... a bold statement of who she was and what she believed in the way she carried herself in front of the townspeople, in the way she created the Scarlet Letter with such striking colors and in the way she stood fearlessly before the crowd on the scaffold. Because this punishment separated her from society and the townspeople who were once her friends, Hester is constrained to living a ... life alone with her daughter Pearl on the outskirts of town. Once an impetuous, ... ." Hester's very sense of self was coupled with the Scarlet Letter and everything that it represented, which, for her, in...

• Word Count: 1295
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... source of torment. The vagueness of the symbol, however, allows its meaning to evolve as the novel progresses, thus "the scarlet letter had not done its office" (Hawthorne 160). Later on, the letter comes to stand for "Able," as Hester is "Able" to Talbert 5 overcome hardship, Talbert 5 live through the shame, and thrive in the hypocritical Puritan society. Towards the end of her life, the letter grows to mean "Angel", and "the scarlet letter ceased to be ... a stigma which attracted the world's scorn and bitterness"(Hawthorne ... ...

• Word Count: 2338
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... 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" (Hawthorne 82). The letter not only symbolizes the humiliation of the public, but also the deep burn that guilt evokes. The children in the village are taught to look at the woman who bears the scarlet letter "as the figure, the body, the ... of her mother. As she grows, her personality changes in the reader's mind to be pure because of her amiable nature. Pearl symbolizes the scarlet ...

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

... which in fact are sinners but not the most severe of the novel. During The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne, "a young women who has born herself an illegitimate child and believes herself to be a widow"(Darrel 1) moves to Boston, New England from Europe in 1642 to start a new life. Because of Hester's adultery she is sentenced to wear a scarlet "A" on her chest which "is made not ... because she believes that if she keeps the "A" on she will serve her punishment on earth so she can be forgiven in heaven. Another reason Hester's sin is not the greatest is because she is sorry for her actions. ...

• Word Count: 2203
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... revenge. Hawthorne's ultimate theme in The Scarlet Letter is vengeance amongst all of mankind. Since the moment Roger Chillingworth was introduced into the novel, revenge filled his mind. He first began gaining information from a stranger in the crowd of the puritan community about the familiar woman standing upon the scaffold. As soon as Chillingworth learns why Hester was on the scaffold he begins plotting his ... . "It was whispered, by those who peered after her, that the scarlet letter threw a lurid gleam along the dark passage-way of the interior"(48). The letter left the community...

• Word Count: 1589
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... century Boston, during a Puritan settlement. It takes place in Salem and Concord, Massachusetts; late 1840. A young woman, Hester Pryne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter "A" on her breast. A man in the crowd tells an elderly onlooker that Hester is being punished for adultery. Hester's husband, a scholar much older than she is, sent her ahead ... affair, as she has given birth to a child. She will not reveal her lover's identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and ...

• Word Count: 1337
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... towards self-reliance and has changed in various ways. The Scarlet Letter begins with the three-hour punishment of Hester Prynne. The first scaffold scene takes place in the market place in front of society. Hester Prynne has been accused of adultery and must expose her sin by standing on the scaffold for three hours. She also must wear an "A" on the front of her dress, which also is representation ... for Dimmesdale and society. Although the society sees the celestial "A" in the sky to represent a conformation of the Governor Winthrop's ascending into heaven, Dimmesdale sees it as his ...

• Word Count: 1995
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... revenge. Hawthorne's ultimate theme in The Scarlet Letter is vengeance amongst all of mankind. Since the moment Roger Chillingworth was introduced into the novel, revenge filled his mind. He first began gaining information from a stranger in the crowd of the puritan community about the familiar woman standing upon the scaffold. As soon as Chillingworth learns why Hester was on the scaffold he begins plotting his ... . "It was whispered, by those who peered after her, that the scarlet letter threw a lurid gleam along the dark passage-way of the interior"(48). The letter left the community...

• Word Count: 1480
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... his worst enemy. All of this torture 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 exclaimed, "It is done, the whole will awake and hurry forth, and find me here." (Hawthorne, ... 103) It seems as though that's what Dimmesdale wanted was the whole town to come see him ... standing there, a sinner. However, the minister is soon greeted ... ...

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

... the King James version of the Bible. I immediately concluded that the story must have taken place before the English language evolved into what it is today; Hawthorne again wanted to show the "proper ways" of the 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 attempts to explain the sinfulness of human nature and why people act as they ... do. In a satirical way, he almost mocks the "nonconformist" cu...

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

... child, Pearl, is the product of her affair, the infant stands as the living symbol of her sin. The embrace that she gives her baby is, thus, her own embrace of her sin. Hester also reveals that this embrace covered her scarlet letter, but that " wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm,"with ... a glance that would not be abashed - (46). While she could have "hid- from the full force of this scaffold penance, her dignity holds her open to ... malice, Dimmesdale looks for comfort in the form of a midnight confession....

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

... for her frailty; nay, more, they had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of that 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 ... completely good, their environment shapes them and they choose whether to be good or evil . How important is nature? "But, on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might ...

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

... comes to represent true evil. Roger Chillingworth's outlook throughout the story and his actions were very dependant upon his need for revenge. His vow to seek revenge had a negative affect on his life and the lives of others around him. Lastly, his fatal flaw led him to suffer dire consequences at the end of the novel. In the Scarlet Letter Roger Chillingworth's major flaw is revenge. He first ... vows to seek revenge on the father of Pearl during chapter 4 saying, "Thou wilt not reveal his name ... ? Not the less he is mine. He bears no letter of infamy wrought into his garment, as th...

• Word Count: 1529
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... had been Hester's husband.   He saw Dimmesdale as a rival, a foe, and he treated him as such, but on a much deeper level than one may think. He did not openly hate the man, nor threaten him in any way.   He simply used what he knew was Dimmesdale's secret weakness "his ... felt as if he had taken away her father and her chance at a normal, happy life.   Pearl's tears had touched his deep, dark soul on the day her father died.   Chillingworth felt some responsibility for Dimmesdale, and though he had been his foe, he felt that he owed it to Pearl, ... vengeful acts.   Thus, he proved...

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

... 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 main objective was to purify the Church of England. The most out going of the puritans wanted to return to ... just wasn't sure when he would be able to bring him self to do it. He had to become strong on the inside and on the outside because...

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

... Dimmesdale and Pearl Prynne come full circle with the birth and death of the figures. The actions of the sinners put a shadow on the lives of those around them. All view their effrontery in different ways, some thought they had the right to sin and shame other. Sin was the major topic of Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter. Hester sin of adultery was the focus of this novel. With out her husband ... , whom she the thought died, she committed adultery. Refusing to ... of courage, he fails to confess and suffers constantly. He continually places his hand over his heart, covering the sc...

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