Poe Vs Hawthorne A Comparison Contrast Essay

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tive light symbolism comes in less obvious forms during the story, like in the metaphor of a smile being a flame or flickering of a light, which makes you question if the truth is as dark as it is assumed to be by the town (“The Minister’s Black Veil”).
Both Poe and Hawthorne use strong forms of symbolism that are present throughout their stories. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne brands Hester with a crimson letter A, that not only remains as a physical symbol made of cloth, but a mark that Hester declares is “too deeply branded” to remove (64; ch.3), and is implied to be a mark that is weighing down upon the Reverend Dimmesdale as well. Hawthorne even goes as far to personify the sin itself, in the little child, Pearl (The Scarlet Letter). Poe’s symbolism of dark deeds in “The Black Cat” is shown in how the creature itself is constantly provoking the narrator to insane violence. An ever-present symbol is also found in Dr. Heidegger’s study, where an old, tall mirror told the unshakable truth about...