In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices in a unique manner to add depth to the story plot that goes much deeper than an adulterer and her consequences. The use of these devices is what makes the novel worth reading. In the novel, irony aimed at the puritan actions which Hawthorne had strong opinions about. Also, the symbol of the scarlet letter plays a key role throughout the novel which surprisingly is transformed into something new. Lastly, out of many devices, another device used is diction. Hawthorne cleverly chooses specific words and phrases to lock in the reader to look deeper into what he is really trying to convey. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, religion has a very strong influence over the community and society in which Hawthorne uses irony to project the …show more content…
A perfect example of this is chapter two. When the unknown narrator states, “Amongst any other population, or at a later period in the history of New England, the grim rigidity that petrified the bearded physiognomies of these good people would have argued some awful business in hand.”(page.43) [certain things flicker on and off in the reader’s mind]. The specific use of the unknown word draws attention to what's being said. Most people reading the book in modern times would have never heard of “physiognomies” which is a sophisticated way of say a person’s facial feature but reading that sentence you wonder what in the world that is. It would have been easier for Hawthorne to simply say, “ People from/in other places or people from earlier generations would have been less problematic” but that would defeat the purpose of showing how extreme the sternness that was in the air of the community. But, the use “grim rigidity” and “petrified’ indict to how high of an extent of lack of love or compassion shown to Hester from her