Post on 17-Jan-2016
Symbolism
THE SCARLET LETTER
CHARACTERS• Hester symbolizes human nature
• Dimmesdale symbolizes hypocrisy
• Pearl symbolizes the scarlet letter
• Chillingworth symbolizes evil
THE SCARLET A• Adultery
• Guilt
• Secret sin
• Punishment
• Darkness
• Evil
• Passion
• Angel
• Able
LIGHT AND COLOR• Dark colors represent:
– guilt– Sadness– Sin– Punishment– Concealment– Puritans– Gloom– death
LIGHT AND COLOR• Light colors represent:
– Purity– Happiness– Truth– Grace– Exposure
SETTING• Puritan community
– Rigid rules– Self-examination
• Scaffold– Public humiliation
• Forest– Freedom– Natural world– Moral wilderness– World of darkness and evil– Man’s temptation
• Brook in forest– Boundary between two worlds