Perhaps 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
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11 The Scarlett Letter‚ Nathanial Hawthorne Chapters I and II 1. What two necessities‚ according to Hawthorne‚ must the founders of a new colony provide immediately? - Prison and a cemetery 2. Under whose footsteps was the rose-bush outside the prison supposed to have sprung up? Sainted Anne Hutchinson 3. What kind of spectacle have the townspeople of Boston gathered to witness? The public humiliation of Hester Prynne 4. What is the significance of the scarlet letter A which is embroidered
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In the novel‚ The Scarlet Letter‚ by Nathaniel Hawthorne‚ Hester commits adultery‚ disobeying the Puritan laws‚ and is punished with two constant reminders of her sin‚ the scarlet A and her daughter‚ Pearl. Hawthorne characterizes Pearl with contrasting personalities and roles she plays in Hester’s life. Pearl’s conflicting personality components‚ innocence and defiance‚ both derive from her isolation from society‚ which resulted from her mother’s sin. Pearl represents the conflict between good and
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Robyn Walz 9/01/2013 Prompt 2 Sexist Punishments? : Protofeminism in The Scarlet Letter In the eyes of some‚ The Scarlet Letter may seem like a protofeminist novel. In the eyes of some‚ had Hester been a man‚ her punishment would not have been nearly as embarrassing and deceitful. In the eyes of some‚ Hester did nothing but the right thing based on her trying to protect other women from gender-based prosecution‚ though it meant completely disregarding Puritan laws in her society. Then again‚
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Essay Test: The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne’s "The Scarlet Letter" is set in the early days of Puritan America. Hester Prynne‚ a seamstress‚ comes to the New World before her husband in order to prepare a place for them. During his absence‚ she develops a relationship with Arthur Dimmesdale‚ a rising minister in the newly founded Puritan community. Hester becomes pregnant. The novel is widely viewed to be a story about her trials and tribulations; however‚ critic Randall Steward argues
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In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s the Scarlet Letter‚ Pearl is a symbol of adultery and sin. Being the product of such‚ she leads Hester and Dimmesdale to the acceptance and confession of their sin. She’s the beautiful daughter of the towns adulterist and has mean traits. Pearl is technically the only living symbol of the scarlet letter. She also makes a connection between Hester and Dimmesdale. Initially Pearl is the symbol of Hester’s public punishment for her sin. As the book goes on Pearl grows
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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book‚ “The Scarlet Letter‚” a very prominent theme is the idea of how something a little bit out of the ordinary can become quite exaggerated. In the beginning of the book‚ the main character‚ Hester Prynne‚ is made to wear a scarlet letter to pay for her sin of adultery. This letter and even Hester herself is exaggerated in the eyes of society throughout the book. “It was whispered‚ by those who peered after her‚ that the scarlet letter threw a lurid gleam along the dark passage-way
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The Power of Romance Versus Society Hester Prynne‚ the main character in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter‚ is very similar to Edna Pontellier of Kate Chopin’s The Awakening‚ in that both women contradicted the societal standard and followed their hearts as opposed to the rigid marital structure of their respective times in history. Edna and Hester chose to be with men whom they really cared for. At times when marriage seemed to be based more on a convenient loyalty rather than a genuine bond‚ these
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~ The Scarlet Letter ~ Psychological Analysis "I experienced a sensation...of burning heat; and as if the letter sere not of red cloth‚ but red-hot iron." These words in the introduction to The Scarlet Letter describe the letter as an object that contains power. The power left in the little red piece of cloth represents all the emotional toil that was associated with it - guilt‚ pain‚ betrayal‚ and vengeance. Throughout the novel the letter will stir all these emotions‚ creating an intense psychological
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Zakk Hartwig PIB English 10 Period 2G October 20‚ 2010 The Scarlet Letter In the novel The Scarlet Letter‚ Hawthorne uses many different settings to portray important functions and significance. Several of the settings such as the prison and cemetery‚ the town‚ Governor Bellingham’s house‚ the scaffold‚ the forest‚ the lighting‚ and so on have a deeper definition. The settings act as theme enhancers that make the novel more complex and classic. Hawthorne’s use of setting is spectacular in
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