... a crucial part in portraying the hidden side of Pearl Prynne. Pearl is shown in a negative light, the town viewed her as a child of witchcraft and evil. However the reader knows that beneath the town's perception of Pearl lay a deep and endearing child. In chapter fourteen by the ocean, Pearl "came to a full stop, and peeped curiously into a pool, left by the retiring tide as a mirror for Pearl to see her face in ... . Forth peeped at her, out of the pool, with dark glistening curls around her head and ... an elf-smile in her eyes, the image of a little maid, whom Pearl, having no other...

• Word Count: 2043
• Approx Pages: 8

... 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

... - rather than "adulterer-. The narrator refers to Pearl as the moral blossom of the novel. She is the one that will teach the moral lesson of the story. This is revealed in chapter eight also when Pearl tells Mr. Wilson how she has been plucked from the rose-bush outside the prison door. Pearl is the rose blossom and she is to provide the moral to this story. Pearl strives for everything to be pure ... 's passionate sin, yet she provides the strength for Hester to survive in such a harsh society. Pearl is also a reminder of the moral issues throughout the novel. She yearns for the truth t...

• Word Count: 1487
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... her chest. This journey, which includes Mr. Dimmesdale, the man Hester was involved with, Pearl, the daughter of Hester, and Chillingworth, the man who was married to Hester brings the reader into the exploration of the many themes apparent in the novel. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the characters in the story to help develop the themes of identity in society, the nature of evil, and secrecy versus exposure of sin ... someone in their later years; either way both Pearl and Chillingworth help develop the theme of the Nature of evil in The Scarlet Letter. Another theme ...

• Word Count: 1923
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography

... sympathies, and as her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor for ever do battle with the world, but be a women in it" (234). On the other hand, Pearl was considered to be born evil because she was the product of her mother's sin. Her wild "witch like" behavior ... was caused by her chaotic upbringing, none of which was actually her acting out of the evil in her heart. Pearl showed love and compassion to the ones dear to her. Her father was barely had a presence in her life yet Pearl loved him and shedded tears for ...

• Word Count: 1931
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... chest, which stands for adultery. As beautiful as this symbol is, it "was red-hot with infernal fire" (Hawthorne 82). The letter not only symbolizes the humiliation of the public, but also the deep burn that guilt evokes. The children in the village are taught to look at the woman who bears the scarlet letter "as the figure, the body, the reality of sin" (Hawthorne 74). Pearl, a very smart ... and curious, girl is described as elfish and the devil's child because of her mother. ... even makes her own out of seaweed. Pearl plays as a direct symbol of the scarlet letter, which is a way of...

• Word Count: 1253
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . After Hester moves away from the village, the Puritans give her the job of making fine clothing for the upper class. With any extra material that Hester has, she makes Pearl's clothes. Pearl's clothes are extraordinarily elaborate, which separates Pearl from the other children. Hester never let the clothing be plain for Pearl. Pearl did not do anything wrong by being born. For that reason Hester believes that Pearl deserves to have beautiful clothing. Another ... representation of Hester's love for Pearl is when Hester and Arthur Dimmesdale finish their conversation in the forest. Hest...

• Word Count: 1429
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... herself as best a woman might." He looks past the reason for her situation and recognizes the good in the adulteress. This aspect also foreshadows later events as Hester is the strongest link in the relationship between her, Dimmesdale, and young Pearl. Also, Hawthorne's figurative style and his insight into the characters is shown. He writes, "Pearl looked as beautiful as the day, but was in one of those moods of ... see it on Dimmesdale's chest, the letter becomes a representation of his sin. Even little Pearl represents the "connecting link between the two [Hester and Dimmesdale]." S...

• Word Count: 1296
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... nothing but them. In this way, Pearl can be seen as a burden or a consequence for Hester, but also is the un-flawed character in the novel. Finally, the letter "A" is the consequence of Hester's sin of adultery which stays with her throughout the novel. Blatantly the most obvious of the three symbols, the scarlet letter "A" contains the most power, as it is the basis for the theme of the book, which is sin and its ... consequences. Although Pearl was a consequence, the scarlet letter which Hester wore ... ...

