Preview

Hester Prynne Punishment

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
532 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Hester Prynne Punishment
The line “I am a man more sinned against than sinning.” from Act 3, Scene 2 of King Leer also relates to the Scarlet Letter. In the Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is a prime example of a character in the story who is more sinned against than sinning. Although Hester has committed a very weighted sin, adultery, the sins committed against her severely overshadow her own follies. Hester Prynne has committed adultery. In Puritan society, this is a great sin and wrong doing. Transgressors such as Hester are usually punished heavily. But in Hester’s case, this punishment seems to have gone much too far, and then some. An example of this punishment can be found in chapter 2. “That Scarlet Letter so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Compare And Contrast Chillingworth And Hester Prynne
    • 250 Words
    • 1 Page

    Compare And Contrast Chillingworth And Hester Prynne

    Hester Prynne and Roger Chillingworth were initially husband and wife that had planned to move to Boston and he was to send Hester ahead of him and then he was to follow. He went missing before he could reach Boston and was later assumed dead. Hester, feeling lonely, sought comfort in Reverend Dimmesdale. They, for one night, have sexual intercourse and she becomes pregnant with Pearl. Hester was put on trial and was found guilty of adultery. The respected punishment in their puritan society was for people who commit such a sinful sin is to be executed. Instead she was sentenced to prison time and her own scarlet letter. She was to wear an “A” for adultery for the rest of her life, which was sown on the chest of her clothing and stand on a…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Dimmesdale's Sins In The Scarlet Letter
    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Who Is Dimmesdale's Sins In The Scarlet Letter

    Hester Prynne’s sin in the Scarlet Letter, was adultery. She committed adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. This sin in particular was one of the more frowned upon of the Puritan faith. In result of this sin, she became pregnant and gave birth to Pearl, who becomes the highlight of Hester’s life. Dimmesdale’s sin as recently explained was adultery as well. He as the priest was looked upon as the most honorable man in the community and was supposed to be considered sinless.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Scarlet Letter Socratic Seminar Questions
    • 2549 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter Socratic Seminar Questions

    English Protestants created a large group of people in the 16th and 17th centuries called the Puritans. These people advocated strict religious discipline along with a strong beliefs and worshipping. The Scarlet Letter reflected on Puritan Society in several ways, from religion to discipline and punishment. Religion seemed to control everyone, the reverend was the person that everyone looked up to, and the community, as a whole, believed in fate and destiny. Puritan relationships were very restricted, therefore making adultery a terrible sin in the eyes of the community. In the 17th century, Boston was extremely strict and the laws were strongly enforced, making Hester’s sin a great example of the consequences the Puritans suffered. Public displays of punishment were used to both teach the criminal a lesson and to show the other members of the community that what was done shouldn’t be repeated.…

    • 2549 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Is Hester Fault In The Scarlet Letter
    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Who Is Hester Fault In The Scarlet Letter

    The tragedy of adultery was a direct result of a twisted relationship. Although Hester did sin, she remained true to herself and wore the A as her duty. However, Dimmesdale, whom was the dad, preached and kept punishing her even though he committed the same sin. I agree with Carpenter and his views. Hester’s sin was not completely her fault. The author explains, “Because Hester Prynne was so perfectly loyal and loving that she would never abandon her lover, she was condemned by the Puritans” (Carpenter). I believe Hester never tried finding a way out of her punishment nor did she ever bring down Dimmesdale with her rather she dealt with the tragedy herself. This author spun a whole new perspective of the meanings of the different characters…

    • 434 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Similarities Between The Scarlet Letter And The Crucible
    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Similarities Between The Scarlet Letter And The Crucible

    In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne portrayed a perverse yet conscience-stricken romance between Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth in which created the outcome of the Liaison, Pearl. Hester was shunned and punished due to the opinions of adultery, in which was looked down upon in the 1800’s. Hester committed the crime due to her falling in love with another man, Rev. Dimmesdale and caused her to wear a letter of an “A” as punishment since her husband had randomly abandoned her for “Medical School” without any sign or message of his disappearance. If adultery is committed, then the adulterer must confirm their partner that had…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Scarlet Letter Quotes
    • 3184 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Scarlet Letter Quotes

    “But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society, had habituated herself to such latitude of speculation as was altogether foreign to the clergyman. She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness. . . . The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers,—stern and wild ones,—and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.”…

    • 3184 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hester Prynne: Among The Labeled In The Scarlet Letter
    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Hester Prynne: Among The Labeled In The Scarlet Letter

    The Puritan Era was the most religious time in American history; committing any sin was seen as an act of rebellion. In that time the sin of adultery was taken very literally to an extent where the women were forced to wear the letter “A” across their bosom to show the people of the town what they had committed. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne’s sin results in such a punishment, but as the reader gets deeper into the book, a prominent and more profound understanding of Hester can be reached. It is through her struggles that Hawthorne gets across his primary themes. Hawthorne illustrates his theme through Hester's struggles that becoming an outcast can help one achieve a profound grasp of who they truly…

    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Scarlet Letter Composition Essay
    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Scarlet Letter Composition Essay

    When The Scarlet Letter was written the Author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, discovered many ideas and facts about the Puritan community. Knowing this Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about how women in the 17th century lived and how strict the society's rules can be, one major rule that was followed strictly phonate was “Actions spoke louder than words, so actions had to be constantly controlled.” (nd.edu). When the book begins it starts with introducing Hester and how she has done this huge violation according to the bible, maybe even causing the death penalty upon herself. As The Scarlet Letter goes through the timeline of how she is isolated and is shunned from the society; eventually, Hester slowly becomes part of the society by being the pure character she really was. This lets her take off the scarlet “A” and change the meaning of Adultery to the meaning of Able. Hawthorne decribes the climax of Hester’s story by expressing, “The letter was the symbol of her calling. such helpfulness…

