Conflict in The Scarlet Letter Human nature‚ while impressively complex‚ also has various poor qualities. Often these imperfections result in conflicts which are in turn depicted in works of literature. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ set in an old Puritan community‚ is centered on several conflicts of human nature that result from the adultery and punishment of Hester Prynne. There are three major conflicts each for which Hawthorne created a specific main character to illustrate:
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A Puritans FollyNever forget that only dead fish swim with the stream. -Malcolm Muggeridge. This famous quote justifies that to be an individual‚ one must break from society and think for himself‚ and only when he has done this‚ is he truly alive. Nathaniel Hawthornes novel The Scarlet Letter is about a courageous woman‚ Hester Prynne‚ and her struggle to split from society in order to live the loving life she has always wanted. By the use of symbolism‚ Hawthorne is effectively able to portray the
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Sadomasochists Will Not Be Satisfied With The Scarlet Letter “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor‚ both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death” (Leviticus 20:10). Puritans carried this Biblical credence to the very letter. Puritans were all about order in their society‚ achieved through strict laws and rules. The love between a married couple equated moral and religious duties (eHow)‚ and so when adultery was
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In The Scarlet Letter‚ the author‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ uses many symbols throughout the novel. The most obvious and well known symbol‚ is the scarlet letter Hester is forced to wear. The infamous scarlet letter can be considered the most important and influential symbol. The symbolism behind the scarlet letter changes throughout this novel. Initially‚ the letter A was intended to mark Hester as an adulterer. During the first years of her punishment‚ the letter was a daily reminder of shame and her
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The Scarlet Letter‚ uses many symbols to represent different things. Some symbols represent the same thing. The letter "A" has many meanings‚ each character has their own meanings‚ and even the different parts of nature are symbols. Also‚ apart from providing structure for the novel‚ each scaffold scene conveys something different. One could say‚ arguably‚ that nearly everything in The Scarlet Letter is a symbol of something else. In the novel‚ there are four different versions of the letter "A"
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In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel‚ The Scarlet letter‚ we are presented to a Puritanical society that resides adulteress Hester Prynne‚ whom must wear a scarlet letter to mark her shame. Within the novel‚ Hawthorne uses detailed descriptions of nature and introduces comprehensive characters such as Arthur Dimmesdale and Pearl with the intention of portraying the central message of good versus evil. To begin‚ Hawthorne illustrates the images of the brook and the forest to put emphasis on the
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Mr. Barnett Honors English III February 13‚ 2015 Scarlet Letter Essay- Feminism Feminism is the theory of how men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. In the past‚ men and women haven’t had the same rights‚ especially in the eighteen forties. The Puritan society thought Hester’s sin was a disgrace and shunned her for it. The Scarlet Letter shows feminism from a different perspective such as Hester stepping completely out of Puritan beliefs becoming an outcast‚ wearing her punishment
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Matthews Mrs. Tubbs AP English 02 October 2012 The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter is a novel filled with important symbols‚ each with many meanings. Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ author of The Scarlet Letter‚ knew how to express these symbolswith a creative tough. He used the “A”‚ the scaffold‚ and the prison to describe the Puritan society. The symbols or The Scarlet Letter help create a theme‚ the conflict‚ and the characters. The scarlet “A” makes its way to be the most important symbol in
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demands. Traditional Puritan society began with the thoroughgoing conviction of sin. After Adam and Eve committed their sin of deception and adultery every man and woman after that was thought to be born with a darkened soul of a vile sinner. Puritans thought that the only way for all the corrupt sinners of the world to redeem themselves was by the grace of God. Prynne‚ according to the beliefs and values of the Puritans‚ is an extreme sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways‚ by committing the
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The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are two books about an illegal act that negatively affected a group of Puritans‚ during the 17th century. In The Scarlet Letter‚ the narrator tells a story about a woman who commits adultery with her lover and decides to live away from the other Puritans. In The Crucible‚ a man hides his sin from the Puritans in Boston‚ which ultimately leads to the Salem Witch Trials. Proctor and Dimmesdale are main characters in the books who face physical and mental problems
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