secret changes someone’s personality‚ leading them to have self-doubt or guilt until that secret is out. After the secret is divulged‚ the character affected by the secret are more at peace than they were previously‚ being oblivious. In The Scarlet Letter‚ Hawthorne focuses on the idea that having a secret changes a person in inconceivable ways‚ and that the only way to reverse effects of the secret being withheld is
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In The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ the use of public shaming has an everlasting effect on a woman named Hester Prynne after she commits adultery within her Puritan society. She was sentenced to stand on a platform in front of her entire community‚ and she must wear the scarlet letter for the rest of her life. Public humiliation is the dishonoring showcase of a person for everyone in a community to see. To this day‚ some judges still use public humiliation to punish people for their
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but they will never be completely over and gone. We can take Puritan punishments as an example. Throughout the years there has been laws passed to stop cruel punishments‚ but other types of punishments have been introduced such as "[wearing] a large sing publicizing [the] crime...[and wearing] tap shoes in public" (Willing). Public punishments that were popular in Puritan times are continuing today. In the article "From "Scarlet Letter" to 1995‚ Americans want criminals to suffer shame with punishment"
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Analysis of Pearl in Hawthorne’s "The Scarlet Letter" One of the most significant writers of the romantic period in American literature was Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne wrote stories that opposed the ideas of Transcendentalism. Since he had ancestors of Puritan belief‚ Hawthorne wrote many stories about Puritan New England. His most famous story is the Scarlet Letter. This novel tells of the punishment of a woman‚ Hester Prynne‚ who committed adultery and gave birth to Pearl. A minister
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which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other" (Burdon). The novel _The Scarlet Letter_ perfectly illustrates this point using complex and intricate characters that mirror reality with both positive and negative aspects of their personas. The story begins in mid-17th century New England with Hester Prynne being publicly humiliated for having a child out of wedlock. She is branded with a scarlet letter "A" as an adulterer but refuses to disclose who the father is. Soon after‚ Hester’s
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Hester Prynne and Feminism Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter‚ showcases Hester Prynne’s struggle as a single mother with an illegitimate child in Puritan society. Examples of her successes are discussed in “Hester Prynne: Sinner‚ Victim‚ Object‚ Winner” an NPR interview‚ and the essays‚ “A Representative of the New Female Image––Analyzing Hester Prynne’s Feminist Consciousness in The Scarlet Letter” and “When We Dead Awaken: Writing a Re-Vision”. Hester Prynne’s ability to rise above the
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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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appeared the letter A. It was so artistically done‚ and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy‚ that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore; and which was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age‚ but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony” (Hawthorne 50). This quote describes the most significant motif‚ the scarlet letter. It describes the complexity of the scarlet letter itself which
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in The Scarlet Letter It is possible for someone to become so consumed by revenge that his health suffers. He has been wronged by someone and believe in “tit for a tat”‚ so they choose getting even instead of forgiveness. This may seem like the easiest and fairest way to live life‚ but it can completely occupy lives and cloud judgment. Roger Chillingworth chose to take revenge on Dimmesdale (for the affair the minister had with his wife) in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter. His need
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In The Scarlet Letter‚ Hawthorne portrays the personality of each character along with the secrets within‚ using mirror imagery to reflect the inner truth. In the beginning‚ Hester seems to be a passionate woman‚ and then turns into this sinful reflection of Puritan belief. Ironically‚ the man she commits adultery with is Reverend Dimmesdale‚ who is a reflection of the evil that has taken over Chillingworth. Lastly‚ the embodiment of the sin‚ Pearl‚ is a mirror image of Hester’s punishment. Mirror
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