Red Symbolism In Scarlet Letter

The color red normally symbolizes love, but in this particular story, it stands for death and hatred. The symbolism can be compared in each of the stories because there is a color in each short story that represents something important. In “The Gift of the Magi” the color is gold and in “The Scarlett Ibis” the color is red. Although, the colors both represent something completely different from each other, the colors still stand for something important to the short story. In regards to that, the stories can be differ from each other in respect to symbolism because all of the symbols in “The Gift of the Magi” represent purity and affection and in “The Scarlett Ibis” most of the symbols represent loss and animosity.

Hester can wear her scarlet letter in public, and has adjusted enough to continue living a normal life. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, lives in secret with his scarlet letter affecting him more every day. He envies how Hester has managed to embrace her scarlet letter, while his guilt is only increasing. At one point, Dimmesdale feels so much envy that he says, “Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!

Hawthorne cleverly uses the main characters name for an opportunity for symbolism naming her Hester which is very similar to Hestia the Greek goddess of hearth, agriculture, and the right ordering of domesticity the family and the state of Greek mythology(Lei 2164). By doing this Hawthorne is comparing her to a goddess that had a substantial amount of admiration. The scarlet letter A is one of the most symbolic items in the book, because of this solely letter Hester is able to grow and become the woman she is that aids others and loves all. The reason behind this is because of the letter A she is forced to have on her breast for the rest of her life people judge her on just that and don’t bother to see the benevolent person behind it. Since the village shuns her because the A she wears on her clothing she learns to depend on herself and become her own guide.

Myrtle’s red lips represent her haughty and bold personality, but red also represent blood and death. Such references can connect to future events such as Myrtle’s death. Other colors such as the grey ash heap can portray a gloomy, bleak, and depressing mood. Finally, the colors allow for a unique and elaborate development of the characters that wouldn't be achieved through other descriptions. This development is shown through Gatsby.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet  Letter, Hawthorne illustrates the importance of identity in Puritan society. Hawthorne’s use of symbols, metaphors, and other kinds of figurative language allow the reader to feel sympathetic towards the main characters, especially Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne is introduced as a sinner, the most disgusting thing a person could be in Puritan world, and as a result, Hester is forced to wear the scarlet ‘A’. The ‘A’  was originated to stand for adultery, but as time went on Hester realized that the ‘A’ stood for something positive instead of something negative. Hester changed the definition of the letter from adultery to able and angel because that is how she saw herself as.

She wears her punishments and she is being forced to wear the scarlet letter as a mark of shame on her chest.¨On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter 'A.' It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore; and which was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony¨ (Hawthorne).She wears the letter “A” while looking good for the sin she's committed because she is going against her society and they know she did the sin.At the sametime she is basically letting them know that she committed the sin but i wanna look my best for myself that's how

Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter tells the story of the life of Hester Prynne an adulteress forced to wear a Scarlet “A” on her bosom by the sinister Puritan society to mark her shame. As her husband seeks revenge for the unidentified lover, Arthur Dimmesdale stays wracked with guilt. The Scarlet Letters symbolism and use of allusions, metaphors, setting, irony, diction, and varied tone helps to unwrap the characters throughout the novel. Hawthornes motives for writing the The Scarlet Letter was to show how women can be equally as strong and independent as men as men can also be morally weak. Hawthorne uses his abilities to weave tone, mood, and style all into one story questioning his purpose of this tragic tale of shame and redemption.

Each of these stood out to me because they have a much bigger meaning like the pickle dish represents Ethan and Zeena’s marriage. The cat represents her presence and the color red stands for the good health of Mattie and the sleigh ride represents the time Mattie tells Ethan she needs him. The lesson in this novel to me is to never take the small things for granted. Red is the color of blood, ruddiness, good health, and vitality, all of which Mattie has in abundance, which Zeena lacks. Red is also the color of transgression and sin, the trademark color of the devil.

Last phrase is ‘red balloon’, which represents her heart that is fragile that breaks easily and colour ‘red’ usually symbolizes fear and anger, which is the current state that Havisham is in. Then in the next sentence she used the word ‘bang’, is used to describe the bursting of the balloon and the wedding cake. These metaphorical use of colour effectively tells the meaning of the poem, which is vengeance and revenge. In addition, we see Duffy opening the poem in an oxymoronic way. She uses imagery to

Her angelic state of glowing represented her repentance “...dark and rich, with at once a shadow and a light in its abundance, and imparting the charm of softness to her features… A crimson flush was glowing on her cheek, that had been long so pale.” (Chapter 18) It was evident that the townspeople saw a change in Hester. She became a contrite person that showed tremendous humility. Hester received forgiveness of her sin and made others want to question their own