Preview

Scarlet Letter Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
619 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Scarlet Letter Essay
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter has much to instruct psychoanalysts and psychotherapists, probably no other American novel lends itself so well to an study in gravity of the dynamics, conflicts, and aggressive attribute of shame. Hawthorne‘s novels deal with persons caught in a fight between individual desires and the ethical weight of society, a struggle which the being usually loses. More importantly, Hawthorne‘s characters are secluded individuals, who refuse society‘s principles but because they are imperfect folks inclined to sin. The Scarlet Letter is a novel that gives an insight look at the society and Bell articulates this realism by commenting on “ The Custom House “ in his essay “Hawthorne and the Real” that :
“In a passage
…show more content…
He uses Dimmesdale and Hester to represent sin. Both characters raise and develop because of their joint sin. The society in The Scarlet Letter sets far-reaching limitations on individual. Although the Puritans had hoped to set up an utopia in the latest World, where each person would be integrated under a shared dogma, their plot appears to be futile before it even began. As Edward P. Bailey and Philip A. Powell explained saying that:
“In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses the view that the structures of institutions, while not perfect, are necessary to keep society ordered and running smoothly. He felt that institutions keep people from having ―dangerous radical thoughts that might destroy essential order. Although Hawthorne presents Puritan society as rather harsh, he shows that once Hester Prynne is denied its structure, she turns to ―dangerous independence.”(The Practical Writer with Readings ,2008:431)
Sin premanently perverts the human character, everything that Hester and Dimmesdale do after committing the sin of adultery, will be tainted by a sense of sin. This novel explains that Man is inherently pious but social norms and conventions are bad. In this novel different type of sins are represented as Arlin Turner notes that there are

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Throughout the year’s society`s have developed their own standard way of thinking creating traditional norms. Norms are conventional and are expected to be fulfilled by the individuals in that society. If a norm were to be violated, it would bring severe consequences to those individuals. In The Scarlet Letter and The Minister`s Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne both take place during the puritan timeframe in which the biggest norm violation would be the act of committing a sin causing those who violate these norms to suffer severe consequences. In The Scarlet Letter Hester and Dimmesdale commit adultery and as a result, both suffer for their transgressions in different ways. Moreover, in The Ministers Black Veil Minister Hopper wears a black veil to accept his…

    • 2035 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nathaniel's Hawthorne most famous masterpiece "The Scarlet Letter" and "The Minister's Black Veil" share and explore the same theme, the theme of sin, especially the secret sin. In this essay I will discuss the sin of the main characters in "the scarlet letter" and 'the minister black veil". Also compare and contrast the sin of each character with the other main characters.…

    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the Puritan community banned all forms of sin. Sin was looked upon as evil, being connected to the devil and his dark ways. Hester Prynne, the main character of the story, was shunned by the rest of the Puritan world after committing the sin of adultery. She lived in a world where it was not accepted. She was isolated from the world around her, having little hope. Throughout the novel, symbols such as the character of the kind woman, the wild rose bush outside of the prison doors and the character of Pearl, Hester Prynne's illegitimate child, are used to show that even in a world full of sin and darkness, there is always hope.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dimmesdale preached to the town “ Ye have all shuddered at it [Hester and the scarlet letter]!... But there stood one in the midst of you, at whose brand of sin and infamy ye have not shuddered!” This ironic moment of Dimmesdale added to his warmth because he publicly implied that he is the person who Hester been with seven years ago but does not dare to pay for its price until now. Only character of great passion could expel their long due guilt and not die in regret, much like…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Physically, his sin caused him to look like “an emaciated figure, his thin cheek, his white, heavy, pain-wrinkled brow” (149); he had become so physically pathetic from the guilt which tore at him internally. Dimmesdale’s method of repentance was much worse than Hester’s, both emotionally and physically. Emotionally, Dimmesdale was deeply torn over his moral responsibilities to himself and his responsibility to the community, ultimately refusing to confront his sin and redeem himself. Instead, he attempts to justify and convince himself that he is refusing to “display [himself] black and filthy in the view of men...because, thenceforward...no evil of the past be redeemed by better service” (91). Dimmesdale refuses to expose his secret in fear of losing the his role and respect in the Puritan community. He laments the relief that he has seen in “sinful brethren...who at last draw free air, after long stifling with his own polluted breath” (90), as he is both physically and emotionally pained by the stifling of his guilt. However, contradicting his own morals--based in the Puritan religion--and those that vest right action and right thought in Hester, Dimmesdale continues to suppress his guilt in an attempt to maintain his prestigious standing within the…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne consistently uses the conflicting personalities of his main characters to augment the social and political instability of the Puritan community in which the work takes place. By focusing on the responsibilities and roles of a handful of important characters throughout the novel, Hawthorne is able to use them as examples of the hypocritical nature of the community’s beliefs. As a result of his implementation and analysis of characters, such as Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Hawthorne ensures that the reader is able to understand the impact that a strong dedication to their religion has on the community.…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In The Scarlet Letter hypocrisy is evident everywhere. The characters of Hester, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and the very society that the characters lived in, were steeped in hypocrisy. Hawthorne was not subtle in his portrayal of the terrible sin of hypocrisy; he made sure it was easy to see the sin at work, just as it is easy to see many of the sins at work in society. There are many parallels that can be drawn between the characters of The Scarlet Letter and those of today 's society. Just because this book is set in colonial times, does not mean its lessons are not applicable to the world we live in.…

