The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne - 1903 Words

A child stealing candy from the bowl when she knows she isn’t supposed to; a drug addict coming forward to admit he has a terrible plight; a student cheating on their final exam after choosing not to study; a young girl admitting to pushing another child down on the playground; a husband cheating on his wife. Some stories of these subjects are known by all, able to heal and move forward with a clear conscience, while others are sheltered within them, left to fester and grow in destructiveness. All of these examples portray a subject either bound, or given peace by the truth of something depending on whether it is concealed or uncovered. The power and significance of exposed/hidden truth is something utilized in writing all the time when an†¦show more content†¦These three examples of symbolism that support the theme, revolving around the power of truth, are supported by text all throughout the novel that help the story take shape, and provide the reader with morals in an artistic fashion. First, Hester’s daughter Pearl is portrayed as representative of Hester’s sin in the flesh, or the truth of what she’s done walking around for all to see. She rings of the truth while also being Hester’s sole treasure in life. In the early stages of the novel, the moment in which Hester explains to the men at Governor Bellingham’s mansion that she must be allowed to keep Pearl as she says â€Å"‘[God] gave her in requital of all things else, which he had taken from me. She is my happiness!–she is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and o endowed with a million-fold power of retribution for my sin?’† (p.103), providing a very clear representation of what Pearl is to Hester, and what she represents in her life. She is the truth of the scarlet letter in flesh and blood, and her mother’s torture, reminding her of the sin in which she has partaken. This shows Hester’s feelings of living with the truth: it helps her and teaches her much about life while