... live by harsh laws and fierce prejudices. Hester Prynne, a young wife whose husband is presumed dead, is being publicly humiliated for the sin of adultery. The proof of her sin is her baby girl Pearl. She conceals the identity of Pearl's father to protect him from the harsh judgement of Puritan law. ... not only tests the Puritan belief system, but also the entire foundation of the Puritan culture. Part of this foundation is to be put to the test. It is on the scaffold in the marketplace where Hester Prynne is forced to conform to the Puritan code. The scaffold is a place where society ...

• Word Count: 2453
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... their offspring. "Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast as the figure, the body, the reality of sin"(83). The mothers of the children in the community would point her out and tell their childern not to be like her. They would use her as an example of ... , individuals would still make mistakes and cause differences in the community. Thus saying that within a community there will always be individuals to test the limits of soicety. Hawthorne rejected the idea of Puritanism. "Hawthorne cannot accept their theology of sin, or i...

• Word Count: 1502
• Approx Pages: 6

... whole. Though she has been banished for committing adultery, she sees that the community needs her. Through her generous accomplishments the community realizes she is a person who, regardless of her sin, can affect the community in a positive way. In the beginning of the book Hester Prynne is publicly humiliated as a punishment for breaking a Puritan belief and one of the ... "in a land where iniquity is searched out and punished" (68) if they did not seek out those individuals that were immoral in their eyes. Their fear of sin and wickedness drove them in their quest to do what they fe...

• Word Count: 1521
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... her she is still a beautiful human being. Pearl is and outcast with her mother because anything the people think her mother is the associate with Pearl. Pearl knows about the sin her mother committed and this is one reason she has no friends so she makes her own imaginary friends to keep her company. Pearl is always messing with the letter ... her. Than the governor asks Hester why she should be allowed to keep Pearl, and she says that Pearl will learn a lot from her and her mistakes. Wilson tries to test Pearl on religious topics and can see Pearls dislike towards him when she refuses ...

• Word Count: 2183
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School