The Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter

• By

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Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Presented by

• Jennifer Clephane
• Stephanie Yager

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Symbolism
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Pearl

• Came out of an ugly shell but is beautiful

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Dimmesdale

• Hand over heart
• Internal
• External Suffering

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Chillingworth

• He is called a leach
• Doctors of the time used leaches as treatment for
  some aliments.

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Sunlight

• Runs away from Hester
• Means bad things are to come
• Sunlight also symbolizes approval of gods/nature.

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Rosebush

• Symbol of passion
• Pearl says she was plucked from a rosebush.

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Black Flower Blossom

• Sign that evil will continue to grow

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Forest

• Location to rekindle love with Dimmesdale and
  Hester
• Passion
• Darkness/evil

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Brook

• Compared Hester to a sad brook, suggesting that
  she is lost. She doesnt know where shell end
  up.

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Brook

• Brook leads her further into the forest, fires
  up passion.
• She tears off the scarlet letter, and we are lead
  to more mysteries.

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Weeds

• Weeds represent the evil side of humans soul

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Scaffold

• Open acknowledgement of personal sin
• Need for public atonement

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Shadows at night

• Implies concealment

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Day

• Symbols of exposure symbolic acceptance of
  guilt must take place in daylight.

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A

• Badge of shame
• Symbol of goodness
• Transformed
• Sinner into sister of mercy

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The Scarlet Letter

• Hester tears off scarlet letter
• Symbolizes throwing Pearl away
• Pearl is symbolized as the letter A.
• She feels rejected and unwanted.

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The Big A

• Tearing scarlet letter off is a symbol of
  rejecting judgment of Puritains.

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Sources

• Class notes

http//www.scarlet-letter.com/
http//www.bartleby.com/83/10.html
http//www.gradesaver.com/ClassicNotes/Titles/thes
carletletter.html