Ambiguity‚ which is doubleness or inconclusiveness of meaning‚ is an important characteristic of Hawthorne’s style in The Scarlet Letter. Constantly used throughout the story‚ ambiguity continually keeps the readers attention. Examples of ambiguity are clearly seen throughout the book. When Hester Prynne is leaving the prison‚ Hawthorn briefly describes a rosebush In front of the prison. Hawthorne says‚ "…or whether‚ as there is fair authority for believing it had sprung up under the footsteps of
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Behold! Behold! A dreadful witness if it!” (209). The crowd does not know what to make of his words‚ and they refuse to believe what he is implying. That is‚ until he “tore away the ministerial band from before his breast” (209)‚ revealing a scarlet letter of his own. After this‚ there is no denying Dimmesdale’s confession and the people are left in disbelief as they watch him slump down and whisper in his last breath that he deserved to die in
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“Setting” is a word used to describe the place‚ time‚ assumptions and values of a society in a story. In the Scarlet Letter‚ the setting was in the Puritan town of Salem in Massachusetts Bay Colony circa 1640. Being that the era and location of the backdrop is in a 17th century Protestant Puritan village‚ the assumptions and values would be that the townspeople are God-fearing individuals who strictly adhere to the Bible and its preachings. In this particular story‚ the primary conflict was the setting
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In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne a young lady by the name of Hester becomes the focus of the town after committing adultery. Throughout the novel the scaffold scene becomes repeated‚ making it clear to the reader that it is of great importance. Each scaffold scene foreshadows what will happen later in the novel. With the scaffold scenes‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne conveys the theme and helps the reader to have a better understanding of the novel. In chapter five-“The point which
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Tamara Haddad Wilhite P.5 Scarlet Letter Dialectical Journal “Like anything that pertains to crime‚ it seemed never to have a youthful era… a wild rose-bush‚ in this month of June‚ with delicate gems‚ which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in” (Hawthorne 45). Hawthorne describes the door of the jail‚ as well as the rose bush to the side of it. I feel as if this is supposed to represent what Hester is about the experience: the harsh
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Children‚ giving more insightful and sincere opinions of Hester and Pearl in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter‚’ are unable to fully comprehend why certain things appear the way they do. They find this time to speak their minds in order to get a grasp of what is going on around them‚ whereas adults know their limits. Unlike adults‚ children are not compelled to follow the expectations set out in a Puritan society and are unaware of what these expectations are since they learn through their
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Many characters go through transformations in The Scarlet Letter‚ and one of those characters is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Author Nathaniel Hawthorne writes of a puritan society‚ and it is the laws of that society‚ both written and unwritten‚ that Dimmesdale breaks and which causes the changes to occur. He commits the sin of adultery‚ and by sleeping with Hester Prynne‚ breaks the laws that he is supposed to represent. He cannot admit his sin because he is a holy man‚ and admitting his sin would
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The Scarlet Letter: Nature’s Individualist Every individual is born universally in nature‚ all starting from the same humble beginnings. The only way we gain our originality in life‚ is when we look deeper into the eyes of nature and see that her small flaws are mirrored in us as well. In the novel‚ The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne embodies the characteristics of the self- reliant individual. The novel takes place in Puritan sixteenth century Massachusetts telling the story
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In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ creative symbols‚ such as radiant sunlight‚ represent perfection‚ truth‚ and happiness thus characterizing Pearl as a perfect and innocent girl who is unmatched in her intelligence or beauty. Throughout the book‚ Hawthorne uses sunlight to convey the “beauty that [becomes] more brilliant [every day]” and the magnitude of intelligence Pearl possesses‚ which together made the sun “[quiver as it] [shines] over” her (Hawthorne 61). The comparison
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both the negative and positive character traits and to set the mood of the novel. The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne takes place during the age of Puritanism in Boston where a young and attractive Puritan woman commits adultery with the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale. Chillingworth‚ Hesters’ husband‚ whom everyone thought was captured by Indians comes to town‚ but only Hester knows his true identity. Chillingworth vows to figure out who Hesters’ lover is and he succeeds. Ultimately‚ this novel contains
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