Literature, as a whole, would be much more appealing if authors let their readers make their own decisions about the events or characters in the story. The ambiguousness of The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne leaves many of the actions, events, and issues involving the characters up to the reader's own assumption. One of the issues posed by Hawthorne during the ... Hawthorne's story begins in seventeenth-century Boston, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter "A" on her bre...

• Word Count: 1146
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel which portrays the message of sin and punishment, through the outcome of an adulterous relationship between Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne ... he becomes further entrenched in his guilt. His reaction, however, is not to palliate his suffering by confessing, rather, he further engrosses himself in self-mutilation by creating his own "scarlet A" on his chest, the conduit through which he attempts to atone for his sin. After dealing with increasing frustration, Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold in the mi...

• Word Count: 1174
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Guilt is a powerful feeling that evokes suffering of many souls. Dimmesdale's guilty conscience causes him much pain and results in his self-mutilation, periods of vigil, and deprivation of sleep. Hawthorne's use of omniscient narration creates a powerful image of Dimmesdale's feelings. With use of sympathetic tone Hawthorne creates an obscure atmosphere for the discussion of Dimmesdale's feelings of guilt and how he bears it. The feelings of torment and suffering experienced by Dimmesdale are delicately conveyed into the content of the novel by using complex diction and subordinate clauses. ...

• Word Count: 393
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate