... act gross and brief, and brings loathing after it." This was said by St. Augustine, regarding immorality. This is discovered to be very true by the main characters in The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne's story of a woman (Hester) who lives with the Puritans and commits adultery with the local minister (Dimmesdale). In his novel, Hawthorne shows that sin, known or unknown to ... lines of dull red light" (Hawthorn). This is God's condemnation of the two sinners, most especially Dimmesdale. Hester has already been discovered and is receiving her punishment by wearing the scarlet lette...

• Word Count: 1118
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... Arthur Miller's The Crucible are both distinctly different works about the Puritan society. The Scarlet Letter is a novel and The Crucible is a play. While The Scarlet Letter deals mainly with the sin of adultery, The Crucible deals mainly with false accusations of witchcraft. Both have ... their appointed officials, the public supported them greatly, because in their theocratic society, the eyes of the officials were those of God. In the Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne's punishment was assigned to her by a highly prestigious panel of men from the churches and courts of the Massachusetts ...

• Word Count: 648
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... story revolves around Hester, a bearer of the scarlet letter. She was condemned by the townspeople of execution for she committed adultery with an unknown man. Her husband Chillingworth, filled with anger, told the ... not, mother?" asked Pearl, stopping short. "Will it not come of its own accord, when I am a woman grown?" It is an explanation on the significance of the scarlet letter as a symbol and the bridge of the connection between sin and humanness. "Mother," said [Pearl], "was that the same minister that kissed me by the brook?" "Hold thy ... of that iron period would have impose...

• Word Count: 720
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... because of former jobs they occupied at the Salem Custom House. Hawthorne and Melville claim the credit for remarkable works such as the novels The Scarlet Letter and Moby Dick. As any other literature these two can be linked in many ways such as haste between characters, events such as a ... resurrection, and remarkable recoveries for a characters personality. In The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth shared an important similarity with Ahab and the whale, Moby Dick. Dimmesdale was a young, handsome reverend that was the secret lover ... not Christian like and God is not plea...

• Word Count: 768
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... face which they had not previously noticed, and which grew still the more obvious to sight, the oftener they looked upon him" (p124). This passage, taken from the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, shows the effect that evil has on the antagonist of the novel. The antagonist, Chillingworth, is the novel's villain, due to his numerous displays of evil throughout ... is willing to make Dimmesdale suffer and help Dimmesdale's guilt eat away at his soul in order to get the revenge he wants. One of Hawthorne's purposes in writing The Scarlet Letter is to show that "sin is evil,...

• Word Count: 670
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... accident. Some sins are committed out of love, like that of Hester and Dimmesdale in "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. While others commit the sin of hate just like Chillingworth. Hester was forced to bear the letter "A" (adultery) as punishment for committing her sin and for salvation. On the other hand, I ... hate) in order to transform myself into a better person and to gain more knowledge of things that I wouldn't be able to see for myself without my Scarlet Letter. Hate is such a strong word, but it is also a strong sin. Hate means to have evil thoughts or thoughts of inf...

• Word Count: 675
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... a decision in life, big or small, people try to make the best choices. However, despite good intentions, people often make poor choices. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is the story about Hester Prynne, a woman who commits adultery and is filled with many feelings, including pride, surrounding that sin. ... to other wrong actions that reflect their guilt. Lack of insight leads people to make bad choices, and there are several examples in the book, The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne and Roger Chillingworth get married even though they knew it was not going to be a truthful love re...

• Word Count: 1002
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The Scarlet Letter In the center of a town, a scaffold sits for sinners to undergo public humiliation, but in the end, it serves as a step towards an Emersonian ... People such as Emerson and Thoreau changed the views of the public, with words and actions. The scaffold similarly served as a link for the characters in the Scarlet Letter to separate their ideals from the ideological society in which they lived. Though the role of the scaffold was different, some sort of absolution was always the outcome ... scaffold scene resolves all of the unsettled matters, and Dimmesdale allows his own dea...

• Word Count: 917
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... and her daughter Pearl are on the scaffold enduring public persecution and humiliation. This is Hester's first public appearance with her child and the scarlet letter on her bosom. She maintains a confident poise about her, despite the judgement that comes along with standing on the scaffold. Hawthorne's usage ... Minister Dimmesdale is partaking in the persecution of Hester by repeatedly questioning who the father of the child is. Dimmesdale says she may remove the scarlet letter she bears upon her chest if she confesses. Hester refuses the proposition and says, "It is too deeply branded...

• Word Count: 587
• Approx Pages: 2

Stephanie Jensen "Sin and Its Engulfing Role in the Community" ~An Analytical Essay~ In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses significant themes and Puritan ideals, such as the concept of sin. In the first chapter, Hawthorne indicates that the colony set land ... glad it was not he or she. This closed-mindedness helped feed the hatred for Hester and the societies" need to identify her by describing her with the letter A. Hester is also a heroic figure because she accepts her sin. She is open about it, and she doesn't struggle for that fact that she is human ... and is susceptible...

