... Factors contributing to disruptions and dissolutions: There is no single factor resulting in a disruption or dissolution, but a combination of several: . The child's age: The older the child, the higher the risk for disruption. Infants experience a greater level of success. . Behaviors that include sexual acting out, physical aggression, stealing, vandalism, defiance, and ... "I feel they [adoptions] disrupt due to unrealistic expectations on both parts."-- Claudette Ford, adoption caseworker. "The child needs a family. The family wants to give themselves to a child. The agency's goal is...

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• Grade Level: High School

... Hawthorne writes "Have men avoided me, and women shown no pity, and children screamed and fled, only for my black veil?" (MBV pg32) This details the fear of the unknown that permeates the innermost domain of the human psyche. The women fear Hester for her sin for the same reason that men avoid, women are pitiless too, and children flee Reverend Hooper. They all fear that which ... is shown across many of Hawthorne's stories. In conclusion, Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the tendency that small, tightly knit and often fundamentally religious communities have to isolate, single out and alie...

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... of many innocent people for witchcraft. The two works of literature have very similar qualities, including setting, conflict, and general aspects of the characters, while there are also specific parallels between characters, such as Abigail and Hester, and Parris and Dimmesdale. The settings in both The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are similar in many ways. The Scarlet Letter takes place around the 1640s, as the The Crucible occurs in 1692. The time period is ... other parallels between characters in these two works. Another parallel is between Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter and...

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... 's Scarlet Letter, which is her burden for her sin. The effect that this distortion of the letter produces is that the audience is left to try to draw the conclusion from the story by following the themes and seeing how the distortion itself can heighten our responses to the actions of the novel. The Scarlet Letter is very distorted in its depiction of the appearance of the letter, the meaning of the letter, and the affect that the letter has on other people. The appearance of the Scarlet Letter ... to the story as a whole. The Scarlet Letter is very distorted in the appearance of the le...

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... ," but it changes metaphorically throughout the whole novel. For instance, we see Hawthorne's compassion toward Hester at a point in the play when Reverend Wilson said, " A great red letter in the sky,-a letter A,- which we interpret to stand for Angel." Although it may seem that on the outside this is discussing the death of Governor Winthrop, on the interior this could be another meaning of the scarlet letter. That meaning would be that Hester ... flames and passion of adultery. But through other likely answers to the riddle of Hester's A, such as atonement, ability, acceptance, and an...

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... lives are ruined as a result of their sinfulness. Since their sin is committed in the strict, moralistic Puritan society, their suffering is made even greater. Dimmesdale, however, suffers the most, for he is tortured by his hypocrisy and hidden guilt. PURITANISM IN THE NOVEL Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is set in the seventeenth century New England town of Boston, a staunch Puritanical town. It is a ... she often touches it or throws things at it. Once she even makes a letter "A" for herself out of seaweed and wears it on her chest. She also tells her mother that someday sh...

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... the Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne contains abundant symbolism, which is used to unify the novel and add deeper meaning. Although the actual "A" is the most obvious symbol, there are several others which have great importance as well. The most important symbol in the novel is the scarlet letter, which affects each character in a different way. The characters who are affected by the letter are Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, Pearl, and Hester Prynne (Schneider). The scarlet letter ... , Hester Prynne. The "A" both indicates, yet hinders the Puritan commun...

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... up in reference to Hester Prynne." Nathaniel Hawthorne states that "the letter was the symbol of her calling." Why did Hester stay in a town that had ostracized her? Why did she not leave and begin her life anew without the stigma of the Scarlet Letter? Hester connected her identity to the letter. Her sin of adultery became, for her, an impetus to change who she was and become ... more conscious of society and its inequities. The townspeople watched her minister to the sick and less fortunate and began to see her in a different light ... her penitence." Hester's very sense of self was c...

