The Scarlet Letter Post 1

Passage: "This rose bush...we could hardly do otherwise than pick one of its flowers...it may serve to symbolize some sweet moral blossom...or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow" (p.56)

Through The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows us that dishonesty exhists in even the purest societies. Puritans are thought to be one of the purest people; they have strict religious beliefs and high morals to achieve. If one performs an impure action they are publicly humiliated and socially shunned. A prime example is the story of Hester Prynne, whose life turns upside-down because of one widespread rumor. Before Hawthorne introduces us to Hester, he draws us into her story by comparing a rose to human nature. When you glance at a rose, you see its obvious beauty, just as you might look at a person and envy a certain part of their lifestyle. It isn't until you touch the rose that you notice it has thorns and draw back to judge it more carefully, just as it isn't until you get to know a person until you can form a better judgment about their character. The thorns to a person's lifestyle are how futile and unhappy they can be.
When Hester is first released from the prison, all anyone sees is beauty. She didn't take the appearance of someone guilty, someone who had just spent months locked away in a dim-lit room. She wore the scarlet-colored A and held her child with pride and confidence. Which is ironic seeing as how committing adultery is a shameful offense and one should feel ashamed when forced to march through the town's most public places for everyone to stare at contemptually. The harsh truth of the matter is that the adultery was committed with the town's minister; the man thought to be the purest of the Puritans, one of the most holy and highly-ranked men in the town. But of course the public does not know this, for Hester is forced into silence, and the longer she waits to tell anyone the less chance there is that anyone will believe her.