Major Themes and Symbols in "The Scarlet Letter"

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses unique examples for literary devices (symbolism, allusions, flashback, motif, etc.) but one extremely unique literary device Hawthorne uses is called the "multiple choice" technique. Terry Dibble explains that with this Hawthorne "casts doubt on his own story and suggests that an incident may have happened in quite a different way if at all." (The Scarlet Letter Notes pages 84-85) "The reader is therefore left to decide what is literally true. An appreciation of the literary value of the work can deepen the reader's understanding of the message."
Symbolism is a very important device in the Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. According to Henry James, the famous American novelist, he believes the symbolism is overdone in the novel, though he does think that The Scarlet Letter was "In fact...a literary event of the first importance. …