• Word Count: 2041
• Approx Pages: 8
• 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

... , dark story because it is centered on sin in the puritan society. Through out The Scarlet Letter, light is used to show happiness and goodness. One of the most happy and cheerful characters in the novel is Pearl, who is represented by the light. As Fogle (1969) states, "Pearl is the character most recognized for her presence in the sun" (p. 38). The sun is drawn to her as she is drawn ... to the sun. In one scene, while in the forest with her mother, Hester, Pearl realizes that sun does not shine on ... , alone, than playing with children of her own age. She enjoys frolicking in the for...

• Word Count: 1649
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• 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

... , he described the people "being of the most intolerant brood" (Hawthorne 86). When the people found that Hester had Pearl, her daughter, out of wedlock, Hawthorne wrote that the village "scorned them in their hearts and reviled them with their tongue" (Hawthorne 86), proving that the Puritans discriminated people who did not follow their way of life. The intended audience for "The Scarlet Letter ... " could be anyone interested in the way people interacted with ... ...

• Word Count: 1291
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography

... 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

... civilized society," the prison (1358). The rose is a symbol referred to throughout the story. In this first chapter it illustrates the beauty that can come from the penumbra of a prison. Not coincidentally, for the rest of the story, it is linked to Pearl. Waggoner elaborates on this by documenting that the rose in front of the prison is described as covered in delicate gems. Likewise, Pearl is the "red-clad" ... gem of her mother's bosom. Throughout the story, Pearl's beauty is likened to a rose. She cries for one in the governor ... It is the hope of the town that the stigma of the le...

• Word Count: 1915
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... , wore that naughty smile which made its expression frequently so elfish. The minister, Mr. Dimmesdale, was Hester's sin who is even mistaken later in the novel by Pearl for the Black Man. The Black Man is the devil who leaves his mark on those in the forest. In the forest, Hester and Pearl are talking about the Black Man, "Is there such a Black Man? And didst thou ever meet him? And ... together and understands the relationship between it all. Mistress Hibbins and Pearl are unlike the rest of the people in the town which may be part of the explanation for them being able to see that the...

• Word Count: 1820
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... mine. He bears no letter of infamy wrought into his garment, as thou dost; but I shall read it on his heart."" (75). This was the first but not the last time for which he will declare his revenge for Pearl's father. This fatal flaw leads to his sins of both anger and envy. "I must seek this man there is a sympathy that will make me conscious ... not as yet find utterance, save in this murmur that rolled so heavily after the departed spirit."" (269). Chillingworth's final negative effect on Dimmesdale was causing his death. However, not only did Dimmesdale death have a negative impact on...

• Word Count: 1529
• Approx Pages: 6
• 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

... revenge was through her daughter, Pearl. Everywhere Hester went, Pearl was right beside her. Pearl was just a smaller version of the scarlet letter. Even though Dimmesdale seemed to suffer more than anyone else in the novel does, he also distributed a fare amount of revenge. When Hester was on the scaffold with Pearl in her arms, being punished in public, Dimmesdale abandoned her. For the next couple of years he ... does not even make an effort to see her, let alone give her any financial help for their daughter. Minister Dimmesdale continued giving his ... excellent sermons to the con...

• Word Count: 1589
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... revenge was through her daughter, Pearl. Everywhere Hester went, Pearl was right beside her. Pearl was just a smaller version of the scarlet letter. Even though Dimmesdale seemed to suffer more than anyone else in the novel does, he also distributed a fare amount of revenge. When Hester was on the scaffold with Pearl in her arms, being punished in public, Dimmesdale abandoned her. For the next couple of years he ... does not even make an effort to see her, let alone give her any financial help for their daughter. Minister Dimmesdale continued giving his ... excellent sermons to the con...

• Word Count: 1480
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... convey the mood of this society. The greatest amount of distortion goes to Hester Prynne's Scarlet Letter, which is her burden for her sin. The effect that this distortion of the letter produces is that the audience is left to try to draw the conclusion from the story by following the themes and seeing how the distortion itself can heighten our responses to the actions of the novel. The Scarlet ... Letter is very distorted in its depiction of the appearance of the letter, the meaning of the letter, and the affect that the letter has on other people. The ... of Hester Prynne's beauty. W...

• Word Count: 1455
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... 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