In The Scarlet Letter, expressions using symbols are the main focal points of the novel. Generally speaking, a symbol is a sign or token of something. Literary symbols usually don't have instantly recognizable meanings, but usually take their meanings from the works of which they are a part. Symbols are most often a connected purpose that is used to represent something more hypothetical and progressive in meaning. Often it's

Many of the important symbols in the novel lie either in the settings or in the characters. The scaffold is a symbol of Puritan code, but also serves as an open acknowledgement of personal sin. Dimmesdale also knows that the scaffold is the place he must go to escape the old physician Roger Chillingworth. Hawthorne's use of night symbolizes the need of concealment and day symbolizes exposure. Dimmesdale will stand at the scaffold with Hester and Pearl at daylight to symbolize his acceptance of his guilt. The sun is used as a symbol of guilt free feelings, and the approval of God. In Hyatt Waggoner's book Hawthorne, he tells us that "Pearl is potentially an immortal soul, but actually, at least before the "Conclusion", she seems more nearly a bird, a flower, or a ray of sunlight"(Waggoner, 152). Pearl has certain naturalness that even in the forest she seems to absorb the sunshine. Hester cannot retain the sunshine because of the mark of sin on her chest. The forest is symbolic in a variety of ways. The forest symbolizes darkness and evil. It is also where witches gather and souls are signed away to the devil. The natural settings provides many of the most striking symbols in the story, but the most revealing display of Hawthorne's symbolism is what lies in his use of characters. "The last sentence of the book describes the heraldic device on the tombstone of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, which 'might serve for a motto and brief description of our now concluded legend; so somber is it, and relieved only by one ever-glowing point of light gloomier than the shadow....'"(Fogle, 22). The tombstone reads "On A FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A GULES"(Hawthorne, 1447). This means the black background was the letter A in red. The setting reveals the hidden sin by the way the scenes or arranged in the novel.

Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1998.

In conclusion, In Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, expressions using symbols are the main focal points of the novel. Hawthorne uses the four major characters as well as the elements of settings as a symbolist. Each one of the characters symbolizes a certain view of sin and its effect on the human heart. One of the symbols, Pearl, is almost a self-contained symbol. She is the most striking symbol that Hawthorne created. In the story, the word symbol means sin to the means of identity. The letter "A" in the story does not only mean sin of adultery for Hester

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Approximate Word count = 1684
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)