... he has been lost at sea. The townsman then tells of Hester's sin, having an affair, and her punishment, to forever wear a scarlet letter on her breast as an eternal reminder of shame. The deformed stranger ends the conversation with the remark, "It irks me, nevertheless, that ... . He declares that he will never forgive her for this sin and Hester, in begging his forgiveness, covers his face in the scarlet letter. Dimmesdale soon realizes Chillingworth's sin is far more evil and forgives Hester, but then worries that the doctor might divulge their secret relationship ... This idea of flee...

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

... later shed upon this question as Chillingworth uncovers the secret Arthur had tried to keep intact. It is visible to him as he pulls aside Arthur's ministerial robe and discovers a scarlet letter A upon his chest. Although Hawthorne lets this aspect of the novel remain unclear, this engraving on Arthur's chest suggests that the burden of his sin had seeped so deeply ... is generally associated with Chillingworth, and the cold acts of revenge he exacts on Dimmesdale. The light stands for truth and purity and Pearl's free nature. A major theme in the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne i...

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

... twilight of a dungeon, or other darksome apartment of the prison." This is how the reader is introduced to Hester Prynne, the main character in the Scarlet Letter. As one reads the novel we see how she develops as a person. The reader feels the conflicts that the characters go through as they go ... was: "Into my keeping, God gave her." His unique way of switching them around gave his writing style some interest, and variety. Hawthorne kept The Scarlet Letter with a very optimistic tone. Hester's glass was usually half full, as opposed to half empty. She was always trying to make the mos...

• Word Count: 914
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... knowledge when the minister reveals his adultery and openly accepts Hester and Pearl, who have long suffered in silence. Ironically, Hester is "freed" by the confession, no longing bearing the Scarlet Letter alone. But Dimmesdale is also freed; although he dies after the confession, he is finally freed from the guilt of unconfessed, hidden sin and the evil hold of Chillingworth over ... sin to protect himself, and for his silence, he suffers inward guilt and shame that manifests itself in outward, physical deterioration. (It is ironic that Hester, who openly wears the Scarlet Letter as ...

• Word Count: 1929
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... long after this story was published, did women start rebelling against their so-called "position" in society. Hester would have been very proud. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is an amazing story of Hester's strength in exposing and accepting her sin, choosing to wear bold apparel, and helping Dimmesdale ... deal with his inner conflict. She is truly a model for advocates of the early women's right movement. Although the scarlet letter burned a hole to her heart, Hester wears it and never denies it, which shows a true strength from within. When she was subjected to standing...

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

... the introduction, the second contains the climax, and the third contains the conclusion. The first scene, however, truly captures the essence of the book. The first scaffold scene in The Scarlet Letter is the most important, because it introduces the plot, shows the pressures of a Puritan society and the type of strong-willed character Hester Prynne is. It is very difficult to ... her. Without the knowledge of knowing who these characters are, the book would have been much more difficult. The first scaffold scene acts as a simple but vital introduction to The Scarlet Letter. Puritans ar...

• Word Count: 711
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... major punishments. She has to serve many months in prison, stand on the scaffold for three hours under public scrutiny, and attach a scarlet letter, "A" on her chest every day as long as she remained in the town of Boston. The letter "A" was to show Hester Prynne as an adulteress and as an immoral human being. Her refusal to let go of this sin ... scaffold, she was asked to reveal the name of whom she committed the sin with. Having a heart blinded by love Hester choose to stay in the town and wear the scarlet letter "A" instead of revealing the other adulterer. She faced society only to...

• Word Count: 833
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... : Nathaniel Hawthorne Period 4 Adv. English 11 November 2, 1999 The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn begins by dealing with Hester Prynne's crime and sentence. She shows herself to be a proud woman in how she embroiders her bright red "A" ... the wee hours of the morning on the scaffold was the turning point of my impression of him. Pearl's role in the story, I felt, was the scarlet letter come to life. This is shown in several ways. She is a product of what Hester's red "A" represents and is usually dressed in shades of ... is described as having elfish qualities about her. Elves ar...

• Word Count: 1043
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... nature of evil. Every scaffold scene represents a time in which a character takes a step 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 ... Could it be true? She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast, that it sent forth a cry; she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real. Yes!-these were her realities,-all...

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

... different things. This is referred to as symbolism. One example is the S on Superman's uniform, which symbolizes him being "super." In "The Scarlet Letter," Hester Prynne is sent to America alone to wait for her husband to come back from Europe. While she is waiting she becomes pregnant with her ... . In the Puritan days the punishment for adultery was to wear a big, scarlet colored "A" on the chest. Nathaniel Hawthorne creates the symbol of the letter "A" to have meaning more than just adulterer. As the novel unfolds, the letter "A" on Hester Prynne's bosom changes many times. In the beg...

• Word Count: 571
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... and torment in Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Throughout the book, the scaffold has been the symbol of puritan society's harsh punishment for sinners. The three scaffold scenes in The Scarlet Letter convey the theme of sin not being tolerated whatsoever in Puritan Society. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is tormented throughout the story and in all three scenes with the scaffold. In the ... of dull red light" (pg. (143). This serves as an alternate way of branding the A into Dimmesdale's mind. It is nighttime and Hester's scarlet letter is not visible, so the meteor's light reiterates ...

