Idealism‚ Logic‚ and Puritanism in the Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne ’s novel‚ The Scarlet Letter‚ is about the struggle three people face while trying to live their lives and find happiness in a Puritan society. In the early 1640s‚ Hester comes to the small town of Boston‚ Massachusetts‚ while her husband‚ Roger Chillingworth‚ settles business in Great Britain. Hester and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale‚ the town ’s priest‚ engage in the act of adultery and produce a baby girl named Pearl; though
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Hester is proud of her A and how she made it herself until the towns people begin to criticize her and then she becomes self conscious of it and tries to hold Pearl in a way to hide the letter. “let her cover the mark as she will‚ the pang of it will be always in her heart.” (Hawthorne 36). Hawthorne critiques the Puritan ideals by making you feel bad for Hester. Hester hadn’t been in contact with her husband‚ Chillingsworth‚ for almost 2 years when he disappeared. Chillingworht could have been dead
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Lydia Crouse Honors English 10 Mrs. Rollings 26 September 2011 Mysterious Death of Dimmesdale One could say that Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is poisoned‚ or that he merely died of guilty conscience. In the Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ Reverend Dimmesdale commits adultery with Hester Prynne‚ and so she bears a child. Dimmesdale does not admit his sin to the people in the community. Keeping the sin a secret for as long as he does creates guilt and suffering which manifests in him until
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wonder if people look at you as a hypocrite and should also strive to not be one. Of course‚ the most important part is to be true to yourself because only then may you be true to God and to others. Nathaniel Hawthorne also shows this in The Scarlet Letter through the characters he portrays. In chapter 20‚ Hawthorne writes‚ “No man‚ for any considerable period‚ can wear one fact to himself and another to the multitude‚ without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true.” Hiding
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The Puritan and Romanticist Ideas of The Scarlet Letter The standards that the Puritan ideal set are virtually impossible for any human to attain. Part of the ideal was that they believed that man only existed for the Glory of God and to do only His will in effort to obtain future happiness. Religion governed the community and all aspects of life in these communities. Since the ideal was almost impossible to attain‚ society was fraught with sin. Hawthorne addresses sin and transformation through
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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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The Scarlet Letter The scarlet letter is a tragedy. The puritan society is responsible for Dimmesdale ’s downfall because its members expect him to be perfect‚ and he is not. His inability to give the people what they require from him ultimately leads to his downfall. Dimmesdale has an affair with Hester Prynne‚ a married Puritan woman. Hester gives birth to their daughter‚ Pearl. "Children have always a sympathy in the agitations of those connected with them; always‚ especially‚ a sense of any
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Symbols in The Scarlet Letter Symbolism plays an important role in many novels. Held with the distinction of implying important themes‚ symbols add depth to a story. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter takes place in Boston‚ Massachusetts‚ in the 1640’s. Embellished with symbols and hidden themes‚ the novel tells “a tale of human frailty and sorrow” (Hawthorne 46). In addition to human flaw and sadness‚ the novel reveals inhumane punishment and torture from the government and citizens
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Scarlet Letter Hawthorne’s roots in romanticism are evident throughout The Scarlet Letter. He uses fanciful language and a very particular writing style. Hawthorne infuses imagery‚ metaphors and diction in The Scarlet Letter in order to convey the effects of the scarlet letter on both the sinner‚ Hester Prynne‚ and the town in which she lives. Through the use of these rhetorical devices‚ Hawthorne reveals to the reader how this “red-hot brand”(line 47) impacts everyday puritan life. Hawthorne
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One of the most complex and elaborate characters in The Scarlet Letter is Pearl‚ the daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Pearl‚ throughout the story‚ develops into a dynamic individual‚ as well as an extremely important symbol. Pearl is shunned because of her mother’s sin. Pearl is a living representation of the scarlet letter - acting as a constant reminder of Hester’s sin. Hawthorne uses vivid descriptions to characterize Pearl. She is first described as the infant; "...whose
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