Although The Scarlet Letter is commonly associated with Romanticism‚ Hawthorne allows Transcendentalism’s traits to pervade his themes‚ symbols‚ and motifs within the novel. The heart of Transcendentalism is the belief that divinity is in every part of nature and humanity. An obvious example of this idea occurs in Chapter 12‚ when Dimmesdale sees a red “A” in the sky: Nothing was more common‚ in those days‚ than to interpret all meteoric appearances‚ and other natural phenomena‚ that occurred
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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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The Scarlet Letter characters struggle to accept their own personal identities. Hester embodies the scarlet letter‚ while Dimmesdale tries to break his stereotypical religious identity. By wearing the scarlet letter‚ Salem publically shames Hester. If she leaves the town‚ then she could remove the A‚ but instead she stays. She could go away with her daughter Pearl and have a completely normal life. She refuses to leave because the letter has become her identity‚ and she uses its power. Some people
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“Thou hast escaped me!”-Chillingworth says. Throughout the course of the Scarlet Letter many of the characters suffer personal struggle and make choices that affect the lives of others. All characters experience this but one such character is Roger Chillingworth or Mr. Prynne‚ as he is also known. The choices and character changes of Roger Chillingworth will be explained throughout this essay. The first point is about Chillingworth’s main conflict in the story. His wife Hester Prynne‚ a main character
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Symbolism of the Scarlet Letter AIn Nathaniel Hawthorne ’s The Scarlet Letter‚ the meaning of the letter A changes throughout the novel. This change is significant as it indicates the personal growth of the characters as well as the enlightenment of the townspeople. When the novel begins‚ the letter A is a symbol of sin. As the story progresses the A slowly is viewed as a symbol of Hesters strength and ability (Hawthorne Julian). By the end of the novel‚ the letter A has undergone a complete metamorphosis
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the problem is or what is going to happen for the rest of the story is the gun going off. The climax is the final stretch where the racer uses the last of his strength. The end‚ when the author raps everything up‚ is the awards ceremony. In “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne there are three scaffold scenes scattered throughout the novel. The three scaffold scenes are similar in the fact that someone is being humiliated and the
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Luke Sousa Professor Hogg Comm-126-1037 2 January 2016 Module Eight Lesson Four Mastery Assignment: The Scarlet Letter Chapters 13-19 a. What do many townspeople now say the A represents? The townspeople now believe the A stands for “able” rather than the real intention being “adulterer” b. Why does Hester feel she is to blame for Dimmesdale’s poor condition? Hester feels that she is to blame for Dimmesdale’s poor condition because while Dimmesdale has been torturing himself over his secret and
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In The Scarlet Letter‚ Hawthorne uses the lives of Hester‚ Dimmesdale‚ and Chillingworth to emphasize themes of hypocrisy and sin within the Puritan society by stressing the relevance of forgiveness‚ the negative outcome of abandoning righteousness‚ and the austere need for compassion in the Bostonian community . Through Hester‚ Dimmesdale‚ and Chillingworth’s habitation among the Puritans‚ Hawthorne reveals to readers the need for clemency through the demonstration of themes about hypocrisy. First
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Human Nature in the Scarlet Letter In the Scarlet Letter‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne shows the flaws of the main characters‚ revealing the negativity in their human nature. Throughout the novel‚ each character is depicted to have his or her own value and ideas. The novel begins with the main character‚ Hester Prynne‚ being led from a prison to a scaffold before the townspeople of early Boston‚ Massachusetts. The Magistrates of the town are punishing her for committing the sin of adultery and having
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In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ the sunshine is used as a symbol to suggest happiness among the characters. The reason this symbol stands out is because there were numerous times in the novel where Pearl speaks of the sunshine hiding or fleeing from Hester. The reason for the sunshine disappearing on Hester is because sunshine represents happiness and as long as Hester wears her scarlet letter “A”‚ she will never be happy. There are several aspects in the story where the topic of sunshine
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