The Nature of the Heart in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Essay

The Nature of the Heart in The Scarlet Letter  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Sacrificing of the soul and dedication can lead to suffering for some, but meaning in life for others. This is the main theme of The Scarlet Letter,by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story takes place in the seventeenth century in Puritan New England. The main character of the legend is Hester Prynne, who has an affair with Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister, and they produce Pearl. Hester's husband, Roger Chillingworth is the town physician. He is seen as the healer, collecting magical herbs to make medicine. Hawthorne twists the purpose of the physician by turning these healing powers into vengeance for an unhappy man. Hawthorne takes the theme and symbolizes the different characters as a part of nature. He also uses imagery to show the different relationships between the characters. He achieves this by showing the dramatic differences between good and evil through light, darkness and shadows being cast upon the earth. When he does this, he draws the reader in and lets them visualize the human nature of struggling lovers. The story opens with a view of the Prison-Door. Near the door are glimpses of men and women surrounded by a cloud of gray. The first hint at nature is to "a wild rosebush, covered . . . with delicate gems . . . offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner" (53). The rosebush was shown as the heart of nature that provided pity and comfort to any prisoner which was within its walls. Nearly seven years after Hester's public exhibition for her sin in the Marketplace, she and her young daughter are visiting in the Governor's Hall. Pearl was immediately drawn to the rosebushes in the garden. She begins to scream and throws a fit in her desire... ...eminders of how sinners can truly learn about what type of person they honestly are. Hester would always help people and Dimmesdale would never be true to himself about his religion. The doctor was perhaps the most significant character of the whole story. He would always help people, even if it meant helping them die. Pearl was the reminder of how a free person can really prevail. Hawthorne used his symbolism through nature to show how people develop and rediscover themselves and life. His symbolism also showed how different parts of nature die and how others thrive based on the way they decide to live. He made this connection with the sinners and let the readers picture the relationship between them by using the symbolism through nature.    "Works Cited" Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The World's Great Classics: The Scarlet Letter. New York: Grolier Incorporated.