A bell. A heart. A birthmark. An eye. What do all these objects have in common? They are all used as symbols to create a portal into the protagonist's life. Symbolism is applied in both “The Birthmark” and “The Tell-Tale Heart” to help the reader better comprehend character aspects of selfishness and culpability portrayed in the protagonist.
First, the glasses symbolizes discovery. Piggy is the short, intellectual, guy in the story that wears the glasses. Shortly after he arrived at the island, Piggy and another fellow British boy discover one another and soon become acquaintances. Piggy and Ralph realize that there are other people on the island and need to assemble a meeting in some sort of fashion.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne tells not only the story of Hester Prynne’s sin, but also shows wickedness behind Roger Chillingworth’s and Arthur Dimmesdale’s public appearances. In The Scarlet Letter, the two men who both have feelings for Hester clash with each other and even themselves. Throughout the novel, Chillingworth and Dimmesdale have a rather dark and twisted relationship. Although the pair start off as friends somewhat and do try to at least be respectful to one another, neither can shake off the bad vibes they are sensing from each other. This leads to Chillingworth’s outright questioning of Dimmesdale’s sins and secrets, and Dimmesdale’s growing curiosity of Chillingworth’s true identity.
Guilt Obsession Within the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathanial Hawthorne Reverend Dimmesdale drastically develops throughout the novel, from being a symbol of Puritan religion to displeasing the population of the Puritan expectations through his actions. His appearance as well as his privilege and prominence within the community alters radically. He begins the novel as the town reverend, and later, the shame of Hester accepting the entirety of the blame and the fact that he escaped with no punishment or shame from the town ultimately consumed him. Throughout the novel, it was revealed that he had a red mark on his chest in correlation to the “A” that was displayed on Hester’s chest.
Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a multitude of imagery and symbolism to serve as metaphors for different themes in his novel The Scarlet Letter. The theme sin versus guilt, appears often throughout the novel. It is often accompanied by the symbol of the scarlet letter, serving as a constant reminder of the guilt each of the main characters carry, as a result of the sins they have committed. Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale each carry the burden of living a tainted life, being that they have all committed a sin. Hester and Dimmesdale both committed the ultimate sin of adultery.
Roger Chillingworth, husband of Hester Prynne leaves for two years and finds out that she had an affair with the minister Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester kept this a secret for seven years and when Roger found out about it, it changed him. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he writes about how the pain changes Roger. The reader feels the most sympathy for Roger Chillingworth because of three reasons; Hester, The pain of the betrayal and how it changed Roger, and the way he views himself betrayed him.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a novel that focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hawthorne revolves the theme around the four main characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth., and Pearl. Hester Prynne is forced to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ after committing adultery against her husband Roger Chillingworth, with the minister Arthur Dimmesdale. As a result an odd child is born.
Everyone comes across something in their life that speaks to them--a symbol as it will be called. In the book, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many symbols, but there is one that really stands out above the rest, and that is the mark on Dimmesdale’s chest. The Scarlet Letter’s primary focus is on the life of Hester Prynne, who had an affair with someone and was accused of the crime and forced to wear a scarlet letter A for the rest of her life. The mark on Arthur Dimmesdale’s chest (although it was never truly stated what the mark actually was) can be seen as guilt in physical form which slowly begins to show over time.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is a semi-autobiographical novel in which Plath relays her own experiences through protagonist Esther Greenwood by highlighting the struggles she faced in navigating societal expectations, depression, and her own desires. Having spent time in college and later in multiple mental health institutions, Plath tells her story through Esther in a way that blends fiction and reality. Through Esther, we see Plath’s own interpretations of her triumphs, failures, values, and the slow but seemingly inevitable diminishment of her mental health. The story starts with Esther Greenwood in New York City, where she is spending a month working at a magazine because she won a scholarship to a special summer program for female writers.
The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale is depressed, loving towards Hester and Pearl, and religious within the Puritan society. Trying to live the life of a reverend, Arthur Dimmesdale struggles with amenable desires. He is a religious authority in the Puritan society that he lives in, so he is an eminent figure. Mr. Dimmesdale is so religious that even after he has sinned, he does not know how to go against God’s will again. His weakness of mind makes him say “The judgement of God is on me.
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne pinpoints various effects of sin on individuals within a strict, Puritan society. To shed a negative light on Puritan attitudes toward sin and lack of forgiveness, Hawthorne paints vivid pictures of freedom and imprisonment, relief and regret, through the juxtaposition of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, and the characterization of the two lovers. Hester undergoes major character growth through her years bearing the scarlet “A,” "so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom," introduced in the narrator’s shifting viewpoint of the young mother. The Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale on the other hand, shoulders his guilt, in spite of the physical manifestation of his inner turmoil in his
There are various examples of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter, but one of them wraps the whole story together: the meaning of the scarlet letter A. In this passage, Hester Prynne wears an embroidered letter A on her bosom as punishment. At first the A stood for “adulterer”, but the townspeople later gained respect for her and said “Such helpfulness was found in her-so much power to do and to sympathize-that many people refused to interpret the scarlet “A” by its original significance. They said it meant ‘Able’” (Hawthorne 107).
His glasses symbolize the power of science and intellectual intelligence in the society. Rhetorical Devices: Foreshadowing: When the boulders roll off of Castle Rock and kills Piggy. Simile: " The breezes on that lagoon had chased their tails like kittens were finding their way across the platform into the forest" (34).
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne explores recurring themes of suffering surrounding the main characters, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester and Dimmesdale both commit adultery with each other, and, as a result of this, both experience gruesome and occasionally unbearable forms of suffering. Though they undergo different forms of pain, both of their experiences are highly reliant on how the Puritan society treats them. Hester 's pain stems from the shame and estrangement she receives from the community, while Dimmesdale’s is due to the reverence with which the community regards him. Although, in spite of the fact that both Hester and Dimmesdale receive harsh penalty for their sin, by the end of the book, Hawthorne shows how their suffering is, in fact, the key to their salvation.
This novel is also autobiographical. Throughout history, women have been locked in a struggle to free themselves from the borderline that separates and differentiate themselves from men. In many circles, it is agreed that the battleground for this struggle and fight exists in literature. In a