... their beliefs. Puritanism was the basis for the government and local organization within this New England Colony. The Massachusetts Bay society revolved around Biblical principals to function efficiently. Thus, the Puritans of this New England colony established life in North America for a specific purpose, to create a true kingdom of God on earth. Puritan families and relationships had various similarities and ... . Therefore, suffering, disease, death, and corruption became a part of human life. Most Puritan clergy saw five portions of life on the path to God's favor. These included e...

• Word Count: 1790
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... escape from Boston. Running from the truth makes him feel even more guilty. Finally, he can bear the shame and guilt no longer. On Election Day, he climbs the scaffold with Hester and Pearl and publicly confesses his sin. Since he has admitted his guilt and won his personal victory, he ... town. It is a moralistic and gloomy place where the citizens dress in drab colors and lack any liveliness. Even on the Election Day holiday, they cannot relax and enjoy themselves. The Puritans easily find fault in the weaknesses of others, as evidenced by the fact that they gather at the scaffold to wi...

• Word Count: 1285
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... revenge, badly. They decide to run away together on a ship on election day. On election day, Hester discovers that Chillingworth booked a ticket for the same boat that she and Dimmesdale was going to take. Dimmesdale delivers his election day sermon, one of his best sermons ever spoken, and walks up ... Feeling full well the distress of his own secret, Arthur proclaims that those who hold such "miserable secrets will yield them up that last day with a joy unutterable." (Hawthorne118) By this expression, Arthur offers a glimpse into his tortured heart and shows how heavy a burden his .....

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

... next to the rusted prison door. The scarlet letter was a stigma worn by someone who had committed a sinful act many Puritan settlements. The Puritans believed that public humiliation was a just punishment for these offenders. Hester was forced to wear the letter "A" on her chest for the rest ... Puritans tried to disgrace Hester, she turned the symbol around into something special. And as time went by, her efforts proved to be worthwhile. This stigma was thought to be something great by those who were unfamiliar with Puritanical ways of punishment. Both the governor's servant, and the Nat...

• Word Count: 843
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... . Is it possible to attain forgiveness in a Puritan society after committing such a heinous sin? Forgiveness is always a possibility in my eyes, though the puritans see black and white. It is either wrong or right, and Dimmesdale is wrong for having relations with Hester. A punishment suitable for such a sin ... is already been instituted since the day it happened. Dimemsdale is living with this guilt on his conscience for seven years. One cannot earn their forgiveness without doing some sort of penance, ... sermon is a joyous occasion in which he revealed the evil that he has done. Th...

• Word Count: 1115
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... , the scarlet letter concealed who Hester really was. The last identity the "A" took on is the adjective able. On pages 241-242, the Native Americans who came to watch the Election Day pageant thought the "A" marked Hester as a person of importance and high status! People viewed Hester as defiant, strong, and able. However, everything Hester is viewed as is due to its ... adulteress, ashamed, artistic, alienated, armor, or able, is it because of one source- the scarlet letter. The narrow-minded Puritanical society only sees her for these few things. What the Puritans should have seen in ...

• Word Count: 636
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... stable woman who will not fall so easily. She decides to remain in Boston because it is the town where she committed her sin and if she faces each day the guilt she is burdened with, then somehow, she hopes her soul will be purged (74). Not only do the townspeople associate the "A" with Hester, most ... code. Her apparel is not what the others in the town are accustomed to. It is bold and stands out from the ordinary clothes worn by the Puritans. After being kept in the prison for committing adultery, Hester was released to stand out her punishment on the scaffold. The very first thing th...

• Word Count: 1678
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... at himself the while, and smiting so much the more pitilessly because of that bitter laugh. It was his custom, too, as it has been that of many other pious Puritans, to fast, -- not, however, like them, in order to purify the body and render it the fitter medium of celestial illumination, but rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him ... , which makes him more vulnerable; his private suffering destructed his internal strengths. Unable to overcome the pressure he put on himself, Dimmesdale finally reveals his sin during a sermon on the election day to the community. He admits t...

• Word Count: 1309
• Approx Pages: 5

... Church should consist of "visible saints", i.e., those persons able to prove that they were among God's elect. Five assumptions developed at the Synod of Dort bound the Puritans together. These assumptions included belief in unconditional election (grace), limited atonement, the total depravity of man, the irresistibility of grace, and final perseverance of the saints. The attitudes of the Massachusetts colonists originated from ... aspects of the behavior of the colony's citizens, punishing those who would curse, swear, commit adultery or practice witchcraft. Failure to attend assembli...

• Word Count: 1292
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate