... also an example of symbolism. Her name means she came of great cost; all Hester had. Pearl is the living image of the Scarlet Letter and, like the letter on Hester's bosom, causes her much pain and embarrassment by breaking nearly all moral codes of this Puritan community. Pearl's role was not ... Hester and Pearl before all Salem to confess his sin. At this moment, Pearl's role is complete. A final example of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter is the behavior of the sunshine. The sunshine is meant to represent purity or innocence. At one point in the novel, Hester tells young ... to the c...

• Word Count: 634
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... attitudes of Puritan society are presented in such a reality that we can assume, safely, that the commonwealth acted as so, however, to a certain extent. In the introduction of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne writes about his various meetings with Ellery Channing, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson (Hawthorne pg. 27). These people and their experiences must have sparked something into the ... , is the instrument of moral insight." Imagination is what creates moralistic intuition in the writer (Jacobsen pg. 34-33). Another example that may support morality in the production of The ...

• Word Count: 1014
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the book and the symbols used to represent them. Hester Prynne, the town's seamstress, committed adultery and for her punishment she has to wear the scarlet letter. The "A" stands for her sin, but as the people come to know her over the years, they think of the "A" as her being able ... out of seaweed (p.163). Pearl knows that there is a connection between Hester and Dimmesdale, and she believes that it has to do with the scarlet letter. At the end of the story, when Dimmesdale lets everyone know that he is the father of Pearl, then she becomes complete. Dimmesdale, the town ... minister...

• Word Count: 435
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... through unanticipated events. The variety of characters in this novel helped construct a setting that would give a creepy feeling to any reader. The Scarlet Letter is wonderfully written and does not require any changes and meets all expectations by providing an incomparable window into the life of a Puritan sinner ... . Not enjoying this novel would be a sin in itself, perhaps requiring The Scarlet Letter for punishment. The unforeseen plots and twists in this novel kept reader's interest and reading word for word. "After a brief pause, the physician ... start a new life away from the cr...

• Word Count: 789
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... she was very happy, joyful, and full of life and color but on other days she was "wilting" which brought Hester much grief. In The Scarlet Letter it shows how if a person sins against God, he/ she will pay for what they did, even through that particular sin. Pearl brought some joy ... According to chuckii.com "Hester's child, is symbolic of changing Puritan society." Pearl changes the puritan society because she is the outcome of the scarlet letter, and was rebellious to the Puritan way of life but not evil. Even though something can be really tough to cope with, Hawthorne suggests that ...

• Word Count: 647
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... a punishment for a sinful act, and as living reminders of human foibles. The symbols used in this book are the scarlet letter, Pearl, and the rosebush 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 ... after some time had passed it began to stand for "Able." From the very beginning, the readers could see the significance of the letter because of Hawthorne's description: " that SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It...

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

... while depicting women's societal standing suggests that women are becoming more feminine and compassionate. At first glance, Hester is considered to be a contemptible adulteress, but as the novel progresses, the scarlet letter on her chest takes on a new meaning. At the beginning of the novel, Hawthorne explains how women have become more feminine throughout generations: Morally, as well as maternally, there was ... a cap. Without complaining, Hester takes on tasks that better herself as an individual. The city of Boston, where the novel takes place, recognizes her charity work and give...

• Word Count: 904
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... -self, his views on Puritans certainly show through the eyes of the narrator. Hawthorne criticized the Puritans and their society; he disagreed with many of their beliefs. He describes the scarlet letter as elaborate and ornate, almost like Hester Prynne herself. He describes her beautiful and young as opposite of the townspeople. Also she holds her baby high for all to see ... see the narrator also has these thoughts. "On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A." (The Scarlet Letter...

• Word Count: 673
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... literature is just a bunch of meaningless words on paper. The most symbolic piece of work in American Literature is Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne's use of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter is one of the most significant contributions to the rise of American Literature. Much of Hawthorne's symbolism is very hard to find but ... This represents the blossoming of good out of the darkness of all civilized life. The most important symbol which is carried throughout the novel is undoubtedly the scarlet letter A. It initially symbolizes the immoral act of adultery but by the ...

• Word Count: 502
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... books seem to depict this standard of living in two different ways. The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, conflicts the effects of the conjunction of church and state while The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, conflicts the inability to perfect human nature regardless of any assistance given by a created lifestyle such as Puritanism. Although these conflicts are different in body, they ... life of Puritanism. Puritan life is one of servitude to a higher calling that is socially and spiritually demanding. The conjoining of church and state was not as evident within The S...

• Word Count: 710
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... 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

... later that it became popular and a success as a book. Although Hawthorne wrote many novels, none of them were as successful as "The Scarlet Letter". It was set in Puritan Boston in the early years of a Massachusetts Bay Colony. Many things can affect what happens in a story and ... one of those things is setting. In the Scarlet Letter, there is the symbolic significance of various settings: the scaffold; the forest, which ironically becomes an oasis of freedom for Hester and Dimmesdale, though ... culture exhibits an unforgiving policy for those who do not do what Puritanism says is ri...

