Analytical Essay Example on the Scarlet Letter

In his book, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells of a story where a young woman has had an adulterous relationship with a respected priest in a Puritan community. Typical of Hawthorne's writings is the use of imagery and symbolism. In Chapter 12, The Minister's Vigil, there are several uses of imagery when Dimmesdale, the priest, is battling with confessing his sin, which has plagued him for seven years. Three evident techniques used to personify symbolism in this chapter are the use of darkness versus light, the use of inner guilt versus confession, and lastly the use of colors (black versus white). Hawthorne's use of darkness versus light is vivid throughout the entire book. However, there are two very important passages in chapter twelve that should be mentioned. The first one is when Hawthorne is talking about Dimmesdale: "Without any effort of his will, or power to restrain himself, he shrieked aloud; an outcry that went pealing through the night, and was beaten back from one house to another reverberated from the hills in the background; as if a company of devils, detecting so much misery and terror in it, had made a plaything of the sound, and were bandying it to and fro" (Page 130).
In this scene the event is taking place through the middle of the night when darkness and sin
(Satan) lurk about. It is even personified when Hawthorne mentions the scream and the devils making a plaything of the sound. Darkness has taken a toll on Dimmesdale's heart. The second use of darkness in chapter twelve is where Governor Winthrop finds Arthur Dimmesdale's glove on the scaffold. The Sexton says, "Satan dropped it there I take it, intending a scurrilous jest against your reverence. But, indeed, he was blind and foolish, as he ever and always is. A pure hand needs no glove to cover it" (Page 138). In response to the sexton Dimmesdale said, " ‘Thank you, my good friend, at this point he was startled at heart; for, so confused was his