Preview

The Symbolism Of The Rosebush In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
543 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Symbolism Of The Rosebush In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
A rosebush has very many different meanings. They have underlying meanings and just the top, most basic part. People see roses as just these pretty flowers. When, in reality, they are just weeds. Complex weeds that have beauty and character. They tie into The Scarlet Letter in a very deep, intellectual way. The Scarlet Letter also has a top, basic part and a very deep, underlying meanings. The rosebush connects to the Scarlet Letter in the meaning and the end. Both showings have important connections and they make people think more. The Scarlet Letter and the Rosebush have direct connections to each other.
The rosebush at the threshold of the prison door is very significant. It is used as a symbol for nature in the book and beyond it. The one, single, wild rosebush is the last thing a prisoner sees before they
…show more content…
It is their last little glimpse of beauty. The rosebush is also a sign of nature’s pity for them. Hawthorne says in the end of chapter one, " Finding it so directly on the threshold of our narrative, which is now about to issue from that inauspicious portal, we could hardly do otherwise than pluck one of its flowers and present it to the reader. It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close tale of human frailty and sorrow.” In the book, Hawthorne also uses the rosebush to symbolize Pearl and Hester. The stem with the thorns symbolizes Hester and the way she is dull and dreary, yet, also a support. How Pearl is a minimalist and only uses what is needed to get by. Pearl, on the other hand, is like the bloom. Pearl’s character is very vibrant and colorful. Like the bloom of a rose, she is filled with life. The rosebush sucks the life from everything around it because it is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In this section, Hawthorne sets the mind-set for the "story of sorrow" that is to take after. His first passage acquaints the peruser with what some might need to consider an (or the) significant character of the work: the Puritan culture. The Puritan culture is symbolized in the main part by the plot of weeds developing so plentifully in front of the jail. By the by, nature additionally incorporates wonderful things, spoke to by the wild rosebush. The rosebush is a solid picture created by Hawthorne which, to the modern peruser, may aggregate up the entire work. In the first place it is wild; that is, it is of nature, inherent, or springing from the "footsteps of the sainted Anne Hutchinson." , using allusion. Second, as per the author, it…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There are a lot of symbols throughout The Scarlet Letter. Some symbols stay the entire book other just fades as the book goes on. Three of the biggest symbols that stay the entire book are the Roses on the prison door, the scarlet A, and Pearl.…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The rose bush in this excerpt at the beginning of the book signifies the one thing that seems to bloom despite the harsh rules and restrictions that the Puritan society bestow upon all who reside there. Much like the rose bush, Hester Prynne flowers and remains strong through her shame and ridicule despite the harsh condemnation of the puritan settlement.…

    • 1624 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    This passage explains how Pearl represents the innocence in one’s passion or love for another. Her stark contrast from other children catches the attention of both her parents, Hester and Dimmesdale. Pearl serves as a result of their lust for each other. Hawthorne further explains this concept by comparing Pearl to a “messenger of anguish.” Hawthorne uses this metaphor show that once Dimmesdale dies, the lustful connection between Hester and the pastor breaks apart. Pearl loses her wild character and ceases to be defiant of the world, displaying her new capability of feeling sorrow.…

    • 179 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The rose can symbolize many things in life. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the rose is a unifying symbol in the plot. One reason is because a rose bush appears in front of the jail where Hester was. Another reason is when the townspeople asked Pearl where she came from she said that she was picked from a rose bush. A final reason is that rose bushes are planted in front of the minister’s house when Hester goes to confront him about keeping Pearl. To conclude, the rose bush is a symbol of unification throughout the Scarlet Letter.…

    • 99 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The citizens of Boston have gathered outside the prison-door. The structure is just twenty years old, there is a gloomy and old-fashioned look. A good-looking wild rose-bush is at the entrance of the prison. The narrator views the bush as a reminder of Nature’s…

    • 4855 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hawthorne always ties Pear in with the supernatural in some way. During her mother's conversation with Roger Chillingworth, Pearl has managed to play by herself. Her last act is to make the symbol of the scarlet letter out of seaweed and put it on her chest. Her mother asks her if she knows what the letter means, but Pearl only knows it is the letter A. Hester then asks Pearl if she knows why her mother wears the letter. Pearl answers that "It is for the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart! (122)" Pearl then demands that her mother tell her what the A stands for and why the minister keeps putting his hand over his heart. Hester lies and says she wears the letter because of its beautiful gold thread. Pearl, knowing better, seeks the real reason, and Hester threatens to punish…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    She was a Pearl that didn’t want to hide; she wanted to shine brightly. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, introduces Pearl as a wise child who’s always striving to learn more. In Hester’s life, Pearl is given to her as a symbol of Hester’s past. Although Hester and Dimmesdale could have committed adultery without having Pearl, Hawthorne made Pearl a character to symbolize Hester and Dimmesdale’s actions. Pearl serves as a living example of Hester and Dimmesdale’s actions to Hester herself, Dimmesdale, the townspeople, and the reader.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mood In Scarlet Letter