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... embodies his ideas to stress his Romantic philosophies through Pearl, Hester, and Dimmesdale throughout the whole of the novel. Nathaniel Hawthorne has a sufficient reason for repeatedly making reference to mirrors throughout his refined novel, The Scarlet Letter. The use of mirrors in the story serves a beneficial purpose of giving the reader a window to the character's innermost thoughts. When viewed in a mirror no longer its Hester's beauty ... is highly ironic that Hester's largest signs, the letter A and Pearl herself are the symbols of her sin, but Pearl is also the symbol of her h...

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... . In this way, Pearl can be seen as a burden or a consequence for Hester, but also is the un-flawed character in the novel. Finally, the letter "A" is the consequence of Hester's sin of adultery which stays with her throughout the novel. Blatantly the most obvious of the three symbols, the scarlet letter "A" contains the most power, as it is the basis for the theme of the book, which is sin and its consequences. Although Pearl was a consequence ... , the scarlet letter which Hester wore upon her bosom became part of her personality and identity. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, there are ma...

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... can unexpectedly result in purity and goodness. Another example of the redeeming effects of sin is Dimmesdale's response to Chillingworth's torture. "But for [his] aid, [Dimmesdale's] life would have burned away in torments;" by prolonging his life, Chillingworth allows the minister to confess before his death (157). In The Scarlet Letter, therefore, sin ironically leads to the purity of youth and of public confession. Hester's daughter and ... her tragic experiences a knowledgeable and respected woman who now counsels those whom she once did not dare to pray for. She wears the A "of he...

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... , is allowed to rise above the gloominess on occasion, as when she throws away the scarlet letter and let's loose her hair. Thus, Hawthorne suggests how sin (symbolized in the scarlet letter) is responsible for the gloom that fills the lives of the protagonists. When the sin is unconfessed, as with Dimmesdale, the darkness turns to despair. Climax The climax occurs at the second scaffold scene, when Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl ... and invites her to join in the festivities when Hester goes to the Governor's house. The Sexton - a worker in Dimmesdale's church. ...

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... Hawthorne were among the many prominent writers. The Romantic literary movement was at its height, but Hawthorne and Poe strayed from typical Romantic writings with their darker tales concerning sin and morality (www.trackstar.com). The following pages will examine the way sin affected the Puritan Community in the Scarlet Letter. First, they explain the history of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Then, they explore the sin and according punishment for the Puritan Community. Finally ... , they show how the sin affected the Puritans (Shepard 5). Nathaniel Hawthorne, born in Salem, Massachusetts, July ...

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... comes to represent true evil. Roger Chillingworth's outlook throughout the story and his actions were very dependant upon his need for revenge. His vow to seek revenge had a negative affect on his life and the lives of others around him. Lastly, his fatal flaw led him to suffer dire consequences at the end of the novel. In the Scarlet Letter Roger Chillingworth's major flaw is revenge. He first ... vows to seek revenge on the father of Pearl during chapter 4 saying, "Thou ... revenge; and when, by its completest triumph consummation that evil principle was left with no further material...

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... of Hester's strength in exposing and accepting her sin, choosing to wear bold apparel, and helping Dimmesdale deal with his inner conflict. She is truly a model for advocates of the early women's right movement. Although the scarlet letter burned a hole to her heart, Hester wears it and never denies it, which shows a true strength from within. When she was subjected to standing on ... daughter has also sprung from evil's web. "'Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter; and, of a truth, moreover, there is the likeness of the scarlet letter running along by her side! Come, ...

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... format. The symbolism of the prison, roses, the scaffold, the letter "A," contrasts between light and dark, and the forest throughout the novel are the undefined characters. An understanding of these symbols is vital to a complete comprehension of the complexity of the story; Hawthorne technique of using symbolism is brilliant and it helps the reader understand the whole concept. In The Scarlet Letter, images increase the reader's understanding of the characters. The first chapter sets the tone for the story. Though the initial ... settlers of New England set out to establish a "Utopia ...

