In the first chapter of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, a lone rose bush stands before a gloomy prison to symbolize "some sweet moral flower, which may be found along the way, or ease the dark conclusion of a story of human frailty and pain” (Hawthorne 56). Serving as a symbol of beauty and solitude, this rose bush foreshadows the sad tone that will preside over the rest of the novel and illustrates the beauty of confession and growth in contrast to the repression and decay evident within the prison. Hester can be compared to the rose bush because of her growth and inner beauty following her confession of having committed adultery and because she shows a passionate and bold face in the face of severe rigidity. In contrast, Dimmesdale is the prison, which confines within himself his guilt of having committed adultery and thus allows the decay of his soul. It is through immense symbolism, contrasting imagery, and biblical allusions that Hawthorne creates a critical and dark tone as he speaks to the ever-present theme that unconfessed sin destroys the soul. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayHawthorne uses Hester's scarlet letter, her punishment for committing adultery, as a powerful symbol that juxtaposes the hidden letter that Dimmesdale must face because of his guilt. In the first gallows scene, before the crowd has even witnessed Hester or the affliction that is affixed to her bosom, some of the women of the town gossip about her punishment. A young woman tells her neighbors, “Let her cover the mark as she will, the pain will always be in her heart,” (60) illustrating the fact that Hester feels ashamed whether or not she is forced to wear the mark. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, does not confess his sin and therefore has no letters that can shame his figure. Instead, adding somberness to the tone, Dimmesdale is tormented by his hidden scarlet letter, which gives him "an apprehensive, surprised, half-frightened look" (76). He is compared to “a being who felt completely lost and lost in the path of human existence, and could only feel at ease in a secluded place of his own” (76). Hawthorne also uses this symbol of sin and the guilt it engenders to address his pervasive theme that unconfessed sin deteriorates the human soul. Hester, who is honest with both God and her neighbors from the beginning, is forced to wear the scarlet letter, which forces her into confinement within her Puritan community. However, the letter "gave her a comprehensive knowledge of the sin hidden in other hearts" and allowed her to realize that, "if the truth were shown everywhere, a scarlet letter would shine on many breasts" besides her own (101). This realization, this awakening of her sense of reality, allows Hester to grow as an individual and become more exquisite than anyone else within the normal constraints of otherwise stagnant Puritan society. Personifying this stagnation, which results from unconfessed sin, Dimmesdale does not grow as a person and does not acquire any new moral sense until confession. However, at this point, he is completely squandered by his guilt and dies in Hester's arms because it is Hester's growth and newfound strength that allows Dimmesdale's confession. Even within the novel, vivid images serve to illustrate the paradox within Puritan society while simultaneously creating a critical and dark tone. The dark and squalid society in which Hester lives is most accurately illustrated by Hawthorne's depiction of.