Hawthorne’s Characters
Nathanial Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter has a lot of light and dark references. I myself didn’t really enjoy the book, but I learned a lot from it. I recommend this book if you like to read books about the Puritan times. You can also learn a lot about the dress and style. The Scarlet Letter is a well know novel that a lot of people enjoy. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the symbols of light and dark to depict good and evil among the characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth.
The light portrays on Hester because she helps the homeless and the dark portrays on Hester because the sunshine will not fall on her. “She cares for and attends to the spiritual needs of her fellow human beings” (SparkNotes Editors). Eventually towards the end of the book Hester has light portraying on her because after moving away she comes back and becomes a seamstress again and she also helps her fellow people spiritually. Hester is still reminded of her sin, in a way her sin is gone because she has confessed for so long and she helps her people in need. Hawthorne stated “The …show more content…
Hawthorne tells us, “Old Roger Chillingworth, throughout life… a pure and upright man” (118). In his past and through his life he has been a good person. He is kind, does not get angry a lot, and even though he is not of warm affections, in all of his relationships in the world he has been a good man. Later in the book Pearl says, “Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder old Black Man will catch you! He hath got hold of the minister already” (Hawthorne 123). He is dark and his life is full of revenge. He used to be a good man, but because of what happened between Hester and Dimmesdale he chose to get revenge on him. Roger Chillingworth was a good man, but because he wanted to get revenge he went to the dark