Amelia B. Professor Gao English 430 Spring 2012 “Scarlet Letter” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter is a story full of themes of guilt‚ pride‚ hypocrisy‚ retribution‚ and isolation. Taking place during the seventeenth century‚ the story of Hester Prynne and her famed scarlet letter depicts a story of unconceivable proportions. Guilt‚ Sin and Judgment Perhaps the foremost purpose of The Scarlet Letter is to illustrate the difference between shaming someone in public and allowing
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Works Cited Miller‚ Arthur. The Crucible‚ a Play in Four Acts. New York: Viking‚ 1953. Print. Hawthorne‚ Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Pleasantville‚ NY: Reader ’s Digest Association‚ 1984. Print. The Scarlet Letter‚ and Abigail Williams‚ from "The Crucible" by Arthur Miller‚ have both committed a crime and they are both hated by their societies. However‚ there are also differences between the two characters. Hester Prynne is the more respectable Puritan woman of the two because she
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The Scarlet Letter The Puritan Society is an important part of American history‚ it outlines America’s brief moment of theocracy and extreme social order. The Scarlet Letter‚ written by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ depicts Boston‚ Massachusetts during the time of puritanism and follows a young woman‚ Hester Prynne‚ through her trials and tribulations under her sin. The Scarlet Letter is repetitive of its time period through Dimmesdale’s state of religious anxiety and self-punishment‚ the glorification
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people interested in reading The Scarlet Letter for years to come. In writing this book he used themes evident throughout the entirety of the novel. These themes are illustrated in what happens to the characters and how they react. By examining how these themes affect the main characters‚ Hester‚ Dimmesdale‚ and Chillingworth‚ one can obtain a better understanding of what Hawthorne was trying to impress upon his readers. The first theme expressed in The Scarlet Letter is that even well meaning deceptions
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Tajbik Sheikh The Scarlet Letter Intro In the 16th century‚ Puritans immigrated to America from Great Britain in order to escape religious persecution‚ and by the mid 17th century they had erected a well established society based on their theological beliefs. The Puritan religion was one of austerity and geared towards spiritual devotion rather than worldly possessions. Puritans followed rigid laws which rarely changed with time. They also had little tolerance for anyone who broke these laws
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Arthur Dimmesdale Modern Day David Arthur Dimmesdale is a great man and also a priest‚ but later on in his life when he met Hester it seemed like everything turned to sin. Arthur was a very strong and knowledgeable man. He stood strong in the values he preached and also in the words he said. In the Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne sin was entered by a man and a woman. It wasn’t planned to happen the way it did but when Arthur and Hester met it was instant love. This was shocking
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The Scarlet Letter‚ there are two characters that have many sinister or evil qualities‚ but if one looks closer‚ he or she can see that one character is far more evil than the other. “To make himself the one trusted friend‚ to whom should be confided all the fear‚ the remorse‚ the agony‚ the ineffectual repentance‚ the backward rush of sinful thoughts‚ expelled in vain!” (Hawthorne 107). Dimmesdale may be a cowardly adulterer‚ but Chillingworth is a two-faced‚ evil‚ liar. Actions Dimmesdale performs
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The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne One of the main aspects and purposes of The Scarlet Letter‚ was to illustrate the differences between the public humiliation of a person about their sin’s‚ or the private suffering of a persons guilt and sin in their private acts. The fact that Hester had not just one of these‚but both to deal with in her life. Besides the fact that she kept Dimmesdales secret from the rest of the colony of his sin‚ but
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In The Scarlet Letter‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne displays many examples of love and hatred throughout the story. Though Hawthorne shows that love and hatred both have the potential to harm‚ hatred has a greater tendency to cause pain. This is clearly seen in Hester’s love for Pearl and Chillingworth’s hatred for Dimmesdale. Pearl is not the easiest child to love‚ but the attributes Hester has attained over the years have allowed her to show motherly love regardless. One aspect of Hester’s love is her
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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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