To read a book, is to plunge into a dark abyss, not knowing what is next and not knowing if or when an end is near. But just words written on paper do not do this to one's mind. A book needs creativity, imagination, it needs to make the mind think and wonder what is actually happening. A book needs to stretch away from reality, or just put a weird twist to it. One way …showed first 75 words of 1146 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1146 total…symbols make the reader look beyond the words of the book, and look into the meaning of the words. And as one interpret the story, their mind wonders aimlessly looking for the correct answer, not knowing which way to construe the words that were just read. And in the end, using symbolism, Hawthorne completed the task as every author intends, which is to make the mind imagine, create, and break away from the everyday reality.