The A isn’t just a Letter

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Juan C. Cruz III
Professor Stacy Knapp
English 108
26 May, 2011
The A isn’t just a Letter
    A book isn’t just simply a story with a beginning, middle and an end. If that were the case, most of the many pieces of Literature would disappear in a sea of stories forgotten over the centuries. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is an example of a story being more than a just a time line of events, but filled with symbolism to give the reader a further deepened reading of the text. Symbolism in any story can help put meaning in its plot and develop a character in more than one dimension and portray struggles such as Passion vs. Reason, Good vs. Evil, and Man vs. Nature. The Scarlet Letter is not just a time line with a beginning, middle and end, it’s a story enriched with Symbolism to further give meaning of the plot, development of the characters, and to fully put the meaning of the story behind the letter.
    From the very beginning, we get the most import symbol of the whole book, the scarlet letter. From previous knowledge, scarlet is a shade of red, and with a book filled with symbolism, there is a reason why it’s derived from that particular color. The “A” is already given seductive detail as Hawthorne describes it as a, “…fine red cloth, surrounded with elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread…so artistically done…so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy…” (Hawthorne, 40). Red has meanings of passion, lust, seduction; given a description that artistically seduces the reader, the “A” ties in with the Passion and Desire in the book.

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The scarlet “A “can stand for adulterer or “the A can also stand for her love for Arthur“(Lecture, Knapp). The color wasn’t a random selection because it was a pretty shade of red, but rather to symbolize the human emotion that can be found within the book and give a further meaning to illustrate this symbol.   
    Red is the color that explains the overall feeling that the main characters reflect through out the novel. Aforementioned, Red contains many meanings behind and represent Reason vs. Passion of humanity. The passion and lust, shame and guilt Hester felt during her romantic encounter with Dimmesdale clouded their judgment of what is right and what is meant to be.  When Chillingworth begins to plot, his emotions emanate rage and anger because he feels he is justified to seek revenge against the man who robbed him his property; he states, “To my own loss, betray him to the gripe of human law” (Hawthorne, 54). Pearl bears the colors pink and red, symbolizing her youthful wild spirit but also her birth of Passion and Desire.
    The color, like all symbols, can be interpreted in a variety of ways. A negative out look on the color red is how it’s used in Traffic safety; when you see red on a stop sign or light, it means “stop” or the consequences will be potentially lethal. The “A” initially stood for Adulterer, yet, “people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said it meant Able…” (Hawthorne, 106). Red can have a negative meaning, to cause alert and awareness to its audience of a consequence.
    Red also has a positive look when you interpret the color; take a look at an iconic children’s’ character the Red Power Ranger. This beloved character has the qualities of being a leader, courageous, caring, confident, heroic,  and bold, the similar traits Hester
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portrays as she proves herself throughout her community. Red is interpreted by many faces, but there is no definite face on the color signifying if it a positive color or a negative color. As seen with Hester’s “A“, it changes its meaning because it has no definite meaning and changes perspectives over time.
    There have been shifts in character arcs of good and evil that came about as I read The Scarlet Letter. Hester could be considered evil because she committed adultery and has sinned in the eyes of the Puritans. Yet over the years, Hester is able to prove herself as a good willed woman as the “A” changes its meaning over time from Adulterer to Able. As Hester proves herself what we see is, “a model of sympathy…the ministers’ and magistrates’ inability…to judge her as they do. We see a clearer model in the young woman who tries to moderate the self-righteous utterances of her companions” (Boudreau, 346). Hester has shown that what she was given the mark of evil; she was able to change it to good, showing how her perspective of good and evil was able to change her outlook as a person by others.
    Colors are the not the only aspects of a story to convey important symbols. Similes and metaphors can also help describe character arcs to and further explain the characters true intentions.
    Take for instance Chillingworth, Hester’s husband who see’s his wife branded with the “A” when he first enters the town. We can get sense of conspiracy from him when “A writhing horror twisted across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly…” (Hawthorne, 45). Already we are a given a clue with the snake, snakes in Literature go back to story of Adam and Eve, with the symbol of temptation, but in this case sinister,
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we obtain a foreshadowing of Chillingworth’s motive for the rest of novel. A second symbol to describe his motives is the term “Leech”; a leech is a parasite that can drain the life out of its host, the exact same relationship Chillingworth has with Dimmesdale. The symbolism used to in the book that is associated with Chillingworth describe his motives as a character and shows what his true intentions are with the other characters within the book.
    Let’s not forgot the ever so wild and free spirited nature, the young Pearl. Pearl is the daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale, she is the child born out of a sinful act of Passion and Pleasure, or is consider Nature being born in a human society; the struggle of Man vs. Nature. Pearl is considered a child of Nature when she explains “…not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison door” (Hawthorne, 76). Pearl can be considering a child born out of Nature because she was born out of human passion and desire and resembles the free spirit. Pearl can be considered a blessing, a natural beauty given to Hester to raise on her own and be free to be who she is. Pearl is a comparison to a rose, a natural beauty free spirited and born from Nature.
    In reference to the rose, there is a glimmer of hope for Hester that will blossom as imprisonment will bloom. Nature is intended to be untouched by human society, other wise it will change from its natural beauty be become like a “black flower of civilized society, a prison” (Hawthorne, 36). The Black Flower is the interpretation of how society will manipulate Nature’s intention and create something ugly and unnatural. But as Nature is intended, it will blossom a new hope and for a new beginning.
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    In balance of the black flower, we are given the glimmer of hope, a beautiful rose bush. This natural beauty, breaks human manipulation with the intentions, “to symbolize some sweet moral blossom…relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow” (Hawthorne, 37). This beacon is foreshadowing and a reminder to Hester that it may seem grim because it’s part of society, but it will be better in the end because it’s natural occurrence that cannot be silenced. A rose will be just as sweet in giving hope to Hester and her rose child.
    Pearl shows her natural side is a reflection of Hawthorne’s daughter Una. The young child was so wild and free at heart, Hawthorne describes to us how, “She steps boldly into the midst of everything…she possesses the finest essence…so perfectly unreasonable…” (Herbert, 523). Una shows her youthful wild side, untamed by human conformity, but free-spirited as Pearl. Like Una, Pearl doesn’t need human influence, she only needs to have her own natural development as Nature intended.
     Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter emphasizes symbolism to explain conflicts such as Man vs. Nature, Good vs. Evil, and Passion vs. Reason. The characters are examples of how humanity deals wit these conflicts and they are supported with the use of symbols such as colors, similes and metaphors.   
    A story would be just an ordinary story if it had no substance or level of deep meaning. Symbolism can give a story a second level and turn a time line into an enriched journey to give the story more than what is expected. The Scarlet Letter is an example of an enriching piece of Literature that gives it’s readers a level of meaning and allows them to develop a higher order of thinking critically and see more than just words on a page.

Work Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, and Leland S. Person. The Scarlet Letter and Other Writings. New     York: W.W. Norton &, 2005. Print.
   
    Boudreau, Kristen. “Hawthorne’s Model of Christian Charity.” New York:
    W.W. Norton &, 2005. Print.
   
    Herbert Jr., T. Walter. "Una Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter." New York:         W.W. Norton &, 2005. Print.

   
Knapp, Stacey. Lecture