Extensive Symbolism Of The Sca

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of meanings. It represents more than just the sin of adultery. Even as the original mark of adultery, the scarlet letter has a different individual meaning to the various characters. To Hester, the A is a symbol of unjust humiliation. The "A" magnifies in an armor breastplate at the Governor's mansion to "exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be acutely the most prominent feature of [Hester's] semblance. In truth, she emerges absolutely hidden behind it.". The A grows to be larger than Hester signifying the town's view of her sin. They do not see the human being behind the scarlet letter, they only see a sinner. For Hester, the "A" is not only a symbol of adultery, but also a symbol of alienation. She is an outcast from society and the women treat her differently by constantly sneering at her in public. The scarlet letter is a symbol of what society wants to see and the decision to create a relativity. The townspeople soon began to accept her and believe that ...

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A also symbolizes attributes other than adultery. On the night of his vigil on the scaffold, Dimmesdale sees an immense red A in the sky. It symbolizes "Angel" when "a great red letter in the sky, -the letter A, which [the townspeople] interpret to stand for angel," as it manifests in the sky on the night of Governor Winthrop's death. One of the most dramatic of the several A's the book hints at is the A so frequently seen earlier and which Dimmesdale finally reveals to be an A on his chest by "most of the spectators" who witness his confession and death. At the end of the novel, as a summary symbol, the scarlet A refers against the black background on Hester and Dimmesdale's ...

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