• Word Count: 598
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... 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 ... Hester has apparently had an 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 her secrecy. On this day Hester is led to the town scafold an...

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

... and presenting himself to the townspeople. The first scaffold scene presents not only Hester to the townspeople but her corrupt child and the scarlet letter. The first public appearance made by adulteress Hester and her child Pearl are on the scaffold where they are joined by Reverend Dimmesdale ... this time, Hester's husband appears; Roger Chillingworth and Reverend Wilson demands the name of Hester's lover. He gives her the chance to "take the scarlet letter off her breast" if she were to "speak out his name" (64). But, Hester proudly refuses to reveal the name of her fancy ... himse...

• Word Count: 739
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Every author looks for a way to connect the theme of his book. In Nathanial Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses the theme sin and concealment. The three scaffold scenes throughout the book are used to connect this theme. The first scaffold ... is Hester. The book starts out with Hester in a prison and then they took her out to go and sentence her. They sentenced her to wear the scarlet letter and to stand on the scaffold in front of everyone. She feels that there is a heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes staring at her while she ... who is trying to get at the truth of the si...

• Word Count: 1336
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many different objects and people as symbols to express his message throughout the book. He begins using a plant, then the ... complex symbol in the book is the most obvious and prevalent one, the books namesake, The Scarlet Letter itself. At its first entrance, the letter is used as a symbol of shame, or grief. The magistrates of the town have placed the letter on Hester's breast as a way to let everyone in the town know of her adulterous act ... . After being a complete outcast from the town and all its inhabitants, being respected by her peer...

• Word Count: 777
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... crucial scaffold scenes and many characters that are all related and tied together. The story is essentially about Hester Prynne who is sentenced to wear a scarlet letter as a symbol of her adultery. Hester's life is torn between two men, her husband, Roger Chillingworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister and ... 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 th...

• Word Count: 1498
• Approx Pages: 6
• 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

... moral values among friends to those of the ones you love. Nathaniel Hawthorne presented to readers how valuable telling and concealing truths may be by his compelling novel, The Scarlet Letter. His fictional characters parallel to roles of those enduring heart-pounding punishments for denying truths of those that the everyday person can encounter. Almost always, people find love in ... forbidden places. The Scarlet letter places essential characters in representation of certain things that would be considered forbidden relationships. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale create and portra...

• Word Count: 1026
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

There are many images of truth shown in Hawthorne's novel, "The Scarlet Letter." These images give the reader a look into the minds of the characters and a different perspective on the situations at hand. Many of these images show a turning point in the novel, ... out in society. In the beginning of the novel, there is a scene in which Hester was forced to stand on the scaffold and have everyone scorn her. She shows the scarlet A on her chest for all to see, and braves their criticism. Although Hester is one with a great sin, according to the Puritan society she lives in, she also shows the ...

• Word Count: 623
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... would often breakdown under the heavy burden of guilt, however, and we would realize the relative ease of time in our room. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne similarly develops the concepts of guilt and the freedom gained by confession. In the first of three distinct scaffold scenes, Hester Prynne ... 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 ... at the m...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• 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
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The Metamorphosis of Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many characters that transform; one of them is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale committed a great sin of the puritan society, he slept with another mans wife ... punish himself; he whips himself, has all night vigils and does not get much sleep. He also clutches his chest a lot in away that reminds Pearl of her mother, Hester's scarlet letter "A" By this point in time Hester Prynne's husband has found out about Dimmesdale's secret and has been tormenting Dimmesdale with it. Art...

• Word Count: 1308
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Dimmesdale has a difficult time finding a way to relieve his sin. The Scarlet Letter's scaffold holds more importance than just somewhere to condemn prisoners, and, for Dimmesdale, it is a place to find peace. It is the one place where Dimmesdale felt liberated to say ... . In Puritan culture, the scaffold is used to humiliate and discipline prisoners, be it witches at the stake, thieves in the stocks, or a murderer hanging from the gallows. In The Scarlet Letter, the scaffold was viewed more as a place of judgment, "Meagre, indeed, and cold was the sympathy that a transgressor might lo...

• Word Count: 723
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne strategically structures the story around three very crucial scaffold scenes. In the first scaffold scene, Hester comes out of the dark prison to accept her ... to find out the father and get his revenge. Hawthorne also connects Hester's openly displayed shame with Dimmesdale's secret shame by having them both touch the stop where the scarlet letter is simultaneously. The second scaffold scene, also the climax of the plot, occurs in chapter 12. As a result of his guilt, Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold late one night ... because she had taken measurem...

• Word Count: 443
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... Hawthorne was an anti-transcendentalist and believed in the dark side of man, hence his dark romantic novel The Scarlet Letter. This allegorical novel depends heavily on symbol and character. The novel is chock full of symbolic dimension of images, characters, and descriptions. The ... Scarlet Letter defines the American Romanticist movement while using symbolic characters and places that give the book seemingly two different stories. The first ... forest; and I well-nigh promised the Black Man that comely Hester should make one" (119). When rumors spread through town about Hester and he...

• Word Count: 1687
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School