... which ironically becomes an oasis of freedom for Hester and Dimmesdale, though everyone else views it as the devil's territory. The scaffold in the town center symbolizes the harsh judgments in Puritan society. Puritan culture exhibits an unforgiving policy for those who do not do what Puritanism says is right ... indeed, and cold, was the sympathy that a transgressor might look for, from such bystanders at the scaffold. On the other hand, a penalty which, in our days, would infer a degree of mocking infamy and ridicule, might then be invested with almost as stern a dignity as the punis...

• Word Count: 1003
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... in Prynne's sinful act, and requests everyone to open their mind's horizons in an effort to relate to him and Prynne. Being the highly regarded and admired man of the town, people begin to accept his words and Prynne's act. Ironically, near the end of the novel, those women who had denigrated Prynne turn to her for advice for similar feelings ... the novel, Hawthorne points out the rigidity of the Puritan society, and the enormous influence which the ministers and the church played on the thoughts, beliefs, and standards of the town. This idea may directly be applied to the modern world...

• Word Count: 748
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , when we think of the word "door", we think of the actual meaning. We see the door from our house growing up, or the door that we slammed during our teenage years, but as we look at the word door with the steps used to identify a symbol, we find that word ... about that symbol (Fromm 125). Hawthorne constantly has commentary about Pearl and her elf-like tendencies and how she never seemed to fit in with the town of Salem or even with Hester: "The child's own nature had something wrong in it, which continually betokened that she had been born amiss& ... in the novel is to be a symbol of w...

• Word Count: 1244
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... decades, we've expanded this type of rejection to the fine, negative science of avoidance; one that can be upsetting and hurtful to the recipient. For most, we get our first taste of shunning in grade school. You know the scenario, a group of friends decides that some kid in the group just doesn't fit in, and the shunning begins ... is a positive or a negative action. Because of these actions that are reported to the world around them, many people may shun a celebrity for what they have done in our society today. An example of such shunning could be focused on Ray Rice, a famous footbal...

• Word Count: 1654
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... as expressions of any personal guilt. This drives Dimmesdale to further internalize his guilt and self-punishment and leads to still more deterioration in his physical and spiritual condition. The town's idolization of him reaches new heights after his Election Day sermon, which is his last. In his death, Dimmesdale becomes even more of an icon than he was in life ... A, she, in effect, is branded for life. While the argument that such alienation would usually occur only in Puritan society is certainly valid, one need look no further then to our own President to find example of such tre...

• Word Count: 968
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate