The Scarlet Letter: Imagery and SymbolismIn The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses imagery to convey that Dimmesdale may represent Puritan society rather than the round character that can be seen on the surface level. This is seen through the imagery and symbolism of hypocrisy, Dimmesdale as a Christ figure, and the scarlet letter. First, Hawthorne parallels Dimmesdale's hypocrisy with that of Puritan society. Hawthorne describes Dimmesdale as "a vile companion to the ignoble, the worst of sinners", even though Dimmesdale is considered the holiest man in the Puritan community. Puritan society was supposed to be a utopian society and get rid of its English traditions. Likewise, as Dimmesdale was supposedly saintly, they were both hypocrites. Second, Dimmesdale depicts Puritan society by not initially taking his place on the scaffold: “You have both been here before, but I was not with you…and the three of us will stay together. The Puritans modeled the hypocrisy of Dimmesdale, as they were supposed to be a "city on a hill" for all the world to see, while they ended up mixing English tradition with their ideals. While Dimmesdale hid his sin from the first scaffold he saw, the Puritans did the same when they colonized America. The faults of the Puritans were not so obvious at first, but over time they became apparent on their scaffold, as did Dimmesdale. Hawthorne writes of one of Dimmesdale's sermons which is "addressed to the multitude a discourse on sin, in all its branches." In Dimmesdale's sermons, he spoke out against sin while committing that sin, just as the Puritans committed sins by condemning Dimmesdale's character which models Puritan society in how they deal with religious persecution. The Puritans left England to escape religious intolerance, but when they arrived in the colonies, they had no religious tolerance for people with different religious beliefs. Dimmesdale denounces adultery and commits it, the Puritans demand religious tolerance but refuse to give it. Dimmesdale symbolically represents Jesus Christ in a certain way. For example, the death of Dimmesdale marked the beginning of a new era, just as the death of Christ marked a new beginning for all who believe in Him. Dimmesdale's death symbolically marks the beginning of American history and the end of colonial history, just as the death of Christ marked the beginning of the Christian Church..