Scarlett Letter: Symbolism Of Scaffold

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In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthrone, the scaffold represents the judgment of God and the Purtian Society to the sinners. Dimmesdale struggles to confess his crime, but eventually he reveals his sin because he can no longer bear the enormous pain causes by the burden of guilt. The scaffold serves as a reminder of Dimmesdale’s sin, a reliever for his guilt, and a grave for his heart. When Dimmesdale questions Hester on the scaffold knowing that he is the sinner, he wants Hester to reveal his sin instead of coming forward himeself like a man. His lack of strength to confess and the fear of revealing the sin take over his heart, and even display on his face, “Notwithstanding his high native gifts...an apprehensive, a startled, a half-frightened look - as of a being who felt himself quite astray and at a loss in the pathway of human existence, and could only be at ease in some seclusion of his own” (72). The “astray” and “loss in the pathway” depict and enhance the guilt and fear within Dimmesdale. His failure of confession emphasizes his weakness and ignites the long and torturous journey of him carrying the heavy burden of guilt. To the Purtian Society, standing on the scaffold means the acknowledgement of sin. Dimmesdale seeks momentary relive for his guilt by going on the scaffold, but only at night time, when the whole town rests. While he stands on the scaffold, he bursts into scream of laughter because the overwhelming of shame and the overbearing of the guilt, “Carried away by the grotesque horror of this picture, the minister, unawares, and to his own infinite alarm, burst into a great peal of laughter” (147). By standing and holding hands with Hester and Pearl on the scaffold, Dimmesdale feels “a tumultuous rush of new life...pouring like a torrent into his heart and hurrying through all his veins...vital warmth to his half-torpid
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