The edgy tale of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is comparable in many ways to Arthur Miller’s haunting play The Crucible. Both are set in Puritan New England in the 17th century and revolve around the harsh law enforcement of the time. However‚ The Scarlet Letter tells the story of a woman as she deals with her heavy Puritan punishment‚ whereas The Crucible follows hysteria as it spreads throughout an entire town. Hester Prynne‚ the main character of The Scarlet Letter‚ was found guilty for
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Hawthorne was influenced by both Puritan culture and the Romantic and Transcendentalism movements. Puritans believed that life should be lived with complete conformity to the teachings of the Bible‚ that life is lived only for the glory of God‚ and that moral purity is a constant priority. Puritans wanted to obey God’s will in order to ensure their future happiness in heaven. As a result‚ they did not hold earthly pleasures in high regard‚ such as celebrations or holidays. Romantics‚ however‚ put more of
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Meredith Byram Mrs. Allinder English 9 A4 23 February 2009 “It may serve‚ let us hope‚ to symbolize some sweet moral blossom‚ that may be found along the track‚ or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human fatality and sorrow‚” (Hawthorne 44). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter‚ light and dark are used to compare and contrast the inner nature of Hester‚ Pearl‚ and Dimmesdale‚ All of these characters describe the theme of sin and suffering‚ but throughout their own struggles
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characteristics‚ but one may be more prominent than another. The Id is the impulsive selfishness of the human mind. The Superego is the moral‚ rational part of the mind. The Ego mediates between the selfishness and the rational thoughts in humans. In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne‚ each character represents one attribute. Even though Hester Prynne sinned‚ her moral behavior afterward represents the Superego; Roger Chillingworth’s selfish behavior shows the Id‚ and Pearl‚ who mediates the
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Human Nature in the Scarlet Letter In the Scarlet Letter‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne shows the flaws of the main characters‚ revealing the negativity in their human nature. Throughout the novel‚ each character is depicted to have his or her own value and ideas. The novel begins with the main character‚ Hester Prynne‚ being led from a prison to a scaffold before the townspeople of early Boston‚ Massachusetts. The Magistrates of the town are punishing her for committing the sin of adultery and having
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conflict with the necessity of maintaining a stable and controlled society. The Scarlet Letter depicts this conflict in the context of a late 1800s Puritan society. With an emphasis on conformity in Puritan society‚ the introduction of a wild and free force completely threatens that design. This concept of wilderness is conveyed through the characters of the book and reflect how humans want freedom. Nature in The Scarlet Letter represents freedom from the constraints of society; the connections between
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Misogyny‚ Conformity‚ and Obsession: A Feminist Criticism of The Scarlet Letter “And do you not know that you are Eve? God’s sentence hangs still over all your sex and His punishment weighs down upon you‚ she who first violated the forbidden tree and broke the law of God… Woman‚ you are the gate to hell!” (Tarico). If even Quintus Tertullian‚ the “Founding Father of Latin Christianity” (Tarico)‚ vehemently preached and ingrained the concept of womankind’s inferiority in society‚ how could Puritan
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One of the main considerations while reading The Scarlet Letter‚ is who seems to be the guiltiest character. The three prime targets are Hester‚ Dimmesdale‚ and Chillingworth. While all of them have questionable morality and have committed "sin"‚ Dimmesdale‚ the puritan minister‚ is the guiltiest character. He initiates a physical relationship with Hester‚ knowing she is married‚ he fails at the fatherly responsibility of taking care of his daughter‚ Pearl‚ and he selfishly cares more about himself
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Hawthorne manages to create many metaphors within his novel The Scarlet Letter. The rose bush outside the prison door‚ the black man‚ and the scaffold are three metaphors. Perhaps the most important metaphor would be the scaffold‚ which plays a great role throughout the entire story. The three scaffold scenes which Hawthorne incorporated into The Scarlet Letter contain a great deal of significance and importance the plot. Each scene brings a different aspect of the main characters‚ the crowd or
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The First Chapter of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” is set in the mid 1600s in Puritan Boston. In this chapter he describes these times in a metaphorical manner. He refers to a cemetery and a prison and describes their origins and how they were two of the first things the founders built. He also describes a rosebush in the prison and makes a reference to Anne Hutchinson referring to her as “sainted.” Hawthorne appeals to his audience of peers through their emotions and metaphorical language
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