... Scarlet Letter. The marketplace is to stand for religious doctrine and Puritanical code, and the forest wilderness is to present the evil of human nature, at times it works against its purpose and serves as an explanation for why things happen the way they do. To support thesis ... White Mts. with Franklin Pierce. Aside from his importance as a novelist, Hawthorne is justly celebrated as a short-story writer. He helped to establish the American short story as a significant art form with his haunting tales of human loneliness, frustration, hypocrisy, eccentricity, and frailty. Among his m...

• Word Count: 2453
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the major component that Hawthorne used to express his attitude toward Puritan society. He demonstrates in the novel The Scarlet Letter and the short story "Young Goodman Brown" just how hypocritical the citizens of Salem could be toward one another and how their actions completely contradict their beliefs ... treaded with the same disrespect. This connection between personal integrity and a responsive social relationship is vital given the novel's basic conception of the human subject. Being "true" is dependant on being known, and this must involve mutual, benevolent acknowledgment - sym...

• Word Count: 3188
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the "dark gift"23 of vampirism, struggling to come to terms with their nature or accepting it and moving on. A dominant theme in this series is "the belief in the supernatural [as being] part of the human soul..."24 These books are romantic, realistic, and supposedly written by various vampires ... personifications [and] marvelous interpretations"32 as to reveal their own morbid fascination with the unnatural. Arthur Miller's The Crucible best illustrates this hypocritical attraction-abhorrence nature of the Puritans. They believe that the forest was "the Devil's last preserve."33 Hence...

• Word Count: 3126
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Dimmesdale disagreed and told the people that her child is a blessing and a reminder for her mother thus shall not be removing from her. When the story goes on, the truth was uncovered that Dimmesdale is actually Pearl's father. Chillingworth, who strive to revenge, acted as a Doctor of Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale ... , Dimmesdale confesses to sins and right after the confession, he died peacefully. Hester and Pearl was relieved from their guilt. The theme within the story is unconfessed sins leads to the destroying of the soul. Hester who was dubbed with the guilt, openly admits it thus her ...

• Word Count: 720
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... and finally the reader, acting as a constant reminder of Hester's, as well as humanity's shortcomings. Hawthorne uses vivid descriptions to characterize Pearl, as he dose to every character thought the story. Pearl is first described as the infant; " Whose innocent life had sprung, by the inscrutable decree of Providence, a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion ... from the other typical Puritan children ,whom are dressed in traditional clothing. As a result, she is accepted only by nature and animals, and ostracized by the other Puritan children. "P...

• Word Count: 1158
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... been the anguish of his life had returned upon him - (137). Though she is but a young little girl, Pearl illuminates the limited nature of Dimmesdale's confession, and she solidifies his inability to reveal himself to the town. Examining Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth in the ... the Reverend mounts the platform, Chillingworth storms through the crowd, and begs him to hold back. We well understand at this point in the story that the physician has grown dependent on the satisfaction he gains from Dimmesdale's suffering. Chillingworth states, " there was no one pl...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... citizen, and his reputation is spotless. He is on good terms with the community, and its leaders. He is the social ideal, yet his moral nature is poisonous. "He has put his devilish lust of vengeance in the place of god, and day by day he worships it, and performs its bidding ... and physically. "Hester sinned only through passion, but her lover through passion and concealment, and her husband through "violating, in cold blood, the sanctity of the human heart." (Carpenter 1602). In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne "sets a masquerade before us, telling us many of the secrets hidden behind th...

• Word Count: 1373
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... Boston. The letter "A" was to show Hester Prynne as an adulteress and as an immoral human being. Her refusal to let go of this sin led to her alienation and isolation. This is shown in the story through her experience on the scaffold, her complete change of appearance, and her total removal from ... "A" instead of revealing the other adulterer. She faced society only to protect and be close to the man she still loved. The "impulsive and passionate nature" (10), which to Hester seemed pure and natural had to be faced under humiliation alone, without the partner of sin. It seemed as though...

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

... As a believing Puritan, Reverend Dimmesdale saw himself as "predestined" for damnation. Hawthorne explained how the poor man "kept silent by the very constitution of [his] nature." Reverend Dimmesdale, punishing himself for his ugly secret, which his need for public affirmation will not let him reveal, gradually kills himself through guilt and masochistic ritual. ... in an earlier scene. She does, and "a spell was broken ..her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, not forever do battle with the world. Towards her mothe...

• Word Count: 2932
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School