... even though Hester at first tried to do her best at this. She quickly realised that Pearl was not going to adapt to her methods so she could not set any restrictions for her. Instead Pearl developed to be a wild child, to her mother and the rest of the Puritan community she seemed to be a little elf and they sometimes doubted that she was human ... , in this episode she shows her feelings for something with the same features as herself. Pearl is not entirely described as a wild and savage child like the community sees her as. At the end where Pearl is running about in the market place sh...

• Word Count: 612
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... hear his confession. This unmistakably is suggesting that he still does not want to admit his faults. Dimmesdale creates the mold for how Pearl and Hester live for the rest of the book. And what he created for them was a life of being scorned by society for many years without anyone else to turn to because he never visited or met with them. What makes things worse ... serves not only himself but also Hester and Pearl in an ill manner. The third and final scaffold occurrence finally puts Dimmesdale on the road to fidelity and responsibility, but he still displays his immorality and negli...

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

... leads him to suffer from the guilt and shame that the sins brings with it. Dimmesdale's awareness of his sin yet inability to fully admit it can be shown when he approaches Hester and Pearl who are returning home after Governor Winthrop's funeral. During this interaction the Reverend intends to make up for not confessing by enduring the consequences with Hester and Pearl. Dimmesdale tries to do ... this by standing on the same scaffold where Hester and Pearl were forced to the day that Hester was being punished for her sin. While standing together Hester asks her father, Dimmesdale, if ...

• Word Count: 1123
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... causing her isolation and struggles within the Puritan community. Although Hester does not regret this sin, she will have to bear the burden of isolation for the rest of her life. She is reminded of her sin every day with her child, Pearl, and the scarlet letter. Hester's perseverance, self-reliance, and strength helped her survive the alienation from the town, but the long period of time without another ... human's affection besides Pearl's made her callous. Hester made the decision to stay in Boston even ... she is an adulterous, she is very proud of her daughter Pearl, the result of...

• Word Count: 1733
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... ; she did so out of her own weakness. However, there were instances when the Boston community simply alienated Hester out of hatred and fear of the scarlet letter that she was forced to wear. Actions taken to remove Pearl from Hester's care are an ideal example of society overstepping the boundaries of regular punishment simply to expel any sense of happiness Hester has retained ... . The argument that Hester was not a fit mother because of her sin was used heavily ... to her advantage, becoming a stronger and more capable woman. Her constant battle to maintain her own sanity while remai...

• Word Count: 568
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , which is considered to the community as one of the greatest sins, their daughter Pearl, is born. Due to this sin, Dimmesdale becomes physically and psychologically weak to the point where his once young lively face "seemed to have grown duskier, and his figure more misshapen " (Hawthorne 102). Roger Chillingworth, Hester's real husband, plans for revenge on the two lovers and this causes ... controversy between the two leading men. As the book ... (Hawthorne 274). It is evident that Dimmesdale is too altruistic to handle the gravity of his guilt and as it keeps growing, the only resolu...

• Word Count: 557
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... seen with a circle of light surrounding her which shows how the light symbol is shown (Hawthorne 81). Using the steps Foster gives as guidelines in understanding and finding symbols, Pearl the symbol can be analyzed. The light that Pearl represents and is seen in frequently can symbolize her innocence because for much of the book she was a young child that knew happiness more than ... mother acknowledges that Salem cannot change unless the town starts from the ground up (Hawthorne 142). The role of a character, as Birkerts explains, is given a symbolic nature in a situation just as Pea...

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

... atone for his sin. After dealing with increasing frustration, Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold in the middle of the night, and he fantasizes about what would happen if everyone in town were to witness their holy minister standing in the place of public shame; he knows that his public disgrace could harden his followers, or even lead them astray. When Hester and Pearl join Dimmesdale on the scaffold ... their minister's righteousness confirms for Dimmesdale the responsibility he holds toward his congregation and the importance of self-sacrifice for the sake of the community. The next scene o...

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

... characterization is to make characters credible and make them suitable for the role they play in the work. Authors present various characters possessing dissimilar qualities, to emphasize different aspects of the work. In the novel "The Scarlet Letter", the author Nathaniel Hawthorn's depiction of the two male characters, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, emphasizes the moral problems of the seventeenth century puritan society. Hence, their different characters ... a matter of fact his death was not a sad one, for he was relieved from the pain in his heart and also got to kiss ...

• Word Count: 746
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... in love with a man. Chillingworth, Hester's husband, admits that their marriage displayed no kind of love, so it was only expected that Hester get involved with a man she actually cared for. She was in fact the victim among the other characters by being forced to marry Chillingworth without loving him and had to deal with Chillingworth's selfishness, which permitted him to marry ... leaving his wife alone in Massachusetts. Treated as an outcast for about seven years, Hester is finally considered to be free from the "A." When the Puritan community realized that Hester was in fact not as c...

• Word Count: 561
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , events, and relationships in these three works overflow with symbolism. The Scarlet Letter, being the inspiration for many of these later cinematic works, offers the most amount of symbolism. The Scarlet Letter offers four distinct symbols: the scarlet letter, the meteor, Pearl, and the rosebush next to the prison door. The scarlet letter is definitely the most pronounced symbol within this novel. The insignia assists to further concentrate Hester's sentiments of shame, sinfulness ... of societal utilization of symbols for ideological reinforcement. The cinematic version of The Scarlet...

• Word Count: 397
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... isolates herself in a secluded cottage ostracized from the mainstream life. Hester's child, the product of her sinful act, symbolizes the extent to which the cruelty and narrow-mindedness of the town affects an innocent creature. Though innocent, Hester's child (Pearl) experiences the critical tones and gestures of the town since the day of her birth. The minister of the town reveals that he too had participated in ... 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 which they had suppressed as a...

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

... becomes a kind of compassionate maternal figure as a result of her experiences. For she knows that her behavior could cause her to lose her daughter, Pearl. Hester is also maternal with respect to society: she cares for the poor and brings them food and clothing. By the end of the novel the "a" changed meanings from adultery to able. The shame attached to her scarlet letter is long gone. Throughout ... The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable, but not necessarily ... ...

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

... 's refusal of her earthly reunion with Dimmesdale, has long struck readers as Hawthorne's failure to honor the independent spirit of his heroine, his capitulation to nineteenth-century conventional ideals of womanhood. Similarly, the transformation of Pearl from elf-child to woman in the world may indicate a narrowing of scope or descent in planes. (Brown 107) Hester's real crime goes far beyond simply committing ... adultery. Hester has stepped over the boundaries of what a "good" woman is. A "good" woman is obedient and pious, ... by using a romantic interpretation. According to Carpen...

• Word Count: 1505
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... was well liked by many people before the incident with his wife, Hester was described as beautiful and she even felt happier and different after removing her scarlet letter at one point in the novel when she was in the forest with Dimmesdale and her daughter Pearl. As you can see, both victims of ... such crimes are seen differently and were once normal human beings before the news broke out of their "sins." Although Hester a character ... and her "sin" or incident was not intentionally done through evil actions, Hester was just unhappy and society blamed her for what she did and she ...

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