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.
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 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.
In a paragraph, discuss how these three essays meet the criteria for literary nonfiction. Use specific information from the content of the unit and quotations from the readings. Literary nonfiction is a form of storytelling as old as the telling of stories. It is a form that allows a writer both to narrate facts and to search for truth, blending the empirical eye of the reporter with the moral vision. The first essay written by Jaschik meets the criteria for literary nonfiction because it discusses the huge controversy of plagiarism and how it affects literature today.
Compare and Contrast: Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne were two phenomenal authors of the Dark Romanticism period. These American authors were two of the first writers to delve into the human mind and create psychological literature. Dark Romanticism examines the conflict between good and evil, the psychological effects of guilt and sin, and the human minds madness and derangement. Poe and Hawthorne both successfully captured the dark romanticism elements, yet they each approach these dismal aspects differently. These two authors share qualities in their writing, but they were extremely different people.
“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
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.
Through any and every writing, an author has a point hidden within literary elements. With literary elements authors develop a style to their writing to prove the point they intended from the beginning. There are many various literary elements to make up a rhetorical situation, to develop a side of ideas, some very commonly used in especially rhetorical situations. Like allusion, hyperbole, rhetorical questions, hypophora, and commonly simile. Mohandas K. Gandhi and Henry David Thoreau speak of and develop similar government opinions and points, through their interpretations of Civil Disobedience through literary elements; they prove similar points of civil disobedience but with their own style of writing and use of rhetorical devices.
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?
He uses numerous words to express ideas and emotions instead of quickly being straight forward and conclusive. He uses diction in almost every sentence to boost our intellect; make it seem more real. In the passage Hawthorne writes “Although she hid the secret from herself, and grew pale whenever it struggled out of her heart, like a serpent from its hole,” instead of simply writing a conclusive passage such as “She hid the secret from her mind and grew sick to herself whenever she thought of her committed sin.” Hawthorne also uses devices such as syntax in his writing of The Scarlet Letter; his sentence structure is often very weighty. Hawthorne’s paragraph includes one-two drawn out sentences. With an abundance of asides, which the whole passage is, and bits of detail that create and amazingly complex set of ideas, Hawthorne manages to successfully conjure his image of Puritan society and how they treat Hester.