2014 Scarlet Letter Essay The Psychological Aspect of The Scarlet Letter “Learning is not doing; it is changing what we do” (Skinner‚ Are Theories of Learning Necessary?). B.F. Skinner believed that behaviorism is a result of development from conditioning. Whatever a person sees continuously occurring in his or her daily lives as children‚ the person recalls them and alter his or her behavior accordingly. It is evident in The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ when various characters behave
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helpfulness was found in her‚ - so much power to do‚ and power to sympathize.” (110) In the novel The Scarlet Letter‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne uses literary elements such as: symbolism‚ irony and conflict to show that the punishment imposed on one by others may not be as destructive as the guilt we impose on ourselves. In the beginning of the novel the community is unwelcoming to Hester Prynne and her newborn Pearl. This creates a conflict against her and the society; while she knows she committed an act of
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The Scarlet Letter In the “Scarlet Letter” Nathaniel Hawthorne describes the consequences for sinning. The story takes place in a puritan community in Boston‚ Massachusetts in the 17th century. In the story the main character‚ Hester Prynne‚ commits adultery with the Reverend mr.Dimmsdale. As a result of their actions‚ Pearl is born. Hester is punished to wear the scarlet letter A‚ which stands for Adultery‚ on her breast. Hester’s husband‚ Roger Chillingworth‚ made her keep their marriage a
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Scarlet Letter Composition The Puritans’ beliefs in the 17th century were different than most of the citizens that live in this modern day society. The Puritan beliefs are based on the of the Church of England‚ but they purified the religion. The Scarlet Letter is based off the Puritans’ beliefs and the story of society that the Puritans lived in; some other critics observe that Nathaniel Hawthorne criticizes the Puritans society and their beliefs. When The Scarlet Letter was written the Author
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Sin and Forgiveness in The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses the theme of sin and forgiveness throughout The Scarlet Letter to portray the protagonists and antagonists of the story. Hawthorne uses comparative techniques through dark versus light‚ and nature versus civilization. With both of these he is giving underlying comparisons of sin and forgiveness. Hawthorne uses comparisons to show the reader that by having the inability to forgive‚ he/she is committing the sin of pride and is no better than
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The plot in this passage has a large amount of to-dos with flashbacks. In the story the couple‚ Hester and William‚ had disagreed on whether or not the boys should go to the circus or not. The story starts off with Hester agreeing for them to go by telling William her story of when she went to the circus as a child. It carrys on with William thinking about the time he had gone too. Later on after realizing how much fun he had‚ “I reckon I could tell all that fools jokes now… I mind I had on a pair
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The Scaffold: Revision In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses the recurring motif of the scaffolding in order to symbolize shame and public confession. Through various chapters Hawthorne uses the scaffolding to depict Hester’s shame‚ Dimmesdale’s struggle‚ and later his confession. In the beginning of the novel the scaffold served to symbolize Hester’s public humiliation. As her punishment Hester had to stand on the scaffold as her form of public humiliation. The symbolism
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Scarlet Letter Chapter Summaries Chapter 1: The Prison Door The first chapter pretty much sets the scene for the rest of the book. It describes a door‚ the door to the prison in seventeenth century Boston. The door is studded with iron spikes and is surrounded with overgrown weeds and one rosebush. The narrator suggests that it’s a reminder of nature’s kindness to the prisoners. It says it will provide a “sweet moral blossom” in the face of distress. Chapter 2: The Market-Place The women
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Often‚ two people can commit the same sin‚ but deal with it differently. Guilt can be dealt with in two ways: publicly or privately. In The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale both commit adultery‚ and both Hester and Dimmesdale deal with guilt from the sin they committed in completely different ways. Hawthorne writes about dealing with guilt publicly and privately to show the emotional and sometimes physical toll of guilt based on how people choose to deal
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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ the author makes it clear the main idea is sin and guilt. In the puritan world sin is typically punished with death or embarrassment. Embarrassment is the punishment Hester Prynne was punished with. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbols throughout the book to support the main idea. Three symbols in The Scarlet Letter that supports this main idea is: The letter “A‚” Hester’s daughter Pearl‚ and colors. The most obvious symbol is the scarlet letter A. In
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