Symbol of the forest

A detailed Summary of Symbol of the forest


In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, life is centered on a Puritan society. In this society, people are not allowed to express their thoughts and feelings. Every human being needs the opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings; otherwise the emotions become bottled up until they begin to hurt a person. In this Puritan town, they were not allowed to do that. Luckily, for the main characters, Hawthorne has created a forest to give them a shelter. The forest offers a sanctuary from the harshness of everyday Puritan life, symbolizes the character of Pearl for their wilderness and represents evil to all the Puritans living in the town because of its mysterious atmosphere.

The forest offers a sanctuary from the harshness of everyday Puritan life. In the forest, many characters can bring forth hidden emotions and thoughts. The forest trail leads characters away from the Puritan settlement, and out into the mysterious and dark forest. This is the only escape for the Puritans, the only place where the people can be free from laws and code. It is here, in the forest that Dimmesdale can express his love for Hester and where she can do the same for him.


Like the forest, Pearl is mysterious and wild. "The child could not be made amenable to the rules"(Hawthorne 83). In the forest, Pearl would run wild. She would swing in-between trees and lay in the grass. She had "vigor and natural dexterity" (Hawthorne 82). Pearl did not belong in the Puritan society. They were not ready for such a big change at this time. Pearl was radical. Pearl and the forest go together because they are both mysterious and wild.

Other times, Puritan children would gather around her, curious and wanting to interact with her. Instead of speaking to them, she shouts at them, "She snatched up stones and flung them at the innocent children" (Hawthorne 86). Nobody understood her or why she did such awful things.

Puritan society is harsh and can deteriorate people's lives. Hawthorne created the forest to give characters a place to escape, to express their emotions and beliefs. The forest was a place where ideas and feeling could flow endlessly. The forest played an important role in the novel; it is the center of socialization free from the Puritans rules. It provided a "security" for the characters when they needed privacy, symbolized Pearl and repres

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Approximate Word count = 795
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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