Nathaniel Hawthorne chose such a controversial topic as adultery for The Scarlet Letter‚ his nineteenth century novel of "seventeenth century sexual repression and hypocrisy"‚ demonstrates a delicate yet changing climate with regard to infidelity. Historically‚ carrying on an adulterous affair back in such an era of Puritanism and traditional values was not taken lightly; in fact‚ by today’s standards‚ such horrific treatment for what is now considered an everyday occurrence was harsher than murders
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In the Scarlet Letter two of the primary characters are provided by the author to show us a kind of foil. The one character‚ Reverend Dimmesdale‚ seems as if he is kind‚ but he has been living with a terrible burden‚ hindering him everywhere he goes. Chillingworth is his opposite‚ you would assume him to be nice when really he is quite evil. Dimmesdale and Chillingworth bring out each other’s characteristics and bring out the characteristics of other characters around them. Dimmesdale and Chillingworth
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In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne a young lady by the name of Hester becomes the focus of the town after committing adultery. Throughout the novel the scaffold scene becomes repeated‚ making it clear to the reader that it is of great importance. Each scaffold scene foreshadows what will happen later in the novel. With the scaffold scenes‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne conveys the theme and helps the reader to have a better understanding of the novel. In chapter five-“The point which
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Scarlet Letter Chapter Summaries Chapter 1: The Prison Door The first chapter pretty much sets the scene for the rest of the book. It describes a door‚ the door to the prison in seventeenth century Boston. The door is studded with iron spikes and is surrounded with overgrown weeds and one rosebush. The narrator suggests that it’s a reminder of nature’s kindness to the prisoners. It says it will provide a “sweet moral blossom” in the face of distress. Chapter 2: The Market-Place The women
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today‚ and the same goes for the society of the 17th century. Guilt is the state of being responsible for the commission of an offense and the only cure for the feeling of being guilty is confessing to whomever you have harmed or wronged. In The Scarlet Letter‚ written by Nathanial Hawthorn; there is a young woman named Hester Prynne who has been accused of committing adultery‚ she is being showcased for the entire town to witness her in her shame. Hester’s husband‚ who is thought to be dead‚ returns
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The Scarlet Letter – Guilt We would love to live in a world where all of us are perfect but the reality is that we are not perfect. All of us make mistakes or do something wrong but some of us are never caught‚ then that few have a choice to make; either to turn themselves in or live their life as if it never happened. The emotion one has when one either commits an act not accepted by the society or when he fails to do something required or expected is called Guilt. This emotion can be seen quite
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Puritans in the later 1600s and the 1700s. Theological ethics are derived from a deity’s standpoint of what is good and should be done by humanity. In this case‚ that deity is God. When considering the works Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God‚ The Scarlet Letter‚ and The Crucible‚ a thematic connection is quickly discovered. Although theological ethics and religion were viewed as deeply important in Puritan society‚ they ultimately caused evil and destruction in the world. While these people believed
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Part 1. 1. The Scarlet Letter 2. Nathaniel Hawthorne 3. Date Published: 1850 4. Fiction Part 2. “The Scarlet Letter” is a story of the public shaming of a woman named Hester Prynne. It takes place in the 17th Century Boston‚ Massachusetts. The story begins with Hester being released from prison and walking down to town scaffold. She is wearing an “A” on her chest‚ which stands for adulterer. She is carrying her baby Daughter‚ Pearl‚ as she stands on the scaffold receiving insults. She
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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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actions. Hester Prynne is “a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale‚” a young and beautiful woman (Hawthorne 46). She brought a child into the world with an unknown father. She is punished by Puritan society by wearing the scarlet letter A on the bosom of her dress. The letter is decorated in gold thread; it is decorated in gold because it is a reflection of her spirit. Hester is a very strong woman; it is seen since the very start of this novel. She walks to the scaffold from the prison‚ she holds
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