... and Pearl, who have long suffered in silence. Ironically, Hester is "freed" by the confession, no longing bearing the Scarlet Letter alone. But Dimmesdale is also freed; although he dies after the confession, he is finally freed from the guilt of unconfessed, hidden sin and the evil hold ... he suffers inward guilt and shame that manifests itself in outward, physical deterioration. (It is ironic that Hester, who openly wears the Scarlet Letter as a symbol and confession that she is a Sinner, is freed from the inward destruction of her sin; Dimmesdale, a minister who openly represents Goo...

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

... 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, ... was exposed and punished. Hester Prune has sinned, and society places the scarlet letter on her breast as a reminder of this transgression. Hester Prune confesses to adultery in the marketplace. The scaffold as a place for confession is civilized and controlled by the townspeople...

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

... but Arthur's. He is the persecuted one, the tempted one. He it was whom the sorrows of death encompassed . His public confession is one of the noblest climaxes of tragic literature." The argument over the protagonist role in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne runs undeniably deep. At first glance it appears that the protagonist of the story is Hester Prynn, however Randall ... reproductive organs and their brain at the same time, so saying that it was Dimmesdale's decision is almost entirely a lie. He waited with open arms and Hester, the protagonist, initiated the building of th...

• Word Count: 855
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... of sin rushed loudly upon his ear and drowned all the blessed strain. When the minister spoke from the pulpit with power and fervid eloquence, and, with his hand on open Bible, of the sacred truths of our religion, and of saint-like lives and triumphant deaths, and a future bliss or misery unutterable, then did Goodman Brown turn pale, dreading lest ... Veil." In the novel, Hester Prynne has guilt, but no inner guilt that she is hiding from anyone. Everyone knows she has sinned, and it is all out in the open for everyone to know. Everyone else in the community hides their secrets, and t...

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

... but mildly attempted to do so several times. When he gathers strength to hint that he a sinner, he does it so indirectly that his confession considered a sign of his humility, his congregation with "deep awe and wonder" still loves and praises him more (241). The more the people ... for this child with her honor; therefore, the name has importance, meaning valuable but costly, for she Hester's "only treasure"(82). As the living scarlet letter and a constant reminder of her parents" sin, She displays signs of wildness, rebellion, and freedom. She happiest out in nature, where her carefree...

• Word Count: 1594
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... She was a beautiful woman who was strong and the other women crowded around her because of jealousy. In that remarkable forest scene in The Scarlet Letter, the long repressed/suppressed sexuality of Hester is suddenly exposed when she releases her hair. The reader immediately recognizes that the complex art of her ... is. Hester began to fade away to nothing. She was no longer beautiful and did not have that glowing appearance in her anymore. The scarlet letter had taken over her appearance."Mother," said little Pearl, "the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, becau...

• Word Count: 1408
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

The Power of Guilt Repressed guilt and emotions will inevitably destroy a man. This was surely the case in Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, a novel set in Puritan times that describes what guilt and sin truly are. Two main characters that live with guilt and sin ... term of confinement was now at an end. Her prison-door was thrown open, and she came forth into the sunshine, which, falling on all alike, seemed, to her sick and morbid heart, as if meant for no other purpose than to reveal the scarlet letter on her breast (72). As an outcast Hester will live a life ... in very separat...

• Word Count: 748
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School