Tiana McCorvey Period 4 11/16/10 Interpretations of the Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the best-selling and most read novels in America. Of course‚ with this “romance‚” as Hawthorne called it‚ being so popular some of the famed producers and actors tried to make a movie from it‚ as Daniels explains in his article “Bad Movies/Worst History: The 1995 Unmaking of The Scarlet Letter.” Times after time‚ there have been at least 10 productions and none have them
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Scarlett Letter Criticism Nathanial Hawthorne envisioned The Scarlet Letter as a short story published in a collection‚ but it outgrew that purpose. Most critics accept Hawthorne’s definition of it as a “romance” rather than a novel. The novel begins with an introductory autobiographical essay‚ “The Custom House” where Hawthorne describes working as a custom officer in Salem‚ Massachusetts. He describes coming across documents that provide him with the basis for The Scarlett Letter. The introductory
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Sin and guilt are one of the main themes that are continuously mentioned in Nathaniel Hawthorn’s book The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne‚ Arthur Dimmesdale‚ and Roger Chillingworth experience the different forms and effects of sin and guilt. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale are both mostly convicted for having the sin of adultery while Roger Chillingworth is most guilty of having the sin of revenge. Out of these 3 main characters Hester handles her sin through most effective way and used it to
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was a dream come true. Thier society was obsessed with the idea of being pure. Any sin that was committed had an over exaggerated punishment. Many of the puritans were hypocritical. This idea is expressed greatly in The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter as a story of revenge‚ sin and hypocrisy because the narration does not really show love between people‚ but shows all the sinful acts people would do to one another. A great example of sin is Hester cheating on Chillingworth
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Abstract The Scarlet Letter‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne’s representative work‚ is a classical novel in American literature in the 19th century. The novel displays Puritanism’s great impact on people’s life and thought. This thesis will give a picture of puritans’ life and ideology through the analysis of the Puritan town Boston and some related characters‚ and introduce how the communities in the town are deeply influenced by Puritanism. Meanwhile‚ by analyzing the main character Hester‚ the thesis will
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The Superiority of Men? The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is commonly known as America’s first great novel and as America’s first feminist novel as well. Hawthorne writes The Scarlet Letter in the middle of the nineteenth century while the novel actually takes place in the mid seventeenth century puritanical Boston. Different people at different times viewed women in very different ways. In this novel alone women are viewed in two different ways. Hawthorne was a transcendentalist from
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Scarlet Letter Short Essay Adrienne Rich‚ a feminist poet and critic‚ wrote the essay “When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Re-Vision‚” to identify and admonish gender norms in her society. Rich considers that “the argument will go on whether an oppressive economic class system is responsible for the oppressive nature of male/female relations‚ or whether‚ in fact‚ patriarchy... is the original model of oppression on which all others are based.” She comments on the origin of gender roles‚ wondering
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Max M Bellingham Letter Dear Governor Bellingham‚ My name is Maxwell Maude. I am a citizen of Boston and I am writing to you regarding my opinion of Hester Prynne. I am aware of the crime that Hester committed and I do believe that it was immoral. However‚ there are certain nuances of Hester’s case that I would like to review. While I believe that Hester is guilty of adultery under the law‚ I don’t think she should be prosecuted due to these extenuating circumstances. As I said before
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Authors place great importance in the characters present in their novels‚ considering they are a critical element in literary works. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ Pearl plays a significant role in the novel. Pearl initially is not presented as a main character‚ but throughout the story she gains importance. Pearl serves to represent the letter “A” given to her mother to symbolize adultery. Frequently‚ she is displayed to symbolize familiar elements as nature‚ which is commonly praised
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novel The Scarlet Letter that some dogmatic attempts by society to label a person by his or her actions in the past will fail. Subjectivity across the community and throughout time changes the meaning of a symbol society implements to control an idea. The scarlet letter “A” Hester Prynne wears exemplifies this. The town wants the object to arouse feelings of ignominy towards Hester; however‚ not everyone who meets Hester interprets it the same way. The town originally regards the letters as a signification
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