... 's sin and is therefore a constant reminder of guilt for both Hester and Dimmesdale. Pearl is also always doing something to further her mother's guilt. The first thing she recognizes in the world is the scarlet letter, she often throws things at the letter, and she even makes one for herself out of seaweed. Hawthorne even shows her as an A herself Hester make her a beautiful red dress that ... . Although it causes Hester great pain, it is better for Hester to suffer openly about her guilt in public because she eventually comes to terms with it. Hawthorne shows the evolution of the letter...

• Word Count: 915
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... 's sin and is therefore a constant reminder of guilt for both Hester and Dimmesdale. Pearl is also always doing something to further her mother's guilt. The first thing she recognizes in the world is the scarlet letter, she often throws things at the letter, and she even makes one for herself out of seaweed. Hawthorne even shows her as an A herself Hester make her a beautiful red dress that ... . Although it causes Hester great pain, it is better for Hester to suffer openly about her guilt in public because she eventually comes to terms with it. Hawthorne shows the evolution of the letter...

• Word Count: 917
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... reasonable and correct to the teacher? Similar to the Scarlet Letter, it falls to the same, how do we know if a person is the most or the least moral? Everyone's morals are different, it is not based on religion, but on what the people believes in and whether he or she follows it righteously or not. Hester Prynne, the protagonist of the Scarlet Letter is forced to wear the letter A on her bosom for ... , in fine red cloth surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter "A"." pg. 51. Viewed from a Puritan perspective, she is a sinner, a...

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

... , not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since. The scarlet letter had the effect of the cross on a nun's bosom." (148) Due to Hester's caring and considerate virtues, the scarlet letter no longer stood for adultery and alienation. "Some people began saying that A stands for "Able" (158) and more accurate sign of herself. So ... in some ways, it was almost a gift that Hester's community knew of her sin. She could accept the punishment and continue her life and Pearl's, but most importantly, she didn"t the let the sin destroy ...

• Word Count: 1175
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... that they do not accept her. Not knowing what a true friend is, she makes imaginary enemies to fight with. In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl is referred to as "one of those naughty elfs or fairies or...a little bird of scarlet plumage" (Hawthorne 97). The comparison of Pearl to an elf or fairies adds a sense of alienation and mystery to her personality. When she is compared ... stubborn. Hawthorne shows that Pearl represents the scarlet letter not only symbolically but literally as well. Hester says that Pearl is the living scarlet letter, and causes Hester more anguish than the scarlet lett...

• Word Count: 1030
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... and ideals. Women of this time were not thought of as able to overcome hardships and trials because they were considered weak, but Hawthorne showed to the world with The Scarlet Letter what women, in actuality, were like. The embodiment of Hawthorne's feminist ideals, Hester, was an unusual character for that time period. Women weren't considered very important. Yet, "so strong was Hester Prynne, ... spirit, courage, and character could be victorious in battles where physical strength could never triumph. The shame Hester first felt when she wore the scarlet letter was almost unbearable...

• Word Count: 1087
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... and wild ones, - and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss" (136). Hester Prynne, who is the main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, is the subject of this quote. She is sent ahead by her husband in England to settle in the colonies. He fails to arrive and following a few years of his absence, Hester falls into an adulterous relationship and ... would be considered scandalous for a Puritan woman living in New England. "Our forefathers, had they known of it, would have held it to be a deadlier crime than that stigmatized by the scarlet letter" (113). How...

• Word Count: 1186
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... by St. Augustine, regarding immorality. This is discovered to be very true by the main characters in The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne's story of a woman (Hester) who lives with the Puritans and commits adultery with the local minister (Dimmesdale). In his novel, Hawthorne shows that sin, known or unknown to the community, isolates a person from their community and from God. He shows us ... 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" (Hawt...

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

... to take off this badge"(176). She goes on to say that if her sentence to wear the scarlet letter was over, the letter would disappear naturally. It is God's duty to manage the sins of people and not the magistrates of the government. Although the scarlet letter may not be the sentence of God, it does help Pearl redeem her soul. This is also a view of Wagenknecht that is proven in ... saved Hester from punishing herself with torture as Dimmesdale had done. I agree with the statements that Wagenknecht made about The Scarlet Letter. He says that the scarlet letter was not the punishment of...

• Word Count: 942
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... that part of his sickness was credited to Chillingworth until later. His vigil and meeting with Hester and Pearl in 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 scarlet. She is described as having elfish qualities about her. Elves are most commonly thought to be mischievous and evil, which are both characteristics of the adultery the scarlet letter...

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

... in this novel go through their lives struggling with themselves and trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with their actions. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, "The Scarlet Letter," he shows the lasting effect that adultery has on Chillingworth Dimmesdale, and Hester. Roger Chillingworth's first reaction to the crime of adultery committed by Hester is one of shock, but he quickly suppresses ... Hester is publicly seen with the scarlet letter when she first comes out of prison. "It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing h...

• Word Count: 681
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... her, themselves, their faith and devotedness. Mr. Hawthorne's tone during his description of Hester is subtly mystified and filled with wonder. His tone at the description of the crowd is sorrowful, irked. Although significant, tone is not Hawthorne's only weapon of choice. The Scarlet Letter was a novel filled with antagonism. Main conflicts include man versus man, man versus self, and man versus society ... of the points of view of the characters also helps the reader to see that Hester's sin had such an impact on herself and her community. Hawthorne's point of view in writing The Sca...