• Word Count: 1128
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

The Scarlet Letter's characters made major transformations during the development of events. Chillingsworth made major transformations during the occurrence of the events. His pride was broken and consumed himself in seeking vengeance. Chillingsworth ... , the happy Chillingsworth she knew before he had left changed as soon as he saw her on the scaffold wearing the Scarlet "A- carrying the child. Hester realizes that she is somewhat at fault for Chillingsworth's hurt and obsession for vengeance. Hester says, "The Scarlet Letter burned on Hester's bosom. Here was another ruin, the responsibili...

• Word Count: 909
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

"The Scarlet Letter," is one of Nathaniel Hawthorne's most eminent masterpieces. This work distinguishes him and brought him to the forefront of American literature. Hawthorne narrates a sinful woman's life in the tradition new ... symbolical in the story in her features. The girl is the bad result of the adultery between her parents, who can be considered as the symbol of the sin and scarlet letter. "However, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another."(p12) Just because of this, Hester worries about the girl's growth of ... the story, but she still t...

• Word Count: 830
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

"The Scarlet Letter" tells the story of Hester Prynne's sin and all that came about from her daughter's being born because of adultery. The Puritan society, Dimmesdale's, and Hester's story takes place in a ... was one the puritans believed should have been punished by death. However, only Hester was punished as Dimmesdale kept his part of the sin a secret. Hester was forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" on all her clothing, as a symbol for her sin and shame. On the other side, Dimmesdale stayed away and was not punished at all. But, as he began to change ... drastically throughout the begin...

• Word Count: 854
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale has committed the sin of adultery with Hester Prynne. The story begins with Hester coming out of a jail and being put on the scaffold ... she refused to answer. Now, all the town shame and punishment is placed upon her. She is made an outcast and to show this he was forced to wear the letter "A" for adulterer upon her chest which forced her to live with the guilt and shame openly. On the contrary, Dimmesdale kept the guilt and shame inside of himself and those ... has brought out of Dimmesdale, The Reverend ...

• Word Count: 735
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... maintain their status, sometimes they fall. Lucifer had fallen from heaven to hell in the Bible due to his own sinning. He fell to shame as Hester had in The Scarlet Letter. If Dimmesdale were to fall from grace, what would the townspeople think? What truth is there if their own minister committed a heinous crime? Boston's angel is a sinner. As he sat ... from adulteress because of confessing, she is better off. With his mental state on the decline with the guilt he can only conceal, Dimmesdale is the worst off of the Scarlet Letter's protagonists....

• Word Count: 1021
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

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 ... Chillingworths" tormenting comments. Once secrets were out everyone in the community knew about it immediately. Hester cannot even bring herself to tell her own daughter the true reason for the scarlet letter, which seems everyone but Pearl knows. Hester states, "I will keep thy secret, as I have his" which shows her intent on keeping her secret (Hawthorne 45). ...

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

The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is about a woman who was convicted on a horrible crimes back in the 17th century. This story has many themes within its binding. One ... ...

• Word Count: 362
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

The Scarlet Letter In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses three scaffold scenes to demonstrate an underlying theme of sin revealed, sin concealed. If hidden, sin will destroy, but if revealed sin can make a person stronger. The ... ...

• Word Count: 541
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Shame is a painful sense of having done something wrong, improper or immodest. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale struggles to overcome sin, guilt, and public shame in Puritan society. Arthur Dimmesdale reveals his guilt and shame towards the end of the novel when Hester and Pearl ... ...

• Word Count: 939
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Much of the novel, "The Scarlet Letter" centers around determining the identity of Hester's lover, Pearl's father. While Hawthorne is not gratuitous with this information, he does give the reader subtle hints as to the man's identity. ... ...

• Word Count: 582
• Approx Pages: 2

The Scarlet Letter is a story of characters that have to live and deal with the effects of sin in different ways. Of these characters, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is the character portrayed as ... ...

• Word Count: 475
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter", life is centered around a rigid, pure society in which one is unable to show his or her deepest thoughts and secrets. Every human being needs the opportunity to express how ... ...

• Word Count: 1015
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The book "The Scarlet Letter" written by Hawthorne has lot of changes within it. The Scaffold in the beginning of the book is represented as a place for transgressors. But each time it reappears in the ... ...

• Word Count: 695
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Hawthorne frames The Scarlet Letter around three scaffold scenes in the beginning, middle and end of the novel; each scene occurs on different occasions and at different times. In all three scenes, however, the main ... ...

• Word Count: 492
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In the chapters "The Leech" and "The Leech and His Patient" a great deal is revealed about the relationship between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. As the tension begins to grow between the two, even the townspeople notice the possibility of Chillingworth having an evil intent with the reverend. Dimmesdale's guilt begins to increase as time goes on, and his physical heart condition is worsening. The more guilt and shame he feels the more Chillingworth is convinced that he is the father of Pearl. The end of chapter ten marks a pivotal moment in which it seems that he has discovered something that...

• Word Count: 533
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School