... , and when she wipes Dimmesdale's kiss from her forehead. First of all, I would like to talk about the scene with Pear placing burrs on Hester's bosom. Pearl was in "one of those moods of perverse merriment", which seemed to remove any sympathy or consideration for anyone. She began to "skip irreverently from one grave to another." Hester asked her to behave more politely ... , but in reply Pearl "paused to gather the prickly burrs from a tall burdock." She then began to "arrange them along ... the lines of the scarlet letter." After Dimmesdale's comment about her behavior, Pearl "threw ...

• Word Count: 421
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... as well as their weaknesses with symbolic names. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses evocative names to portray the characters' inner self and what they represent in the story. The most significant name belongs to the character Pearl. Hawthorne shows that this name has two meanings, but only one is used to describe the importance of Pearl's existence. "For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive ... of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned luster that ... would be indicated by the comparison. But she named the infant Pearl' as being of great price...

• Word Count: 500
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... Hester Prynne that eats away at him daily. These supernatural events that occur clearly add romanticism to this tragedy. Hawthorne also uses mysteries to betray romanticism. Roger Chillingworth begs Hester for the identity of her partner in crime; however, she swears his secrecy. She replies, "Never! Ye cannot take it off. And would I that I might endure his agony as well ... are used to create a mysterious atmosphere through the story. Finally, intuition is also used to add romanticism to this tragic novel. Pearl, is constantly questioning the meaning of the scarlet letter "A" on her m...

• Word Count: 522
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner- (Hawthorne 46). As the prisoners enter the prison, it is the very last thing they see and as they exit, the very first. Another contradiction is how the society behaves as Hester is being punished. This happens throughout the book, but most effectively in the beginning. The women plead for a more harsh punishment because they think Hester deserves far ... worse than what she has been given. The women of the town also thought that Hester would try and disguise the "A" as much as possible. Contrarily, Hester creates a b...

• Word Count: 512
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... guilt, and his stature in the community remains.  He remains silent of his crime, and his guilt is symbolized by the A-shaped meteor that flashes across the sky while he stands with Pearl and Hester on the scaffold. To Reverend Dimmesdale, the meteor is a symbol of his own personal sin. It is perhaps a symbol of the guilt he feels for not confessing to the crime he committed and leaving ... Hester to take all the blame. He lives with the agony of his lie, while ... Hester lives freely. The sight of it somewhat ... ...

• Word Count: 872
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... adultery, and would have never had to wear such a burden on her chest. Also, in chapter six. it shows Pearl's fascination of the scarlet letter and seems to torture her mother by playing with it. Pearl symbolized God's way of punishing Hester for adultery. On page 61 in The Scarlet Letter, when Pearl is being explained as an innocent child, Hawthorne writes "a lovely and immortal flower ... ." Pearl, to Hester, was a flower, at sometimes she was very happy, joyful, and full of life and color but on other days she ... was "wilting" which brought Hester much grief. In The Scarlet Letter i...

• Word Count: 647
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... either of them pain when they are in the forest. To Pearl, the forest represents a home where she can be wild, elf-like. Hawthorne describes the woods as the "great black forest [that] became the playmate of the lonely infant." Since Pearl has been driven out of Puritan civilization, the forest is the embodiment of a comfortable friend for her. The main purpose of the forest in The Scarlet Letter is to be a place where ... the truth can exist. Nature serves as an extreme contrast to Puritan ... ...

• Word Count: 1017
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... 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 for the biggest treasure she could ever ask for; "Purchased with all she had, --- her mother's only treasure!" (Hawthorne 1295). For her father Dimmesdale, Pearl had both a positive and a negative meaning. Pearl was a physical embodiment of something he should not have done, but at the same time stood for his love for Hester. For the ... rest of the society, Pearl was the proof that Hester had committed ... ...

