... 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 of the scaffold depicts Hester's isolation from the Puritans, and illustrates the theme of punishment that is common throughout the novel. Roger Chillingworth is present, ... the scaffold. Through preaching his last sermon to the townspeople, both his body and soul are finally given rest; as he dies immediately after. Chillingworth, frustrated at his ult...

• Word Count: 587
• Approx Pages: 2

... . Our first instance occurs during the second famous scaffold scene. Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl are atop the scaffold when, "a light gleamed far and wide over all the muffled sky. It was doubtless caused by one of those meteors the minister, looking upward to the zenith, beheld there the appearance of an immense letter-the letter 'A'-marked out in lines of dull red light" (Hawthorn). This is God ... 's condemnation of the two sinners, most especially Dimmesdale. Hester has ... this is true as she lives her final years alone in her cottage on the outskirts of town, still with the scarl...

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

... "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 story, it changes its meaning. So, it changes three times in the book from a place of retribution for transgressors to a place of unity and finally to a place of introspection. The Scaffold in the beginning of the book ... not find the courage to make for himself. So, in the beginning of the book the Scaffold symbolizes to the reader that it is a place of retribution for the transgressors and also...

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

... create a sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance that it overflows upon the outward world" (186). Extending this metaphor of the radiance of ! love, Hawthorne often refers to Hester's scarlet letter as glowing and thus figuratively lighting up the dark and cruel world around it. When Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold, connected to Hester by Pearl, another symbol of their love, "there [comes] what [seems ... ] a tumultuous rush of new life, other life than his own, pouring ... the wild rosebush. It is the sweetness of this blossom that may "relieve ... human frailty and sorrow" (4...

• Word Count: 1485
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Guilt is a powerful feeling that evokes suffering of many souls. Dimmesdale's guilty conscience causes him much pain and results in his self-mutilation, periods of vigil, and deprivation of sleep. Hawthorne's use of omniscient narration creates a powerful image of Dimmesdale's feelings. With use of sympathetic tone Hawthorne creates an obscure atmosphere for the discussion of Dimmesdale's feelings of guilt and how he bears it. The feelings of torment and suffering experienced by Dimmesdale are delicately conveyed into the content of the novel by using complex diction and subordinate clauses. ...

• Word Count: 393
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate