EXAMINE THE SCARLET LETTER AS AN OPEN-ENDED NOVEL Hawthorne wrote during the Romantic Period in American literature which lasted from 1830 to 1865. Ralph Waldo Emerson‚ Henry David Thoreau‚ Herman Melville‚ Harriet Beecher Stowe‚ Edgar Allen Poe‚ and Walt Whitman were his literary contemporaries. The Scarlet Letter is considered a piece of American Romantic literature because it is set in a remote past‚ the Puritan era 200 years prior to Hawthorne’s time‚ and because it deals with the interior
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While reading The Scarlet Letter book I had a little trouble with understanding the words and how it was used back in the days because they have different meanings to it now. The Scarlet letter brought out many morals to me along with the themes that I was given to explain. If I would have to make up a theme or moral of the story‚ is not to lie because the more you hold in the lie the deeper the guilt grows you it will make you into a different person‚ it will make you become something you don’t
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Mistress Hibbins‚ a characterin Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter‚ is a widow who lives with her brother‚ Governor Bellingham‚ is his mansion. She often shows up when Hester is in a time of crisis. She is a secondary character‚ but she is an important one because she is sort of an all knowing character and shows things that no one else does. Mistresss Hibbins shows how the forest is outside of the town both literally and figuratively. The townspeople believe the forest is where evil takes place‚ but
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Church‚ his perspective is balanced by his recognition of their hypocrisy. As John Winthrop described‚ the Puritan society was to be a city upon a hill — a place where the eyes of all people are upon us‚ but‚ as Hawthorne acknowledges with this novel‚ this ideology was overshadowed by their tendency to condemn the sinner‚ rather than forgive and uplift. Accordingly‚ Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter in order to expose the hypocrisy of judgment in general. He uses the Puritan society to illustrate
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marriage. A reported 95% of Americans today have had premarital sex. In today’s society‚ premarital sex is not considered a sin to most people. In the 1800s‚ it was a different story. In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ Hester Prynne was found guilty of adultery‚ branded with a scarlet A‚ and shunned by the town--an extreme punishment by modern standards. This A that Hester was forced to embroider onto all of her clothing symbolized not only her sin‚ but the A also held meaning for
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Scarlet Letter Composition The Puritans’ beliefs in the 17th century were different than most of the citizens that live in this modern day society. The Puritan beliefs are based on the of the Church of England‚ but they purified the religion. The Scarlet Letter is based off the Puritans’ beliefs and the story of society that the Puritans lived in; some other critics observe that Nathaniel Hawthorne criticizes the Puritans society and their beliefs. When The Scarlet Letter was written the Author
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The Scarlet Letter‚ Pearl is endowed with the proclivity to unveil the truth that shrouds the sinners of the Puritan society‚ especially those of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Pearl‚ a product of two sinners’ passion‚ is cast aside from the harsh Puritan society‚ which envelops her in the utmost freedom that is neither confined by Puritan laws nor thinking. In truth‚ Pearl is able to induce philosophical insight into human nature through her connection and fascination with the scarlet letter
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The Scarlet Letter. It is safe to say that the scarlet letter A has had several meanings throughout this book. People have changed their opinions about this stigma. The scarlet letter‚ A can be interpreted in many different ways and can be seen in many different forms‚ too. The first and most obvious meaning of the letter "A" as it was written in the book is adultery. Then‚ as the chapters progress‚ the reader can see how people start to look at the A meaning “able” and not “adulterer”. Fast forward
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Sin and Forgiveness in The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses the theme of sin and forgiveness throughout The Scarlet Letter to portray the protagonists and antagonists of the story. Hawthorne uses comparative techniques through dark versus light‚ and nature versus civilization. With both of these he is giving underlying comparisons of sin and forgiveness. Hawthorne uses comparisons to show the reader that by having the inability to forgive‚ he/she is committing the sin of pride and is no better than
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The Worst Sinner in The Scarlet Letter In The Scarlet Letter there are three main sinners presented to the reader. Hester Prynne‚ Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth are all written with their own forms of sin‚ and each has a unique coping mechanism for their sins and guilt. Sin‚ at this time‚ was a hugely important part of daily life‚ and punishment for one’s sins was universally seen as not only a positive thing‚ but a necessary action to keep the people of the colony pure. Both Hester
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