Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "The Scarlet Letter" was not only a reflection of Hester Prynne’s character, but also an examination of the events that transformed her. Hawthorne began her story briefly before her affair therefore not much is known about who she was before her life was changed. Seemingly neither does the community. It’s as if her transgression erased her past. Hawthorne’s shadowy, formal, and biblical tone exposed Hester’s character beneath the surface of the story. He used literary devices to enhance his writing and to give it a deep meaning. Metaphor, symbolism, and allegory were the main ways he expanded his writing. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne used metaphor to provide a visual aspect more than any other literary device. Hawthorne described the prison in an unappealing way and in doing this, he metaphorically connected the prison and the leaders of the town. Hawthorne gave an elaborate description of the "weather-stains" of the "beetle-browed" prison-house (Hawthorne 41). This prison was associated directly with the founders and the leaders of Boston (Hawthorne 42). This metaphoric connection established a tendency in the reader to perceive the leaders of Hester's community as being as outdated as their prison-house. The prison door symbolized a place of darkness and sin. When Hester noticed the beauty of a wild rose bush growing near the door, it symbolized God's grace and described Hester as the kind of person that sees the silver lining in every dark cloud. “The rosebush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history” (Hawthorne 42). It gave Hester a hopeful characteristic to last throughout the novel. When this metaphor is compared to Hester's character later in the chapter, Hawthorne further developed Hester's character. “It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom” (Hawthorne 42). Nathaniel Hawthorne utilized metaphors to add detail and personality to his characters, as w