Dialectical journal: Scarlet letter 1."But on one side of the portal… was a wild rose-bush… which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in…” (Chapter 1‚ pg.41) The rose bush in this excerpt at the beginning of the book signifies the one thing that seems to bloom despite the harsh rules and restrictions that the Puritan society bestow upon all who reside there. Much like the rose bush‚ Hester Prynne
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The scarlet letter stands for adultery and only adultery and nothing more. In “The Meaning of the Scarlet A‚” Claudia Durst Johnson describes how the “A” In The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ evolves in the meaning as the story goes on. Johnson is incorrect in her assertion as the “A” maintains the meaning of Adultery throughout the book. The first reason Claudia gives is‚ “Much of the meaning of the scarlet letter resides in Pearl because she is the result of Hester’s adultery.” (Johnson
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In The Scarlet Letter‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes several essential facets of human nature. In the beginning‚ Hawthorne introduces death and crime as inevitable in the human condition. Yet throughout the novel‚ Hawthorne also highlights another part of human nature as a common theme: concealment. This theme is reflected by characters such as Hester and Chillingworth‚ but particularly by Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale‚ the admired minister of the Puritan community‚ spends years hiding that he committed
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The Scarlet Letter There are many forms to degrade a person‚ some are deep wounds that can leave an imprint forever‚ and some go through one ear and out the other. There have been many occasions where one’s life is played upon‚ where the only solution is death. But there are two of those imprints I want to focus on; revenge and hatred and how these two abhorrent features can destroy a person physically and spiritually. Revenge is defined as to inflict punishment in return for injury or insult
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wears the letter "A" pinned to her dress as a constant reminder of the sin she has commit which wears away at her heart. The Black Man symbolizes the devil and the evil that is present on Earth. In this quote Pearl who was a product of Hester’s sin asks her mother to tell her a story about the Black Man. In this situation Hester is once more reminded of what awaits her for sinning as the consequence of her sin asks her to tell a story. The story’s three major symbols include Pearl‚ the scarlet letter
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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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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 characters struggle to accept their own personal identities. Hester embodies the scarlet letter‚ while Dimmesdale tries to break his stereotypical religious identity. By wearing the scarlet letter‚ Salem publically shames Hester. If she leaves the town‚ then she could remove the A‚ but instead she stays. She could go away with her daughter Pearl and have a completely normal life. She refuses to leave because the letter has become her identity‚ and she uses its power. Some people
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Readers Response of ‘Scarlet Letter’ Despite the declination in the personal and societal standards of morality in the past century‚ it is still evident today that a universal standard of ethics does indeed exist in every civilization. Likewise‚ these communities administer consequences upon those who fail to meet up to those principles. The severity of the punishment inflicted rests solely on the offender‚ the offense and the society itself. For Hester Prynne‚ the penalty for fornication
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The Symbolism of Red in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the color red to represent passion‚ the need for beauty‚ and individuality in The Scarlet Letter. In the story‚ Hester Prynne‚ a young woman living in a Puritan community during the mid-17th century‚ is convicted of adultery and forced to live her life in a state of exile‚ branded by the Puritans through the embroidery of a scarlet A on her chest. Her and her child Pearl live in the outlying forest and are
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