the novel‚ “The Scarlet Letter‚” Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts the scene of 17th century Puritan Boston. The novel was written in Salem and Concord Massachusetts during the late 1840s‚ but was not published until 1850. The narrator of the novel is an unknown Custom House surveyor that discovers the records and a manuscript written by a previous surveyor‚ detailing the events while working in and tidying up the attic one day. The fictional story depicts the life and struggles of Hester Prynne as she conceives
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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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the foremost purpose of The Scarlet Letter is to illustrate the difference between shaming someone in public and allowing him or her to suffer the consequences of an unjust act privately. According to the legal statutes at the time and the prevailing sentiment of keeping in accordance with a strict interpretation of the Bible‚ adultery was a capital sin that required the execution of both adulterer and adulteress--or at the very least‚ severe public corporal punishment. Indeed‚ even if the husband
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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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If the object doesn’t seem relevant than it is probably being used as a symbol and probably has a deeper meaning. Anything can be used as a symbol‚ and in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne there are many different symbols. A certain import symbol to me in the book is Pearl‚ Hester’s daughter. Pearl was born out of Wedlock and Hester chose to name her Pearl because “as being of great price‚ purchased with all she had—her mother’s only treasure.” A pearl is a gemstone
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”-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 is an adulterer. Upon
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The Scarlet Letter: Darkness Illuminated Since the conception of humanity‚ man has been fascinated with that presence which illuminates‚ yet cannot be touched. Mankind has brought it into his religions‚ giving it a great deal of importance in his creed. Following in the footsteps of his ancestors‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne uses light as a tool of God that illuminates the darkness of human iniquity and exposes its permanence. He studies the psychological theme of the impossibility of eradicating sin
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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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a hill — a place where the eyes of all people are upon us‚ but‚ as Hawthorne acknowledges with this novel‚ this ideology was overshadowed by their tendency to condemn the sinner‚ rather than forgive and uplift. Accordingly‚ Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter in order to expose the hypocrisy of judgment in general. He uses the Puritan society to illustrate how people often judge others for their sins and use others as scapegoats to direct attention away from their own sins. The five gossips in chapter
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supposed to have sprung up? 3. What is the significance of the scarlet letter A which is embroidered on Hester’s gown? Interpreting Meanings 5. What conclusion can you draw from the fact that every new colony must provide a prison and a cemetery at once? 6. How do most of the townspeople regard Hester’s punishment—as too severe‚ too lenient. or appropriate? 7. 6. After hearing of Hester’s crime and punishment‚ the stranger vows that her lover’s identity will be known. How
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