... their later years; either way both Pearl and Chillingworth help develop the theme of the Nature of evil in The Scarlet Letter. Another theme that the characters of the novel help to develop is the theme of secrecy versus exposure of sin. The readers get to experience how Hester lives with her punishment for all to know and see the effects that it has on her while they get to also ... see how Reverend Dimmesdale suffer in silence over the guilt he has for his ... sin. In a Persuasive essay by ... ...

• Word Count: 1923
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography

... moving to her new home and the scarlet letter she must wear, remove her mindset from one that must act in a society. In other words, "The world's law was no law for her mind." (170). Hester's independence would never have come if she had not been forced to wear the scarlet letter. The same is the case with here popularity. Throughout the story, the scarlet letter becomes synonymous with the name Hester Prynne, however overtime ... this relationship of letter to Hester goes from bad to good. The people of Boston begin to regard Hester and the letter with "a species of general regard." (1...

• Word Count: 513
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... progresses, the scarlet letter on her chest takes on a new meaning. At the beginning of the novel, Hawthorne explains how women have become more feminine throughout generations: Morally, as well as maternally, there was a coarser fibre in those wives and maidens of old English birth and breeding, than in their fair descendants, separated from them by a series of six or seven generations; for, throughout ... takes place, recognizes her charity work and gives her scarlet letter a new association. The letter "A" means Able instead of Adulteress because of her enduring, womanly strength. Ne...

• Word Count: 904
• Approx Pages: 4

... in this novel go through their lives struggling with themselves and trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with their actions. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, "The Scarlet Letter," he shows the lasting effect that adultery has on Chillingworth Dimmesdale, and Hester. Roger Chillingworth's first reaction to the crime of adultery committed by Hester is one of shock, but he quickly suppresses ... . Hester is publicly seen with the scarlet letter when she first comes out of prison. "It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing...

• Word Count: 681
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... a special, original relation to the scarlet letter. She is not only the letter as Hester might conceive it, but its instrument in a scheme that is quite independent of her. It is Pearl's role to enforce the mother's guilt and represent her rebellion. She does this simply by making it impossible for Hester to forget the letter. As a baby, the letter is the first object that Pearl becomes aware ... all in disorder" (91). This deed, according to the Puritan doctrine, is equal to a sin or a broken law. Pearl's character does not function as a typical character; she functions as a symbol that...

• Word Count: 549
• Approx Pages: 2

... punishment? Did he approve of the "A" that at one point stood for "adulterer?" The scarlet letter was meant to be a symbol of shame, but instead it became a powerful symbol of identity for both Hester and Pearl. Pearl does not even recognize Hester as her mother without the letter safely secured to her bosom. Over time the meaning of the letter shifts and Hester, as well as the society, learns to see beyond ... the outward appearance and look within, and ... ...

• Word Count: 1200
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... dancing in the woods leads to the accusation and execution of many innocent people for witchcraft. The two works of literature, The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter have very similar qualities, including setting, difference, and general aspects of the characters, while there are also specific parallels between characters, such as Abigail and Hester, and Parris and Dimmesdale. The settings in both The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are similar in many ways. The Scarlet Letter takes place ... around the 1640s, as The Crucible occurs in 1692 ... ...

• Word Count: 578
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... for us, and unable to think freely we accept these illusions as reality. Very few of us have the strength and courage to step out of this cave, step out of the role assigned to us and let our experiences decide who we really are. One of Hawthorne's underlying message is in the Scarlet letter ... her own identity, rather than to allow others to determine it for her. Surprisingly, Hester reacts with dismay when Chillingworth tells her that the town fathers are considering letting her remove the letter. Hester's refusal to remove the Scarlet letter and instead embrace is significant in a way...

• Word Count: 1049
• Approx Pages: 4

... . In this way, Pearl can be seen as a burden or a consequence for Hester, but also is the un-flawed character in the novel. Finally, the letter "A" is the consequence of Hester's sin of adultery which stays with her throughout the novel. Blatantly the most obvious of the three symbols, the scarlet letter "A" contains the most power, as it is the basis for the theme of the book, which is sin and its consequences. Although Pearl was a consequence ... , the scarlet letter which Hester wore upon her bosom became part of her personality and identity. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, there are ma...

• Word Count: 2041
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... the novel the Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The ability to tell right from wrong is a quality valued and praised in every society of every time. This is also true in the Scarlet Letter. This ability to tell right from wrong, or making a decision that does not harm or offend anyone or their values is seen throughout the novel in the manifestation of the society's feelings for the character. From the beginning of the ... novel and through a large portion of the novel, Arthur Dimmesdale is send as a person ... should've already known right from wrong. So this assumption t...

• Word Count: 721
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... many images of truth shown in Hawthorne's novel, "The Scarlet Letter." These images give the reader a look into the minds of the characters and a different perspective on the situations at hand. Many of these images show a turning point in the novel, as well. Dimmesdale, Pearl and Hester show the different instances where truth was brought out in society. In the beginning of the novel, there is a scene in which Hester was ... suffered as Hester suffered for their hypocritical and ruthless punishment, even if they were conscious of it or not. Pearl's character is also very significant. S...

• Word Count: 623
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... of characters in a literary piece, the purpose of 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 Nathaneil 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 contribute vitally to the plot of the novel. Arthur Dimmesdale, ...

