The Prison Door

1)

I relate this chapter to the idea of overcoming a conflict. First off, "The Prison-Door", the metaphor we see here is that prison is a problem, something that hinders oneself, or something that one might have to keep inside. The door, represents something good. It represents hope. A door can hold something back, but eventually, all doors will open, you just might have to do something about it.

Now we take a look at the last paragraph. "This rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness, so long after the fall of the gigantic pines and oaks that originally overshadowed it,-or whether, as there is fair authority for believing, it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson.

To me, this is an example of an obstacle overcome, or maybe still in the process of overcoming. The little rose bush. A rose bush helps and hinders. In short, the flower is pretty, but the thorns hurt. That little bush survived while the stern and gigantic pines and oaks fell. Well what was so special about the pines and oaks? Pine trees are chopped down and decorated because they do not posses "the right stuff", so to say, in order to survive like the rose-bush. The oak trees...well they aren't special either. So why did the pines and oaks overshadow the rose-bush when we can certainly say the rose-bush is way more superior? The rose-bush is Hester Prynne (pure and wise), and the pines and oaks are who make her wear the scarlet letter (they have power)