Although the scarlet "A" keeps her in the dark, she also is a symbol of it. Pearl's function in the novel is a symbol, used to show that the production of Hester and Dimmesdale's illicit actions did not produce evil, but a beautiful and precocious, young girl. ... (Fossum 46-47) In addition to the larger symbols, there are also many minor symbols which are very important. ... She tries to turn Hester to her evil ways and meet in the forest, but Hester will not. ... (Novelguide) Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbols very well in his novel The Scarlet Letter. ...

• Word Count: 1366
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Pearl fit in with natural things, which was considered evil to the Puritans, (Encarta) but Pearl is showing them how the forest is beautiful and natural. ... Pearl changes the puritan society because she is the outcome of the scarlet letter, and was rebellious to the Puritan way of life but not evil. ... Through Pearl the Puritans were able to view nature in another way, and she was able to be rebellious to their way of life but still not be evil. ... Hester and Arthur are symbols of sinners in The Scarlet Letter, by it weighing heavily on their hearts or by admitting they are not the wors...

• Word Count: 647
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

He shows us this by symbols in nature around the town, natural symbols in the heavens, and nature in the forest. First we see two symbols in the town that show how sin isolates people. ... The next area is symbols in the skies. ... Last to be discussed are the natural symbols that we encounter in the forest. ... It also knows that nothing good can come of this, which is why it forebodes evil. ...

• Word Count: 1118
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The symbols of The Scarlet Letter. ... This will tell you about only four of the many symbols. ... The last symbols are the characters. ... He is said to be scary and evil looking person therefore his name is Chillingsworth. ... Its various symbols are interesting. ...

• Word Count: 542
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In his timeless novel, Hawthorne uses Pearl as a symbol of living sin. Moby Dick is a timeless tale of man's battle against sin and evil. The men of the Pequod are in a constant evil battle against the white whale Moby Dick. There are many strong symbols in this book, but one of the strongest is Moby Dick being living sin. ... Both authors use strong symbols in their writing's such as the white whale and Pearl. ...

• Word Count: 654
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

She is also the only living symbol of the scarlet letter "A". ... Pearl is not only a symbol of Hester but also a symbol to Dimmsdale. ... Pearl, is often identified with the color red, which Waggoner identifies as evil. Pearl is not an evil child in the true sense of the word, but she is a reflection of her parent's immorality and their love. ... Waggoner's theory that red in the story is a representation of evil. ...

• Word Count: 964
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Hawthorne uses many symbols throughout The Scarlet Letter. ... The most frequently used color symbol by Hawthorne is red. ... Hawthorne also uses black and darkness as symbols throughout The Scarlet Letter. Black is used to represent evil and hiding. ... Black is used to symbolize the worst and most evil part of an object or person. ...

• Word Count: 1044
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The biggest symbol of his malice is his physical deformity. ... Where the normal person has an equal balance of good and evil inside them, Chillingworth's over-abundance of evil begins to take a physical being on his body. ... His body has been crippled by the evilness inside of him. ... This evil was hidden within him throughout the book. ... Chillingworth was a symbol in the Scarlet Letter to represent the power of uncontrollable evil as well as the self-destructiveness of obsession and revenge....

• Word Count: 1004
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The letter "A" changes throughout the novel and goes from something evil to something good, in this case being "angel." ... Many see the "A" as something evil, as something for which Hester should be deeply ashamed about. ... Serving as a symbol that he shares the same pain as Hester and that Hester shouldn't be the only one who suffers. ... And because of this the town people appreciate Hester and what she has done, proving to Hester that she is ultimately pure and not evil. ... It is the most powerful symbol, out of many, throughout the book. ...

• Word Count: 1035
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The girl is the bad result of the adultery between her parents, who can be considered as the symbol of the sin and scarlet letter. ... Dark sides of human nature are presented in this novel, such as Dimmesdale's cowardice, Chillingworth's evilness and the persecution existing for the cruel laws. ... Pearl's innocence and sincereness also serves as a foil to Chillingworth's evilness which is blacker than the sin because of the revenge. ... When she is born, she is regarded as the symbol of sin, but it doesn't stop she being such an lively girl. ...

• Word Count: 830
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

This character is shown as a very evil person throughout the novel. ... Hawthorne uses Chillingworth as a symbol to portray the wickedness in man, and how Roger Chillingworth is severely lacking in goodness. ... Perhaps Hawthorne is trying to express that the names and characters within his book can serve as symbols in life. ...

• Word Count: 500
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Hawthorne says Chillingworth's grim and evil nature is exuded as, "A writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them". ... " The scaffold serves as a symbol of Dimmesdale's uneased burden of inner torture that has resulted from his hidden sin. ... In this scene, the scaffold acts as a symbol of escape for Dimmesdale; freeing him from his seemingly endless suffering. ...