• Word Count: 1115
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne creates a story where every emotion is shown. The story shows who the characters really are and what they are all about. In the song A Praise Chorus the band Jimmy Eat World expresses many feelings that the four main characters in the book have. Both the story and the song show the pain, guilt, wondering, and love Hester, Pearl, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale feel. The book The Scarlet Letter shows the ... consequences of peoples actions and how everything does not work out the way one has planed. In the song A Praise Chorus the ... not merely estranged, but ...

• Word Count: 634
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... her guilt and able to show passion after she and Reverend Dimmesdale meet in the forest seven years later. So speaking, she undid the clasp that fastened the scarlet letter and, taking it from her bosom, threw it to a distance among the withered leaves. The stigma gone, Hester heaved a long, deep sigh, in which the burden of shame and anguish departed from her spirit. Oh exquisite relief! She ... had not known the weight until she felt the freedom. (Pg. 223) To show her freedom, Hester takes the scarlet letter off her bosom ... begins to not only take a toll on his emotions but also on...

• Word Count: 614
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... community is said to be one of strict and proper manner though when one bearing the scarlet "A" on their chest was to walk through the town, they were pointed and taunted at, as though they were not a human being but of some sort of horrifying existence. The Scarlet Letter could have been written to show others of Puritan ways and beliefs but one who reads this ... on this earth for. Such people were punished in such ways as the scarlet letter, or in The Crucible, the Salem Witch Trials. The sad views of these narrow-minded people also led to the penalizations and unfortunate deaths of ...

• Word Count: 568
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... prove that this quote is true. Two literary works which support this quote are A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry and The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. By using different literary elements, the authors of these two works prove this quote to be true. In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, there is a character named Walter Lee. Walter Lee is a thirty-six-year-old black man ... are true tests of a courageous person and how he beared defeats without losing heart. Another work of literature which supports this quote is the novel, The Scarlet Letter. In this story, the main chara...

• Word Count: 830
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... they do not take responsibility for it. In The Scarlet Letter, Minister Dimmesdale becomes a greater sinner than the two other main characters, Hester and Chillingsworth, because he does not confess and take the blame for the sin that he committed. In The Scarlet Letter, Minister Dimmesdale has an affair with Hester Prynne, which results in the birth of the baby, Pearl, and leads to the deterioration of Hester's husband, Chillingsworth. For ... honor that ended up being his major downfall, for he loses his sanity, his love, and his livelihood in the dreadful depths of sin. Hester was not...

• Word Count: 898
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... present truthfulness in various, common everyday situations, ranging from strong 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 considere...

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

The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne's crime had several effects on her character including the ways she relates to other people in the book including her daughter, Pearl, husband, Roger Chillingworth, and the other people of the colony. Her crime made people look at her in many different ways and they all had some little effect on her character. Hester's crime changed the way she acted around her daughter, Pearl ... me, then, what thou art, and who sent thee hither?" Pearl answers in a laughing way "Tell me Mother!" Hester says that the heavenly father sent her. Pearl touches the scarlet letter ...

• Word Count: 509
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... in America. 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. As the story begins the scaffold is meant to be a punishment for Hester in ... that all people have a potential for evil. The scaffold in The Scarlet Letter serves as an important symbol with many different purposes throughout the novel. ...

• Word Count: 917
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Stephanie Jensen "Sin and Its Engulfing Role in the Community" ~An Analytical Essay~ In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses significant themes and Puritan ideals, such as the concept of sin. In the first chapter, Hawthorne indicates that the colony set land aside for the cemetery and the prison. This shows that the colonists knew there would be serious sin that required punishment, and that every person would ... even expressed natural humans" need for love. The women in the community condemn her for sewing the scarlet letter with such embellishment; because its beauty and lust...

• Word Count: 1128
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... scenes of when they were happy. However, the happy Chillingsworth she knew before he had left changed as soon as he saw her on the scaffold wearing the Scarlet "A- carrying the child. Hester realizes that she is somewhat at fault for Chillingsworth's hurt and obsession for vengeance. Hester says, "The Scarlet Letter burned on Hester's bosom. Here was another ruin, the responsibility of which came partly home to her ... ."" The Scarlet "A- on her chest and Pearl ridiculed Chillingsworth. However, he also blamed ... ...

• Word Count: 909
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter first appears as a beautiful and defiant young woman, but as the story progresses Hester matures and becomes devoted and strong. The story is set in the early Puritanical colony of Boston. Hester Prynne is charged with the crime and sin of adultery, bears an illegitimate child, is made to stand on a scaffold to be publicly ostracized, and made to wear a scarlet A on her ... of her condemers, then a humble and able donor to the colony, and finally the daring, wise, and empowered woman who accompanied her fellow sinner to his confession. Hester's l...

• Word Count: 785
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... The Scarlet Letter" was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. He was a very famous author, who was born in 1804 in the town of Salem, Massachusetts. The setting of the story takes place in the puritan colony of Massachusetts. The scaffold scene was set in the marketplace during the seventeenth century. However the novel opened with a prison setting foreshadowing the future, hiding sadness and comdemption of Chillingworth. Chillingworth's obsession of discovering the ... Eventually Dimmesdale confesses his love for Hester to the whole town on the scaffold. After he confesses, he collapes...

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

Secret Sin Leads to Guilt In "The Scarlet Letter", Hawthorne depicts a way of life that no longer exists in today's society. It was a society of fear in a strict moral code. The morals, which were based on religious beliefs, were usually taken too seriously and gave birth to a generation of extremists known as puritans. Many puritans had ridiculously harsh punishments when a law ... had done for fear of punishment and rejection is clearly shown by Chillingworths" tormenting comments. Once secrets were out everyone in the community knew about it immediately. Hester cannot even bring herself t...

• Word Count: 558
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School