The books The Grapes of Wrath and The Scarlet Letter have many similarities and differences in their literary styles. Both contain the use of lengthy visual descriptions and symbolism, but differ in Hawthorne’s use of very formal dialogue in contrast to Steinbeck’s use of colloquialism in slang terms and very informal speech. Steinbeck also uses a very different form of writing is his use of intercalary chapters to provide background information and context, whereas Hawthorne releases information throughout the novel in subtle hints and revelations.
The two novels The Scarlet Letter and The Grapes of Wrath have very different literary styles, but one similarity that both of them share is the use of lengthy visual descriptions and imagery to make up for the lack of pictures. An example of this in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, is his very detailed description of the prison door from which Hester emerges in the first portion of the book. He again uses lengthy description in describing the marketplace, the scaffolding, and the people who are assembled there, and in describing Pearl, Hester, their clothing, and other adornments. Similarly, In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck also uses lengthy descriptions when describing the cornfield and the dust storms that take place in the first chapter. He also uses imagery in describing the migrant people’s attitudes and the areas in which they live and work and their moods that accompany these places. Throughout the book he does a good job of describing the scenes thereby allowing the reader to develop a good visual of what is going on at that moment in the story.
Another similarity between the two novels is their use of symbolism. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses a lot of symbolism in order to express different elements of the story. Pearl is used as a symbol to express everything about Hester and the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale’s relationship. She embodies the passion of the moment in which she was conceived in her attitude and actions, the purity of the morals up to that point in that she is a child and is dragging her mother out of danger of committing more sins, and the contradictory feelings and morals in the tempestuous behavior that she has. She demonstrates the circumstances surrounding her birth in recognizing the constant adversity that she faces and strongly disputing that adversity in fighting the world and just about everyone in it. She also shows how an acceptance of that adversity and the sharing of the burden can impact a person's behavior by the transformation in her attitude following her father's confession. Another symbol is the scarlet letter itself, the way that Hester has embroidered it and made it overtly ornate shows her attitude towards the whole punishment of being made a social pariah from the town and it of course symbolizes the sin that she committed. Another symbol is the use of the scaffolding as the only place where Reverend Dimmesdale could defeat the hold that the evil physician had on him. Only by owning his mistake and sin publically could he have any chance of salvation and ending the inner struggle that conflicted him throughout the whole book. The evil physician himself is also another symbol as he represents the Devil and the hold that the sin had on Mr. Dimmesdale causing the Reverend’s inner turmoil to worsen and bring him to the point of death, and his ultimate defeat demonstrates the power of confession which was one of Hawthorne’s points in ending that inner struggle. In The Grapes of Wrath, the scene in which the truck runs over the turtle killing it can be seen as a symbol of the little people constantly being squashed by those who are larger than them. The sun is seen as an oppressive force always beating down and worsening the Dust Bowl.
A difference between the two novels is the different types of dialogue that the authors prefer. Hawthorne, in The Scarlet Letter, uses very formal dialogue between the characters throughout the entire book even having little Pearl speak more maturely than most adults speak today. In contrast to this, Steinbeck, in The Grapes of Wrath, uses slang terms and highly informal, uneducated dialogue between his characters. This contributes to giving the reader a better sense of the characters and of the area in which they live.
Another difference between the two is the way in which they provide background information to their readers. Steinbeck uses intercalary chapters providing more background and contextual information in alternating chapters, whereas Hawthorne reveals information much more slowly and subtly. For example, the identity of the man who committed adultery with Hester is unknown in the beginning of the book, Hawthorne provides clues throughout the story such as the Reverend getting ill shortly after Hester is punished, the suspicions of the physician as he cares for him and searches for his dirty laundry before finally looking at the scarlet letter on his chest, but the actual identity is not truly solidified until much later in the book.
In conclusion, The Scarlet Letter and The Grapes of Wrath share many similarities in literary styles through their use of symbolism and lengthy visual descriptions, but differ in their ways of expressing background information and their forms of dialogue.
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