A common theme throughout literature is religion and how the author feels about his or her faith. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices to draw comparisons between characters and events in The Scarlet Letter and Biblical figures and accounts. A few of the devices found in this novel that connect it to the Bible are symbolism, paradox, allusions, and characterization. It is important to first look at the characters and how they are described through characterization.

The first rhetorical device is characterization. The way the main characters are described by Hawthorne sets up how they will be perceived. It is through this that we see the first inklings of biblical figures. Biblical characters are seen in Pearl, Hester, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and the Puritan people. The first is that Hester has many traits in common with the Virgin Mary. Both are originally shunned by society, but later accepted. Although Hester has sinned, within her the reader sees a character......

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Title: Scarlet Letter
Approximate Word Count: 1232
Approximate Pages: 5 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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