... in simplicity and they never wore anything bright and gaudy "In sad colored garments and grey, steeple-crowned hats." (54). When Hawthorne describes the scarlet letter it is depicted to be something "gorgeous" and "fancy" which is showing that she crossed the puritan boundaries and went the extra mile to irritate ... up to her crime with "dignity" which no other puritan would have done. Once a symbol of suffrage and punishment now a symbol of redemption. The scarlet letter began to turn into something repelling the sense of selflessness, which is what Hester had become. "Hatred, by a gr...

• Word Count: 1185
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... also an example of symbolism. Her name means she came of great cost; all Hester had. Pearl is the living image of the Scarlet Letter and, like the letter on Hester's bosom, causes her much pain and embarrassment by breaking nearly all moral codes of this Puritan community. Pearl's role was not ... Hester and Pearl before all Salem to confess his sin. At this moment, Pearl's role is complete. A final example of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter is the behavior of the sunshine. The sunshine is meant to represent purity or innocence. At one point in the novel, Hester tells young ... to the c...

• Word Count: 634
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... the fluff of the story. Throughout the story you are kept on edge and waiting for a point for just to relax. However, in the Scarlet Letter it does not climax until the very end. You are left with reading the rising action until almost the last chapter. This is not good ... for the reader to keep them on edge for this long. The Scarlet Letter is too complicated, nearly everything is allegorical symbolic, and ironic. The book is also extremely short if you exclude the custom house its even shorter ... precisely understand 1 symbolic/allegorical detail in the book you have missed out on o...

• Word Count: 424
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... the law. The government of the United States produced a set of laws with the same intentions as the church back in the time of The Scarlet Letter, which were the right to live a happy and fulfilling life. The only real difference between the two, is that the government today isn't as ... intentions of the two are quite similar. People who break laws are always punished more seriously than those who break morals. They are labeled with that scarlet letter of being a murder, rapist, thieve, whatever law they broke that reputation stays with them for life, and people don't always forget abou...

• Word Count: 1073
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... the book and the symbols used to represent them. Hester Prynne, the town's seamstress, committed adultery and for her punishment she has to wear the scarlet letter. The "A" stands for her sin, but as the people come to know her over the years, they think of the "A" as her being able ... out of seaweed (p.163). Pearl knows that there is a connection between Hester and Dimmesdale, and she believes that it has to do with the scarlet letter. At the end of the story, when Dimmesdale lets everyone know that he is the father of Pearl, then she becomes complete. Dimmesdale, the town ... minister...

• Word Count: 435
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom" (175). Pearl's reference to the sunshine avoiding Hester because of the scarlet letter, is again telling of the child's intelligence beyond her age. It also symbolically indicates that Hester's life is dark and solemn, void of ... to absorb its warmth. Like the brook, Pearl also sings, but hers is a happy song. The physical allusion of Pearl to the scarlet letter appears in the way Hester dresses her daughter. Hester makes sure that her daughter dresses in only the finest of materials. In Chapter 7 ... the reader observe...

• Word Count: 790
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... through unanticipated events. The variety of characters in this novel helped construct a setting that would give a creepy feeling to any reader. The Scarlet Letter is wonderfully written and does not require any changes and meets all expectations by providing an incomparable window into the life of a Puritan sinner ... . Not enjoying this novel would be a sin in itself, perhaps requiring The Scarlet Letter for punishment. The unforeseen plots and twists in this novel kept reader's interest and reading word for word. "After a brief pause, the physician ... start a new life away from the cr...

• Word Count: 789
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... mother. Her unusual history and background is the cause of her curiosity, as well as her seclusion from the community. Pearl plays one of the most crucial roles in The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne uses Pearl as an effective and dynamic character; she is a constant reminder to Hester of her sin. When we were first introduced to Pearl, she was immediately drawn to ... the token which Hester Prynne was doomed to wear upon her bosom. It was the scarlet letter in another form; the scarlet letter endowed with life!" (93). Pearl is dressed in a scarlet dress with gold fringe exactly resembling th...

