gules,” I translate this as a symbol that they could not be together in life, but in death they share a scarlet
Charlie Stack Mrs. Polomeni English II 27 October 2011 “Fire & Ice” The poem “Fire and Ice” written by Robert Frost was first published in the 1920s. Robert Frost is considered the bard of New England. He wrote in great depth that appealed simple to readers, but there was deeper meaning if you looked closely. Although poetry has many different interpretations because it is structured on opinion not fact, the poem “Fire and Ice’’ may seem to come off as the geological hell of the world, but if you look closely it portrays the theme of hatred and desire. The poem has a rhyme scheme of A, B, A, A, B, C, B, C, B.
CUSTOMS AND BONDS A piece of writing, as in every form of art, is a manifestation of its creator. Authors include fragments of themselves, their history, and their experiences for either personal motive or simply to establish a moral connection with the reader. In The Custom House, Nathaniel Hawthorne's introduction to his novel The Scarlet Letter, an unnamed narrator establishes a connection with the reader through personal anecdote, history, and emotion. This anonymous customs officer is not Hawthorne himself, rather an idealized figment of the author's imagination, a vehicle to deliver personal motives and apprehensions. It can then be said that the purpose of this piece is to act as a bond to Hawthorne's past, present, and views toward his strong familial ties to an area so rich with religious fervor, giving a glimpse into the realities caused by his own family and past.
In both of these stories the authors use imagery to help drive home their main points, although in a somewhat different manner. In “Desiree’s Baby" Chopin uses imagery to hint at the “truth” and lead up to the ironic ending. While in Carver’s “Cathedral” imagery is used to reinforce his main theme of don’t judge a book by its cover. Now we will take a closer look at imagery, and examine the intricacies of how these great authors use it in their works. So what is imagery?
Miller is not suggesting that these trials separated the pure from the impure or evil, but if fact created them by punishing the innocent. Miller’s colourful use of irony and conciseness in the title expresses his attitude towards not only the Salem witch trials but the political circumstances of McCarthy he had found himself tangled
Curtis Sternitzky American Literature February 28th, 2013 Dr. Baker Benjamin Franklin and Proto-Romanticism Romanticism was a movement that began in Europe and spread to the United States in the early 1800’s. And yet, the ideas of the Romantic Movement, while revolutionary, were not unique to its time. There were several individuals who sought to release their minds from the common dogmatic conventions. They wished to free their own minds and their own wills through the exploration of self-improvement and expanding ones understanding of the world at large. These men were the Proto-Romantics.