The first chapter of the scarlet letter is pretty descriptive but contains little to no action. However, it does set the pace for the things to come later in the letter. For now, a crowd of grey pilgrims stand outside one of the first things built in their Boston settlement. Their gaze is focused on a large wooden prison door. It looks like something straight out of medieval Europe’s dungeon system. Spikes and all, it was created to hold dangerous criminals. No matter how the founders of new colonies may feel, they will end up building a prison and a cemetery immediately. This is true because the Boston residents did it. Other than this drab scene, is the rose bush that grows next to the prison door. This is nature having pity on the
“ ‘Cheer up my friend, the game’s not over. You can still win. I hope you do. ’Those were the last words Sandy had said to her” (Raskin pg.185). The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin is about a game that if you win, you get 200 million dollars. This book is filled with mystery and adventure. The Westing Game movie is more exciting than the book and is also filled with mystery. The Westing Game book and movie contain many similarities and differences that are worth 200 million dollars.
Pearl Prynne of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter exhibits intuition and persistence by constantly questioning her surroundings. Pearl exhibits intuition by always questioning her environment. During Hester’s conversation with Rev. Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth (check this fact), Pearl spasmodically interrupts the dialogue with “Come away Mother! Come away, or yonder old Black Man will catch you!! He hath got hold of the minister already!” (N.H. 159). Pearl is very suspicious of Roger Chillingworth. Since Pearl is a young child, no adult has told her a single detail about Chillingworth or why he is in her town. Pearl questions the stranger’s abrupt presence in Boston, and she comes to the conclusion that he is up to no good, without
As Sacvan Bercovitch notes in his essay “Ambiguities in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter,” “A crime pertains to externals… A sin pertains to the spiritual and internal, to an act of will. It depends on the inner cause, the motive” (Bercovitch 585). Furthermore, sin can be classified as putting oneself above others, and doing so with hubris or excessive pride.
You cannot know who you are, and you never will. Some people think they know a lot about who they are, but that person is forever changing, that thing they are. Saying you know who you are can affect the way you act, because you try to be what you think is yourself, instead of the forever changing you. This can go on to affect you both mentally and relationally, both looping back and forth.
In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the theme of sin viewed through the prism of many colors is the essence of the novel. The protagonist, Hester, her child, Pearl, and the Reverend Dimmesdale all live in a Puritanical society in Boston, and are subject to the Puritans' strict religious beliefs and rigid attitudes. Exposed to sin and the temptation of its concealment in varying degrees, these characters evolve through the novel in different ways. Hawthorne brilliantly displays these differences by juxtaposing extreme and vivid colorsconcealment is shown in dark, drab, and gloomy shades, while openness has a bright and colorful sheen. In this way, Hawthorne establishes a dichotomy between lack of color and color in order to show
Once upon a time, there was a dear little girl called Scarlet who was loved by everyone who looked at her, but most of all by her mother, and there was nothing that she would not have given to the child. On Scarlet’s sixth birthday, her mother suddenly fell ill and soon passed away. Scarlet’s father, being unable to resign and accept the reality, quit his job as a hired herdsman and started hunting in order to distract himself from his grief. He could hardly bear to catch a glimpse of Scarlet’s sight, for she resembled her mother too much. Thus, he neglected his daughter and spent most of his time hunting out in the woods. For this reason, his mother, Scarlet’s grandmother, decided to come and live with them. Grandmother’s permanent stay was
When people are younger, “evil” is a word to describe something which is surprisingly scary. In the elementary schools, people think “evil” is the word for children who do not follow teachers’ instructions. As the time changes, during people’s teenage periods, “evil” becomes a word to describe enemies or others who do not have same opinions with them. While people’s ages change, they make connections between evil and sin. Moreover, the boundaries between good and evil secretly appear and classify objects in humans’ brains. The book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a fiction story about a woman whose name is Hester Prynne commits adultery with a well-known minister in town whose name is Dimmesdale and produce Pearl as
