Scarlet Letter Essays

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The Scarlet Letter Essay

Throughout the story, three main characters were analyzed. These characters were Hester, Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. The way in which Hawthorne had written The Scarlet Letter, was through using symbolic nature to personify what the character actually represented. He made sure to add intricate details throughout the story, describing every aspect of the character. From personality to looks to actions and anything that made up the character, was shown with the smallest of details. Every misplaced hair was described so vividly that there were really no secrets or mysteriousness about the characters. Symbolism is the deepness and hidden meaning in a character and it helps develop what one really thinks of them. The symbolism of the three major characters was extremely significant in helping provide details as to who the characters really were and what they actually meant. One can arguably say Hester symbolizes a plethora of ideas, but the main focus is her embodying the idea of strength. She embodies strength in more than one way. For one to be strong, they must be physically, emotionally and mentally strong. One must adapt to changes as Hester had. When standing on the scaffold, eyes were studying judging her, nasty comments shouted at her, yet she stood tall. She showed that she had the strength to stand tall despite all the hatred thrown in her direction. She showed she wouldn’t let anyone or anything bring her down. Prynne could have easily departed from Boston and taken the easy way out by starting a new life where no one knew of her, but she didn’t. She chose to stay accept her punishment and give to those who had condemned her. This shows she has the strength to forgive and move on, when others couldn’t look past her sin. Hester lives in isolation and is ridiculed by children and adults almost every day, but she has the mental strength to accept that this is how it was going to be. She also shows strength when she chooses not to reveal the identity of Pearl’s father and take on both the punishments. She does not wallow in self pity, but shows more pride and confidence than ever. She is an all around strong woman in every aspect of her life. The same goes for Chillingworth as well, but he symbolizes one characteristic through the entire story and that is evil. From one’s point of view Chillingworth is made of pure evil, everything he does is with a sinful vengeance. He seeks revenge on Dimmesdale and seeks to it that Hester goes through pain as well. Nothing he does is to benefit anyone, but himself. As the story begins, he disguises himself as a physician and uses a fake name. He is deceiving the people of the town by making up how great of a physician he is and that all ties in with the devil betraying and misleading people for his own benefit. Chillingworth seeks revenge and is consumed by the idea of getting it and how powerful he will feel once he does so. He has declared himself the villain in the story due to his antagonistic behavior. As Chillingworth starts to evolve more throughout the story he feels that in order to seek out his revenge he must get close with the “enemy.” He holds this quote keep your friends close, but your enemies closer to seem true, since that is exactly what he had done. This is once again showing what a deceiving person Chillingworth was or acted to be. It had gotten to the point where he wanted Dimmesdale to suffer so greatly that he tortured the man’s soul. Since he knows of the sin Dimmesdale had commited he just talks about unspoken crimes and the misery it can bring upon a person. This eats away at Dimmesdale until his soul is lifeless and limp, replaced by guilt and sorrow. This shows how evil and ruthless Chillingworth was and how revenge wasn’t just a goal, but an obsession. The last character in this story was
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