Scarlet Letter vs. Star Wars

One can manifest meaning and revelation through hidden messages within a text. A simple read of a book can portray obvious signs and ideas. What is most often overlooked is not the symbols or meanings behind them, but how close the relationship is between everything around us. [u]The Scarlet Letter[/u], a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne based in seventeenth century New England. [u]Star Wars[/u], a book, a movie, a dream of a man by the name of George Lucas. How can these two pieces of pure magic and delight be connected in any way? One can pry at anything to find any message within it. It is not about whether or not the creator wanted a certain idea to be portrayed in their work, but how the reader or viewer interprets it.

Let us begin with the idea of pain. In [u]The Scarlet Letter[/u] almost every character feels pain in some way. Hester?s pain focuses entirely around the scarlet letter she is forced to wear. She is isolated and shunned by the town. Her husband, who she thought was dead, refuses to reveal himself, as does Arthur Dimmesdale, the father of Pearl, the child of the adulteress relationship. Not all pain is emotional however, Dimmesdale becomes weaker as the story progresses, and although he does regain some strength near the end of the book, he dies upon the scaffold. Pain is also a major theme in Star Wars. One can remember the predicament Luke Skywalker found himself in. He, just as Hester did, thought that someone close to him was dead. For Hester it was her husband, for Luke his father. Both of these situations deals with the reality of death and revenge as well, but those ideas will be touched upon in the latter part of this writing. Luke experiences physical pain as well as emotional pain when his own father cuts off his hand with a light saber. Darth Vader also succumbs to pain. Just as many characters in The Scarlet Letter fall victim to a strange force caused by the scarlet letter, Darth Vader falls victim to a strange force caused by ?the force?. A character such as Pearl or Anakin Skywalker may not be able to comprehend the ideas behind the scarlet letter or ?the force? but they are very much affected by it. Pearl represents the scarlet letter as a living thing. She is different than the other children and comes to inherit a huge fortune at the end of the story. Anakin, on the other hand, represents ?the force? and its power over everyone around him. His midichlorians are higher than anyone has ever seen and he is often an outcast from the other children. Also, just like Pearl, he comes to receive great power and responsibility because of the force behind him.

The ability for an individual to conquer the stress put on them by their surroundings and to turn it into something different is a trait that should not be overlooked. Hester is ?branded? by the town and publicly humiliated to the point where she secludes herself in the forest. The town expects her to be forever living in a real life hell as she awaits her judgment after death. But while Hester does face a great deal of emotional pain, she finds a way to help the community and turn her life into something better. She helps the poor and needy and does little to make her clothing more beautiful. The idea of rebellion can almost be seen within her. Dimmesdale also goes against what the town thinks when he reveals he is the father of Pearl. Although it did take him seven years to do, he still stood up in front of a Puritan town as their reverend and admits to adultery. Anakin Skywalker also takes his life into his own hands, ignoring what others have to say. Qui-Gon Jinn, the Jedi master Anakin meets up with, wants Anakin to study to become a Jedi, but Yoda and the rest of the Jedi council don?t want him to study at all. Some of the most powerful characters in all of Star Wars force their opinions on the young Anakin, but in the end he chooses his own way and becomes evil. Even later on in Anakin?s life, after he becomes Darth Vader he faces similar problems. He is forced to fight is son Luke but the Emperor tells Darth Vader not to reveal himself. Darth Vader goes against what his elder says and reveals himself to Luke as his father.

Mentioned earlier were the ideas of death and revenge. Both Star Wars and The Scarlet Letter have comparable situations in both ideas. The death of Obi-Wan can be compared with the death of Dimmesdale. Obi-Wan died protecting Luke so he could continue to help save the universe. Dimmesdale died after revealing himself as the father of Pearl. He does this not only to relieve himself of his guilt but also to reveal the truth so that when he is gone the stronger-spirited Hester can live on as a benefit to the society.

As a closing point, let us focus on the message of bonds and what they mean. For Hester, Pearl represents a bond between herself. the scarlet letter, and Pearl. For Han Solo, Chewbacca represents a bond between himself, his loyalty, and Chewbacca. When Hester tosses away the letter, Pearl would not go to her. When Han Solo was not loyal to his friends, Chewbacca made a loud growling noise. Both Hester and Han Solo share part of their character with a different character. Without Pearl and Chewbacca Hester and Han Solo would not be complete.

After careful analysis of both The Scarlet Letter and Star Wars one can find many similarities within their themes and meanings. One can not go ask Nathaniel Hawthorne exactly what themes he wanted to portray, but in due time the book can be analyzed and compared enough times to keep its messages up to date. It is not our responsibility to continue to read great novels; it is our responsibility to take them to the next level.