    • 674 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Role Of Sin In The Scarlet Letter
    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Role Of Sin In The Scarlet Letter

    Sin is considered to be a morally bad act in the Christian faith. In The Scarlet Letter, the Puritans’ views on human nature were affected by their belief in original sin. Nathaniel Hawthorne allows the reader to see the significant role that sin plays in human experience and in the Puritan society in which Hester Prynne lived in through the use of symbols in his novel. The symbols that are present convey messages about how humans should deal with their flawed nature and the negative effects that sin has on the body, mind, and soul.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Hester Prynne Social Pressure
    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Hester Prynne Social Pressure

    The Scarlet Letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This essay discusses how Hester is a victim of her social pressure. She was punished for something she did to achieve her dream of having someone that loves her. Hester committed adultery with minister Dimmesdale and had a child with him, Pearl. Her punishment was to stand on the scaffold with her child and wear the letter A on her breast as a sign of her “crime”. Due to the strictures of the puritan society, Hester Prynne suffers from public shaming. She almost lost her only child, and was not able to openly love who she wanted.…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Hester Prynne Live In Guilt
    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How Does Hester Prynne Live In Guilt

    In the beginning of this book we meet Hester Prynne, a beautiful young mother making her way from prison through a crowd of displeased Puritans. She finds herself displayed like a circus animal, amongst a silent and unforgiving crowd, on a scaffold commonly used for executions. She has a brilliantly embroidered Scarlet Letter “A” attached to her bosom, a curious punishment for the sin of adultery. The crowd, with the exception of that one young maiden, seems to think she deserved much more than a simple letter attached to her clothes. Death is the proper punishment for a scandal of this proportion! The Scarlet…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Freest Character in the Scarlet Letter
    • 2044 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Freest Character in the Scarlet Letter

    Hester was forced to confess her sin to the world, unlike her counterpart Dimmesdale. She was forced to be truthful and accept the punishment and stigma; “Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast,—at her, the child of honorable parents,—at her, the mother of a babe, that would hereafter be a woman, —at her, who had once been innocent, —as the figure, the body, the reality of sin” (chapter 5, page 54), This quote demonstrates how the Puritan Community placed all of the blame and burden of the sin of adultery on Hester. She was forced to accept all of the shame that…

    • 2044 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Is Hester Punished In The Scarlet Letter
    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages

    How Is Hester Punished In The Scarlet Letter

    “Whose is the greater guilt therein when either’s conduct may dismay: she who sins and takes the pay, or he who pays her for her sin?” (Cruz 296). In the 1600’s, when a woman commits adultery and brings shame upon her husband she is often put to death as punishment. However, in Hester Prynne’s case she is shamed with a scarlet letter and excluded from society. In the novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, Hester is forced to wear a Scarlet Letter “A” upon be bosom for the rest of her life. Yet, why is one person punished when the act of adultery must be committed by two? Hester’s partner in the sin committed, Mr. Dimmesdale, even though he was not revealed until the end of the story, would not have faced a punishment so severe.…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Scarlet Mob Scribblers: Rereading Hester Prynne
    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Scarlet Mob Scribblers: Rereading Hester Prynne

    Jamie Barlowe wrote a literary criticism about the novel called The Scarlet Mob of Scribblers: Rereading Hester Prynne. In this piece of literature, Barlowe also expresses how Hester Prynne was alienated from the Puritan community. The scarlet letter “A” placed on Hester’s bosom represents the sin she committed and reminds her every day of the mistake she made. Throughout history, the color red symbolized sin and evil (Barlowe 44). Once again society has a big impact on how one is seen by others. Barlowe states “We come from a society where the lady in red is all danger and unresolvable mystery” (10). Hester is most definitely seen as the woman with whom not to associate. She was seen as “sin” and was the symbol of what people should not become. Barlowe reinforces the fact that Hester was “socially, politically, and religiously alienated from the community” (44). Although Hester was seen as an outcast, her tragedy led to a valuable lesson for all. She taught readers that people make mistakes, and they must hold their head up high and dig deep for their inner strength. . Hester Prynne was a prime example that one’s silence cannot protect oneself (Barlowe 10). The Scarlet Letter depicts how people will form unfair opinions and judgments. Hester contradicts this depiction towards the end of the novel when she starts helping out the sick. She does everything she can to prove to towns people and herself that she is a good person despite her mistake. The letter “A” soon turned from “adulterer” to “able”. Being shunned from society had really taught Hester that other’s opinions matter far less than the opinion we have of ourselves. That is the opinion in life that matters most of…

    • 1946 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Scarlet Letter Public Vs Private Sin
    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Scarlet Letter Public Vs Private Sin

    “There is no sinner like a young saint” – Aphra Behn. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is forced to wear the letter “A” as punishment because she committed adultery, when her husband was away. In the beginning of the story, Hester Prynne does not reveal the name of the other sinner, but later it is revealed to be the minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. A theme Hawthorne uses in the story is public sin versus private sin and is given throughout the Hester and Dimmesdale have to face. Using that theme, Dimmesdale's sin was harder for him to bear, because of how difficult he was on himself.…

    • 730 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics