Puritan Ideology In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
Thesis: By examining the Puritan ideology that abuses and oppresses an individual’s spirit, Nathaniel Hawthorne, in The Scarlet Letter, recognizes the resilience that a person must have in order to remain impervious to unjust laws that a religion based society upholds.
Hawthorne emphasizes the struggles of living in a society that suppresses the citizens by utilizing words that have a negative connotation. While affirming his hatred for society's stifling ideas that differ from their own religious beliefs, he also reveals that colonies without debates to improve their way of living is superfluous. Hawthorne augments the strident feelings that he possesses towards Puritan ideology by implementing pessimistic adjectives- -dark, morbid, sad, …show more content…
The only positive view Hawthorne upholds, in the Puritan society, is of Hester's scarlet letter because it causes her to differ from the other citizens. When she deviated from the normal customs of the Puritan society, Hawthorne developed an immediate respect for her.“A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded” (45). Hawthorne’s decision to label the Puritan’s clothing as vapid and dull exposes the despondency that is felt in an oppressive society. The settlers were not adorned in vivid colors and lavish hats, they were bareheaded or wore a hood because they all share similar religious and political ideals. The bland and colorless imagery demonstrates how there was no room to be different because it was not accepted and caused a person to be isolated. “Her own dress was of the coarsest materials and the most sombre hue; with only that one ornament,-the scarlet letter,- which it was her doom to wear” (77). Hester’s clothing is analogous to every other person residing in Massachusetts, except for the scarlet letter. Hawthorne clarifies that the depressing clothing reflects the emotions that the citizens harbor inside. Hester chose to ignore societal norms, so she is forced to wear the scarlet letter which demonstrates how a person’s
Hawthorne emphasizes the struggles of living in a society that suppresses the citizens by utilizing words that have a negative connotation. While affirming his hatred for society's stifling ideas that differ from their own religious beliefs, he also reveals that colonies without debates to improve their way of living is superfluous. Hawthorne augments the strident feelings that he possesses towards Puritan ideology by implementing pessimistic adjectives- -dark, morbid, sad, …show more content…
The only positive view Hawthorne upholds, in the Puritan society, is of Hester's scarlet letter because it causes her to differ from the other citizens. When she deviated from the normal customs of the Puritan society, Hawthorne developed an immediate respect for her.“A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded” (45). Hawthorne’s decision to label the Puritan’s clothing as vapid and dull exposes the despondency that is felt in an oppressive society. The settlers were not adorned in vivid colors and lavish hats, they were bareheaded or wore a hood because they all share similar religious and political ideals. The bland and colorless imagery demonstrates how there was no room to be different because it was not accepted and caused a person to be isolated. “Her own dress was of the coarsest materials and the most sombre hue; with only that one ornament,-the scarlet letter,- which it was her doom to wear” (77). Hester’s clothing is analogous to every other person residing in Massachusetts, except for the scarlet letter. Hawthorne clarifies that the depressing clothing reflects the emotions that the citizens harbor inside. Hester chose to ignore societal norms, so she is forced to wear the scarlet letter which demonstrates how a person’s