“Setting” is a word used to describe the place‚ time‚ assumptions and values of a society in a story. In the Scarlet Letter‚ the setting was in the Puritan town of Salem in Massachusetts Bay Colony circa 1640. Being that the era and location of the backdrop is in a 17th century Protestant Puritan village‚ the assumptions and values would be that the townspeople are God-fearing individuals who strictly adhere to the Bible and its preachings. In this particular story‚ the primary conflict was the setting
Premium Puritan The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne
that one has no control over . Regardless of which feeling of guilt‚ each person has experienced this feeling at one point of a their life. One can attribute this feeling to what Reverend Dimmesdale‚ member to the Puritan society‚ felt in The Scarlet Letter when he directly committed adultery with Hester Prynne. Dimmsdale considered himself the “deepest man of guilt” after going against his teachings of quintessential Puritan behavior‚ and also left Hester to suffer
Premium Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne
Period October 17‚ 2011 The Scarlet Letter - Essay Take Home Test In The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne presents to us the story of Hester Prynne; one full of sin‚ of guilt‚ of fear‚ of crime. After she commits adultery with Reverend Dimmesdale‚ while being married to Chillingworth‚ she is forced through much punishment. Too many introduced‚ yet only one would mark her forever; the scarlet letter. When Hawthorne gives us imagery of the scenes on how the
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne
Throughout the novel‚ The Scarlet Letter‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne emphasizes the intricate themes of isolation and alienation. Using a variety of literary techniques and descriptions of emotions and nature‚ Hawthorne is able to fully depict the inner feelings of hurt suffered by the central characters as a result of severe loneliness and seclusion. This‚ therefore‚ further adds to the overall gloomy and cynical atmosphere of the work. Isolation and alienation‚ two forms of torturous estrangement‚ are
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne
The Scarlet Letter Essay Hester Prynne‚ a young woman sent to the new Puritan world by her husband‚ commits adultery with an English minister‚ which leads to the birth of their love child‚ Pearl Prynne. While Hester is forced to accept complete blame for lechery and survive the punishment of her society‚ Arthur Dimmesdale‚ the biological father of Pearl‚ keeps the secret of his sin to himself and is compelled to sustain personal burdens
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne
How would you like to be an outcast for life? The Scarlet Letter is a very old book written during the 1700’s in America and the author‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ is descriptive and uses a lot of symbolism. Throughout the novel‚ Hawthorne uses the symbols of light and dark to depict good and evil among the characters Hester Prynne‚ Arthur Dimmesdale‚ and Roger Chillingworth. Hester has to live with the darkness of her sin every day‚ yet she finds ways to help people and it shows that she is often times
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne
Guilt in The Scarlet Letter Undoubtedly‚ Hester‚ Dimmesdale‚ and Chillingworth had all committed sin in one form or another‚ but Chillingworth’s sin lies on a much larger scale because while Hester and Dimmesdale repent for their sin Chillingworth fails to even recognize his own. Throughout The Scarlet Letter‚ the author illustrates Chillingworth’s transformation towards a devilish personality. This transformation is fueled by what becomes Chillingworth’s obsession for revenge through the psychological
Premium Sin Repentance Forgiveness
Hester and Dimmesdale: “…but Hester is not the protagonist‚ the chief actor and the tragedy of The Scarlet Letter is not her tragedy but Arthur’s. He is the persecuted one‚ the tempted one. He was whom the sorrows of death encompassed…his public confession is one of the noblest climaxes of tragic literature.” This quote by Stewart contradicts the ideas that I think were contained in The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ and therefore I do not agree with this quote. In my opinion‚ Dimmesdale
Free Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne
Even in today’s society they are still forms of ostracism and shunning due to undesirable actions of certain people. Much like in the Scarlet Letter as Hester is branded an outcast due to having a baby out of wedlock and out her current marriage to someone who could technically be dead. Similar to Hester‚ teen moms today face a similar form of ostracism due to have babies at such a young age and almost always out of wedlock. Of course‚ there will be snickering and gossip from the students around
Premium Mother Family Pregnancy
The Scarlet Letter Throughout The Scarlet Letter‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne continually uses witchcraft and the devil as a theme. Hester Prynne‚ the main character‚ emerges from a prison in the first few pages of the book. So from the very beginning‚ it is known that she has committed a great sin of some kind. Many other characters other than Hester also have a connection with the dark side. It is this association with the devil that eventually brings about the demise of one of the major characters. Although
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne