ONLINE YOUTH LITERARY MAGAZINE

Photography by Silja Pietilä, 18, Finland

Dear Readers and Contributors,

 

I would like to take the opportunity to personally thank you all for the continuous love and support, especially through the pandemic. In just under 6 months, we’ve come so far; the magazine has been featured on Publish YOUth Writing and Poets & Writers, and the editorial team reached a whooping milestone of 100+ Advice Articles written! As we continue grow our global outreach, we’ve published over 280 creators from 25 U.S. States, 25 countries, and 6 continents across the world! 

 

It’s been a pleasure growing this community over the past three years, so I know I speak for the entire editorial board when I say we hold this magazine and our contributors close to our heart. It takes a tremendous amount of research and effort to manage the magazine, which is why we're so thankful for all of your support. We encourage you to share our publications and Advice Articles to help our other young creators who may be interested in pursuing their craft.

 

Cheers,

Lori Khadse

Founder, Nonfiction Editor in Chief

The Elysian Muse Youth Literary Magazine

Photography by Safia Henniche, 16, Boston

Editors' Choice Works

 

Letter: Chapter 1 Analysis

Written by Anon

 

In chapter one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter , Hawthorne describes the growing rose bush near the Puritan town’s jail. The description of the bush with respect to its setting and physical characteristics symbolize the harsh beliefs shaping Puritan life and character. The bush is “rooted almost at the threshold” of the prison door and is covered with “delicate gems”, lending “fragrance and fragile beauty” (40). The presence of nature’s delicate and graceful beauty at the threshold of society’s “black flower” as described by Hawthorne illustrates the Puritans’ belief of punishment being synonymous with purification (40). According to the Puritans’ beliefs, in the eyes of god the sinful are ugly and deformed and the purified are beautiful and perfect. The Puritans’ main goal is to cultivate a pure society to gain God’s grace, and the prison serves as an edifice dedicated to achieving the goal. Because the rose bush’s physical characteristics symbolize the qualities of the pure, it is rooted at the prison’s entrance to signify the goal of the prison, to become a “rose” in the eyes of god through harsh and  purifying punishment. Ultimately, Hawthorne uses the rose bush’s description to portray the strict dedication to purification, even by harshness, as a defining feature of Puritan life and character.In chapter one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter , Hawthorne describes the growing rose bush near the Puritan town’s jail. The description of the bush with respect to its setting and physical characteristics symbolize the harsh beliefs shaping Puritan life and character. The bush is “rooted almost at the threshold” of the prison door and is covered with “delicate gems”, lending “fragrance and fragile beauty” (40). The presence of nature’s delicate and graceful beauty at the threshold of society’s “black flower” as described by Hawthorne illustrates the Puritans’ belief of punishment being synonymous with purification (40). According to the Puritans’ beliefs, in the eyes of god the sinful are ugly and deformed and the purified are beautiful and perfect. The Puritans’ main goal is to cultivate a pure society to gain God’s grace, and the prison serves as an edifice dedicated to achieving the goal. Because the rose bush’s physical characteristics symbolize the qualities of the pure, it is rooted at the prison’s entrance to signify the goal of the prison, to become a “rose” in the eyes of god through harsh and  purifying punishment. Ultimately, Hawthorne uses the rose bush’s description to portray the strict dedication to purification, even by harshness, as a defining feature of Puritan life and character.