Explanation:
In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dimmesdale, the main protagonist, witnesses a meteor lighting up the night sky above him. The event is significant in the book and holds symbolic meaning, representing Dimmesdale’s inner turmoil and guilt. At the time of the meteor’s appearance, Dimmesdale had been standing on the scaffold in the town square, a place where he had previously confessed his sin and guilt for his affair with Hester Prynne. As the meteor flashes through the sky, Dimmesdale believes he sees a shape resembling the letter “A,” the same letter that Hester had been forced to wear on her chest as a punishment for her infidelity.