Scarlet Letter
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In the darkest places, even in the bleakest prisons, a light still shines. Despite the hidden pains of society, The Scarlet Letter shows a beam of light in a seemingly hopeless situation. The rosebush, wild, yet fragile is an example of a beautiful, yet untamed variable that was never adequately accounted for. In “The Scarlet Letter”, the strength and beauty of one rosebush with the will to live portrays tones of despair and beauty.
The author’s detail reflects the speaker’s portrayal of the prison door and its contents. The “site of a prison” was given “a yet darker aspect” when the repulsive door was described (Hawthorne). The “rust on the ponderous iron-work of its oaken door” is also depicted as the “ugly edifice”(Hawthorne). In this seemingly gloomy atmosphere, the treasure is secretly blooming. The “black flower of civilized society” is said that to be a blossoming wealth of beauty, yet she is a “condemned criminal”(Hawthorne). The detail demonstrates the fragile beauty that people blindly cast aside in anger when they hold grudges and feuds.
The author’s diction conveys the silent cries of the land surrounding the ominous door. While looking around, Hawthorne is able to show the reader the “site of a prison” as the “iron work” of the rustic, oaken door is described (Hawthorne). The setting, in the “stern old wilderness,” gives light to “fragrance and fragile beauty”(Hawthorne). The rosebush, although wild, was contained in a prison of gloom and deprived conditions, as if to be mocked. This utter disrespect for such a beautiful gem reflects the unspoken secrets of the prison door.
The author’s third person omniscient point of view shows the almost insignificant light of a rosebush among the darkened sadness in it’s surroundings. In the beginning, the point of view reveals the gloom and despair of the “bearded man” that stand in front of the “ugly edifice” (Hawthorne). This depressed picture rises as a “wild rosebush” that is said to possess “delicate gems” is spotted (Hawthorne). This rosebush “[symbolizes] some sweet, moral blossom” in order to give hope to the weary (Hawthorne). A light at the end of a dark tunnel now gives a gleam of hope.
To come to a close, the author of the Scarlet Letter is adequately showing the readers how people tend to act and react to other’s actions. The author’s detail, diction, and point of view were very helpful in allowing those who can think outside of-the-box to realize what society has been doing to rosebushes everywhere, even in everyday judgment. The author writes for a purpose, and this purpose shows men far and wide what their bitterness really give the impression of being.