• Word Count: 445
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... in a pile of charcoal. And these other members of Boston who refused to allow their passions to shine through, recognized Hester's gift, and although they gossiped and criticized her for such flagrancy, "the dames of a court might gladly have availed themselves [with her needlework]" (Hawthorne 57). Hester possessed an art that was full of life and even those who believed it was ... not pretty, but splendid, and not cold, but fiercely passionate," and these qualities existed in her work because they "stemmed from the same passionate self that engendered Pearl" (Leone 93). Pearl was quit...

• Word Count: 1145
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... chest, which stands for adultery. As beautiful as this symbol is, it "was red-hot with infernal fire" (Hawthorne 82). The letter not only symbolizes the humiliation of the public, but also the deep burn that guilt evokes. The children in the village are taught to look at the woman who bears the scarlet letter "as the figure, the body, the reality of sin" (Hawthorne 74). Pearl, a very smart ... and curious, girl is described as elfish and the devil's child because of her mother. ... even makes her own out of seaweed. Pearl plays as a direct symbol of the scarlet letter, which is a way of...

• Word Count: 1253
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . After Hester moves away from the village, the Puritans give her the job of making fine clothing for the upper class. With any extra material that Hester has, she makes Pearl's clothes. Pearl's clothes are extraordinarily elaborate, which separates Pearl from the other children. Hester never let the clothing be plain for Pearl. Pearl did not do anything wrong by being born. For that reason Hester believes that Pearl deserves to have beautiful clothing. Another ... representation of Hester's love for Pearl is when Hester and Arthur Dimmesdale finish their conversation in the forest. Hest...

• Word Count: 1429
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... herself as best a woman might." He looks past the reason for her situation and recognizes the good in the adulteress. This aspect also foreshadows later events as Hester is the strongest link in the relationship between her, Dimmesdale, and young Pearl. Also, Hawthorne's figurative style and his insight into the characters is shown. He writes, "Pearl looked as beautiful as the day, but was in one of those moods of ... see it on Dimmesdale's chest, the letter becomes a representation of his sin. Even little Pearl represents the "connecting link between the two [Hester and Dimmesdale]." S...

• Word Count: 1296
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... nothing but them. 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 ... ...

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

... not done its office." (Pg 110) As the book goes on, it becomes more and more clear that the scarlet letter hasn't done its office, hasn't done what it is meant for. The letter and punishment was supposed to teach Hester to not sin, and she still lies to Pearl about the meaning of the letter, another sin. At the end of chapter 15, Hawthorne writes, " ... ;In all the seven bygone years, Hester Prynne had never before ... been false to the symbol on her bosom." (Pg 121) As ... ...

• Word Count: 944
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... daughter. Never did it occur to me that Hester wanted to keep Pearl from her father though it may appear that way at times during the novel. What she did want was for Pearl to be able to live a life of joy. Had Hester told her lover's identity from the start of the ordeal, Pearl's life would have been much more complicated. Not only would she witness ... the ridicule and social downscale of her mother but her father's persecution would have ... daughter. Never did it occur to me that Hester wanted to keep Pearl from her father though it may appear that way at times during the novel. Wh...

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

... shade are more numerous than any other images in the novel" (Waggoner 160). The color red stands for passion and the anguish felt by both Hester and Dimmesdale. It also stands for the love between the two of them and for Pearl, their daughter. Darkness and light symbolize the ongoing struggle between good and evil. The darkness 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 is the consequence of sin is alienation...

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

... is unnoticed. Hester is unable to hide her wrongdoing. Their act of adultery resulted in a child. Her punishment for her crime is to spend a few hours on the scaffold to face public humiliation and wear the letter "A" on her clothes for the rest of her life. The consequences, which Hester faces, are the result of her admission of guilt. This proved to be much less harsh then ... her sin, is something she must always deal with and is something she can never escape. Pearl the product of Hester's sin, is usually dressed in red clothing, representing sin. Pearl is also called the names "Rub...

• Word Count: 1044
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... or even given a friendly word. Hawthorne's descriptions help the reader to see the situation from within the minds of the people experiencing it. One can feel Hester's love for Pearl, Chillingworth's hate towards Dimmesdale and Pearl's love for Dimmesdale. We also come to know the hate the Goodwives feel towards Hester and Pearl. It is made clear that the Governor saw Hester as an unfit mother when he went ... to her to take Pearl away. The reader was alerted to Pearl's ... apprehension while she was playing with the brook and her mother had ... ...

