On the Symbolism of The Scarlet Letter Introduction: Nathaniel Hawthorne is a great romantic novelist in America in the 19th century. His novel‚ The Scarlet Letter‚ is considered as the first American psychological novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It reveals the psychological insight with which Hawthorne proved guilt and anxiety in the human soul. The Scarlet Letter is deeply concerned with ethical problems of sin‚ punishment‚ and atonement. The background of the story is set in Salem‚ Massachusetts
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne
The Letter A The first symbol that is noticed in The Scarlet Letter is the actual scarlet letter‚ which is probably because it is the most important symbol in the novel. The letter is worn by a woman named Hester‚ who is sentenced to wearing the letter for the rest of her life as a symbol of Adultery. Hester was caught in the act of adultery when she had a child‚ and it wasn’t her husband’s child. What is surprising about the letter is how much it changes throughout the events of the novel. The
Premium Meaning of life The Scarlet Letter John Winthrop
answered their request by saying‚ “All right‚ but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” If our community followed this standard‚ we would be much more forgiving. Hester should only have to wear the letter for five years. This would allow her to face her punishment‚ but also have the chance to overcome
Premium Family Mother Pregnancy
The Crucible vs The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter‚ and the Crucible are two literary works set in the early days in the mid 1700’s and 1800’s of Massachusetts colony. During this time period‚ many people had their town rules‚ were highly religious‚ and believed that things that could not be explained by normal means of witchcraft. Hester Prynne and Abigail Williams of the Scarlet Letter and Crucible are very similar in the ways they both committed sins in their societies. However‚ both women
Premium Salem witch trials The Crucible John Proctor
In the novel‚ The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ Hester commits adultery‚ disobeying the Puritan laws‚ and is punished with two constant reminders of her sin‚ the scarlet A and her daughter‚ Pearl. Hawthorne characterizes Pearl with contrasting personalities and roles she plays in Hester’s life. Pearl’s conflicting personality components‚ innocence and defiance‚ both derive from her isolation from society‚ which resulted from her mother’s sin. Pearl represents the conflict between good and
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne
downfalls .The three main characters in Hawthorne’s story "The Scarlet Letter". The three main characters are: Dimmisdale‚ Chillingworth‚ and Hester Prynne. These three main character’s sin are no worse than each other’s. Whose sin was greater? Hawthorne believes chillingworth was not driven by anger at his own sin‚ but by the sin of Hester and Mr. Dimmisdale. An example “as he spoke‚ he laid his long forefinger on the scarlet letter‚ which forwith seemed to scortch into Hester’s breast‚ as if
Premium The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne Nathaniel Hawthorne
Readers Response of ‘Scarlet Letter’ Despite the declination in the personal and societal standards of morality in the past century‚ it is still evident today that a universal standard of ethics does indeed exist in every civilization. Likewise‚ these communities administer consequences upon those who fail to meet up to those principles. The severity of the punishment inflicted rests solely on the offender‚ the offense and the society itself. For Hester Prynne‚ the penalty for fornication
Premium Poetry The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne
In The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne’s purpose for the ” A” was to demonstrate the clear absence of feminism in the 1850’s when the story takes place. Hester Prynne‚ the heroine of The Scarlet Letter‚ is a strong independent woman who demonstrates wisdom. Instead of allowing herself to be a victim of her situation and Puritan contempt‚ she lives as a irrepressible woman and does not allow herself to be controlled by particular normalities. Hester committed adultery while her husband was
Premium Woman Gender Women's suffrage
People are not always what they seem to be. Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter shows that everyone sins but some people’s sins are worse than others.The Scarlet Letter shows Chillingworth’s sins throughout the book. One of Hawthorne’s intentions was having Chillingworth as the worst sinner‚ because he used his herbs to keep Dimmesdale alive-he prolonged Dimmesdale’s torture‚ he used “black medicine”‚ and when Dimmesdale stopped taking the herbs‚ he passed away. Roger Chillingworth came to
Free Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter Anne Hutchinson
The Scarlet Letter Analytical Essay By: Lydia Burkhart By reading and analyzing the Scarlet Letter and “Young Goodman Brown”‚ it can be inferred that the general influence of both stories is constant monitoring and harsh scrutiny from the community and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s experiences of the loss of innocence‚ the acts of sin and the punishment from the community that comes not long after. There is also the belief that everything outside of their town is deep and dark; very few
Premium Nathaniel Hawthorne Young Goodman Brown The Scarlet Letter