Please discuss Hawthorne’ s symbolism in his masterpiece The Scarlet Letter.
HAWTHORNE IS A MASTER OF SYMBOLISM, WHICH HE TOOK FROM THE PURITAN TRADITION AND BEQUEATHED TO AMERICAN LITERATURE IN A REVIVIFIED FORM. THE SYMBOL SERVES AS A WEAPON TO ATTACK AND PENETRATE REALITY. THE SYMBOL CAN BE FOUND EVERYWHERE IN HIS WRITING AND HIS MASTERPIECE PROVIDES THE MOST CONCLUSIVE PROOF. WITH THE SCARLET LETTER A AS THE BIGGEST SYMBOL OF ALL, HAWTHORNE PROVES HIMSELF TO BE ONE OF THE BEST SYMBOLISTS. AS A KEY TO THE WHOLE NOVEL, THE LETTER A TAKES ON DIFFERENT LAYERS OF SYMBOLIC MEANINGS AS THE PLOT DEVELOPS.
