1.Hawthorne's historical references are deliberately imprecise, but the decade of the 1640s is the approximate period when The Scarlet Letter takes place. The characters he describes in the first paragraph are early Massachusetts settlers, Puritan dissenters. What does Hawthorne's description of their clothing convey about their characters? They were very strict with everything they did, and everyone wore pretty much the same thing.…
In the 1660s, the number of African-Americans among the entire population of New England was 1.7%. The percentage of found-out adulteresses was even less. Nevertheless, a truly gifted seamstress such as Hester Prynne wasn’t standing on ever street corner. The public all agreed that ordinarily, finery and indulgence was frowned upon in the Puritanic society. However, some held the opinion that Governor Bellingham was keeping enough distance between himself and Hester Prynne, and that it was appropriate for him to have employed her to fashion embroidered gloves for state occasions; Others frowned upon his decision and believed he should not have employed Hester Prynne.…
Nathaniel Hawthorne promotes the idea of socially on brought guilt through the interactions of characters and Puritan beliefs in The Scarlet Letter. He masterfully depicts a newly settled New England and it's strict religious faith, which is still seen in much of New England today. He uses symbolism, irony and to fully bring out the true potential of his story.…
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.…
Dimmesdale's new strange feelings about himself can be described as him changing how he views the world and himself. He transformed from the weak dying man who went into the forest, to a man with a new sense of purpose and energy. Hester’s idea to leave the Puritan society influenced his new way of thinking. The church elder, one of the deacons from his church, addressed him with paternal affection and had upright and holy character. The wise man of old age payed his respects to Dimmesdale for his accomplishments. Dimmesdale could barely keep himself from shouting offensive things to him about God. He was afraid that he would accidentally speak of what he was saying on his mind. “The old man, addressed him with the paternal affection and patriarchal privilege, which his venerable age, his upright and holy character, and his station of church, entitled him to use; and, conjoined with this, the deep, almost worshipping respect, which the minister’s professional private claims alike demanded.…
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne shows significant and essential details of the Puritan society in the 17th century. The essence of chapter 10 ending is related to the theme of hypocrisy as it describes Roger Chillingworth’s evil attitude toward Arthur Dimmesdale, who is in love with Hester Prynne.…
Hawthorne is known for his moving literary progression and has every since grew in many aspects. For example, the heart-rending, emotional, and inspiring story of the Scarlet Letter has managed to continue to touch many. This story is seen for its charm, and how it is able to incorporate both essence and significance through the intriguing plot, unusual characters, and more. The Scarlet Letter manages to reach unusual conclusions through both internal and external…
Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most inventive symbolist in his time as well as today’s time. The author of The Scarlet Letter includes immense amounts of symbolism in all of his work. The Scarlet Letter is considered to be his “masterwork” which includes romance, suspense, sorrow, and anything else you can imagine. The novel takes place in the time of the Puritans and shows many aspects of their lives. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter shows the ways of the Puritans and their beliefs through symbolism numerous times throughout the novel.…
The Scarlet Letter is an intriguing yet somewhat gloomy story of an adulterous named Hester Prynne who has a child, Pearl, born out of wedlock. Her punishment is to wear a letter A for “adulterous” on her chest for a lifetime as well as imprisonment.…
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 this juxtaposition through the absence of evil, characters’ meetings in the forest, and contradictions with the Puritan society.…
In “The Cycle of American Literature,” Robert E. Spiller states, “The central theme of most of his stories is not sin as a theological problem, but rather the psychological effect of the conviction of sin on the lives of the early colonists” (Spiller, 60). Spiller illuminates that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works revolve around the notion of sin’s impact on one’s psyche. In The Scarlet Letter, such effects are especially highlighted in Reverend Dimmesdale’s character, thus implying that the reverend’s character is of most significance to the novel. Correspondingly, Hawthorne emphasizes this notion in The Scarlet Letter, stating “It was his custom, too, as it has been that of many other pious Puritans, to fast...until his knees trembled beneath him, as an act of penance...He thus typified the constant introspection wherewith he tortured, but could not purify, himself.” (Hawthorne, 132). Hawthorne underscores the inescapable mental state in which the reverend was imprisoned due to his undisclosed sin. The reverend’s anguish in relation to Hawthorne’s central theme serves to further indicate that Reverend Dimmesdale is the central character of The Scarlet…
During the early stages of Hester’s punishment, the scarlet letter that Hester is condemned to bear on her chest is a relatively unique and foreign object within the Puritan society; as a result her relationship with the society is strained and she is met with hostility and distrust. This also reveals that Puritan society is stagnant and as a result fears change and uniqueness. The society berates Hester and resents her adultery; Hester’s presence in the community generates apprehension among the Puritans. Hawthorne utilises the depraved relationship between Hester and the community to evoke the irony behind her punishment.…
In The Scarlet Letter hypocrisy is evident everywhere. The characters of Hester, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and the very society that the characters lived in, were steeped in hypocrisy. Hawthorne was not subtle in his portrayal of the terrible sin of hypocrisy; he made sure it was easy to see the sin at work, just as it is easy to see many of the sins at work in society. There are many parallels that can be drawn between the characters of The Scarlet Letter and those of today 's society. Just because this book is set in colonial times, does not mean its lessons are not applicable to the world we live in.…
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter remains one of the brightest reflections of the conformity vs. identity conflict in the Puritan society. Written by a person of the highest moral order, the novel reveals the complexity of the Puritan ideals and beliefs and points to the moral inadequacy of the Puritan culture. The novel itself was created during one of the most difficult moments in the littérateur’s life – his fight against the prejudiced conventions of the Puritan society added rigor and pain to the moral and physical tortures of his characters. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne’s characters constantly fight to maintain a balance of uniqueness and conformity. The appearance versus purity contradiction accompanies the protagonists in their way to self-actualization and happiness. Hawthorne’s novel is profoundly philosophical and exposes the deficiencies of the Puritan world. In this literary work, Nathaniel sends the final message of duality in the Puritan culture, in which society tries to achieve the ultimate point of conformity, and individuals use silence and physical tortures to construct and reproduce their identity in the repressive realities of life.…
Puritans, the people upon a hill of Christian faith, were known for their strict religious regimen, and thus often perceived as monotonous. Likewise, in Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, the author expresses his accusatory and judgmental view of the Puritan community mostly through the usage of selective detail, dismal and contemptuous diction; as well, he expresses his view of the Puritan community through his grim and suspenseful tone.…