Using chapters 1-3 of 'Scarlet Letter', comment on the writer’s use of rhetoric to present the ideals of the Puritan society.
The Puritan society was one in which religion and politics were inextricably intermingled; religion was law and vice versa. These individuals fervently believed that sin should be completely eschewed and that those brazen enough to perpetrate it ought to be punished severely, even to the point of death. Furthermore, they expected that these condemned persons should wear their shame with a constant expression of remorse. Puritans had strict laws and they believed that everyone should abide by them unquestionably. Hawthorne interestingly conveyed these ideals through the adept use of a variety of rhetorical strategies including symbolism, comparison, appeal to ethos and pathos, long sentences and diction.
Symbolism was a salient rhetorical device employed by Hawthorne. The atmosphere of the prison was described as gloomy, dark and colorless. However, at the foot of the prison door there was a beautiful, colorful rose bush. The rosebush was very conspicuous in that it was an acute contrast to the rest of the environment. The rosebush did not belong in the dreary environment. However, it had a perpetual presence that did not appear to be going away any time soon. Likewise, Hester Prynne, the woman convicted of adultery, did not belong in the Puritan environment, but she would remain in the colony. The rosebush was also symbolic because it offered some beauty for the condemned criminal and it gave them some glimmer of hope despite their bleak circumstance. Furthermore, the rosebush possessed a beauty so striking that it garnered, no, demanded attention. Likewise, Hester was described as being the epitome of beauty, despite her ugly iniquity.
The color black was also a symbol. The prison was referred to as the ‘black flower of civilized society.’ It was said that the man escorting Hester out of the prison first emerged like a ‘black shadow.’ Additionally, in chapter three, Hester’s sin was described as being vile and black. In all three chapters the color black was
Symbolism was a salient rhetorical device employed by Hawthorne. The atmosphere of the prison was described as gloomy, dark and colorless. However, at the foot of the prison door there was a beautiful, colorful rose bush. The rosebush was very conspicuous in that it was an acute contrast to the rest of the environment. The rosebush did not belong in the dreary environment. However, it had a perpetual presence that did not appear to be going away any time soon. Likewise, Hester Prynne, the woman convicted of adultery, did not belong in the Puritan environment, but she would remain in the colony. The rosebush was also symbolic because it offered some beauty for the condemned criminal and it gave them some glimmer of hope despite their bleak circumstance. Furthermore, the rosebush possessed a beauty so striking that it garnered, no, demanded attention. Likewise, Hester was described as being the epitome of beauty, despite her ugly iniquity.
The color black was also a symbol. The prison was referred to as the ‘black flower of civilized society.’ It was said that the man escorting Hester out of the prison first emerged like a ‘black shadow.’ Additionally, in chapter three, Hester’s sin was described as being vile and black. In all three chapters the color black was