THE SCARLET LETTERCHAPTERS 1-2

HONORS ENGLISH 11

1ST/7TH PERIOD

FEBRUARY 4, 2015

MRS. DOSTER

LITERARY DEVICE/THEME THIS QUOTATION AND ANALYSIS SHOWS

Quotation

(Author’s Last Name and Page Number)

LITERARY DEVICE/THEME THIS QUOTATION AND ANALYSIS SHOWS

Analysis

SYMBOLISM

“But, on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him” (Hawthorne 2).

SYMBOLISMThe rose bush is symbolic of one of the major conflicts of society vs. nature and themes throughout the novel. Hawthorne’s description of the rose bush is in harsh juxtaposition with the harsh prison door and the dour group of people in front of the prison. The rose bush is described as “wild, delicate, and fragile” which taps into the positive connotations the reader is meant to feel. Hawthorne is a part of the Romantic Movement and places Nature above all else. Hawthorne’s idealism is present during this passage through the positive description of the rose bush and it’s role as a symbol of the goodness and morality found in sinister society.