Pearl The Free Spirit
... ) Hawthorne conveys a sentimental tone while establishing his belief that Pearl is a free spirit through similes, symbolism, and diction. ... ) One example of Pearl as a free spirit, through a simile, occurs when Pearl is standing, during the procession, and she was “borne upward, like a floating sea-bird” (250). ... ) One example of Pearl as a free spirit, through symbolism, is when the procession passes, Pearl “[flutters] up and down, like a bird on the point of taking flight” (253).