• Word Count: 1003
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, addresses sin in the book quiet frequently, this essay addresses how Hawthorne really thought about sin and it's aspects like punishment. The Scarlet Letter is a novel that deals with the theme of sin. Throughout history, people have committed all types of sins, and whether they are major or minor, ... based upon the severity of their crime. However, what many people overlook is the fact that in time, we all have committed sins. In The Scarlet Letter, the idea of sin and punishment is the main theme of the novel and how Hester Prynne, the main character, has b...

• Word Count: 802
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... and understood her consequences. Does this recognition not redeem her? Does she not deserve a second chance? Must she ultimately pay for it by wearing her scarlet letter and becoming a social outcast for eternity? She was stared at, laughed at, talked about, and despised by her fellow peers: "This woman has ... did. How do you think God reacted to this cruel punishment? Did he approve of the "A" that at one point stood for "adulterer?" The scarlet letter was meant to be a symbol of shame, but instead it became a powerful symbol of identity for both Hester and Pearl. Pearl does not even ...

• Word Count: 1200
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... elsewhere for the child's paternity, and observing some of her odd attributes, had given out that poor little Pearl was a demon offspring- - page 95 of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Since Pearl had no known father, the townspeople gossiped freely of Hester and her Pearl. Because Dimmesdale was not revealed as her father until later in the novel, Pearl suffered ... " The children of the Puritans looked up from their play and spoke gravely one to another: "Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter, and, of a truth, moreover, there is the likeness of the scarlet le...

• Word Count: 626
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... women. The men could easily hide a secret affair as long as the women did not tell anyone. However, the women would have affairs, and be punished for life. In The Scarlet Letter Hester will not give the name of her lover, so she is the only one who is punished until Dimmesdale admits to his sin. Men also got away with drinking ... congregation was often staggering."" Even though it was wrong to drink, they did and went unpunished for their sin. Many sins were unforgivable, like the one Hester committed in The Scarlet Letter. Many people wanted her to be more severely punished even thoug...

• Word Count: 867
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography

... to the overall effect of the novel. In essence, this is a story of sin, punishment and the importance of certainty and truthfulness. One theme which plays a big role in "The Scarlet Letter" is sin, judgment and its consequence. An extreme sinner through the eyes of the Puritans is Hester Prynne because she has committed the sinful act of adultery. The effect of ... this sin is condemnation and sentenced to wear the scarlet letter "A" as a constant reminder for her sin. Hester does not cover up her sin in the novel, as a matter of fact she openly appreciates the ... elaborately designs ...

• Word Count: 778
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... their chest was to walk through the town, they were pointed and taunted at, as though they were not a human being but of some sort of horrifying existence. The Scarlet Letter could have been written to show others of Puritan ways and beliefs but one who reads this would go on believing the people led their lives in a completely different way. ... a manner if one of their own performed any deed other then what they believed they were put on this earth for. Such people were punished in such ways as the scarlet letter, or in The Crucible, the Salem Witch Trials. The sad views of these nar...

• Word Count: 568
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... are many different themes portrayed throughout the book. Hawthorne develops these themes through many different symbols in his novel. Besides the obvious symbol being the Scarlet Letter, you can find many other examples of Hawthorne's use of color. The colors that he repeats in the book besides red are gray, gold, green, and black. Gray represents the ... a crumbling wall." The green moss is Hester's new life away from her husband, which is considered as the crumbling wall. Gold also played a role in the novel. Hester embroidered her scarlet letter with gold thread. She also sewed a dr...

• Word Count: 506
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The scaffold scenes are one of the most important events in "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The first scaffold scene occurred in the beginning of the story which was about Hester and the second scaffold scene ... can never get away after committing crime, in the end they get punished and pays for what they did and regrets it. The first scaffold scene in the scarlet letter focuses on Hester Prynne. The scene occurred in the morning sunlight. Hester on the scaffold with Pearl in her hand. Townspeople gathered to watch her on the ... Chilligworth disguise of an Indian. When the gov...

• Word Count: 560
• Approx Pages: 2
• 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

The letter "A" in the Scarlet Letter is not just a letter, it is a symbol in which the whole book revolves around and establishes a theme that develops throughout the story. The letter "A" changes throughout the novel and goes from something evil to something good, in this case being "angel." The letter gives Hester, the main character, her personality ... still in England, and decide to punish her, not knowing who the lover is. The town decides to punish her by making her wear a scarlet letter on her chest, which she has to wear everyday for the rest of her life, to symbolize that she is an "...

• Word Count: 1035
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The character of Hester Prynne changed significantly throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner. She has gone against the ... young woman who has sinned, but is forgiven. Hawthorne describes Hester as "divine maternity" (49) and she can do no wrong. Not only Hester, but the physical scarlet letter, a Puritanical sign of disownment, is shown through the author's tone and diction as a beautiful, gold and colorful piece. From the beginning, we see that Hester ... is a young and beautiful woman who has bro...

• Word Count: 461
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... this ideology, which is covenant theology, seems very discouraging we can find strands of it still existing in our society today. In the book The Scarlet Letter you read about very many views that tie directly into this sort of control. One main view about the book is on adultery and how the ... reacted to it. Once the puritan society found out that Hester Prynne had committed adultery with the reverend Dimsdale they scared her by making her where letter A on her garments. This was so that everyone would remember what she has done and to sort of pre judge her. Covenant Theology is ... ...

• Word Count: 956
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

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