... character, plays the role of a sinner from the beginning of the book. She is characterized as a very strong, independent woman, who bears a beautiful scarlet A on her chest. The Puritan ideals of sin are shown at the beginning of the novel when Hester stands upon the scaffold with her newborn for three ... notices that her guilt will not pass until she makes penance. In addition to the public's humiliation, Hester also receives the punishment of wearing a red scarlet letter A on her chest, which stands for adultery. As beautiful as this symbol is, it "was red-hot with infernal fire" (Hawt...

• Word Count: 1253
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... crucial scaffold scenes and many characters that are all related and tied together. The story is essentially about Hester Prynne who is sentenced to wear a scarlet letter as a symbol of her adultery. Hester's life is torn between two men, her husband, Roger Chillingworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister ... and guilt leads Dimmesdale to create the novel's second scaffold scene. In this scene Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold, clutching his naked breast which held the scarlet letter, permanently etched there. On the scaffold he screamed aloud, without power to restrain himself. He then e...

• Word Count: 1498
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since " (147). The truth of Hester's scarlet letter changed; it no longer represented her weakness and evil, instead, she was now seen as a hardworking woman who is kind and humble. Larger part of ... forest and the edge of town. "Throwing his eyes anxiously in the direction of the voice, he indistinctly beheld a form under the trees [...] and so little relieved from the gray twilight into which the clouded sky and the heavy foliage had darkened the noontide, that he knew not whether it were a woman...

• Word Count: 1931
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... would often breakdown under the heavy burden of guilt, however, and we would realize the relative ease of time in our room. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne similarly develops the concepts of guilt and the freedom gained by confession. In the first of three distinct scaffold scenes, Hester ... the maturity of his revenge. As he feels the impact of this malice, Dimmesdale looks for comfort in the form of a midnight confession. According to The Scarlet Letter: A Student Casebook , however, " The Minister's Vigil' (Chapter 12) takes place at night when the purpose of the scaffold ...

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

... a single mistake. The novel, first published in 1850, reveals the strict and severe ways of Puritan life that ruled New England two hundred years prior. At the same time, The Scarlet Letter, tells the story of one woman's struggle to find meaning in living after disobeying the highly regarded word of God. When dialogue is used in the novel, which is ... Puritans, as they relied heavily on the holy text. This type of language seems to stay consistent throughout the story, even when Mistress Hibbins and young Pearl are speaking. The Scarlet Letter uses dark romanticism as Hawthorne attemp...

• Word Count: 1296
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

Good vs. Evil Within The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the contrast of good and evil through the Reverend Dimmesdale and through his physician, Roger Chillingworth.   He also emphasized the necessity to "Be true" through Hester's ... child also will bring its parent thither!   Herein is the sinful mother happier than the sinful father" (p. 111).   So here we see that the Reverend knew of his sin, but little did he know that another, besides Hester, knew as well. What Roger Chillingworth saw in Dimmesdale was a dark and sacrilegious.   This glowing picture of perfection had...

• Word Count: 1430
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... she has not "sinned alone," she knows that other feels the shame that she feels. In her public and private suffering, represented by the scarlet letter in her life, she remains a pillar of strength. Hester's selflessness also reflected in the services that she renders to the poor, needy and ... 150). Hester's strength of character in public her way of steeling herself against her inner wounds inflicted by her reputation and plague by the scarlet letter. Her weakness revealed in her private vent of her grief through tears. Her silent suffering eventually wins the sympathy of others but st...

• Word Count: 1594
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

According to Anne Marie MacNamara, Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter goes through several stages of spiritual growth; preparation, communication, transformation and finally revelation. To further understand why Dimmesdale is so hard on himself we must first Learn a little back ground on Puritanism. Puritanism was a move influenced by the Reformation, but whose ... people but he was not able to speak a word to them because he would freeze up in fear. Then he started to become a little more confident and was able to talk to the people of the town and see how they felt they felt about the ...

• Word Count: 1813
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School