... that Hester Prynne fashioned it up until when Nathanial Hawthorne found it in the customhouse. When Hester first fashions the scarlet letter has a meaning of adulterer. As stated by Becovitch, a critic, " The Scarlet Letter is a story of socialization in which the point of socialization is not to conform, but to consent. Anyone can ... not represent the best form of socialization because Hester does not wear it willingly but bears it as a punishment.""(Telgen 318). Hester wears the scarlet letter proudly for all to see that she is repenting her sin and that her fellow adulterer is not. ...

• Word Count: 1536
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... them. Person sees this as favorite subject of Hawthorne's as he recalls "Dimmesdale's temptation to blight a young girl's innocence with a single word" (123) and compares it to Hawthorne considering "The Scarlet Letter "a triumphant success" because it had such an effect on [his wife] Sophia that it broke her heart and sent her to bed with a grevious headache" (122). Whether or not Person ... behind for someone (Hawthorne) to find so that people could know of her story and continue to advocate for bringing the world to a point of equality. References Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Let...

• Word Count: 3565
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... that Hester Prynne fashioned it up until when Nathanial Hawthorne found it in the customhouse. When Hester first fashions the scarlet letter has a meaning of adulterer. As stated by Becovitch, a critic, " The Scarlet Letter is a story of socialization in which the point of socialization is not to conform, but to consent. Anyone can ... not represent the best form of socialization because Hester does not wear it willingly but bears it as a punishment.""(Telgen 318). Hester wears the scarlet letter proudly for all to see that she is repenting her sin and that her fellow adulterer is not. ...

• Word Count: 1529
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... remain in Boston because her secret lover still lived there. Hester's skill at needlework, earlier shown in the fine way that she displayed the scarlet letter, allows her to maintain a fairly stable lifestyle. However, her reputation as an outcast and loner causes a certain aura to be cast around ... a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts." This is interesting because many of the people Hawthorne accuses of hypocrisy as regards the scarlet letter are, "a venerable minister or magistrate," people who are viewed as models of "piety and justice." Chapter Six: Pearl Summar...

• Word Count: 5572
• Approx Pages: 22
• Grade Level: High School

... prevalent throughout the entire story and helps to convey the mood of this society. The greatest amount of distortion goes to Hester Prynne'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 ... hand over his heart I the same place that Hester's "A- appears. This adds to the distortion in that it also affects Dimmesdale. The Scarlet letter also seems to have a varying effect on the people that have to be around it. The le...

• Word Count: 1455
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... he has been lost at sea. The townsman then tells of Hester's sin, having an affair, and her punishment, to forever wear a scarlet letter on her breast as an eternal reminder of shame. The deformed stranger ends the conversation with the remark, "It irks me, nevertheless, that ... . He declares that he will never forgive her for this sin and Hester, in begging his forgiveness, covers his face in the scarlet letter. Dimmesdale soon realizes Chillingworth's sin is far more evil and forgives Hester, but then worries that the doctor might divulge their secret relationship ... This idea of flee...

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

... to the main theme in the book. Sometimes referred to as "the first symbolic novel to be written in the United States", "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne contains many symbols that are apparent throughout the novel, and reoccur at many different places. While symbols are created, those ... young woman who has cheated on her husband, Roger Prynne, with Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester bore a baby from this relationship, and was forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" for adultery. Hester uses the forest to bring out many hidden emotions, but mostly to use it as an outlet where she can conve...

• Word Count: 2041
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... , are often times misused or misunderstood, resulting in the improper treatment of those who end up being discriminated against. In The Scarlet Letter, the introduction of the novel shows how the law, by the letter, is used against Hester Pryne. In The Scarlet Letter, we see how Hester Prynne admits to criminal action (according to the law), but refuses to admit any moral sin. In ... her moral sin from the law by showing how her action, although sinful, was better than the twisted guidelines put in place by the law. During the time of The Scarlet Letter, the government was a theocracy, w...

