On The Symbolism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Ⅰ The expression of symbols in The Scarlet Letter By definition , a symbol is something concrete that represents or suggests another thing that cannot in itself be pictured . It's a very old artistic technique .In The Scarlet Letter , Hawthorne employs a lot of symbols .The symbols just like the cells of the novel and connect with the work closely and summarize the theme of the work . Color symbol is a typical example . Red represents passion and crudeness and red also symbolizes sunshine , revenge , hatred and trick . Black and grey represents darkness , death and evil . Dimmesdale's gesture – with his hand upon his heart serves as a suffer of his hypocrisy . Meanwhile the usage of the word " leech " is a symbol , which generalizes the figure of the story . Hawthorne names the four leading character in the novel obscurely . Hester Prynne means " beauty , passion , hastiness . purification of soul and the probe into normal human feelings . Arthur Dimmesdale symbolizes that an adulterer hides his sin in his dim – interior due to his timidness . The name Arthur " also suggests the crime of the clergyman is the original sin, which is quite different from the worldly adultery . Roger Chillingworth is the symbol of rogue , revenge and grim . Pearl means something very precious ,which comes from Bible . And it also means hero and essence . Ⅱ The function of symbols in The Scarlet LetterThe symbols in The Scarlet Letter are important factors which have repercussions about the plot , the characters and the theme of the work . The delicate feeling , the rich experience of life ,the complicated , social phenomenon and the essence of the human nature's conflict are all displayed by symbols . The chief symbol in the novel is the scarlet letter "A , the spirit of the novel , which symbolizes Abba , Adam , Adultery , Affection , Able , Aid , Angel , American Dream and Advance . The process of the change of the symbolic significance of the letter A means Hawthorne criticizes Puritanism and shows his contempt for the treatment of Hester by constantly reinforcing how cruelly the people talk about her . It also means Hawthorne reverses the verdict about original sin from the point of human nature . The change of the meaning of the scarlet letter A suggests Harthorne has his own special opinion about morals . He believes that the hidden crime is much more dreadful than the open crime . The particular symbols enrich the contents of the novel , deepen the moral theme of the novel and enhance the philosophical implication of the novel . Meanwhile Hawthorne can express his idea guiding literary creation more freely and more fully through symbolic technique The symbolic meanings of the characters in the story is another typical example .Hester is a symbol of the victim of Puritan ; Dimmesdale represents hypocrisy ; Chillingwoth stands for the evil of the religious society Another important function of the symbols in The Scarlet letter is to arouse the reader's rich imagination Ⅲ The particularity of symbols in The Scarlet LetterThere are connections and distinctions between Hawthorne's symbols and the French symbols risen in 1980s . Hawthorne inherits traditional art and his symbols have his own characteristics .The first characteristic is there are many meanings in his symbols. The meaning of the letter A is an example . With the development of the plot and the characters , the meaning of A is different . The people , whose age is different , whose background is different and whose times he lives is different , will have quite different understanding about it . The second characteristic is his symbolic system . There are so many symbols that they exist in his novel everywhere . For example , the settings , the prison , the rosebush , the scaffold , the forest , the brook , the grave and the sunshine – all these have their mysterious symbolic meanings . The symbolic system which likes a net is formed and weave the whole story cleverly . The third characteristic is his metaphorical...