The Symbolic Pearl

Part I of Essay
Most novels usually have a main symbol, which teaches a character, or the reader, a very important lesson or moral. This is true in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic The Scarlet Letter, where Hester Prynne’s daughter Pearl serves as the most extensive living symbol ....

Part II of Essay
.... For example, in the forest scene, she sees her mother’s scarlet letter discarded on the ground, fusses and screams for her to put it back on, which eventually Hester does. Pearl is obviously a definite person, but she is also a definite symbol of many things. First, she is a distinct symbol of the relationship between Hester and Dimmesdale. She is a representative of the passion, which came with Hester’s sin of adultery. Second, she is an active reminder of Hester’s sin besides the letter A on her breast. And lastl ....