Scarlet Letter Analytical Essay
The Scarlet Letter Analytical Essay By: Lydia Burkhart
By reading and analyzing the Scarlet Letter and “Young Goodman Brown”, it can be inferred that the general influence of both stories is constant monitoring and harsh scrutiny from the community and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s experiences of the loss of innocence, the acts of sin and the punishment from the community that comes not long after. There is also the belief that everything outside of their town is deep and dark; very few people venture into this “outside world” but the few that do discover the secrets the world has that is so different from their own. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s previous knowledge and past experiences helped him to shape many stories that make readers question their society. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter is a very “mature story” that can relate to society and their views before the 1600’s, in the 1600’s and even in the present day. The same views of strong judgment and harsh critique could be seen in the times of Hester and Dimmesdale and also in the case of Adam and Eve. After Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, they were expelled by their strict community, to which they used the knowledge they gained to discover theories and evidence that they are in fact humans and they separate themselves from others. In the case of Hester and Dimmesdale, it is discovered that in actuality, society hasn’t changed at all after they commit sin and are essentially shunned by having to wear an “A”, ultimately putting her act of sin on display for all to see. Hester eventually realizes that the “A” she has to wear isn’t so bad after all when she goes on an endeavor outside of her boundaries set by the authoritarian community she lives in to speculate on the beliefs and theories of other communities. This steady doctrine can also be reflected on today’s modern American society, where when there is a sense of unique talent or a hint of variety from someone who is considered “far
By reading and analyzing the Scarlet Letter and “Young Goodman Brown”, it can be inferred that the general influence of both stories is constant monitoring and harsh scrutiny from the community and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s experiences of the loss of innocence, the acts of sin and the punishment from the community that comes not long after. There is also the belief that everything outside of their town is deep and dark; very few people venture into this “outside world” but the few that do discover the secrets the world has that is so different from their own. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s previous knowledge and past experiences helped him to shape many stories that make readers question their society. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter is a very “mature story” that can relate to society and their views before the 1600’s, in the 1600’s and even in the present day. The same views of strong judgment and harsh critique could be seen in the times of Hester and Dimmesdale and also in the case of Adam and Eve. After Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, they were expelled by their strict community, to which they used the knowledge they gained to discover theories and evidence that they are in fact humans and they separate themselves from others. In the case of Hester and Dimmesdale, it is discovered that in actuality, society hasn’t changed at all after they commit sin and are essentially shunned by having to wear an “A”, ultimately putting her act of sin on display for all to see. Hester eventually realizes that the “A” she has to wear isn’t so bad after all when she goes on an endeavor outside of her boundaries set by the authoritarian community she lives in to speculate on the beliefs and theories of other communities. This steady doctrine can also be reflected on today’s modern American society, where when there is a sense of unique talent or a hint of variety from someone who is considered “far