The Scarlet Letter: The Theme of Punishment Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter deals with many themes‚ the most powerful being punishment. In this novel‚ Hester Prynne becomes a highly respected person in a Puritan society by overcoming one of the harshest punishments‚ the scarlet letter. This object on "her bosom"; however‚ does the exact opposite of that which it was meant for. Eventually‚ Hester Prynne inverts all the odds against here due to her
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THESIS STATEMENTS FOR LITERARY ESSAYS (DR. TARZIA) What is a Thesis? Three definitions: 1 --The thesis is an attitude toward the topic‚ a claim that you want to argue. 2 --A thesis is the central idea of your essay. It is the statement that you will support or prove to be true. The thesis is your goal. 3 --The thesis does not merely name a topic. The thesis asserts something about the topic. A good way to form a thesis is to (1) focus the topic and (2) make the thesis answer
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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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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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Readers Response of ‘Scarlet Letter’ Despite the declination in the personal and societal standards of morality in the past century‚ it is still evident today that a universal standard of ethics does indeed exist in every civilization. Likewise‚ these communities administer consequences upon those who fail to meet up to those principles. The severity of the punishment inflicted rests solely on the offender‚ the offense and the society itself. For Hester Prynne‚ the penalty for fornication
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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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Whether it is in symbolism or dialogue; speculation‚ imagination‚ freedom from judgment‚ and non-conformity are all used in the Scarlet Letter. These can be used to prove that Hawthorne’s assessment of The Scarlet Letter being a work of romanticism was correct. In the Scarlet letter‚ it displays uses of values and intuition over reasoning through Pearls questioning of Dimmesdale‚ and in Hester’s concerns about Chillingworth. From the beginning Pearl always asks her mother why Dimmesdale always holds
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The Symbolism of Red in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the color red to represent passion‚ the need for beauty‚ and individuality in The Scarlet Letter. In the story‚ Hester Prynne‚ a young woman living in a Puritan community during the mid-17th century‚ is convicted of adultery and forced to live her life in a state of exile‚ branded by the Puritans through the embroidery of a scarlet A on her chest. Her and her child Pearl live in the outlying forest and are
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Scarlet letter Nathaniel Hawthorne lived in the 1800s‚ he was an anti-transcendentalist‚ this means he believed people are bad at heart and society keeps us from being wild animals. The Scarlet Letter takes place in a Puritan town. Hawthorne wrote about a puritan town because his great uncle lived in a Puritan town during the Salem witch trials‚ he was obsessed with that. The Scarlet Letter is about two adults living with their sin‚ which is adultery. In this novel‚ Nathaniel Hawthorne uses
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