... following pages will examine the way sin affected the Puritan Community in the Scarlet Letter. First, they explain the history of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Then, they explore the sin and according punishment for the Puritan Community. Finally, they show how the sin affected the Puritans (Shepard 5). Nathaniel Hawthorne, born in Salem, Massachusetts, July 4, 1804 and died May 11, 1864, was the first ... fine, taken from the pre-1650 court records of Plymouth.  For those who do not know, 1 pound ( £) = 20 shillings, and 1 shilling =12 pence. Crime Punishment Adultery Severely whipped on two ...

• Word Count: 1751
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• Grade Level: High School

... wrongdoing while Dimmesdale's analogous sin went unnoticed. Even though it wasn't only Hester's fault, she was the one who had to get a punishment. Her punishment for her crime was to spend a few hours on the scaffold to face public humiliation, and she was forced to wear the letter "A" on her clothes ... for the rest of her life. Hester's punishment for her sin was distinguished in that the results of her actions were for the most part external. Hawthorne describes what Hester's punishment ... tore at him internally and physically. Even though Dimmesdale punished himself emotionally and...

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• Grade Level: High School

... Chillingworth, Hester's anonymous husband, caused the destruction of his character and inevitable death. The story dealt a great deal with the idea of sin, the punishment that comes from it, and the repentance that some undergo to cleanse themselves of that sin. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the author uses the ... home and a select few is the best way to handle the situation. Had Hester revealed Arthur as her fellow sinner in this most heinous crime, Hester's punishment could have been reconsidered, which could have put both of them to death. It was in the best interest of...

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... "the sun does not like you, it hides from something on you bosom." (Hawthorne, 1988) This scene emphasizes Hester's scarlet letter upon her chest, the punishment she has been given, which is making her a darker person as she strays from the light. Chillingworth, Hester's husband when she was having an affair, ... Pearl as the black man, or the devil. Through out the novel, he is striving for revenge. He is obsessed with finding Hester's partner in crime. It is this obsession that makes him so evil or dark. When he finds out that Dimmesdale is Hester's partner he begins to slowly kill him...

• Word Count: 1649
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... letter "A" is clipped. Pearl is the consequence of her mother's actions and faults and serves as a reminder of Hester's sin, and is more of a punishment than a blessing, and should have the same place as the scarlet letter which Hester wears around. On the other hand, Pearl is seen as a child of ... to be true to herself, which is the most natural thing to do. In the beginning of the novel, the scarlet letter "A" symbolizes shame and punishment. Hester, by her own choice, wears humble, dismal clothes; she moves to the outskirts of her town, but refuses to run away to a place ... her cri...

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• Grade Level: High School

... structure and later being joined by Pearl and Hester, something pulsed through his body and he was revitalized. However, he still refused to admit his crime in front of the town. Finally, when the book reaches its climax, Arthur succeeds in winning back the spirit that he had lost years before ... , and he prepares to tell his congregation of his horrible crime. With his last steps, he ascends the scaffold and completes something he feels he should have completed seven years earlier. He accepts his sin, he ... to understanding The Scarlet Letter as a novel. The Scarlet Letter "A" is the c...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . 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 punishment was concluded that she would have to wear a stitched red letter A on her chest as long as she remained in Boston. After being released ... under the heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes all fastened upon her, and concentrated on her bosom..." (57) From that point on Hester punishment includes displaying the letter A on her chest at all times to show to everyone the adulterous act she committed. The thought of making th...

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• Grade Level: High School

... way of repentance. Hester has to suffer the consequences alone because her fellow sinner will not admit to his crime, which in time drives him to torture himself. Hester continues in her punishment as a form of her repentance because she believes that if she keeps the "A" on she will serve her ... , like Hester and the other characters, as a romantic figure. As a romantic figure Dimmesdale is highly emotional which is the reason for his self-punishment which is caused by his sin. Dimmesdale's sin is that he commits adultery with Hester Prynne and becomes the father of an illegitimate chi...

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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... person who, regardless of her sin, can affect the community in a positive way. In the beginning of the book Hester Prynne is publicly humiliated as a punishment for breaking a Puritan belief and one of the Ten Commandments; adultery. She is then forced to stand in front of the town for hours as the ... without a mixture of awe, such as much always invest the spectacle of guilt and shame of a fellow creature" (63). They almost took a delight in her punishment, having thought they cleansed the town, and therefore only leaving a "pure" society. They thought that if they treated her so horrib...

