"The Scarlet Letter"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that "The Scarlet Letter" is an important work of fiction because it relates how people lived in Puritan times and shows how unbending the Puritan religion was when one of its members made a mistake. The author points out that the main symbol is the child, Pearl, who represents Hester's unending punishment even more than the letter "A" she wears on her chest. The paper relates that Pearl also symbolizes the devil and the intolerance of the Puritan religion, which would not even accept an innocent child who was the product of a mother's mistake.

From the Paper:

"A symbol in literature is something that represents something else to the reader, or the character of the book. It is usually something important that the author wants the reader to understand or recognize. Hawthorne uses numerous symbols in "The Scarlet Letter" to represent many things that happened in the 1700s, when the book takes place. Religion was the most important thing to the people of the time, and the Puritan religion was very strict. Therefore, Hester Prynne is punished for her sin in the book, and many things throughout the book are symbols of her sin. The biggest symbol of her sin is the daughter she had because of her affair. Hester is the main character of the book, and the Puritans in her town of Boston have discovered she had an affair, and so, she goes to prison."

More papers on "The Scarlet Letter":

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• Analytical Essay # 124489 : "Perspectives on "The Scarlet Letter"
• Analytical Essay # 120733 : "Adultery in "The Scarlet Letter"

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