Scarlet Letter Essay: The Letter A

Letters are everywhere. Whether it be on Superman's chest or in you alphabet soup. The human language is made up of twenty-six different letters. Letters make up words, words make up sentences, and sentences make up stories. The novel, The Scarlet Letter, is unique in the fact that it is made up of letters and focuses on a letter as its main symbol throughout the story. This letter is "A". At the beginning of the story the letter stands for "Adulterer". Over the course of the novel, its meaning changes to "Able" and later to "Angel".
The letter "A" is first used to represent "Adulterer" because the main character, Hester Prynne, slept with a man other than her husband. When the townspeople from her strict Puritan town find out what she has done, they sentence her to wear the letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life. This is meant to be a punishment and an everyday reminder of what she has done. She is persecuted and ridiculed by everyone and we find out later that her daughter is as well. The letter causes Hester to become an outcast in her society and she and her newborn daughter are forced to move to the outskirts of town.
As time goes on, Hester's actions cause the letter to change meanings. She is now doing good deeds for the people in the community. Helping the poor and sewing clothes for customers are two examples of her new found kindness. The Puritans eventually forget the original meaning of her letter and now believe it means "Able". During this part of the novel, Hester overcomes her horrible image and transforms into something greater. Because of her continual helpfulness, she still continues in her transformation.
At the end of the novel, years have gone by since Hester first received the letter. Hester and her daughter mysteriously vanish from the Puritan town. One day, Hester returns and continues her life where she left off. She becomes even more helpful in the community that she was before. Her letter, that she is still wearing all these years later, is no longer the symbol of "Adulterer" or "Able", but is now the symbol for "Angel".
Hester has proven that you can overcome your image if you work at it. She went from being an outcast to being the most helpful person in town. The letter "A" changed from "Adulterer" to "Able" to "Angel".