• Word Count: 587
• Approx Pages: 2

The letter that Hester was forced to wear upon her bosom, the scarlet letter was not only a symbol of her adulterous sin, but of the women herself. ... Also, a rose bush that grew outside the prison was a symbol of survival, that there is life after the prison where Hester spent the beginning of the story. ... Symbols Wild Rose Bush: Located just outside the prison door, it is the only sign of life near the prison, and has a single red blossom on it.The rose may serve, let us hope, to symbolise some sweet moral blossom that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a ...

• Word Count: 1015
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The scarlet letter is a symbol which demonstrates that even when sins are committed, they can be confessed and forgiven. ... The preachers would see her walking down the street and stop her and gather a crowd around her and preach that she did an evil thing. ... They could not believe that a priest so holy as he could do an evil sin. ... The letter A is a symbol os adultery and sin in the world. Pearl is the symbol showing the sin committed. ...

• Word Count: 1408
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Everyone in town thought of pearl as abnormal, unnatural, a demon child, and a symbol of adultery committed by her mother Hester Prynne and Father Dimmsdale (which people did not know of yet). ... An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin she had no right among christened infants" (95).Pearl was different from other children because she was born by a sin of adultery and without a father. ...

• Word Count: 266
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

Understanding Hawthorne's symbols by themselves is key to understanding The Scarlet Letter as a novel. The Scarlet Letter "A" is the central symbol of the novel. ... The scaffold is another important symbol in the novel. ... Later, Dimmesdale goes to the scaffold as a place where he can escape from the anguish of his concealed transgression and the evil-hearted schemes of Roger Chillingworth. ... Pearl is probably the most symbolic of all the symbols used in the novel. ...

• Word Count: 2338
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

From Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, One of the most complex and misunderstood symbols in the book is Pearl, the illegitimate daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmsdale. ... An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants." ...

• Word Count: 442
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

For this harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life. ... Pearl, Hester's child, is viewed as a child of sin by the Puritans, and who should be treated ugly, evil, and shamed. ... The flowers appeared to know it," once again this shows the difference between Romanticism and Puritanism, as the Puritans felt that anything that came from the forest was evil. (194) Pearl had a knack of fitting in with natural things. ... It is highly ironic that Hester's largest signs, the letter A and Pearl herself are the symbols of her sin, but Pearl is also the symbol of her h...

• Word Count: 2043
• Approx Pages: 8

A symbol is defined as something that stands for or represents something else, especially an idea, quality, or condition. Symbols, also, can be objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent, in most cases, ideas or concepts, which in novels, usually contribute to the main theme in the book. ... While symbols are created, those symbols must be given meaning within their context and, because the context differs, these symbols can vary over time, as seen in this novel. ... The forest, where no one ever ventures, is seen as a place of misbehavior and evil in the Puritan system, whic...

• Word Count: 2041
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

People in the community though, looked at her as an evil, elf-child, born from sin. ... Dimmesdale suffered with the symbol of shame burned into his chest never to be revealed, and eating at his conscience. ...

• Word Count: 566
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

People view this lady with the "A- as being evil and just not a good Puritan person. ... "The letter was a symbol of her calling. ... Also, another distorted view of the appearance of the Scarlet Letter is "They averred that the symbol was not mere scarlet cloth tinged in an earthly dyepot, but was red-hot with infernal fire, and could be seen glowing alight whenever Hester walked abroad in the night.""... Hawthorne's use of distortion is prevalent throughout the whole story in every setting, character, and symbol. ...

• Word Count: 1455
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The story displays some of the darkest elements of the human soul: guilt, revenge, and evil. ... Pearl delights in the scarlet letter and enjoys emphasizing the symbol on her mother's breast. ... Pearl is a symbol in the story; she is Hester's salvation, pride, and joy, and also acts as an eternal reminder of Hester's sin. ... "And there stood the minister, with his hand over his heart; and Hester Prynne, with the embroidered letter glimmering on her bosom; and little Pearl, herself a symbol, and the connecting link between those two. ...

• Word Count: 3653
• Approx Pages: 15
• Grade Level: High School

However other symbols show that he is not redeemed because the scarlet letter was engraved into him, showing that it will always be a part of him and also when he talks to Hester about how they will not stay together in the future. ... It symbolizes that Chillingworth was already evil when he came to the village. ... Chillingworth knows what he has become yet he still persists to do evil, he does not repent or feel sorry, he jus recognizes the changes in him and blames it on others. ... This is because Dimmesdale had already confessed so Chillingworth had nothing to live f...

• Word Count: 1619
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Under the guise of help, the evil physician torments Dimmesdale daily. ... Hester is more pained by a second symbol of her adultery, her daughter Pearl, who becomes a living symbol of the scarlet "A" on her chest. ...

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Hester was forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" on all her clothing, as a symbol for her sin and shame. ... Through his confession, he managed to show that bad and evil doesn't always accompany sin, as Pearl was a gift, a blessing. ...

• Word Count: 854
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School