• Word Count: 1915
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... theme in The Scarlet Letter is vengeance amongst all of mankind. Since the moment Roger Chillingworth was introduced into the novel, revenge filled his mind. He first began gaining information from a stranger in the crowd of the puritan community about the familiar woman standing upon the scaffold. As soon as Chillingworth learns why Hester was on the scaffold he begins plotting his revenge for not only her, but also for the unknown father ... a mark of embarrassment into a beautifully created work of art. The letter did not look like an ugly mark of shame or embarrassment, but a mark o...

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... . It takes place in Salem and Concord, Massachusetts; late 1840. A young woman, Hester Pryne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter "A" on her breast. A man in the crowd tells an elderly onlooker that Hester is being punished for adultery. Hester's husband, a scholar much older than she is, sent her ahead to America, but he never ... affair, as she has given birth to a child. She will not reveal her lover's identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. On t...

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... wilder, more uncouth with its rude natural obstacles, and less trodden by the foot of man, than he remembered it on his outward journey. But he leaped across the plashy places, thrust himself through the clinging underbrush, climbed the ascent, plunged into the hollow, and overcame, in short, all the difficulties of the track, with an unweariable activity that astonished him. He could not but ... recall how feebly, and with what frequent pauses for breath he had toiled over the same ground, only two days before." Throughout ... day in and day out, in the forms of the Scarlet Letter and...

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... -reliance and has changed in various ways. The Scarlet Letter begins with the three-hour punishment of Hester Prynne. The first scaffold scene takes place in the market place in front of society. Hester Prynne has been accused of adultery and must expose her sin by standing on the scaffold for three hours. She also must wear an "A" on the front of her dress, which also is ... dilemma of choosing not to admit rather than to admit. The meteor in this scene is an important symbol for Dimmesdale and society. Although the society sees the celestial "A" in the sky to represent a conformation of...

• Word Count: 1995
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Every author looks for a way to connect the theme of his book. In Nathanial Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses the theme sin and concealment. The three scaffold scenes throughout the book are used to connect this theme. The first scaffold scene takes place right at the beginning of the novel in chapters 2 and 3. One of the characters that are involved in this scene is Hester. The book starts out with ... to go and confess his sin, Chillingworth, who is trying to get at the truth of the sin for himself, doesn't want Dimmesdale to go and confess. As Hester has the scarlet letter on ...

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... theme in The Scarlet Letter is vengeance amongst all of mankind. Since the moment Roger Chillingworth was introduced into the novel, revenge filled his mind. He first began gaining information from a stranger in the crowd of the puritan community about the familiar woman standing upon the scaffold. As soon as Chillingworth learns why Hester was on the scaffold he begins plotting his revenge for not only her, but also for the unknown father ... a mark of embarrassment into a beautifully created work of art. The letter did not look like an ugly mark of shame or embarrassment, but a mark o...

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... 's attic and among these, he discovers a manuscript bundled with a gold-embroidered patch in the shape of an "A." The manuscript was written by a past surveyor who detailed events some two-hundred years before the narrator's time. He later decides to write a fictional story based on the events from the manuscript and calls it The Scarlet Letter. The narrator then goes into his book which takes place in 17th century Boston ... . It was said that he was lost at sea. Apparently, while waiting, Hester had an affair with another since she had given birth to the adulterer's child and she refuse...

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In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the letter A is given to the characters Hester and Dimmesdale. According to the law of the Puritan society and the strict interpretation of the Bible, adultery is one of the deadliest sins that led to the deadliest punishment - execution or corporal punishment. The letter A came to symbolize different things for each character. For Hester, the Scarlet Letter symbolizes her adultery and for Dimmesdale, it is a reminder of his hidden sin. The characters are given ... different punishments corresponding to their symbolisms. Hester's punishm...

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Often in society people are criticized, punished and despised for their individual choices and flaws. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author attempts to show the way society casts out individuals simply because their ideas and deeds differ from the common values. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester Prynne to symbolize that those who challenge social conformities can benefit society as a whole. Though she has been banished ... never spoke up in her own defense. She let her skills and charity for others speak for themselves and it was through those very actions that br...

• Word Count: 1521
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• Grade Level: High School