Essay Database

The Effective Use of Symbolism The novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an intriguing account of a Puritan community that experiences a breakdown in beliefs. The story deals with a woman, Hester, who commits adultery with a Calvinistic minister resulting in the birth of a child (Martin 110). As compensation for her crime of passion and her refusal to name her lover, Hester is sentenced to wear an embroidered scarlet letter on her bosom. …

…and emphasis the importance of the symbolism of the scarlet letter to the overall effect of the novel. Foti 6 Works Cited Baym, Nina. The Shape of Hawthorne’s Career. New York: Cornell University Press, 1976, p.283. Fiedler, Leslie A. Love and Death in the American Novel. New York: Stein and Day Publishers, 1966, pp. 217-58. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1962. Martin, Terence. Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1965.