• Word Count: 1195
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . Both of them lead joyless lives. Dimmesdale, however, suffers much more intensely than Hester. Hester is made to publicly acknowledge her sin. A scarlet letter "A" is permanently placed on her dress to symbolize her adultery, and she is made to stand on the scaffold with her baby for several hours ... acts of charity and kindnesses for other people. Even though her life is difficult and drab, Hester, through her own doing, rises about the scarlet letter "A" on her chest. In complete contrast to Hester, Dimmesdale does not publicly confess his sin, and it eats away at him bit by bit ......

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... later shed upon this question as Chillingworth uncovers the secret Arthur had tried to keep intact. It is visible to him as he pulls aside Arthur's ministerial robe and discovers a scarlet letter A upon his chest. Although Hawthorne lets this aspect of the novel remain unclear, this engraving on Arthur's chest suggests that the burden of his sin had seeped so deeply ... is generally associated with Chillingworth, and the cold acts of revenge he exacts on Dimmesdale. The light stands for truth and purity and Pearl's free nature. A major theme in the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne i...

• Word Count: 2338
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the historical people that were involved or that Hester Prynne was not hung also when the Native Americans take her husband captive. The Scarlet Letter portrays the religious aspect of a woman who was caught being unfaithful to her supposedly dead husband and committing adultery. The loyalty of ... As she's purchasing the servants the auctioneer asked her, "Shouldn't your husband or father be doing business with me?" (The Scarlet Letter). Women were allowed to conduct financial dealings and other matters if their fathers or husbands were absent or ill. Indentured servants were people who...

• Word Count: 1182
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... 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

... twilight of a dungeon, or other darksome apartment of the prison." This is how the reader is introduced to Hester Prynne, the main character in the Scarlet Letter. As one reads the novel we see how she develops as a person. The reader feels the conflicts that the characters go through as they go ... was: "Into my keeping, God gave her." His unique way of switching them around gave his writing style some interest, and variety. Hawthorne kept The Scarlet Letter with a very optimistic tone. Hester's glass was usually half full, as opposed to half empty. She was always trying to make the mos...

• Word Count: 914
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... similar. They are both caused by the same thing, the excessively devout town in which the setting takes place. The conflict in The Scarlet Letter that occurs between Dimmesdale, Hester, and Chillingworth is caused by the townintolerance for sinners. Hesterlife is spent in complete loneliness because of the ... mainly accuses the people of being witches. Also, both works of literature include ignorant townspeople who contribute to the main conflict. In The Scarlet Letter, these people are the ones who loathe Hester, but love Reverend Dimmesdale. The people in Reverend Parris home while hi...

• Word Count: 1327
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• 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

... attitudes of Puritan society are presented in such a reality that we can assume, safely, that the commonwealth acted as so, however, to a certain extent. In the introduction of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne writes about his various meetings with Ellery Channing, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson (Hawthorne pg. 27). These people and their experiences must have sparked something into the ... , is the instrument of moral insight." Imagination is what creates moralistic intuition in the writer (Jacobsen pg. 34-33). Another example that may support morality in the production of The ...

• Word Count: 1014
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... time she never would have considered. Hester's emerging sense of identity begins with the imposition placed upon her to fashion her own punishment, the scarlet letter "A". She does not sew a piece of cloth that is dreary, colorless, plain or somber. This would have been fitting for a Puritan ... lasting and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore- Hester emerges from her confinement in the prison proud and defiant. Her fabrication of the Scarlet Letter evokes indignation and resentment from the townspeople. "She hath good skill at her needle, that's certain," remarked one of the...

• Word Count: 1295
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• 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
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• 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
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• 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
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• 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

... and frailty. Among his most brilliant stories are "The Minister's Black Veil," "Roger Malvin's Burial," "Young Goodman Brown," "Rappaccini's Daughter," "The Great Stone Face," and "Ethan Brand." Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is considered by many to be the greatest ccomplishment of an author hailed as the master of the American short story. It is set in Salem, Massachusetts. In this strictly ... a harsher judgment impose upon her, while the town beadle proclaims the virtue of a society in which sin was exposed and punished. Hester Prune has sinned, and society places the scarl...

• Word Count: 2453
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• Has Bibliography
• 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
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• 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