In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne outlines the plot of the story through his specific placement of three very significant scenes which take place on the scaffold: Hester's public punishment for committing adultery, the minister's vigil and reunion with Hester and Pearl, and lastly, the revelation of the scarlet letter. The second scaffold scene in Chapter 12 is substantial in that it is the first time that the Reverend Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl have all come together and acknowledged their ties to one another. However, the climax of the story does not take place until Chapter 23. Here, Reverend Dimmesdale publicly reveals that he, too, bares the scarlet letter A' (whether literally or symbolically,…
pointing out he beauty and "perfect elegance". He never once pointed out a flaw of…
There are many maladies in this world to which the fragile human body can fall victim. Be it from disease or from physical injury, the end result is the same if the ailment is left unattended for too long. However, what happens when this sickness emerges from the darkest corner of the human soul and begins to agonizingly consume the fibers of one’s being day by day? When the parasite is an insatiable guilt which causes sensations so tortuous and vile that they can drive a man to the brink of insanity, and perhaps even into the waiting claws of death? Such horrid feelings, especially when contained, possess an unfathomably immense danger with grave consequences. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale’s deteriorating…
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, numerous perspectives show the different ways in which people deal with their sins and keeping secrets. The composed manner of Hester Prynne is contrasted with the weakened Arthur Dimmesdale to reveal the effects of secrets on the mind. The longer one tries to hide a shameful secret, the faster it will deteriorate them from the inside.…
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, Pearl undergoes a dramatic transformation from a devilish infant to a sagely child. Born into a society full of judgment and hypocrisy, Pearl, a bastard child, is unable to escape her predetermined role. Pearl lacks a traditional family; her mother is the sole provider, a direct attack on Puritan standards designating this young family as outsiders. Furthermore, Pearl, unlike her peers, establishes a reputation for being strange because she does not adhere to conventional norms. Despite her apparent shortcomings, Pearl is more perceptive and compassionate than members of her community. Predestined by stringent, oppressive Puritan standards, Pearl is outwardly…
Capital punishment was wide spread in Puritan Boston. Although the Bible was a moral guide, societies were swarmed with crimes and sins. The punishments included severe whipping, imprisonment, slitting nostrils, and public execution on scaffold(“Puritan”). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, although the two main characters, Hester and Dimmesdale are guilty of the similar sins, they experience different punishments and outcomes.…
In The Scarlet Letter, a novel by author Nathaniel Hawthorne, rugged individualism is a reoccurring theme with certain characters throughout the text. Rugged individualism expresses the idea of someone doing what is believed to be right for themselves despite the consequences that may be placed on the person or the people around this person. In The Scarlet Letter, there are multiple events in which rugged individualism takes place, but the two characters that show the most rugged individualism throughout the novel are the main character Hester Prynne, and Roger Chillingworth.…
Throughout history, many references have been made to the battle that rages on between good and evil. In the bible we are shown good in the form of God and evil in the form of the devil. In everyday life we are shown examples of good in people such as Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and Mother Theresa. But with that said, we are also shown examples of evil as well in people such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Osama Bin Laden. When talking about books and novels, the majority of them feature some type of story depicting good versus evil and The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is no different. Throughout the novel, the reader is engaged in a story that is engulfed in a theme featuring good versus evil. From Hester's…
(An analysis of the letter ‘a’ and all the symbolisms behind it from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter.)…
Isolation, pride and guilt are all themes Heathrow used in The Scarlet Letter. Hester and Dimmesdale are good examples of the theme of isolation. In the previous chapter, we see them leaving their home to have a better future together as a family. In this chapter, they were getting a boat ride to leave the area to start a new life as a family. This resulted in them still being quite isolated from the “real world”. You can also see the theme of pride in this chapter through Dimsdale. Dimsdale is going back to some of the memorable moments, both good and bad, before the scarlet letter issue and reflects. “..and [the girl was] won by the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale's own sermon” is a good quote to show his pride. In context, this quote seems like…
The Shame “Shame is nothing more than denial of the truth.” – M. Funkhouser. Everyone agrees that…
Those who have a spiritual background would argue that all sin is equal, and that no sin is greater than any other. However, others would argue that committing adultery is greater than gossiping, or telling a lie. The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne emphasizes the difference in sins. Although each of the characters commits their own sin, each of them could be argued as the one with the greatest. Through Dimmesdale’s hypocrisy, deception, and adultery, his sin is the greatest.…
One of the most complex and elaborate characters in The Scarlet Letter is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic individual, as well as an extremely important symbol. Pearl is shunned because of her mother's sin. Pearl is a living representation of the scarlet letter - acting as a constant reminder of Hester's sin.…
“Guilt is through the spirit and Pain is the body.” Everyone is sinful or guilty in a way, whether it is lying or doing adultery. It is mistakes that are caused by people. Because you will have to be guilty first in order to suffer the pain that was caused by their sin. Mr. Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne had to suffer his own sin and can’t find a way to confess to the society, no one understands what is he going through. Hester has to suffer from her own sin with everyone be disgusted by her, wish to not have any relationship with her. This is the same with John Proctor in The Crucible by Arthur Miller. He had to suffer a sin of his own, due to the affair between him and Abigail Williams. Therefore he has to face…
Pearls have always held a great price to mankind, but no pearl had ever been earned at as high a cost to a person as Nathaniel Hawthorne’s powerful heroine Hester Prynne. Her daughter Pearl, born into a Puritan prison in more ways than one, is an enigmatic character serving entirely as a vehicle for symbolism. From her introduction as an infant on her mother’s scaffold of shame to the stormy zenith of the story, Pearl is an empathetic and improbably intelligent child. Throughout the story she absorbs the hidden emotions of her mother and magnifies them for all to see, and asks questions nothing but a child’s innocence permit her to ask, allowing Hawthorne to weave rich detail into The Scarlet Letter without making the story overly narrative. Pearl is the purest embodiment of literary symbolism. She is at times a vehicle for Hawthorne to express the irrational and translucent qualities of Hester and Dimmesdale’s illicit bond at times, and at others a forceful reminder of her mother’s sin. Pearl Prynne is her mother’s most precious possession and her only reason to live, but also a priceless treasure purchased with her life. Pearl’s strange beauty and deeply enigmatic qualities make her the most powerful symbol some feel Hawthorne ever created.…