Download Lessons on Symbolism

Visual Symbolism Project on The Scarlet Letter
Final Project Due: Friday, January 22
Your task in this project is to come up with a way to create a visually striking intellectual
experience for your classmates, based on a MOTIF OF YOUR CHOICE from The Scarlet Letter.
The project you create should be engaging and interactive, and should help your peers see more
deeply into the symbolism of the novel and how it remains relevant to today’s America. Give us
something to think about, not only in terms of Hawthorne’s conscious intentions, but also in terms
of the unconscious implications of the imagery he uses—for his own time as well as for our own.
Here’s the process you should go through to generate a successful project:
1. Choose at least three specific quotes from The Scarlet Letter.
The novel is filled with strange and evocative images, ripe for interpretation. Choose at least three quotes from
the novel that relate to one another in interesting ways and form a web of symbolic significance together. Ideally,
one of these quotes should be from the first eight chapters of the novel, one from Chapters 9-16, and one from the
last eight chapters. At the very least, they should demonstrate that you are basing your analysis on more than a
single moment or object in the text. Each quote should appear in some form on your VSP.
2. Use research to help you interpret your motif.
You are not delivering some secret “correct” interpretation of your motif to students, but are instead helping
them to see how different perspectives on the text will yield different interpretive results. You should use the links
provided on my schoolwires site (as well as your own independent research, if you like) to further your grasp of
the significance of the images you’ve decided to focus on. A thoughtful approach to this research should be
evident in your design choices as well as in any text you choose to attach to your project.
You must demonstrate your understanding of the CONSCIOUS layer of meaning revealed in Hawthorne’s
imagery, by demonstrating a strong grasp of how both transcendentalism and puritanism influenced his
choices. Consider how each of these two cultural traditions shaped Hawthorne’s use of imagery and how he
employed symbolism in a consciously structured way to hint at the relationship between these two ways of
finding meaning in the world. A strong final project will encourage your peers to experience both points of view
on your motif, and to see how they relate to one another, and ultimately, to today’s America.
Your VSP must also, however, delve into some UNCONSCIOUS layer of meaning present in your motif. Choose
either a Freudian, or psychoanalytical critical lens or a Jungian, or archetypal critical lens to provide insight
into the unconscious significance of Hawthorne’s imagery. A strong final project will allow your peers to explore
the psychological underpinnings of the motif you’ve chosen, by engaging in a thought-provoking analysis of
either Hawthorne’s unconscious motives, the collective unconscious, or the psychology of one or more of the
characters in the novel.
OUTLINE YOUR IDEAS ON A GOOGLE DOC THAT YOU SHARE WITH ME BY WEDNESDAY, 1/14
Each team member should contribute to this outline, which should demonstrate in-depth research into both the
conscious and unconscious symbolic structures of your chosen motif, and should include some specific discussion
of each of the quotes you choose to employ in your design, explaining your design choices not only in terms of
transcendentalism, puritanism and literary lenses, but also in terms of the experience you’re hoping your peers
will have. Your outline should contain a properly formatted Works Cited page, complete with URL hyperlinks
where possible, making clear the sources you employed in your research.
3. Create something both visually striking and effective in encouraging insight.
Your VSP should be designed to be eye-catching, and also, upon further inspection, thought-provoking. The key
here is to provide a visually coherent project that contains multiple opportunities for thought-provoking
interactions. While stunning in its visual creativity, your VSP should also entice the attentive viewer into a
complex intellectual experience; they should be able to learn something about symbolism, The Scarlet Letter,
America, and perhaps even themselves. Enjoy!