... public shame and constant ridicule, Hester becomes an outcast to society. Her love for Arthur Dimmesdale, their minister, and the creation of Pearl, her daughter, has forced her to live in seclusion. The only times she even comes into the city is to sell her very well-crafted clothing. This in turn causes the Puritan view of her letter "A" to change from adultery to ability. (Hawthorne ... aspects of both light and dark. During their time in the forest, Hester and Pearl both have different experiences. Rays of sunlight fall on Pearl, but not on Hester, which shows Hester's inability to ...

• Word Count: 1366
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... were communicating their vital warmth to his half-torpid system- (137). Essentially, Hester and Pearl help to bring him to peace. Before he can really enjoy this feeling, however, Pearl brings him back to reality. While the girl has developed many "elfish- qualities, she has a knack for pushing the buttons of human emotion. So when she asks Dimmesdale to join her and her mother on ... the scaffold the following day, the narrator explains his feeling, " with the new energy of the moment, all the dread of public exposure that had so long ... been the anguish of his life had returned upon...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... "A" patched against her breast. An elderly onlooker asks of what is going on and a man in the crowd explains that the lady is Hester Prynne who carries the child, Pearl, of an adulterer and is being charged for illicit sexual intercourse. The man explains to the elder that Hester was sent ahead to Boston by her husband, who is a scholar much older than she, but he never ... , Hester's charitable deeds and quiet humiliation have earned her a relief from the hate of the community. One day both Hester and Pearl were returning from a visit to a deathbed and observe Father Dimmesdale atop the...

• Word Count: 1497
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... shade are more numerous than any other images in the novel" (Waggoner 160). The color red stands for passion and the anguish felt by both Hester and Dimmesdale. It also stands for the love between the two of them and for Pearl, their daughter. Darkness and light symbolize the ongoing struggle between good and evil. The darkness 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 is the consequence of sin is alienation...

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

... scowl. He is greedy in the sense that he wants to torture Dimmesdale as much as he can. The meteor shows Chillingworth the relationship between Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl, and makes his yearning for revenge even greater. Hester is also affected at the second scaffold scene. At the second scaffold scene Hester and Pearl are for the first time privately united with Dimmesdale. The narrator exclaims, "The three formed an electric chain ... ." This illustrates the trinity between Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale. Hester's emotion is distinguished ... ...

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

... Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the author uses the scaffold scenes to depict the idea of private versus public sin. The first scaffold scene establishes the tone for the novel. Here, Hester Prynne is taken before her Puritan town from the prison. On her bosom she bears the scarlet A for "adultery" and in her arms she holds the creation of her sin, her daughter Pearl. She ascends the steps of the scaffold alone ... crime. However, although not revealed this early in the novel, Arthur has an ulterior motive for not wishing Hester to reveal the father in public, for the fact stands that he...

• Word Count: 1460
• Approx Pages: 6

... and then slowly made his way down from the podium. He walked from the podium and made his way to the scaffold. He stood up on it and called for Hester and Pearl, and then holding Pearls hand he confessed his sin to the public. After that he kneeled down to Pearl and asked for her to kiss him on the forehead. Pearl did and at that moment Dimmesdale fell ... over and died (Hawthorne 225-228). He had done it; he had finally released himself from the pain that had tormented him ... for years. In conclusion Dimmesdale went through extreme torment ... ...

• Word Count: 1813
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... in Salem, Massachusetts. In this strictly controlled Puritan town the inhabitants 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. She however is doomed to ... spend the rest of her life marked as an adulterer by wearing a scarlet "A" on her chest. Hester ... ...

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

... to transform himself but by the next time we see him at the scaffold he is taken a turn for the worst. Dimmesdale had begun to 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 ... and her daughter Pearl up on the scaffold, Pearl asked if the three of them can stand together he tells her no but someday. At the great judgment day," whispered the minister; and, strangely enough, the sense that he was a professional teacher of the truth impelled him to answer the child so. "...

