... shame as well as her own. Dimmesdale cries out, "She will not speak!" and places his hand over his heart. The Reverend Mr. Wilson steps forward and delivers a sermon against sin, after which Hester is allowed to return to the prison. Chapter Four: The Interview Summary After ... the Governor approaches, Pearl falls excitedly falls silent. Chapter Eight: The Elf-Child and the Minister Summary Governor Bellingham, accompanied by the Reverend John Wilson, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, enters the hall of his mansion. He first sees Pearl, dressed lavishly in her scarlet outfit, ...

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• Approx Pages: 22
• Grade Level: High School

... for the act should also be punished along with Hester. He vows to find the unnamed father of the baby 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 ... of her wild behavior and the sinfulness of her mother, some of the important people in town suggest that Pearl should be taken away from Hester. The Governor and Rev. Wilson are ready to place the child with a guardian when Rev. Dimmesda...

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

... of the night, so the situation is not exactly the same. As he stands on the scaffold, his fellow minister, Reverend Wilson, coming back from the house of late Governor Winthrop, passes him. He suddenly feels a great temptation to invite Wilson to come and stand on the platform with him. The temptation is an example of how his guilt is affecting his ... sanity. Soon after this close encounter with Wilson, he spots Hester and Pearl approaching the scaffold. He calls out to Hester and asks Pearl and her to join him on the scaffold. Hester agrees: "She silently ascended the ... ...

• Word Count: 3653
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• Grade Level: High School

... called "What's in a Name", Henry Louis Gates talks about how the name "George" was demeaning and very offensive. Gates and his father were out for ice cream when Mr. Wilson came by. Mr. Wilson called Gates" father "George", even though that was not his name. When Gates asked his father why that was the case, he was given the explanation that "[Mr ... . Wilson] calls all colored people George." This immediately gave the name "George" a negative connotation. In the same way, Pearl has both a positive and a negative meaning. For Hester, the name Pearl stands ... ...

• Word Count: 445
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• Grade Level: High School

... in her apparel. Not only did Reverend Dimmesdale affect her apparel but her actions were also affected. When Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Wilson were contemplating the removal of Pearl from Hester's care, Dimmesdale stood up for Hester. If Chillingworth and Wilson knew that Arthur was Hester's lover, she could have been more open in showing her appreciation for his actions. He forced her ... ...

• Word Count: 4111
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• Grade Level: High School

... of punishment, he goes to admit his sin but he goes when it is pitch black outside and everybody in town is at home. "A good evening to you, venerable Father Wilson. Come up hither, I pray you, and pass a pleasant hour with me!" Good Heavens! Had Mr. Dimmesdale actually spoken? For one instant he believed that these words had passed his lips ... . But they were uttered only within his imagination. The venerable Father Wilson continued to step slowly onward, looking carefully at the muddy pathway before his feet, and never once turning his head towards the guilty platform. When the light ...

• Word Count: 1308
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• Grade Level: High School

... wants a rose from the bush outside the window but is quickly quieted. Chapter VIII: The Elf-Child and the Minister Soon after Hester and Pearl get to the mansion, Bellingham, Wilson, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale show up. The see Pearl and make fun of her. Than the governor asks Hester why she should be allowed to keep Pearl, and she says that ... Pearl will learn a lot from her and her mistakes. Wilson tries to test Pearl on religious topics and can see Pearls dislike towards him when she refuses to answer the questions. Hester begs them to let her have Pearl and ... ...

• Word Count: 2183
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• Grade Level: High School

... arm, and with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and glance that would not be abashed.""(P.60) This line shows that Hester herself was ashamed for what she had done. Wilson and Governor Bellingham go as far as they want to take Pearl away from Hester. However, seven years later Hester Prynne was viewed as being very different. The "A- itself had ... the people that have to be around it. The letter takes on a life of its own in the story, it seems to be so much more then just cloth. "When Wilson spoke, the scarlet letter seemed to derive its scarlet hue from the flames of the infe...

• Word Count: 1455
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• Grade Level: High School

... as early in the novel as the third chapter, "The Recognition." Reverend Dimmesdale opens conversation, pressing Hester to speak up against her coconspirator. After receiving a haranguing from Mr. Wilson, who is also inquiring the identity of her fellow adulterer, Hester says, "I will not speak! My child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthly one!" ... ...

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... good for the reverend because the townspeople would be ashamed to see the reverend on the scaffold, a place of public shame. His mind started to become delusional. He sees Reverend Wilson pass by and has great trouble in keeping silent. He started talking to the reverend but it was actually all in his mind. The guilt and shame build up in ... ...

• Word Count: 735
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... herself. God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child" (82). Pearl is explicitly identified as a "moral blossom" when, in response to Minister Wilson's inquiry as to who made her, she "announce[s] that she had not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that ... ...

• Word Count: 1485
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• Grade Level: High School

... to develop Hester's character. It means "adulteress," 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 ... ...

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... , 44) While Chillingworth is in the crowd growing angrier at the thought of his betrayal, the reverend Dimmesdale is crying out to Hester to reveal his name. The clergyman, Mr. Wilson tells Dimmesdale to speak out to Hester and urges him to, "Exhort her to confess the truth!" (Hawthorne, 48) Reverend Dimmesdale, looking deep into her eyes tells her, "Be not ... ...

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... wrath of the Puritan society as Hester does, but he lacks the courage. When Dimmesdale went to the scaffold during the night he had the opportunity to tell Reverend Mr. Wilson of his sin, but he neglected to do so. Pearl asked the Reverend to stand with her and Hester on the scaffold in the daytime; he declines even though they ... ...

• Word Count: 898
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... her, tease her, and even throw mud at her supports this quote. Pearl also experiences isolation and loneliness in the governor's hall. She has no place to turn when Governor Wilson calls her a " little bird of plumage- (102) Not only is this vexatious child being isolated from her community, she is also isolated from her very own family. In a way, Pearl ... ...

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... townsperson that he is talking to that the person that fathered the Hester's baby, Pearl, will be known. Rev. Dimmesdale is also in this scene. He is asked by Mr. Wilson to go and talk to Hester, go and make her confess the truth. He talks to Hester asking her to tell him who the fellow-sinner is. After Hester says ... ...

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... publicly recognized for her sin and must accept the burden that will now weigh down upon her for the rest of her life. Also, it is here that Reverend John Wilson struggles in vain to extract the secret that Hester withholds as to the identity of the father of her child. He states that he would prefer to have the minister ... ...

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... well. To truly understand Pearl, one must first understand how Pearl views her own existence. The view Pearl has on her own birth appears in the book when Reverend John Wilson asks Pearl who created her. Pearl, wise beyond her years, replies by saying "... she had not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother off the bush ... ...

• Word Count: 790
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... not stand with Hester on the scaffold, instead he stands on the balcony with those who pass judgment on her. During this time, Hester's husband appears; Roger Chillingworth and Reverend Wilson demands the name of Hester's lover. He gives her the chance to "take the scarlet letter off her breast" if she were to "speak out his name" (64). But, Hester ... ...

• Word Count: 739
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• Grade Level: High School