• Word Count: 328
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and forced to wear the scarlet letter. However, it is Dimmesdale's guilty conscience and struggle to rise above the sin that makes the essence of the narrative. The argument for Dimmesdale as a protagonist lies in the answers to the following questions. Does Dimmesdale's character change throughout the story? Does he have an antagonist and a helper? Do his actions bring about the climax of the story? Finally, does he solve the problem? Hawthorne uses character ... taught to prevent contact with those sinners, "As the two wayfares came within the precincts of the town, the children of th...

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

... 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 extraordinary woman. It is ... in life. Many believe his confession was a symbolic act, while others believe Dimmesdale's fate was an example of divine judgment. The Scarlet Letter defines the relationship between the...

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

... 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 which they had suppressed as a result of the dogmatic lifestyle. The theme of the novel which directly relates with the story may be interpreted as a moral lesson. The novel encourages honesty and emphasizes the point to listen to both sides of ... an argument, as opposed to following the beliefs of others without any individual ... enforce its standards through a mental oppression. Through the fear of rejection and derision, the people today c...

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

Secret Sin Leads to Guilt In "The Scarlet Letter", Hawthorne depicts a way of life that no longer exists in today's society. It was a society of fear in a strict moral code. The morals, which were based on religious beliefs, were usually taken too seriously and gave birth to a generation of extremists known as puritans. Many puritans had ridiculously harsh punishments when a ... of punishment and rejection is clearly shown by Chillingworths" tormenting comments. Once secrets were out everyone in the community knew about it immediately. Hester cannot even bring herself to tell her own daughte...

• Word Count: 558
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Often in society people are criticized, punished and despised for their individual choices and flaws. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author attempts to show the way society casts out individuals simply because their ideas and deeds differ from the common values. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester Prynne to symbolize that those who challenge social conformities can benefit society as a whole. Though she has been banished ... never spoke up in her own defense. She let her skills and charity for others speak for themselves and it was through those very actions that br...

• Word Count: 1521
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... reason and decides to falsely confess to witch craft so that maybe others will follow and be saved from the lies of the judges. From what I see, Hester Pryne had a conflict mostly from society based on the way the town felt about her child and commitment of the sin she wears the scarlet letter for, adultry. Society cast her out as if she were not human and she suffered ... for it because she beleived it was not fit to commit adultry because society says it is a sin. She did not find her ... husband sufficient for love because of his age and decided that Arthur was the man for her. The ...

• Word Count: 616
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... that " God knows how black [his] sins are" and that he is " not worth the dust on the feet" (Act.IV.142-143) of those who hanged for witchcraft. Likewise, Hester Prynne was remorseful for her crime, and perhaps her guilt makes her such a strong character. Being forced to wear the scarlet letter built Hester's character with "Shame, Despair, [and] Solitude! These had been her teachers, -stern ... and wild ones, -and they made her strong." (ch.XVIII.175). Likewise Proctor's sins make him a wiser man and enlighten him to the falsehood of the witch trial. Since ... life or his principals. ...

• Word Count: 524
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... she has done and to sort of pre judge her. Covenant Theology is the idea that we should all be our brother's keepers. That we should all look out for others that if suspected of doing wrong be brought out into the open to the judged. Since the Society in The Scarlet Letter was a puritan society the people were highly subjected to this concept. In our everyday society you ... hard to accept such radicals. The hippies on the other hard had a lot of courage to defend what they believed in so strongly. Just like when the Catholics were being prosecuted for their beliefs. The same thing was h...

• Word Count: 956
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... and amend their spirit to become aliens of their past. With no recollection of their former being, their prior self ceases to exist and becomes anew. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne inspires the audience to comprehend how sin and incessant guilt have adverse effects on individuals living in a reproachful society that does not condone indulgences. As he uses expounding third- ... and therefore an altruistic character when he says, ""Even if I imagine a scheme of vengeance, what could I do better for my object than to let thee live-"(26). Chillingworth's statement not to seek re...

• Word Count: 855
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... happened to be a fireman that did that job. Because of this, Montag received the opportunity to steal a book. This decision to take the book was caused by the setting of his world, in which the government made decisions that he did not understand. So in deciding to steal the book, he set the foundation for his future actions that would ultimately lead to his destiny in life ... and live to spread the knowledge to others. The second of the two novels was Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the novel unlike Fahrenheit 451, the destiny of the characters is described in the book due t...

• Word Count: 1020
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... for simplicity and naturalness, a love of plain feelings and truth to common place reality, especially as found in natural scenes". Nathaniel Hawthorne was an anti-transcendentalist and believed in the dark side of man, hence his dark romantic novel The Scarlet Letter. This allegorical novel depends heavily on symbol and character. The novel is chock full of symbolic dimension of images, characters, and descriptions. The Scarlet Letter defines the American ... Romanticist movement while using symbolic characters and places that give the book seemingly two different stories. The first st...

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

... lover was strictly her own. Also, society in no way pressured her to commit adultery; 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 ... . Through society's treatment of Hester years after her crime, one can find the relationship between the individual and society. Hester has become such an outcast that it has become impossible for her to regain any statu...

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

... , when they tell the reader about the prison, the scaffold, and how Hester is being publicly condemned for adultery. These chapters also show the reader that the society is depicting the political reality of Hester's World, the Puritan society. The Puritans intended to create a "Utopian" society, but it can be seen in these chapters that this world already knows sin. The women of the town criticize her for embroidering the scarlet letter, the symbol of her ... shame, with such care and in such a flashy manner. This seems to declare that Hester is proud, rather than ashamed, of her sin. I...

• Word Count: 295
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School