... bad way. It reminds her of the affair with Dimmesdale and the committed sin, but indirectly, that reminder made her grow into a strong independent woman. The letter becomes eventually part of Hester's identity. It is rather ironic that the town's minister is the one to have committed adultery. Even though in the beginning of ... Hester for being able to be true to herself. For example, in chapter 17, Dimmesdale says to Hester, "Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!" (Hawthorne, 192). Dimmesdale got to a point where his punishme...

• Word Count: 958
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... 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 ... 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 Summary Hawth...

• Word Count: 5572
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• Grade Level: High School

... blessing. She is a reason for Hester to live revitalizing her sprits whenever she has the urge to give up. Pearl is always drawing or crafting the letter "A- in the sand, with seaweed, flowers and brambles. "In the afternoon of a certain summer's day, after Pearl grew big enough to run about, ... now he knows who Hester's fellow adulterer is. He then jumps around impishly throwing his arms into the air celebrating. The second instance that the letter "A- manifests itself on Dimmesdale's chest is after he gives his Election Day sermon. When he has finished giving his sermon Dimmesdale wa...

• Word Count: 1536
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... One day as he is exploring the vacant second story of the erection he discovers a red and gold piece of fabric in the shape of the letter "A." After he examines the material, he uncovers a manuscript wrapped in the cloth, which he later reads. Jonathan Pue, a customs surveyor, wrote the ... small cottage on the outskirts of town. Hester's daughter Pearl grows up into a capricious, precocious, and very observant child. Pearl delights in the scarlet letter and enjoys emphasizing the symbol on her mother's breast. In fact, it is said that when Pearl was a baby, the first feature she noticed...

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

... devil. Many see the "A" as something evil, as something for which Hester should be deeply ashamed about. But Hester accepts her punishment and because of the letter is able to build her character, making her courageous and strong willed. This "A" in a way, guides Hester and allows her to be who she is ... about the relationship between the two. Therefore, because of the incident, Dimmesdale also blames the act of adultery on himself and so he makes his own letter over his heart. Serving as a symbol that he shares the same pain as Hester and that Hester shouldn't be the only one who suffer...

• Word Count: 1035
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... thing. This object having the effect of a spell shows that people were practically mesmerized by the letter itself. Hawthorne creates this distortion of the appearance of the letter in order to show the reader that the letter itself is something to marvel at, where as her actions were very sinful of those days and ... 155) This line shows that the view of Hester had changed, and maybe the beliefs of the society that she lived in had changed a little. "The letter was a symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her "so much power to do and power to sympathize "that many people ...

• Word Count: 1455
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... 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 ... 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 Letter. Boston: Ticknor, Reed & F...

• Word Count: 3565
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... blessing. She is a reason for Hester to live revitalizing her sprits whenever she has the urge to give up. Pearl is always drawing or crafting the letter "A- in the sand, with seaweed, flowers and brambles. "In the afternoon of a certain summer's day, after Pearl grew big enough to run about, ... now he knows who Hester's fellow adulterer is. He then jumps around impishly throwing his arms into the air celebrating. The second instance that the letter "A- manifests itself on Dimmesdale's chest is after he gives his Election Day sermon. When he has finished giving his sermon Dimmesdale wa...

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

... refuses to accept the moral implication of the scarlet "A" which the Church wished to impose. We can see her refusal through her revision of the letter, her choice to change the original significance of the scarlet "A" into something that is interpreted differently than the meaning given by the law. By the ... to denote a criminal, and nothing more than that. Until this point, it has successfully done that. However, in this chapter we see that "the scarlet letter had not done its office" (Hawthorne 114). Hester's actions which lead to the change in the interpretation of the scarlet "A" sh...

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

... 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 ... 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 had ...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... 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 ... 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 gradual ...

• Word Count: 1185
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... 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 through ... 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 most ...

• Word Count: 914
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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 ... . Dimmesdale, however, suffers the most, for he is tortured by his hypocrisy and hidden guilt. PURITANISM IN THE NOVEL Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is set in the seventeenth century New England town of Boston, a staunch Puritanical town. It is a moralistic and gloomy place where ...

• Word Count: 1285
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• Grade Level: High School

... Solitude! Those had been her teachers -- stern and wild ones -- and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss." The scarlet letter "A" is Hester Prynne's American Express card, she cannot leave home without it. With the exception of one occasion, Hester is true to her badge ... Governor Bellingham's garden, in the sky on the night of Dimmesdale's scaffold vigil, continually little Pearl is pictured to be the scarlet letter personified, and the most dramatic of the "A"'s is that which is on Dimmesdale's chest when he reveals his chest and sin. As ... of unjust humiliation; to D...

• Word Count: 661
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• Grade Level: High School

... 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 ... 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 convey her love .....

• Word Count: 2041
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• 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

... was. However, as the novel progresses and Hester learns to deal with the embarrassment and rejection that comes with this marking, the meaning of the letter "A" seems to change to "Able" because Hester goes on to be a successful seamstress and helps out her community greatly. As a second punishment ... 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 ......

• Word Count: 634
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• 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 ...

• Word Count: 424
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• Grade Level: High School

... 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 within ... 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 t...

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

... a love denied; however, after a closer reading, this proves to be a novel about brilliantly interwoven characters written in a technically complex format. The symbolism of the prison, roses, the scaffold, the letter "A," contrasts between light and dark, and the forest throughout the novel are the undefined characters. An understanding of these symbols is vital to a complete comprehension of the complexity of the ... story; Hawthorne technique of using symbolism is brilliant and it helps the reader understand the whole concept. In The Scarlet Letter, images increase the reader's underst...

• Word Count: 1915
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• 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 ... 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 female ...

• Word Count: 1295
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• Grade Level: High School

... has she really changed from her sinful ways? If so, is she going to leave for Europe with Dimmesdale? Towards the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, we see Hester being punished publicly for the sin she has committed with Dimmesdale. In chapter 2, Hawthorne writes, "He laid his right hand ... a humiliating way. In chapter 5, Hawthorne writes, "Another peculiar torture was felt in the gaze of a new eye. When strangers looked curiously at The Scarlet Letter, - and none ever failed to do so, - they branded it afresh in Hester's soul; so that, oftentimes, she could scarcely refrain, yet always...

• Word Count: 944
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... character. However, Aurther Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne are more significantly involved in the extraction of their revenge. Hawthorne's ultimate theme in The Scarlet Letter is vengeance amongst all of mankind. Since the moment Roger Chillingworth was introduced into the novel, revenge filled his mind. He first began gaining ... who was with his wife. It should be mentioned that while Dimmesdale was asleep one day, Chillingworth opened up Dimmesdale's shirt to find the letter "A" across his heart. The scene finalized that Dimmesdale was the father of young pearl. It also caused Chillingwo...

• Word Count: 1589
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• Grade Level: High School

... brought some joy to Hester, but she brought even more grief by being a constant reminder of her sin, by pestering Hester while she wore the letter, and by being a wilting flower, all of this shows how one sin can bring you much grief. Pearl also did many symbolic things that made ... According to chuckii.com "Hester's child, is symbolic of changing Puritan society." Pearl changes the puritan society because she is the outcome of the scarlet letter, and was rebellious to the Puritan way of life but not evil. Even though something can be really tough to cope with, Hawthorne suggests that ....

• Word Count: 647
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• 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 ... 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 Sca...

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