• Word Count: 1115
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... civilized society," the prison (1358). The rose is a symbol referred to throughout the story. In this first chapter it illustrates the beauty that can come from the penumbra of a prison. Not coincidentally, for the rest of the story, it is linked to Pearl. Waggoner elaborates on this by documenting that the rose in front of the prison is described as covered in delicate gems. Likewise, Pearl is the "red-clad" ... gem of her mother's bosom. Throughout the story, Pearl's beauty is likened to a rose. She cries for one in the governor ... It is the hope of the town that the stigma of the le...

• Word Count: 1915
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... , wore that naughty smile which made its expression frequently so elfish. The minister, Mr. Dimmesdale, was Hester's sin who is even mistaken later in the novel by Pearl for the Black Man. The Black Man is the devil who leaves his mark on those in the forest. In the forest, Hester and Pearl are talking about the Black Man, "Is there such a Black Man? And didst thou ever meet him? And ... together and understands the relationship between it all. Mistress Hibbins and Pearl are unlike the rest of the people in the town which may be part of the explanation for them being able to see that the...

• Word Count: 1820
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... pastor's voice was tremulously sweet, rich, deep, and broken." (p.1369) Dimmesdale's voice was so pure that his words touched everyone in the crowd even the baby little Pearl, "Even the poor baby, at Hester's bosom, was affected by the same influence; for it directed its hitherto vacant gaze towards Mr. Dimmesdale, and held up its little arms, with half pleased, half plaintive murmur." (p.1369) Dimmesdale had ... reverend Dimmesdale was becoming so ill. After all man well taken care of the way Dimmesdale was doesn't become sick for no apparent reason. Well there was a reason, a dark rea...

• Word Count: 1126
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... natural humans" need for love. The women in the community condemn her for sewing the scarlet letter with such embellishment; because its beauty and luster seems to say to the world that she is proud of her sin rather than ashamed of herself. On the contrary, Hester accepts the sin and her scarlet letter as part of herself, in the same way she accepts Pearl. Pearl's birth also implies ... that treasure can sometimes become the ... that her sins have resulted from the sins of others. For instance, Chillingworth's willingness to manipulate young Hester into marriage led to the coldness an...

• Word Count: 1128
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... to his demise. Hester is the most immediately affected by guilt, which is openly shown to the public by the scarlet letter, that she bears on her clothing. Another visible sign of her guilt is the embodiment of it in Pearl, who is the direct result of Hester's sin and is therefore a constant reminder of guilt for both Hester and Dimmesdale. Pearl is also always doing something to ... further her mother's guilt. The first thing she recognizes in the world is the scarlet letter, she often throws things at the letter, and she even makes one for herself out of seaweed. Hawthorne even shows ...

• Word Count: 917
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... she is an adulterer. As the novel progressed, Hawthorne changes the meaning. When Dimmesdale is standing on the scaffold, Hester and pearl come walking by after leaving Governor Winthrop's deathbed. Dimmesdale asks them to stay with him for a while. While the three of them are standing on the scaffold together a bright read meteor appeared in the sky, leaving behind a great letter "A." At first, the three of them interpreted it ... person. Hawthorne uses many elements of symbolism in "The Scarlet Letter." He uses hypocrisy, guilt, and even characters such as Pearl. The letter "A" was ob...

• Word Count: 571
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... yet ready to do so. His midnight trip to the scaffold provides him with a choice to make, and his decision is to stay in the realm of moral darkness, instead of the alternative that Pearl gives him. The last of the scenes on the scaffold is the most emotionally charged. The scaffold is the appropriate symbolic place for Dimmesdale to find closure. On election day, Dimmesdale ... breaks down after giving a speech on the scaffold. He calls to Hester "with a piercing earnestness" ... (230) to support him on the scaffold. The people recognize that "some ... ...

• Word Count: 891
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School