The Effect of Diction

Written by Anon

Explain the simile or metaphor in the passages, its effect or impression on the reader, the diction of the passage, and the effect the diction has on its power

“A writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them” (Hawthorne 52)

Nathaniel Hawthorne in his novel, The Scarlet Letter, uses similes and diction to further express principal ideas. After returning from his time with the Native Americans near the settlement, “a writhing horror twisted itself across [Roger Chillingworth’s] features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them”  as he discovers his wife wearing a scarlet letter and being put on display in the marketplace (52). The simile of a serpent on Chillingworth’s face describes the overall motion and negative change his features go through by comparing the change in his expression to the movement of a snake’s body. The reader is able to feel unease through the description as snakes are often associated with the Devil, and the overall account creates an effect that foreshadows the hellish persona Chillingworth adapts later in the novel. The connotations of the words “writhing” and “twisted”, which both possess a similar meaning of curling or flexing motion, show the negative and horrific change Chillingworth’s face goes through, further adding to the satanic air he gains as he embroils himself deeper into finding Hester’s lover. As this experience is the first time the reader is introduced to this character, it allows them to understand the largely antagonistic role Chillingworth plays in the novel later, and the overall thematic idea of vice and virtue, and the human tendency to succumb to sin.