Many authors use symbolism in their work to offer a hidden meaning, or a deeper insight into their characters. Some symbols reveal inner feelings of characters, while others show the reader double meanings to events or objects in the story. A great example of symbolism would be in Nathaniel Hawthorne"s The Scarlet Letter.

             One example of how Hawthorne uses symbolism would be the actual letter "A" that is worn throughout the story by the heroine Hester Prynne. The letter symbolizes several things in the novel. One example of these could be that the letter outright and publicly symbolizes her sin and guilt. There is no hiding from her actions, seeing as the letter is always with her, always visible. It is a sort of constant reminder that she is a "bad" person and she should be ashamed of her actions. The letter also symbolizes her rejection from society. As she walks down the road, people stare at the letter, remembering the horrible deed that it represents. They do not respect or pay any attention to such an evil sinner like Hester. They think very little of her, avoid her, and even publicly denounce her. They buy the clothes that she makes out of "pity" because they feel sorry for her and her child Pearl. The truth however is that most of them in fact don"t fell that she did anything that horrible, because they themselves have committed the same crime, they just didn"t get caught.

             Another example of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter could be the meteor seen by Dimmesdale, the tragic hero in the story. Different people in the story see the meteor as having different meanings. He sees the meteor and thinks of his sin he committed and hid from everyone, which symbolizes his insecurity and self-torture over the sin. He thinks that the meteor is a sign that he needs to confess his sin against society and Hester. Most people in the story don"t think as deep as he does, showing that he is too concerned with his wrongs, and maybe not concerned enough with his rights.