People have been trying to put a face to evil for many years. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, does exactly that with the character Roger Chillingworth. Roger Chillingworth is the embodiment of evil. Throughout the story the reader sees embodiment of evil through his thoughts, actions, and appearance. Once this things are taken into account then one will see how Roger Chillingworth is the symbol of pure evil.…
Author and Purpose:This novel was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. While Hawthorne had some admiration for his Puritan ancestors, most of whom were motivated by their goal of purifying the Anglican Church, his perspective is balanced by his recognition of their hypocrisy. As John Winthrop described, the Puritan society was to be a city upon a hill — a place where the eyes of all people are upon us, but, as Hawthorne acknowledges with this novel, this ideology was overshadowed by their tendency to condemn the sinner, rather than forgive and uplift. Accordingly, Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter in order to expose the hypocrisy of judgment in general. He uses the Puritan society to illustrate how people often judge others for their sins and use others as scapegoats to direct attention away from their own sins. The five gossips in chapter two exemplify this as they cry, this woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. In reply a man exclaims, Mercy on us, goodwife, is there no virtue in woman, save what springs from a wholesome fear of the gallows?Setting:This story is set during the mid-1700s in Puritan settled Boston, Massachusetts. The story can transcend the setting absolutely, as the Puritan society is merely used to exemplify the judgmental nature seen in all mankind, a characteristic that exists in the very nature of man, rather than a particular setting.…
Arthur Dimmesdale was a key component in The Scarlet Letter, he committed the sin of adultery with Hester Prynne. Dimmesdale went through drastic physical and mental changes throughout the course of the novel. Between Roger Chillingworth torturing him in his home, and having to deny his daughter, Pearl, the recognition she deserves, Dimmesdale’s wellbeing has been damaged. Throughout the story Hawthorne shows Dimmesdale’s feelings of pain and sorrow through not being able to confess his sins. Consequently, Dimmesdale has a problem.…
Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story about Hester Prynne, her drastic act of sin, and her punishment for that act. Hester, a married woman, committed adultery, and borne a child from her affair. Her husband had sent her ahead of him to America and had never arrived in Boston. It was believed that he was lost at sea. As punishment, Hester has to wear a flashy, scarlet and gold stitched “A” embroidered on her chest for as long as she lives. From what I have read, Hester is leaving from her stay at prison, her child clutched tightly to her breasts, as she moves through the crowd to receive her punishment. Other women scorn her, and insult her openly as if she weren’t in their presence. There in the crowd of people, she notices her…
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes the character Pearl as having tenacity and peculiarity in her personality and traits. First, Nathaniel Hawthorne exaggerates Pearl’s qualities to establish her as an odd child and a separate person from the Puritan town she lives in. In chapter 7, after the governor asks Pearl who created her, she answers by saying ‘no one created her rather her mother plucked her from a wild rose bush near the prison.’ Hawthorne follows Pearl’s remark with, “This fantasy was probably suggest by the near proximity of the Governor’s red roses, as Pearl stood outside of the window; together with her recollection of the prison rose bush, which she had passed in coming hither.” (Pg. 77) Adults are not…
Symbolism was a literary movement during the nineteenth century that influenced many poets. Symbolism is anything that stands for or represents something else. "The Scarlet Letter", by Nathaniel Hawthorne is filled with symbolism which he uses to unify the novel and add a deeper level of meaning to the story. In the novel, the three most important symbolisms were the forest, the scaffold, and the scarlet letter "A" on Hester's bosom. But the symbolism of the scarlet letter "A" outweighs every other symbolism.…
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is set in Puritan Boston, New England. Hester Prynne is accused of adultery and brand with the letter “A” for the rest of her life. With Pearl in tow, Hester moves to a cottage to live her life. As time progresses conflicts arise and ideals fade. The “A” on Hester's chest has many stories changing with each character who tells it. Hester Prynne is the wearer of the “A.” Having the scarlet letter set on her at a young age, Hester absorbs the mark turning the hainted symbol into a representation of her character. Even the people who force Hester to wear the “A” change,”many people refused to interpret the scarlet letter A by its original signification.” The community of Boston has, at first, the view that the “A” has a connection to the devil. Later, after Hester shows courage despite her situation, the community has a changing of heart and…
(An analysis of the letter ‘a’ and all the symbolisms behind it from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter.)…
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne outlines the plot of the story through his specific placement of three very significant scenes which take place on the scaffold: Hester's public punishment for committing adultery, the minister's vigil and reunion with Hester and Pearl, and lastly, the revelation of the scarlet letter. The second scaffold scene in Chapter 12 is substantial in that it is the first time that the Reverend Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl have all come together and acknowledged their ties to one another. However, the climax of the story does not take place until Chapter 23. Here, Reverend Dimmesdale publicly reveals that he, too, bares the scarlet letter A' (whether literally or symbolically,…
In "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathienal Hawthorne, the narrarator places symbolic connections between Hestre's daughter, Pearl and the life Hester endures after her commitment of an adultrious sin. Hester is forced to look upon her daughter; a living embodiment of the ultimate sin commited as a contant reminder of the past. The erry details used to describe Pearl as well as her actions enforce the sifficance of the consequence Hester must be reminded of evryday for her action in the past. In profiding such deatils, readers become intreged as well as suspicious as to why Pearl behaves in such a dark and myseterious way. By describing such a dark soul beneath a name associated with such beauty and value as Pearl is, enforcees the hardships Hester…
According to the Bible, the Devil sought more power than he already had. He wanted the power that God has. When he wages war and loses, he is thrown to hell, but his hunger for power never ceases. He punishes people for their sin to gain more power and pleasure. The Devil is, nevertheless, the worst sinner, and a parallel is drawn to Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. In his novel, Hawthorne presents the reader with three sinners: Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingsworth. It is clear in the novel that all of them are wrongdoers. Dimmesdale’s and Hester’s adultery causes them to be spiritual transgressors, but Hester’s sin is revealed to the village while Dimmesdale’s is a secret. Chillingsworth’s intentional…
Chapter IX, pages 121-127, of The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne gives the reader better insight as to who truly is "Roger Chillingworth," and his effect on Boston 's beloved Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.…
“Guilt is through the spirit and Pain is the body.” Everyone is sinful or guilty in a way, whether it is lying or doing adultery. It is mistakes that are caused by people. Because you will have to be guilty first in order to suffer the pain that was caused by their sin. Mr. Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne had to suffer his own sin and can’t find a way to confess to the society, no one understands what is he going through. Hester has to suffer from her own sin with everyone be disgusted by her, wish to not have any relationship with her. This is the same with John Proctor in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. He had to suffer a sin of his own, due to the affair between him and Abigail Williams. Therefore he has to face…
Women have always played a major role in society. They play very essential roles such as the carrier of the life cycle. They were created to be a companion of man. Overtime women have varied their roles in today’s society. As seen in the novel’s The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, women can travel outside of society’s norms. Women also played major role in both novels. These stories were written by totally opposite authors but the settings of these stories are the same, the Puritan era. Both authors portrayed the strengths of women while also portraying their downfalls too.…
Hawthorne's viewpoint of Pearl seems to be exceptionally adoring as he claims that her "beauty shined through the gorgeous robes" (Ch. 6) and there was a "circle of radiance" (Ch. 6) that shone about her. As more of Pearl is revealed, Hawthorne's tone changes to a violent and threatening tone as he states that Pearl showed off a "variety of threatening gestures" (Ch. 7) and with much force she "screamed and shouted" (Ch. 7) at her enemies.…