... and have his revenge. Even after consistent questioning by Reverend Wilson (the Church) and the Governor (the State), Hester refuses to disclose the name of the man who has committed adultery with her. When Chillingworth is admitted to her jail cell as a physician, he also questions Hester about the father's identity, and she again refuses to divulge the name. Angered by Hester's defiance, her husband warns her never to ... are Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, both bearers of a Scarlet Letter of Adultery, one public and one private. Hester Prynne, the bearer of the scarlet letter in...

• Word Count: 1929
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... into a capricious, precocious, and very observant child. Pearl delights in the scarlet letter and enjoys emphasizing the symbol on her mother's breast. In fact, it is said that when Pearl was a baby, the first feature she noticed about her mother was the scarlet letter on her breast. Pearl is a symbol in the story; she is Hester's salvation, pride, and joy, and also ... scarlet letter, has made a green "A" at the beach and placed it on her dress. Unusually bright, the child begins to ask acute and observant questions: "What does the letter mean, mother? and why dost thou wear it? and wh...

• Word Count: 3653
• Approx Pages: 15
• Grade Level: High School

... punishment will thereby be made more effectual to Salvation, I charge the to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow sufferer!" (pg.63) Dimmesdale, while asking these questions to Hester, allows them to conceal their secret relationship from the townspeople and as well the strangers in the community. While being secluded on the scaffold, Hester comes across what seems to be familiar face in ... the crowd. She presents him as being a stranger in the novel, but yet when is placed in the prison for her crime, she comes in ... ones secret lover and father. Dimmesdale struggles th...

• Word Count: 1026
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... authors let their readers make their own decisions about the events or characters in the story. The ambiguousness of The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne leaves many of the actions, events, and issues involving the characters up to the reader's own assumption. One of the issues posed by Hawthorne during the story is that of responsibility. Hawthorne illustrates that the lack of responsibility is harmful and should be ... an adulterer eventually kills him. Hawthorne's story begins in seventeenth-century Boston, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the...

• Word Count: 1146
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... jail for committing adultery, Chillingworth confronts her and lets her know that he's out to get revenge on whomever she is having an affair with. He asks different kinds of questions to try to find out the truth about her affair, however, nothing works. During this meeting with Chillingworth, Hester is scared for herself and Dimmesdale because ... . Chillingworth now has nothing to live for because he was infatuated on seeking revenge on Dimmesdale that one year later, he dies as well. Revenge plays a big role in the strory of the scarlet letter. After of Chillingworths time and effort ...

• Word Count: 443
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... they tell the reader about the prison, the scaffold, and how Hester is being publicly condemned for adultery. These chapters also show the reader that the society is depicting the political reality of Hester's World, the Puritan society. The Puritans intended to create a "Utopian" society, but it can be seen in these chapters that this world already knows sin. The women of the town criticize her for embroidering the scarlet letter, the symbol of ... her shame, with such care and in such a flashy manner. This seems to declare that Hester is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin. In real...

• Word Count: 295
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

... wear the scarlet letter A on her clothing. She if forced to stand on the scaffold while everyone stares at her with shame. She is referred to as a hussy by many of the other women. She is very pretty and seems like a moral person. People get more angry when she looks like she is proud of the letter and show no shame towards it. Her minister, Dimmesdale repeatedly questions ... her and tells her to confess the name of her lover because hiding it does no good. She ... mad when Hester takes off the scarlet letter in the forest because the scarlet letter is what makes her mother stand out ...

• Word Count: 1619
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School