• Word Count: 1133
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... such as crime and life, a simpler time with simple thoughts and people. 1.b. Discuss how the setting contributes to the believability of the novel. In The Scarlet Letter, the setting of Boston is surrounded by a, " vast and dismal forest" (68). The story could of taken place in a different place that has ... How does he go about achieving his objective? What obstacles get in his way? How does he overcome them? In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Arthur Dimmesdale, and old minister, deals with the pain caused by his sin and dies in the end. Throughout the story Dimmesdale wants to ...

• Word Count: 781
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... her as an A herself Hester make her a beautiful red dress that is vaguely shaped like an A, and the townspeople see her as a little scarlet letter walking along side of Hester. Guilt leads to leads to Hester's isolation mentally, and through the law and banishment to the peninsula she becomes isolated ... and the description of her image as she looks into a breastplate of a suit of armor, "the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she see...

• Word Count: 915
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... her as an A herself Hester make her a beautiful red dress that is vaguely shaped like an A, and the townspeople see her as a little scarlet letter walking along side of Hester. Guilt leads to leads to Hester's isolation mentally, and through the law and banishment to the peninsula she becomes isolated ... and the description of her image as she looks into a breastplate of a suit of armor,the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she see...

• Word Count: 917
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... punishment, has she really changed from her sinful ways? If so, is she going to leave for Europe with Dimmesdale? Towards the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, we see Hester being punished publicly for the sin she has committed with Dimmesdale. In chapter 2, Hawthorne writes, "He laid his right hand ... ;Could it be true? She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast that it sent fourth a cry; she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real. Yes!- these were her realities,- all else ... ...

• Word Count: 944
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... she was very happy, joyful, and full of life and color but on other days she was "wilting" which brought Hester much grief. In The Scarlet Letter it shows how if a person sins against God, he/ she will pay for what they did, even through that particular sin. Pearl brought some joy ... According to chuckii.com "Hester's child, is symbolic of changing Puritan society." Pearl changes the puritan society because she is the outcome of the scarlet letter, and was rebellious to the Puritan way of life but not evil. Even though something can be really tough to cope with, Hawthorne suggests that ...

• Word Count: 647
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... townspeople. They are all hypocrites for being the same people who go to church weekly repenting their sins. Hawthorne uses many symbols throughout The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne uses the colors red, black, and white to represent Hester's emotions and the emotions of those around her. The most frequently used ... color symbol by Hawthorne is red. Red most obviously represents Hester's sin, as shown by her scarlet letter. Her scarlet letter, like her sin, is something she must always deal with and is something she can never escape. Pearl the product of Hester's sin, ... committed any great...

• Word Count: 1044
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... , and sinners are the least moral and basically useless to the Puritan community. From my perspective, Hester is the most moral character in the Scarlet Letter. For that she follows her own morals, she cares for others more than herself. She rather suffers than reveal Dimmesdale, saving him from disgrace ... in his name. She was even able to hold on to the scarlet letter so well; the original purpose had reversed itself. "Such helpfulness was found in her - so much power to do and power to sympathize ... strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength." Pg. 158. Roger Chillingworth, t...

• Word Count: 833
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... use of symbolism in the novel is very significant. Many symbols are underlying and hard to find, but symbols such as the letter "A" could not be more obvious. "The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! Those had been her teachers -- stern ... and wild ones -- and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss." The scarlet letter "A" is Hester Prynne's American Express card, she cannot leave home without it. With the exception of one occasion, Hester is true to her badge. ... breastplate in Governor Bellingham's g...

• Word Count: 661
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... . This punishment is intended to imprison Hester in cage of criticism and general bad feeling from the townspeople. Although this is accomplished for a short time, because of Hester's strength the scarlet letter she wears makes her more independent and eventually just as liked as the average person who shunned her in the first place, making her punishment very ironic. Hester's personal strength ... allows her to reverse the intended punishment of the scarlet letter. As Dimmesdale remarks about Hester in the first scaffold scene "Wondrous strength and generosity of a woman's heart! She wi...

