... stories. Nathaniel Hawthorne strayed from this redundant theme in his story The Scarlet Letter. There are many different opinions as to what the main story, motive, or point of The Scarlet Letter is. Some believe it is about sin and adultery. Some contest it is about love. Others state Hawthorne was commenting on the laws of the Puritan communities. All of these may be correct. Hawthorne himself ... favorite subject of Hawthorne's as he recalls "Dimmesdale's temptation to blight a young girl's innocence with a single word" (123) and compares it to Hawthorne considering "The Scarlet Lette...

• Word Count: 3565
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... his breast and struggles to avoid directly answering the questions Chillingworth poses. The two men are interrupted by Pearl and Hester walking through the cemetery outside. Pearl is jumping from gravestone to gravestone, and finally starts dancing upon a large, flat stone. When Hester tries to make her stop, she takes several burrs and arranges them on the scarlet letter, to which they stick. Chillingworth observes that ... Pearl has no "discoverable principle of being" since she disregards all human ordinances and opinions. Dimmesdale then remarks that Pearl embodies "the freedom of a ...

• Word Count: 5572
• Approx Pages: 22
• Grade Level: High School

... grows up into a capricious, precocious, and very observant child. Pearl delights in the scarlet letter and enjoys emphasizing the symbol on her mother's breast. In fact, it is said that when Pearl was a baby, the first feature she noticed about her mother was the scarlet letter on her breast. Pearl is a symbol in the story; she is Hester's salvation, pride, and joy, and also acts as ... eyeing her joyful parents with suspicion. The little girl makes her mother to put the scarlet letter on and put her hair up again before she will cross the riverbank and come to Hester. Afterward, Pearl k...

• Word Count: 3653
• Approx Pages: 15
• Grade Level: High School

... 's openly displayed shame with Reverend Dimmesdale's secret shame by having both characters touch the same spot where the scarlet letter is displayed. We see the same motion of weakness again when he comes forward, with his hand over his heart trying to hide his own scarlet letter which he feels on his breast, when the governor is talking about taking Pearl away form Hester Prynne. Reverend Dimmesdale finally gets ... into the permanent habit of placing his hand over his heart in pain. Roger Chillingworth ... ...

• Word Count: 2932
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School

... things. Public displays of a person's crime were common. Some may think that the simple task of wearing a scarlet letter is no big deal, but try to raise a child who questions almost everything while wearing the letter. Her town branded Hester for all that saw her to know of her sin. Before the trial and the standing on the scaffold, Hester was viewed as a nice, pretty, young, puritan woman whom ... no one would really expect of committing this adulterous act. The frowns, the scoffs, the casual comments, the seclusion, the whispers ... is enough to drive a man insane. It is no wonder t...

• Word Count: 4111
• Approx Pages: 16
• Grade Level: High School