Scarlett Letter1

A detailed Summary of Scarlett Letter1

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism several times in the book, The Scarlet Letter. Some examples of this are when they talk of the scaffold, the brook, the forest, and the sunshine. The one that I will discuss is the sunshine. Hawthorne uses sunshine in the novel to symbolize purity and hope several times throughout the book.

In one scene of the book, Pearl requests that Hester grab some sunshine and give it to her to play with. Hester then replies, "No, my little Pearl! Thou must gather thine own sunshine. I have none to give thee." (p.104) Hester has no sunshine to give Pearl because she has committed adultery and is not pure.

Another example is when Hester and Pearl are taking a walk through the forest when a dark cloud came over the sky and Pearl said,

"Mother," said little Pearl, "the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of somethin

"And, as the gloom of the earth and the sky had been but the effluence of these two mortal hearts, it vanished with their sorrow. All at once, as with a sudden smile of heaven, forth bust the sunshine, pouring a very flood into the obscure forest, gladdening each green leaf."

Hawthorne shows the symbol of sunshine best in the chapter appropriately titled, "A Flood of Sunshine." In this particular scene, Dimmesdale and Hester are discussing what Dimmesdale will do about the current situation with their relationship. Dimmesdale announces that he will leave the community, and he must do it alone. In the heat of the moment Hester declares that he will not have to go alone, and she takes off her bonnet and throws down the scarlet letter. Hawthorne describes it wonderfully:

In conclusion, the frequent use of the sunshine, showing purity and impurity, is used well by Hawthorne. He does a great job of illustrating

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dimmesdale Hester, Pearl Mother, Scarlet Letter, Pearl Thou, Hester Pearl, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Flood Sunshine, scarlet letter, Scarlett Letter, hester replies, little pearl, impurity hawthorne, sunshine pearl,

Approximate Word count = 621
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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