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Symbolism is traditionally a sign or token of something. In the matter of literature, the definition of the literary device, symbolism, is more complicated. Symbols of literature are usually metaphysical. The main symbol of The Scarlet Letter is the red A that Hester Prynne was sentenced to wear on her chest. Nathaniel Hawthorne's intention was to make the meaning of the crimson token worn on the bosom of Hester Prynne is highly ambiguous. In this he was successful.
Although the A means adulteress to the people of Boston, to reader the A may have other meanings such as American or able. To the townspeople, author, and reader clearly the original intention of the A was to stand for adulteress. When Hester Prynne became pregnant during the absence of her husband she was accused and convicted of adultery. Her sentence was to wear a scarlet letter A on her bosom to let everyone know that she was an adulteress, forevermore. Because of her unique sentence everyone knew that she was, in fact, an adulteress and people treated her that way. Society condemned her for her sin, without knowing anything else.
Hester was forced to live alone on the outskirts of the city. She was a seamstress, but got very little business. When she used her skills to decorate the A, things only got worse. People felt that she was trying to show off the fact that she was an adulteress, or that she was proud to be. Hester's daughter, Pearl, was constantly ridiculed by other children for being an evil, devil child.
Clearly it was the first intention of the symbol to reve! al that Hester Prynne was an adulteress. Although the first intention of the A was to mark Hester Prynne as an adulteress, it also has other, more abstract meanings. The letter has a relation to the word, American. Hester Prynne's A reflects an American meaning in various ways. For one, America is a melting pot of many peoples and ideas, as was Hester's A.
She earned that A under certain situations. She was in a loveless marriage. She had been separated from her husband for 2 years. She thought he might be at the bottom of the sea. She was in love with another man. She was perceived and punished under a strict Puritan eye.
Like the development of America, the were many conditions that led to the developed of Hester's A. Another way that Hester Prynne's A symbolizes America, is that they were both shaped by past actions. No matter how Hester had changed, since her act of adultery, at any point in her life, she was forever damned to be labeled as an adulteress with the A. The symbol of! the scarlet letter shaped who Hester became. America was shaped by everything that happened in her past.
All the various people and cultures, mistakes she made, and her relationships with other countries. Along with meaning adulteress or American, Hester Prynne's letter A stood for able. Hester Prynne was a very able woman. She was too strong of a woman for Puritan Boston right from the start. That was known from the very beginning of the novel when she faced the people of Boston with her sentence and her dignity.
She always held her head high. She was able to accept her punishment. She was able to take with pride all the torment the townspeople could throw at her. Hester was also an able mother, nurse and seamstress. Despite everyones talk about Pearl, Hester never let that interfere with her mothering Pearl. She was able to bring up a strong daughter.
Hester had a strong devotion to her work as a nurse. She also went on with her work as a seamstress. Hester's most important accomplishment was her ability to overcome her sentence. She accepted her sin and accepted herself.
She learned to love who she was. By accepting herself other people began to foll! ow her example and embrace who she was, not what she was labeled as. The main symbol of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is the red letter A that Hester Prynne wore on her chest. This is the most important symbol of the story, and symbolism is a major literary device of the story.
The main character, Hester Prynne wore the letter throughout the story, and the letter took every road that the story did. The letter became one with Hester and Hester became the meaning of the scarlet letter.
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Research essay sample on People Of Boston Hester Prynne
