... in that he alone can conquer any evil, because he alone is without sin. Goodman Brown's unwillingness to face that there is a darkness in all is childish and lacking reason. The passage to adulthood is to accept one's sheer lack of the capability to be perfection incarnate. "Having refused to look at evil, he is left in a state of moral uncertainty that is worse, in a way ... passage reveals that Brown had an unwitting knowledge of his own failure of perception. There are many rich biblical symbols in Hawthorne's tale. When Brown meets with the devil, the devil gives him a staff in the ...

• Word Count: 1393
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... not only bigoted and joyless, but essentially evil. (Bloom 13-14, 97, 100) The person that is affected most by the scarlet letter is Hester Prynne, for many very obvious reasons. It is a large part of her daily life, and each of her actions is watched very closely by the community. Because of her ... in explaining Hester's offense. She symbolizes the union of her two parents, outside of marriage, and is therefore labeled as a strange or evil child. However, all of her actions in the novel are innocent and devoid of blame. She is also very curious, shown by her questioning and also her cr...

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

... . While symbols are created, those symbols must be given meaning within their context and, because the context differs, these symbols can vary over time, as seen in this novel. Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" contains many symbols, including the forest, Pearl, and the scarlet letter itself, which all contribute to the main ... should speak a different purport," (163). Hester accepts her punishment, which is the scarlet letter and knows that it is, in essence, her consequence for her sin. One villager voices his opinion on the "A" when he states, "At the very least, they should...

• Word Count: 2041
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne embeds a variety of signs and symbols in the letter "A." The letter "A" has many positive and negative effects on Hester Prynne, the wearer of ... on Hester also. First, we must understand where Nathaniel Hawthorne got his idea of the letter "A" and his usage of signs and symbols within his novel. Although there were not any reports on specific individuals convicted of adultery in Puritan history, a 1694 law in Salem stated that women ... life, Hester Prynne used the experience to make better choices for her and her daughter, Pearl. The scar...

• Word Count: 1468
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography

... there is no guarantee of happiness by following intuition, yet there is the gaining of personal integrity that helped her through all of her struggles. Her ability to stay strong through all of her hard times is the one characteristic that can be admired by everyone, and why she is a symbol of strength ... in a person, They stood in the noon of that strange and solemn splendor, as if it were light that is to reveal all secrets, and the daybreak that shall unite all who belong to one another. There was witchcraft in little Pearl's eyes, and her face, as she glanced upward at the minister,...

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

... . The symbolism of the prison, roses, the scaffold, the letter "A," contrasts between light and dark, and the forest throughout the novel are the undefined characters. An understanding of these symbols is vital to a complete comprehension of the complexity of the story; Hawthorne technique of using symbolism is brilliant and it helps the reader understand the whole concept. In The Scarlet Letter, images ... a stigma which attracted the world's scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over" (1473). This action reveals that, to Hester, the badge was never a mark ...

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

... upon her, and concentrated on her bosom..." (57) From that point on Hester punishment includes displaying the letter A on her chest at all times to show to everyone the adulterous act she committed. The thought of making the emblem so gorgeous enraged the town people, "as for the red letter, which she hath stitched so curiously, I"ll bestow a rag of mine own rheumatic flannel ... of individuality and standing by what you believe in. From the oppressive shamed women, to the self contradicting clergyman, to the extremely-indulgent "elf child", all the characters are trying to do their own...

• Word Count: 1687
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... on election day. On election day, Hester discovers that Chillingworth booked a ticket for the same boat that she and Dimmesdale was going to take. Dimmesdale delivers his election day sermon, one of his best sermons ever spoken, and walks up to the scaffold with Hester and Pearl to reveal his sin to all his congregation. He confesses everything and falls ill and dies soon afterward. Hester ... concealed transgression and the evil-hearted schemes of Roger Chillingworth. The last scaffold scene is when Dimmesdale finally confesses to his hidden sin, his act of passion with Hester, and die...

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

... 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 that he has become weak and needs Chillingworth's ... He is not allowed into Dimmesdale soul as Dimmesdale tells him not to meddle in his personal affairs. When he finally confesses, he is granted some peace, at least in death because he does not have to suffer anymore. However other symbols show that he is not redeemed ...

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

... by Matthew Maule. Colonel Pyncheon built a massive house and took the land from Maule. The house of the seven gables was built with pride and cursed with death. These are symbols that destroy the Pyncheon family. The house suffers from decay and disrepair, like the Pyncheon family. It was built one hundred and sixty years; according ... , and weed, in this black old earth, for the sake of refreshing myself with what little nature and simplicity might be left in it."(67) Phoebe begins to have a conversation with Holgrave about the garden and its doings. Holgrave and Phoebe belong to the n...

• Word Count: 2022
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... gruel thick and slab: Add thereto a tiger's chaudron, For the ingredients of our cauldron. (Shakespeare) The very ingredients in this potion again manifest the idea that all witches are evil to the point of using babies for magical purposes. Unfortunately, the list given above is taken literally ... for naturally grown herbs. Witches are not only described as ugly and evil but as companions of Lucifer. This is evident when, in Nathaniel Hawthorne's story "Young Goodman Brown," the main character, Goodman Brown, meets an old man on a dark path. The old man is described as wearing a cloak ...

• Word Count: 1486
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... anything that came from the forest was evil. (194) Pearl had a knack of fitting in with natural things. Puritanism puts all of its stock in the religious leader of the community; Arthur Dimmesdale was the Religious leader of the community where the story takes ... scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature to her appearance." It is highly ironic that Hester's largest signs, the letter A and Pearl herself are the symbols of her sin, but Pearl is also the symbol of her ... happiness. Hester, once looked at as a be...

• Word Count: 2043
• Approx Pages: 8

... , in that the narrator is simply ignorant to what we have already pieced together-yet as it draws on for fifteen whole pages, we question whether we truly do know more than our narrator. After all, the narrator has thus far acted as our guide throughout the novel, at times blatantly explicating the meaning of symbols for us-we have built up trust in his ... opinions, although moments of revoked explanation has left us wanting. That his commentary itself should be unreliable subverts all assumed notions of the role of a narrator ... , and casts doubt upon all previous assertions. In this ...

• Word Count: 1547
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Graduate

... by society. She is forced to wear the scarlet letter as a reminder to all of her sin. Yet through all her troubles, she has received a great gift, her daughter Pearl. Pearl gives Hester the strength to survive through her conviction and persecution. Similarly the rose-bush outside the prison gives hope to the prisoners. The rose-bush is a positive image for those who have been persecuted. It ... frailty and sorrow- (46). The narrator offers the rose to readers as a positive image in this sad story. The narrator associates the rose-bush with several different things, which reinforces how...

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