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• Grade Level: High School

... to become guilt-ridden, eventually leading to his unnecessary death (Hull). Hester Pryness, a young, tall, and beautiful woman of the Boston community does not believe that her sin is actually a crime (Eldritch Press). Living in a Puritan community, Hester is shunned for her actions, and she was forced to be humiliated in front of the town while standing on the scaffold with ... . Hester, who has grown up in Europe, does not see eye to eye with the Puritans; they are angered by her beauty, and feel that her punishment is not sufficient for the nature of the crime. Hester does not see the...

• Word Count: 1373
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to become guilt-ridden, eventually leading to his unnecessary death (Hull). Hester Pryness, a young, tall, and beautiful woman of the Boston community does not believe that her sin is actually a crime (Eldritch Press). Living in a Puritan community, Hester is shunned for her actions, and she was forced to be humiliated in front of the town while standing on the scaffold with ... . Hester, who has grown up in Europe, does not see eye to eye with the Puritans; they are angered by her beauty, and feel that her punishment is not sufficient for the nature of the crime. Hester does not see the...

• Word Count: 1442
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• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... ." As you can see examples of shunning are directly expressed through the fact that TMZ released a video on the actions of Ray rice and the fact that people described his punishment as mild. This goes to show that many citizens shun Rice for what he did in society because it is being broadcasted around the world for everyone to see and ... stand on a scaffold in front of the townspeople for three hours wearing an embroided Scarlet letter "A" which stood for "Adultery" at that point in the novel. This was Hester's punishment for committing her "crime." it was described as humiliating to H...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Scarlet A Multiple meanings and discussion providing insight into the letter The letter "A" was to 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 ... when she almost covers up the letter with her hand. Preachers will stop in the street and give sermons when they see Hester. The letter therefore becomes an example of crime and acts as a deterrent for others in the community. Throughout the beginning chapters Hester is isolated and looked down up...

• Word Count: 1352
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• Grade Level: High School

All of Hawthorne's work is one form or another of "handling sin". All of his stories are those of persons whom some crime, or misunderstood virtue, or misfortune, has set by themselves, or in a worse companionship of solitude (Symons 1597). The Scarlet letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne explores sin and its consequences. The focus ... permanently placed on her dress to symbolize her adultery, and she is made to stand on the scaffold with her baby for several hours of public humiliation. This is her punishment, the heaviest that man can afflict upon her. Hester is to stand as a warning to others ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... who are affected by the letter are Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, Pearl, and Hester Prynne (Schneider). The scarlet letter is a sign by which the colonial authority seeks to fix the crime of adultery and the criminal, Hester Prynne. The "A" both indicates, yet hinders the Puritan community's authority over Hester's identity. As the novel progresses, the letter changes meaning from adultery to ... into Dimmesdale's chest. However, the reader cannot be sure if it is really there or why. Some reasons to explain this could be that Dimmesdale did it out of self-punishment and the in...

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• Grade Level: High School

... praises him more (241). The more the people honor him, the more his guilt grows. The hypocrite retaining his religious image in public and lead a guilt-ridden life of self-punishment in private that ruined his health and causes his physical deterioration. Dimmesdale fears discovery and his caution about openly revealing his guiltiness discriminating to Hester and himself. His disbelief and ... sinned. Pearl the only innocent, because she did not commit sin she just the creation of it. All the indulgences came into the light when the person decided to. Each crime could be weighted, but C...

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• Grade Level: High School

... sympathy of human contact (p. 122)" Hawthorne makes use of situational irony at many points in the novel. It is ironic that Dimmesdale, a highly regarded Puritan clergyman, had a hand in Hester's punishment when he engaged in the same sinful act. Also, I found it ironic that "Pearl," a name often associated with elegance and purity, came from something so sinful and immoral. Symbolism, being ... the Puritan society and the atonement for sin. It was there that Hester was charged, where Dimmesdale came to seek comfort in the night, and where he eventually admitted his crime to the Puritan...

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• Grade Level: High School

... Hester moves back to the town she fled with her daughter so many years prior. However, she again returns to the residence in the forest where she lived fulfilling her punishment. Since she does not live for profit, people, mostly women, bring her their troubles and seek her counsel. And there she returns to her chest the symbol of this "dark ... that religion and law are almost identical and "the mildest and severest acts of public discipline were alike" (Hawthorne 1359). In fact to them, even free speculation can be a "deadly crime." The Puritans practice ultimate devotion to their rel...

• Word Count: 1915
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• Grade Level: High School