Symbolism In The Scarlet Letter

A sin is an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law. Sins no matter how big or small are committed all the time in everyday life. Whether we like it or not, we all are going to have punishments for the sins we commit. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character Hester Prynne receives a scarlet letter for the sin that she committed. The scarlet letter A is a major piece of symbolism, it affects different characters in different ways, and changes greatly throughout the novel. The letter "A" is very symbolic throughout the entire novel. After committing adultery the main character, Hester Prynne, was given a scarlet letter "A". As Nathaniel Hawthorne says in chapter 5, "Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast...as the figure, the body, the reality of sin" (73). This quote tells us that when people look at Hester, all they see is the letter and her
At the start, the letter "A" stood for the adultery that Dimmesdale and Hester committed. The letter "A" later took on another meaning. During the second scaffold scene when the letter "A" appeared in the sky in the form of a meteor, the villagers believed it stood for angel because the governor had just died. At the end of the novel, the letter had taken on yet another meaning. In chapter thirteen Hawthorne says, "they said it meant able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength" (148). This quote shows us that throughout the novel Hester has created a new meaning for the scarlet letter. Throughout The Scarlet Letter the letter "A" is very symbolic, plays different roles in the lives of many people, and receives new meanings as the story goes on. Everybody has their own letter. How we live out and over come it is only up to us. We can choose to ignore it and let it defeat us or we can defeat it with strength and