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

... for knowledge of Arthur's condition. A perfect example of Roger's persistency is a conversation the two have about confession and redemption. Like a puzzle, Roger strategically connects what he learns through his conversations with Dimmesdale, until finally, the last piece "the "A- on Arthur's chest "is fit into place and the puzzle is complete. Roger rejoices in the satisfaction he receives upon linking Dimmesdale to Hester and Pearl ... Roger thus desires to seek revenge on Dimmesdale. This desire turns into an obsession. It is here that the reader sees the corruption of love. In light...

• Word Count: 1412
• Approx Pages: 6

... were to confess that he committed adultery, everything he did would be gone. Still, if he doesn't confess, the guilt will destroy him from the inside. Dimmesdale persuades the clergymen to allow Hester to keep Pearl on terms that Pearl is a torture for her to keep because Pearl is a child born from sin. She defends Hester and does all she can to help her. We also know ... herself because Dimmesdale still does not come forth. She lives in the outskirts of town and tries to teach Pearl about Christianity and to teach her good morals. It is hard for her to do this because Pearl is a wild c...

• Word Count: 1619
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... forever if treated and stored properly but not all of the manifestations of the scarlet letter will last forever. The scarlet letter is brought to life by Hester's daughter, Pearl, who is also a symbol of Hester's conscience. Even though at some times Pearl can be a hindrance to her mother she is also a blessing. She is a reason for Hester to live revitalizing her sprits whenever she has ... the urge to give up. Pearl is always drawing or crafting the letter "A- in the sand, with seaweed, flowers and brambles. "In ... the afternoon of a certain summer's day, after Pearl grew big enough...

• Word Count: 1536
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... strength, but to rip his shirt and reveal to everyone his own scarlet letter on his naked breast. He also says to Pearl, "My little Pearl, dear little Pearl, wilt thou kiss me now." And for the first time in the novel Pearl shows affection for her father and sheds a tear for him. There in the light of day in front of all of his followers Dimmesdale dies peacefully with ... wants her to reveal his name. She does this in the light of day in front of all the townspeople. The second scene occurs at the climax of the plot, in the middle of the night where no one is to be seen. Dimmesdale cli...

• Word Count: 1498
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... takes place in Salem 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 she is, sent her ahead to America, but he never ... arrived in Boston. The consinsus is that he has been lost at sea. While waiting for her husband, Hester has ... , and Chillingworth cries out, "Thou hast escaped me!" Pearl finally bestows on Dimmesdale t...

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

... process. Although some would argue that Dimmesdale was not a father, most would have to disagree. It is not that he was not a father, for Pearl was the evidence of the act he committed. However, the reality was that he was not a good father. Unfortunately, as in today's society, many children are exposed to an "absentee" father. Today as well as then, nothing has changed. Children ... she would have to be god and work things out for herself, and then she goes on to live a life that has no positive impact. Pearl, most would think, is the most fortunate because she inherited Chillingworth...

• Word Count: 2000
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... held her baby tight as people looked her up and down with disgust (Hawthorne 52). Even though the "A" presented such problems for her, she didn't remove it and stood her sentence out despite how embarrassing it must have been. The first thing her darling Pearl noticed when she was born was the scarlet letter on her mother's chest. She reached up to touch it, and ... 't see beyond that cursed letter. Even the daughter she treasures more than anything considers the scarlet letter her second mother, if not her first. "'Mother..., I see you here. Look! Look!'" Pearl remarked as she looked in...

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

... not know anyone else. Also, they were slightly afraid of him, because of the devilish look about him, and surely he was shunned after it was discovered what he had been doing to the good Reverend Dimmesdale for all those years.   Secondly, he left his estate to the girl he felt sorry for Pearl.   He felt as if he had taken away her father and her ... chance at a normal, happy life.   Pearl's tears had touched his deep, dark soul on the day her father died.   Chillingworth felt some responsibility ... for Dimmesdale, and though he had been his foe, he felt that he owed it to ... ...

• Word Count: 1430
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School