"In hell, everyone is seated at a banquet table full of wonderful food, but the only implement they have to use are spoons that are three feet long. The residents of Hell spend eternity trying to feed themselves with these awkward spoons, and never get a bite to eat. In heaven, everyone is also seated at a banquet table full of wonderful food, and the only implement they have are also spoons that are three feet long. The residents of Heaven, however, get all the wonderful food that they can eat because instead of awkwardly struggling to feed themselves, they feed each other.“- Anonymous
In Chapter 3, Hawthorne uses contradicting diction to reflect the Romantics belief concerning the difference between good and evil as they label the “stranger” using words such as “remarkable intelligence” yet he is also described as having a “slight [physical] deformity” (56) being that the ugliness on the outside reflects the ugliness on the inside. This use of diction gives the reader the sense that the stranger is intellectual yet flawed in feelings and personality. The author’s depiction of the stranger’s asymmetrical figure provokes an ominous and sinister outlook. When the man recognizes Hester standing alone on the scaffold, "a writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them . . ." (57). The person who should ease Hester the most at this time, her husband, proves to make her feel uneasy and alone. To further emphasize the character’s contrary demeanor, Hawthorne dresses him in “heterogeneous garb”; He is dressed in “a strange disarray of civilized and savage costume” (56). Ultimately, Hawthorne anticipates that his audience will comprehend how unique and intricate the stranger is and consequently how he can further develop the story later on.
Diverging A Nathaniel Hawthorne composed a voluminous quantity of arts during his lifetime. Hawthorne was a gifted American author. He was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts to a family with a long New England history. Hathorne was his given name at birth. Nathaniel added a 'w' to distinguish himself from his family’s history.
Though never forced to don a branding like the letter “A” in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, people in modern society are always remembered along with their act of wrongdoing. However, the subjects of the public judgement may not see their choices as immoral. People shame for a difference in beliefs and morals. For instance, Kim Kardashian, a popular reality TV star attained her own personal fame by making a sex tape with rapper Ray J, and, consequently, was shamed in the headlines. Despite the bashing, Kim did not see why her act was deemed shameful. Kim acts as a modern day Hester Prynne because she underwent the same humiliation from her society.
Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter In the book The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism, which is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities, to make objects, people, and actions more significant. The use of these symbols creates greater meaning and significance of different actions, objects, and people There are so many symbols in this book, but here are some of the most important symbols. Hester Prynne's scarlet letter
As American-British novelist Mark Lawrence once said, “We’re built of contradictions, all of us. It’s those opposing forces that give us strength, like an arch, each block pressing the next”. The aforementioned contradictions are what lead to conflicts, and in turn growth and acceptance. Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his revolutionary classic The Scarlet Letter, delves into the conflicts that the brave, yet infamous Hester Prynne has to overcome. As Hawthorne unfolds the unfortunate tragedy of Hester and her mysterious lover, the battles Hester has to face are multiple external and internal stimuli that bring about the growth of Hester as a character. The onerous obstacles that Hester must face through her life wear her out mentally, but only then can she truly grow and accept who she is.
Conflict can take on many forms in one’s life, such as conflict with self, with society, with religion and with others. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, develops the theme of conflict through the moral sin of Hester Prynne. Conflict is observed through Hester’s difficulties with the townspeople, challenges with the Puritan way of life, struggles with herself and tensions with Roger Chillingworth. Committing sin in the Puritan society leads to a great deal of conflicts.
Human struggle is inevitable, and one may choose to fall victim to it, or to grow from it. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne reflects upon human conflict and how one must root deep within themselves and their surroundings in order to better their being. When faced with foreign experiences, one must undergo life-altering occurrences in order to grow and benefit. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne’s biggest conflict is the internal remorse she feels for the sin she has committed, as evidenced by the punishment she receives from the natural environment around her, commenting on the power of struggle to make humans stronger. Hester wages war between her Puritan self and her identity which longs for true love, as well as the natural