• Word Count: 513
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

A Dissection of the Various Insignias Present within Masterpieces of the Written Word and Film The Scarlet Letter, The Scarlet Letter (movie version), and Chocolat all contain a conspicuous amount of symbolism that is peppered throughout these works. The Scarlet Letter serves as the central nexus for ideas of ostracism for the deviants from the norm, which both movies are partially based on ... , and relationships in these three works overflow with symbolism. The Scarlet Letter, being the inspiration for many of these later cinematic works, offers the most amount of symbolism. The Scarlet Let...

• Word Count: 397
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... . His punishment is guilt and self-condemnation, increased by the torture by Roger Chillingsworth; Hester's undisclosed husband and the town's physician. "Happy are you, Hester," says Dimmesdale, "that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!" (188). As his shame and inner guilt increases, he suffers total decline, both mentally and physically. By this he underwent self-torture ... Chillingsworth's hold over him, which allows him to die peacefully. Dimmesdale can finally die peacefully because he has redeemed his penance by freeing himself of his inner guilt....

• Word Count: 1175
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... her mother, Hester Prynne, and Arthur Dimmesdale to accept and admit to their sin. Pearl is the beautiful daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale. She is the living symbol of the scarlet letter and has unique traits that make her sometimes appear as a demon. Her love for nature and freedom, her spirit, her wildness, her loneliness and separation from the world, her curiosity ... of their being"(Hawthorne 141). Pearl is a beautiful, misbehaved child. The first thing that Pearl ever notices is her mother's "A' across her chest. As a child, Pearl throws rocks at the scarlet letter, making a game...

• Word Count: 1030
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... she says: "What we did had a consecration of its own. We felt it so! We said so to each other!" Her love is immortalized in a contrasted way that just the scarlet letter "A" as a representation of sin in this situation. She sees their actions in a different perspective than the community does. It is a glorified action in her eyes. The way Hester views the ... scarlet letter is completely different than that of the townspeople. She wears the scarlet letter with no shame. The scarlet letter is extravagantly sewn and placed on her bosom. "That Scarlet Letter, fantastically embroidered and ...

• Word Count: 694
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... Prynne's strength and determination provide the perfect attributes to conquer her sins and the sins of others. The "A" that Hester Prynne bears in The Scarlet Letter shifts in meaning at least two times to mirror the character changes of Hester throughout the progression of the novel and the town's acceptance of ... pride broken. She first appears to the host with her head held high and a brilliantly embroidered scarlet letter "A" upon her chest. With the use of her needle working skills, Hester presents the highly ornamental scarlet letter on her chest proving she will stand tall though...

• Word Count: 842
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of the context. What these people lack is the true understanding of what valuable lessons the novel really teaches. American schools systems should continue allowing The Scarlet Letter to be taught because of its teachings of the Puritan society, the effects of sin, and the spirit of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Any true educator can ... see how there are many elements that can be taught through The Scarlet Letter. The plot of the story revolves around the Puritan era which has so much rich history to be told about the society. This particular society ... law of God is; both of these men go aga...

• Word Count: 707
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... a punishment for a sinful act, and as living reminders of human foibles. The symbols used in this book are the scarlet letter, Pearl, and the rosebush next to the rusted prison door. The scarlet letter was a stigma worn by someone who had committed a sinful act many Puritan settlements. The Puritans believed that public humiliation ... after some time had passed it began to stand for "Able." From the very beginning, the readers could see the significance of the letter because of Hawthorne's description: " that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It...

• Word Count: 843
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... and ideals. Women of this time were not thought of as able to overcome hardships and trials because they were considered weak, but Hawthorne showed to the world with The Scarlet Letter what women, in actuality, were like. The embodiment of Hawthorne's feminist ideals, Hester, was an unusual character for that time period. Women weren't considered very important. Yet, "so strong was ... be powerless, was held in high esteem by the public. It isn't a coincidence that Hester was given a task as great as overcoming the burden of the scarlet letter and that she emerged triumphant. Overcoming...

• Word Count: 1087
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School