The Scarlet Letter-Injustice

In order to understand how injustice is portrayed in “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the reader must analyze all of the different symbols and imagery used by Hawthorne. Two pertinent examples of this are through the light imagery and symbols of punishment. The injustice in this novel is clearly adultery, which was committed by Hester Pryne and the reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester is permanently punished for the crime by being forced to wear the …

…because he realizes that it is a symbol of his sin coming back to haunt him. Through various forms of light imagery and symbols of punishment, Hawthorne successfully demonstrates the injustice in the “Scarlet Letter.” What is interesting is that this type of injustice happens everyday in modern times and is barely even looked upon by others. It’s intriguing to take a look at the different social attitudes from the puritan days to now.