Character List Hester Prynne - Hester is the book’s protagonist and the wearer of the scarlet letter that gives the book its title. The letter‚ a patch of fabric in the shape of an “A‚” signifies that Hester is an “adulterer.” As a young woman‚ Hester married an elderly scholar‚ Chillingworth‚ who sent her ahead to America to live but never followed her. While waiting for him‚ she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale‚ after which she gave birth to Pearl. Hester is passionate but
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Daniele Luetke AP English 12/20/12 Nature Essay The Role of Nature In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter‚ there are several chapters devoted to nature and its role in the novel. Every main character has some kind of an interaction with nature. In the beginning of the novel‚ Hawthorne relates a rosebush to the footsteps of Ann Hutchinson who‚ in the eyes of early Puritan society‚ was a criminal. However‚ nature knows she was innocent‚ so it responded to her with a pure rosebush. Whether
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Many of the major themes of The Scarlet Letter are introduced in the opening scene. Some of these themes were sin‚ nature’s kindness to the condemned and the dreary lifestyle of puritan society. The first chapter has little action but it sets up these major themes. The tone of the whole story was set in this chapter. The opening scene of The Scarlet Letter‚ many major themes were introduced. One of the major themes of The Scarket Letter was sin. Much of Puritan society was based on sin. The first
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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a great work with many excellent things that could be said about it. One thing that makes The Scarlet Letter stand out is the character of Hester Prynn‚ who is one of the strongest female characters in literature. Having a female character with such strength raises the question of whether or not The Scarlet Letter is a feminist novel; by looking at what feminism is and analyzing the book itself‚ one can see that the book is more a commentary on society
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Brandon H. 12.17.2012 C.A. Rough Pearl In “The Scarlet Letter”‚ Nathanial Hawthorne masterfully weaves symbolism into his plot. The smaller implied themes of the story add an element to “The Scarlet Letter” that is lacking in many books‚ modern and classic. Pearl‚ being the daughter of one of the main characters‚ is portrayed in two ways‚ just like many of the other characters in the story. In Hawthorne’s tale of the scarlet letter‚ Pearl Prynne is represented as both a symbol as well as a main
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Perhaps the foremost purpose of The Scarlet Letter is to illustrate the difference between shaming someone in public and allowing him or her to suffer the consequences of an unjust act privately. According to the legal statutes at the time and the prevailing sentiment of keeping in accordance with a strict interpretation of the Bible‚ adultery was a capital sin that required the execution of both adulterer and adulteress--or at the very least‚ severe public corporal punishment. Indeed‚ even if the
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A Feminist Perspective on the Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter is an important piece of literature which offers a notable contribution to all literature with it’s strong female main character and themes of misogyny‚ religious mania‚ and forgiveness. The summary by Mary Ellen Snodgrass in The Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature describes and summarizes this perspective. The excerpt speaks on Hester’s strong character and resistance against the patriarchal oppressive religious male stronghold
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11 The Scarlett Letter‚ Nathanial Hawthorne Chapters I and II 1. What two necessities‚ according to Hawthorne‚ must the founders of a new colony provide immediately? - Prison and a cemetery 2. Under whose footsteps was the rose-bush outside the prison supposed to have sprung up? Sainted Anne Hutchinson 3. What kind of spectacle have the townspeople of Boston gathered to witness? The public humiliation of Hester Prynne 4. What is the significance of the scarlet letter A which is embroidered
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In the novel‚ The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ Hester commits adultery‚ disobeying the Puritan laws‚ and is punished with two constant reminders of her sin‚ the scarlet A and her daughter‚ Pearl. Hawthorne characterizes Pearl with contrasting personalities and roles she plays in Hester’s life. Pearl’s conflicting personality components‚ innocence and defiance‚ both derive from her isolation from society‚ which resulted from her mother’s sin. Pearl represents the conflict between good and
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Robyn Walz 9/01/2013 Prompt 2 Sexist Punishments? : Protofeminism in The Scarlet Letter In the eyes of some‚ The Scarlet Letter may seem like a protofeminist novel. In the eyes of some‚ had Hester been a man‚ her punishment would not have been nearly as embarrassing and deceitful. In the eyes of some‚ Hester did nothing but the right thing based on her trying to protect other women from gender-based prosecution‚ though it meant completely disregarding Puritan laws in her society. Then again‚
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