The Scarlet Letter

Essay by Max_Smoow July 2005

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The Scarlet Letter

Hawthorne used the colors red and black and used the states of darkness and light, to express character's emotions and the state of their spirit. Red portrayed passion and sin while darkness represented a poor state with self-denial, as well as representing simply evil. Light symbolizes a state of enlightenment, a refreshed spirit, as well as purity and freedom. The color black also represented evil, a state of rejection, and a state of mind where one hides from civilization. The color symbols in The Scarlet Letter help to transfer certain themes and ideas to the reader, as they are easily recognized and identified. The Scarlet Letter is given greater depth by Hawthorne's effective employment of symbolism. These symbols make the reader look beyond the words of the book, and look into the meaning of the words. And as one interpret the story, their mind wonders aimlessly looking for the correct answer, not knowing which way to construe the words that were just read.

And in the end, using symbolism, Hawthorne completed the task as every author intends, which is to make the mind imagine, create, and break away from the everyday reality.

Hawthorne uses symbolism to add a twist to his novel. Symbolism is a way of attributing symbols to objects, events, or relationships. Often symbolism is used to expand one's intellect and tickle their mind. Even if Hawthorne meant the symbolism to be perceived in one way, between people the results may shift, expand, or differ from the way intended. He used symbolism to have a greater general meaning to the book and to add depth to his characters. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses the colors of red, black, and white along with the contrast of light and darkness to symbolize Hester's emotions...