What are some literary devices in The Scarlet Letter that help convey the themes of the novel?

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses several devices in his most popular novel The Scarlet Letter. One device, which could be considered foreshadowing, is in the names of some of the primary characters. Pearl is her mother's treasure, costing her mother all that she had, in a metaphorical sense. We also have Dimmesdale, who is, at times, rather dim about the intentions of Chillingworth. While there seems to be a voice in the back of his mind...

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses several devices in his most popular novel The Scarlet Letter. One device, which could be considered foreshadowing, is in the names of some of the primary characters. Pearl is her mother's treasure, costing her mother all that she had, in a metaphorical sense. We also have Dimmesdale, who is, at times, rather dim about the intentions of Chillingworth. While there seems to be a voice in the back of his mind suggesting that Chillingworth's intention are far less beneficial than he would have Dimmesdale believe, Dimmesdale does not have a clear idea how antagonistic Chillingworth really is. Chillingworth's name also d his chilling nature, how malevolent he truly becomes.

Hawthorne also employs symbolism to convey a thematic idea that people are not always what they seem on a surface level. His use of the scaffold and the letter A both serve this purpose. The scaffold initially is a place of ignominy for Hester and secrecy for Dimmesdale. This symbol appears periodically throughout the course of the novel until its symbolic meaning shifts. At the inauguration of the new governor, when Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold for what will be the final time, it becomes a place of salvation for both him and Hester. His public confession and subsequent death free both characters. The A functions in much the same way thematically. It initially marks Hester as a shamed woman, an outsider to the strict rules of Puritan society, but again through the course of the novel, the significance shifts and the A takes on the meaning of able. This again reveals to the reader that who Hester was at the core was not who she seemed to be.