    • 246 Words
    • 1 Page

    Many authors have a special symbol in their novels that holds a meaningful purpose. Mood and tone help provide the meaning behind the symbol to the reader. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he uses mood and tone to enhance the symbol of the rosebush in many ways. To begin with, the tone of Chapter 1 is melancholy. The scenery of the chapter is very gloomy and dark. “ A Throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray…” (33). The quote sets the scene of the beginning of the novel knowing that is it gloomy and promotes sadness. On the contrary the mood of chapter 1 is optimistic. The mood shows the beauty and promise that the rosebush holds. “ This rosebush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history;... had merely…

    • 246 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism is one feature in The Scarlet Letter that Nathaniel Hawthorne uses quite a lot; and I find it especially interesting how he is able to cleverly use metaphors to get this symbolism across. Symbolism runs wild throughout the book in the form of Pearl. Pearl is like an extended metaphor in a sense because, throughout the romance, Hawthorne uses her as a living reminder of the Scarlet Letter and the sin that Hester commits. This strategy adds an interesting element to the book since the reader is constantly reminded of Hester’s condemnation without Hawthorne having to continually speak of the Scarlet Letter and the sin attached to it. I personally feel bad for both Hester and Pearl because of the way others treat them.…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    (An analysis of the letter ‘a’ and all the symbolisms behind it from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter.)…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hawthorne uses Pearl as a big source of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter. Pearl represents the unseen tumult that is inside of Hester, that even Hester herself cannot see. She symbolizes the secrecy of Hester and Dimmesdale’s love outside of the strict rules of the Puritan society. She represents how forbidden it was to love outside of a marriage or family. Pearl was a last hope for Dimmesdale to pass away peacefully and without regrets. She was her own hope for a better life and to fit in…

    • 1036 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In chapter 5 Pearl and Hester have to go to the ministers office because the town leaders want to take Pearl away from Hester. Hester wants to keep Pearl because she loves her. Hester states “ She is my happiness!” (94) Hawthorne uses a metaphor to compare Pearl to Hester’s happiness. This comparison is stating the Pearl is Hester’s everything. Without Pearl Hester would most likely not be able to deal with the daily humiliation that she faces everyday. Hester named her daughter “Her Pearl!—For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive of her aspect...as being of great price,—purchased with all she had,—her mother’s only treasure!”In this sentence Hawthorn used a metaphor to compare Pearl to Hesters tresure and to describe how much Pearl means to her mother. Hawthorne compares Pearl to Hester treasure. This creates the sense that Pearl is very valuable to Hester. This shows that even if Pearl hurts her mother; Hester still loves her, and Pearl still brings her mother comfert. The line “all she had” shows that Pearl is not just a child, Pearl is Hester. Most people do not spend all there money on one thing, but Hester did-Pearl. Even though Pearl is the product of a sacrilegious conundrum, Hester would not be able to cope with society without her. Like Pearl and Hester, manythings in life have both positive and negative…

    • 813 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism is a literary term used ought to often. Sometimes it is not even necessary in a wide variety of its uses. Yet in some stories, it is all the readers have to go off of and his extremely vital. In “The Flowers” and “Chrysanthemums” the authors so seamlessly insert one or two examples of symbolism into the text, so the instances were obvious enough to the readers but delicately placed therefore they were not obnoxious. The two short stories are slightly similar since both of their symbols are regarding flowers, yet they have completely different meanings. One a meaning of understandance and the other a meaning of strength. The symbols coincided directly with the characters and basically were the most prominent element in characterizing…

    • 693 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During rough times, people usually abandon hope. In The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, one would expect that Hester Prynne to give up. Hester suffered a lot during the book; however, we can see that she still has hope in many ways. One of the ways is that she is always with her daughter, Pearl. Another way is when we see a rose bush when the times are hard. The rose bush is present during hard times and in ways that give Hester a sense of hope and faith. A way to keep Hester alive and full of hope was seeing Pearl with her, living her life, and sometimes nature also helped. Overall the rose bush and Pearl are symbols created by Hawthorne in order to show that hope and faith are always present; even through sins and difficult…

    • 1085 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays