How does the scarlet letter represent nationalism?
It takes an ironic view of American government. In “The Customs House,” the narrator pictures the employees of the customs house as lazy, indolent, self-satisfied, and inept. The building proudly displays the eagle and national symbols, but these are not patriotic workers. They are political appointees. When Zachary Taylor comes into office, the narrator, a person a lot like Hawthorne, loses his job. It makes no difference how he does the job. Of course, _The Scarlet Letter_ also talks about the Puritanical inheritance of America. On this point Hawthorne is more ambivalent. Hester rejects the judgment of the town against her, and the book does too, but the atmosphere of guilt and the idea of the fall are inherent in all Hawthorne, so this aspect of the American character is inescapable. I don’t know if you’d call that nationalistic in the flag waving sense (which “The Customs House” has shown to be a farce anyway), but it is profoundly American.
