In The Scarlet Letter‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes Puritan ideology to convey a philosophical reflection on sin and redemption. Adulteress Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet A to mark her shame‚ and while her lover‚ Arthur Dimmesdale‚ remains unidentified and is wracked with guilt‚ her husband‚ Roger Chillingworth‚ seeks revenge. Although all three characters contemplate redemption‚ it is only Hester that chooses to confront her sin; Dimmesdale and Chillingworth refuse. This decision is heavily influenced
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Throughout The Scarlet Letter‚ Hawthorne uses a great deal of symbolism especially with the meaning of the scaffold. The scaffold starts out to be place of sin and humiliation but ironically becomes a place of true salvation. It is used by many characters to show their emotions as well as how people of the Puritan society treated Hester‚ Pearl‚ and Arthur Dimmesdale. In the first scaffold scene‚ Hester is holding her daughter Pearl in her arms. Hester has committed adultery and must stand on the
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emotion stemming from joy and laughter was unacceptable. With their strict rules‚ anyone who sinned was persecuted. The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ illustrates the story of Hester Prynne‚ a young woman condemned by Puritan society. She committed adultery with the minister of the church‚ Arthur Dimmesdale. With the intention to shame her‚ the town requires her to keep a red letter A permanently on her chest. Hester and her daughter‚ Pearl‚ live on the edge of the town‚ near the
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Behold! Behold! A dreadful witness if it!” (209). The crowd does not know what to make of his words‚ and they refuse to believe what he is implying. That is‚ until he “tore away the ministerial band from before his breast” (209)‚ revealing a scarlet letter of his own. After this‚ there is no denying Dimmesdale’s confession and the people are left in disbelief as they watch him slump down and whisper in his last breath that he deserved to die in
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Diamond Campbell Mrs. Macpherson Period 7 2/22/14 Feminism in the scarlet letter Feminism is the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of political‚ social‚ and economic equality to men. In Nathaniel hawthorns The Scarlet letter Hester Prynne is the main example of feminism. Hester Prynne is a good example of feminism because she did not go for the usual role of women during her time. She became a independent and strong women by following her own rules‚ living by her own choices and being
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Puritans in the later 1600s and the 1700s. Theological ethics are derived from a deity’s standpoint of what is good and should be done by humanity. In this case‚ that deity is God. When considering the works Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God‚ The Scarlet Letter‚ and The Crucible‚ a thematic connection is quickly discovered. Although theological ethics and religion were viewed as deeply important in Puritan society‚ they ultimately caused evil and destruction in the world. While these people believed
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even if it came at the expense of her own happiness. The saying “it takes a village to raise a child” did not apply to Hester’s child Pearl. When Hester through her scarlet letter into the forest and Pearl did not appear to be happy with this decision‚ Hester did not hesitate to put the scarlet letter back on‚ even when the scarlet letter was the embodiment of her sin. Hester’s act of civil disobedience was an act to protect her child from the harmful ideas of those living in the same community as Hester
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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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Johnny Nguyen Period 5 5/5/11 The Scarlet Letter Irony Essay What if irony didn’t exist? If it didn’t‚ even at a minimal level‚ The Scarlet Letter wouldn’t be able to function in its complete and published form. Its frame and substructure of distinctly morose themes scrutinizing sin‚ knowledge‚ and the human condition would not exist without irony blistering beneath the surface. The symbolism and evocativeness of character names‚ for instance‚ the words “chill” and “worthless” can be derived
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Upon reading The Scarlet Letter‚ there were distinct changes in the way Hester was perceived and how she perceived herself. The complexity of what Hester’s life has become derives from the letter which represents guilt‚ pain‚ and betrayal; the most prominent of the three being the guilt she had to undergo. This constant reminder of failure is enough to destroy a human along with the isolation and separation she lived with. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s‚ The Scarlet Letter‚ Hester has had to survive with
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