    • 2091 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Scarlet Letter

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the 16th century, Puritans immigrated to America from Great Britain in order to escape religious persecution, and by the mid 17th century they had erected a well established society based on their theological beliefs. The Puritan religion was one of austerity and geared towards spiritual devotion rather than worldly possessions. Puritans followed rigid laws which rarely changed with time. They also had little tolerance for anyone who broke these laws. Individuals who did violate these laws however, faced punishment on various levels and would have to prove their repentance to themselves and society. The Scarlet Letter, set in mid 17th century Boston, portrays such forms of repentance from two perspectives. The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, constructs the plot to revolve around the journey of repentance of two characters: Hester Prynne and Rev. Dimmesdale. Both characters have committed the blasphemous sin of adultery together, but only Hester has been punished for it, whereas Dimmesdale has yet to be discovered for his involvement in the misdeed. Hester’s severe punishment is to carry the eternal burden of the scarlet letter A, a symbol that apprises everyone of her status as an adulterer, and outcasts her from the rest of society. Even though she is shunned by society, Hester still manages to perpetrate acts of penance to atone for her sin. However, Hester is not the only character who seeks repentance; Rev. Dimmesdale self-inflicts punishment as a form of penance. Throughout the novel, both characters strive to achieve true repentance, a feeling of remorse which comes from the soul. As committed as they are to atoning for their sin, neither Hester nor Dimmesdale truly ever reach the state of repentance. Their failure to achieve true repentance can be perceived through their similar goals of penitence and their different forms of punishment.…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne utilizes the repressive authoritarian Puritans as a way to enable the equally condemning Victorians to reflect upon their own society. Hawthorne expresses the earthly…

    • 720 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    As stated, a major theme in the novel is that of free will and necessary acceptance of the consequences of one’s decision. Hester and Dimmesdale’s situation is comparable to that of Adam and Eve. Like Adam and Eve, the characters in the novel are made aware of their humanness through sin, that is, the realization that free will separates them from other creatures. Once expelled from society, or in Adam and Eve’s case, the Garden of Eden, they are forced to toil and procreate, the tasks that seem to define the human condition. The story of Hester and Dimmesdale recalls the story of Adam and Eve because, in both cases, sin results in expulsion and suffering. However, most significantly, it also results in knowledge. The knowledge of what it means to be human.…

    • 1283 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    He enters sin when he believes he can dispassionately pursue and discover Hester’s secret lover. Chillingworth begins his search and quickly latches onto the naive minister. Chillingworth slowly tortures Dimmesdale. As he inflicts more pain, Chillingworth becomes emotionally involved. His continuous tormenting begins to control Dimmesdale. Chillingworth becomes a “chief actor, in the poor minister’s interior world” (129). Dimmesdale’s mind is broken beyond repair. Chillingworth is investing his life in wreaking havoc upon Dimmesdale’s intellect. Chillingworth has a “heart full of torture” and is “deriving his enjoyment thence” (156). Not only is Chillingworth killing Dimmesdale, but he is gloating about the pain he has inflicted upon Dimmesdale. He tells Hester that no “mortal suffer what this man suffer” (157). Chillingworth is causing a man to suffer more than any other ever. It is his lone enjoyment in life. Chillingworth wants Dimmesdale to pay for his abominable sin for all of eternity. To do this, Chillingworth torments Dimmesdale to “disorganize and corrupt his spiritual being” (177). This action will cause Dimmesdale to be unable to atone and rot in Hell for his afterlife. Chillingworth is now a living Devil, which is the climax of his escalation of sins. During this time, Chillingworth makes no efforts at all to atone for these horrific sins. He tells Hester that…

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Individual identity, society’s expectations, and sin are all central themes in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Gothic Romance, The Scarlet Letter. Throughout the novel, the reader is introduced to a number of significant characters, each motivated by their own ambitions, and often driven by the effects of fear and guilt. The majority of the characters in The Scarlet Letter are male, but there are a few women who are portrayed, and they are generally not respected by society. To fully understand this concept, one must take into consideration the time period in which the novel takes place. In the seventeenth century, women did not have much freedom.…

    • 1449 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Scarlet Letter

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Sin and Redemption is the main theme of The Scarlet Letter because of the actions of the characters. For example, Hester commits adultery, and then redeems herself through her actions. “It is our Hester, the town’s own Hester. Who is so kind to the poor, helpful to the sick, so comforting to the afflicted.” (Hawthorne 159). This is a member of the community speaking of Hester’s change. She commits the sin of adultery and realizes what she did was wrong. She redeems herself by helping the community and changing her image. She is forgiven by many and accepted more throughout the community. On the other hand, Reverend Dimmesdale chooses not to redeem himself at first in order to protect his image. He wants to wait until his judgment day. “Not then, Pearl, but another time…At the great judgment day.” (150). This is Dimmesdale replying to Pearl asking if and when he will take her hand, and her mother’s hand. He plans to wait until the day he dies to do so.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sin is a common struggle among many people regardless of personal beliefs. People want to do well in this world, obey some moral; people want to make someone proud, even if it’s not a god. Sin is an evident topic in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester Prynne’s sin is public knowledge, whereas Arthur Dimmesdale's identical sin is hidden. Arthur Dimmesdale, a reverend, was thought to be the most unlikely culprit of sin in Boston. Arthur Dimmesdale shows Hawthorne’s theme that sin occurs in everyone regardless of social status.…

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays