... An important concept of romanticism includes a close connection to the earth and natural scenes. A large occurrence of this comes in the first chapter of the book. The chapter mentions a rose bush outside of the prison. The novel then goes on to outline the rosebush as a beautiful thing that rises out ... dead. Hester demonstrates human naturalness by obeying her instinctual urges and having a relationship with Reverend Dimmesdale. Also through much of her actions throughout the book she shows her naturalism. Three months after having a child she was incarcerated for adultery. Her punish...

• Word Count: 1687
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... ideas in each of the characters is the readers passageway into the lives of characters that are withdrawn from the society in the book. In chapter two while Hester is standing on the scaffold, she tries to hid from her grim reality by reminiscing of the better days of ... . Soon finding however, that either she or the image was unreal, she turned elsewhere for better pastime." Pearl's reflection is very real, and chapter sixteen smoothly continues this concept through another body of water--the brook in the forest. "Pearl resembled the brook, inasmuch as the current of her ... the brook,...

• Word Count: 2043
• Approx Pages: 8

... events. However, it is Dimmesdale who changes the most. The reason for his change is the sin he commits with Hester. At the beginning of the book, we meet a young and self-confident minister who is trusted by the townspeople, as their moral and religious leader, "So powerful seemed the minister's ... "friendly care". Chillingworth, Hester's wronged husband pretends to be his friend, but he actually plays an evil game with Dimmesdale throughout the whole story. In Chapter 17 Hester tells Dimmesdale about his so-called friend "Thou hast long had such an enemy, and dwellest with him, under t...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... this way of life, contributed to his writing. Hawthorne's beliefs contradicted the beliefs of what most other Puritans believed. Early on in the book, he described the people "being of the most intolerant brood" (Hawthorne 86). When the people found that Hester had Pearl, ... set people free. Dimmesdale struggles with wanting to live a religious life and dealing with the hypocrisy of his own sinful nature. In chapter twelve, Pearl calls to Dimmesdale asking him to reveal his own connection to herself and Hester. Dimmesdale refused to join Pearl and Hester ... their experiences were ba...

• Word Count: 1291
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography

Every author looks for a way to connect the theme of his book. In Nathanial Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses the theme sin and concealment. The three scaffold scenes throughout the book are used to connect this theme. The first scaffold scene takes place right at the beginning of the novel in chapters 2 and 3. ... One of the characters that are involved in this scene is Hester. The book starts out with Hester in a prison and then they took her out to go and sentence her. They sentenced her to wear the scarlet letter and to ... scene occurs on a Sunday morning so everyone in town ...

• Word Count: 1336
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... , the novel opens after the sin has been committed and Pearl, the offspring of the sinful, but natural, union is three months old. As Hawthorne himself states in the opening chapter, the novel is about human weakness and its resulting sorrow. Hawthorne's focus of attention is the effect the sin has on Hester and Dimmesdale. They constantly suffer from shame and ... novel lies in the fact that the most respected member of this Puritanical society, the Reverend Dimmesdale, is Hester's partner in sin. THE TITLE OF THE BOOK The title is significant to every chapter of the book, as the scarle...

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... mother and this adds to the idea that the letter is bigger then life. The meaning of the Scarlet Letter is also something that gets distorted throughout the book. In the beginning of the book the "A- stands for adultery which is not something to be proud of. People view this lady with the "A- as being evil and just not a good Puritan person ... as almost a living saint to the people she helped. The "A- now became a badge of honor for her to wear and she inspired others to help others. This is evident in chapter 24 when Hester voluntarily wears the letter when she returns from England. T...

• Word Count: 1455
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... work because in so many ways, Dimmesdale rejects the Scarlet Letter, in both human and supernatural forms, it now rejects him, evidenced by the reactions of Pearl in the last chapter, when she runs to the brook to was her head after she Dimmesdale kisses her. The relationship will not work, and seeing the Reverend with this hope pains me. Laced ... between the lines of Hawthorne, among the paths and the scarlet letter, the town and the brook, lay many of the themes in this book, which, during close reading can appear quite easily. In this passage, Hawthorne disguises one of his major th...

• Word Count: 1256
• Approx Pages: 5

... be worn as a punishment, to be worn in shame, to be worn as "adulteress." This may not have been clearly and directly stated to the reader, but throughout reading the book, you gather possible hidden meanings of Hester's scarlet letter. Although the sense of the meaning "adulteress" is constant, the metaphoric, emotional, and moralistic meanings of the scarlet letter vary from ... people's attitude does change. It goes through various roller-coasters of positive and negative meanings throughout the course of the novel. The symbolism of the scarlet letter is expanded in Chapter Five, Hes...

• Word Count: 1352
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... who has lost their way, taken by satan. She tries to redeem herself by not leaving the village and facing her sin. She is the strongest person shown in this book, she is the protagonist. She has to raise Pearl by herself because Dimmesdale still does not come forth. She lives in the outskirts of town and tries to teach Pearl ... forgives him and kisses him on the lips to "break the spell". Chillingworth Chillingworht is the protagonist in the story. He is Hester's wife and is introduced in the third chapter where he finds out that Hester has cheated on him and gave birth to another man'...

• Word Count: 1619
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... adores the sunlight shining through the stained glass windows. Subsequent to this, Pearl asks her mother for some of her sunlight. Hester simply responds, "I have none to give thee." (Hawthorne, chapter 4) Hester has no sunlight to give thee because she has committed the sin of adultery. Through out the novel Hester is not seen much in the sun. She avoids going ... . When he finds out that Dimmesdale is Hester's partner he begins to slowly kill him as though "digging for gold in a dark mine." (Serrano, p. 6) Whenever Chillingworth is presented in the book he is always wearing dark clothe...

• Word Count: 1649
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School