Name: Professor: Bernhard Radloff Subject: ENG 2450 B Date: December 4‚ 2012 Scarlet Letter Review Introduction Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter remains one of the best examples of Puritan literature‚ a novel‚ which points to the inadequacy of the Puritan beliefs and the moral duality of the Puritan culture. This paper reviews the author’s novel from a new‚ conformity vs. individuality angle. The context in which the novel was created is discussed. Hester’s silent challenge against
Premium Puritan Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter
Hester Prynne’s Role in Puritan Society affect her feminism? Throughout the Scarlet Letter‚ Hawthorne depicts Hester as a dynamic character who is constantly struggling with her identity within the Puritan Society. Ever since her conviction of adultery and her punishment as the Scarlet Letter‚ the Puritan Society has tried labeling and identifying her with their terms and laws. Hester has also identified herself with these terms‚ and she has compromised with the Puritan system of life. However
Premium The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne Sociology
The puritan era was a time of strife for many early American settlers. They felt the world was at war between the forces of good and the forces of evil. This contention was made evident in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter as the author combines the physical‚ moral and mental state of Roger Chillingworth to highlight the theme of revenge and the evil obsession that takes over Chillingworth’s soul. Hawthorne’s use of figurative language connects Chillingworth’s misshapen form with
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne
Amelia B. Professor Gao English 430 Spring 2012 “Scarlet Letter” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter is a story full of themes of guilt‚ pride‚ hypocrisy‚ retribution‚ and isolation. Taking place during the seventeenth century‚ the story of Hester Prynne and her famed scarlet letter depicts a story of unconceivable proportions. Guilt‚ Sin and Judgment Perhaps the foremost purpose of The Scarlet Letter is to illustrate the difference between shaming someone in public and allowing
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne
The Puritan Society Imagine having to leave your home because you cannot practice your religion freely. This was reality for the Puritans in England before they took a long journey to an unknown land in Salem‚ Massachusetts. There‚ they struggled to settle into a strict‚ religious lifestyle. They followed their Bible and went to Church. They also had harsh punishments for treason as well as other forms of crime. The Puritans were people with a strong belief system that led to irrational
Premium Salem witch trials Witchcraft The Crucible
Scarlet Letter: Guilt Will Destroy “Be true to yourself‚ and everyone else” This is the main point that the author of the “Scarlet Letter‚” Nathaniel Hawthorne is trying to convey when he says “Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world‚ if not your worst‚ yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred! (200).” One can come back and learn from their mistakes‚ and their sin. In the novel‚ Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale both commit the same crime. The difference is that‚ everyday
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne
The Scarlet Women “Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength” - G.D. Anderson Today‚ some branches of feminism have developed beyond their roots into what some people consider a type of female supremacy. They did not always act in this way. Feminism is truly centered around the idea of total equality between both women and men. Nathaniel Hawthorne can be considered a first-wave feminist‚ or a someone who
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne
A Puritans FollyNever forget that only dead fish swim with the stream. -Malcolm Muggeridge. This famous quote justifies that to be an individual‚ one must break from society and think for himself‚ and only when he has done this‚ is he truly alive. Nathaniel Hawthornes novel The Scarlet Letter is about a courageous woman‚ Hester Prynne‚ and her struggle to split from society in order to live the loving life she has always wanted. By the use of symbolism‚ Hawthorne is effectively able to portray the
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter the story takes place in Puritanical America where the young Hester Prynne‚ after committing adultery is punished on the basis of what the town thinks is right. She is simultaneously a part of the town and is also pushed away from it. Hawthorne explores the theme of liminality between society and nature through the motif of setting to convey the isolation that comes with sin. The scaffold (where Hester stands to face her consequences)‚ Hester and Pearl’s
Premium The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne
Nature VS City/Society Addie Johnson Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter depicts the contrast between forest and society. Like other authors in the American Romantic period‚ Hawthorne pays close attention to nature and its importance. The loquacious brook mumbles stories from the past‚ and Pearl plays in the sun. Although many people overlook it‚ the forest is a place of sanctity. While dangerous and frightening to the townspeople‚ it is more compassionate than civilization. Hawthorne illustrates
Premium Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter Natural environment