Characterization through Imagery and Metaphor in The Scarlet LetterThroughout his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne reveals character through the use of imagery and metaphor. In the first chapter of The Scarlet Letter, "The Prison-Door", the reader is immediately introduced to the puritanical residents of Boston. Hawthorne begins to develop the character of ordinary people in order to create the mood of the story. The first sentence begins as follows: "A crowd of bearded men, dressed in sad-colored clothes and wearing gray hats with steeple crowns, mixed with women, some wearing hoods and others bareheaded, were gathered in front of a wooden building whose door was heavily domed with oak and studded with iron spikes” (Hawthorne 45). Hawthorne's use of vivid visual imagery and his "accumulation of emotionally charged details" (Baym xii) creates sympathy for the as-yet-unintroduced character, Hester Prynne, and creates an immediate understanding of the harshness of the Puritan code in people. The images created give the reader the freedom to imagine anything that implies sadness and morbidity; Hawthorne, however, does not allow the reader to imagine forgiving or joyful people. The above excerpt has been provided so that the student knows the purpose of the complete essay. The essay begins below.Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1804. After graduating from Bowdoin College in Maine, he quickly became a well-known author of literary tales about the beginnings of the American life. Between 1825 and 1850, he developed his talent in. by writing short fiction, and he gained international fame for his fiction novel The Scarlet Letter in 1850 (Clendenning 118...... middle of paper ......g and appreciation of the qualities of the characters , And). hence, a deeper understanding of the underlying motivations and psyche. Complex, methodical characterization is crucial to capturing the full meaning of a story. Works Cited Baym, Nina. Introduction. The scarlet letter. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York: Penguin Books USA, Inc. 1986. Clendenning, John. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 1989 ed. Griswold, Rufus Wilmot. “The Scarlet Letter.” The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors. Ed. Charles Wells Moulton. Gloucester, Mass.: Peter Smith Publishing, 1959. 341-371. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The scarlet letter. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1986. Smiles, Samuel. “The Scarlet Letter.” The critical temperament. Ed. Martin Tucker. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1962. 266.