Compare And Contrast Ethan Frome And Hester Prynne

Edith Wharton, in her novel Ethan Frome, places such an importance in the setting, specifically the locations and climate, that it seems to function as another character. However, upon closer examination of the prologue, it is easy to see that the setting is actually a reflection of Edith Frome’s emotional state. Wharton’s attempts at linking location and climate to Ethan are aided by her skillful use of a number of rhetorical devices ultimately underscoring his brokenness, isolation/imprisonment, and hopelessness. In the prologue, Edith Wharton uses a variety of rhetorical devices, such as diction and similes, to highlight the reflection of Ethan’s brokenness in the setting. Ethan is described as “the ruin of a man,” “bleak and unapproachable,” and “bent out of shape,” which all create an image of damaged goods.

Many people aim to please society because of the fear of getting reprimanded by others. Most people don’t pursue their dreams because of the concern of what their peers might think of them or how others will view them for the rest of their life. Ethan Frome faces many of the same conflicts such as whether to stay by his sick wife’s side or run away with her cousin, whom he actually loves and has feelings for. Edith Wharton uses many symbols, such as the red colored items, the household cat, and the pickle dish, in Ethan Frome indicating the deeper meanings of the characters’ situations.

Edith Wharton utilizes multiple literary devices in Ethan Frome to convey different meanings for the readers to decipher. She exercises the use of symbolism the most throughout this novel. Ethan Frome is the story of a man trapped in his marriage while falling for his wife's caretaker and cousin. This complicated relationship and its many tense situations, allows Wharton to dive into different scenarios and symbolic meanings. The most notable uses of symbolism occurs during Ethan and Mattie’s first night together.

The lack of literal action in the plot of a novel makes it hard to fully grasp the sentiment the author is trying to convey. Authors use various literary elements to emphasize the traits or details that he or she wants to be brought out in order to give more insight and detail to the story and allow for better comprehension of the story. The use of contrast is an example of one of the literary elements that can be utilized. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the contrast of beauty and ugliness in certain character’s traits to explain the effect that their sin has in their lives which allows further insight into the character’s life and a better understanding of the use of the characters in the book. Hawthorne’s contrasting use of beauty and ugliness in Hester Prynne reveals her inner strength and the effect she allows her sin to have in her life.

Literary devices are found in all works of literature. Some authors use literary devices in order to make the reader see the story line clearer. Other literary devices are used to connect better with the readers. In Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne both authors use many literary devices to grab the readers’ attention and also to help tie in the themes of their books. Wharton’s theme of societal mores and personal desires and Hawthorne’s theme of sin and guilt are both shown through the characters of the books. The literary devices in these novels include an unnamed narrator, a frame story, setting, and symbolism and affect the way the characters are portrayed and how they act; and also help reveal

Mattie plays as an escape for Ethan and every moment they feel drawn to each other, he feels free from the misery inflicted upon him by Zeena. Ethan desires to love Mattie but his fantasy comes to a stop when he remembers the reality of life which consists of the arduous challenge to leave Zeena.

Human beings often make permanent decisions based off temporary emotions. Ethan Frome, the protagonist in Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome, is morally constrained to Zeena, his sickly wife, but is also afflicted by his heartfelt emotions for Mattie Silver. After years of a harsh life with Zeena who he felt he owed, Ethan comes to believe that his greatest chance at a happy life is with Mattie Silver. However, in the end Mattie's other side, one which is extremely similar to Zeena's attitude, comes to rise, after an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Edith Wharton makes an ironic tribute to the book by presenting contrasting personas, including physical appearance and attitudes to describe Zeena Frome and Mattie Silver, but also adduces

Mattie’s change in attitude represents the toll of financial and moral obligations of the fortuneless, often prohibiting them from pursuing their interests. When Mattie Silver, coming from a more prosperous background, first arrives at Starkfield to work for the Frome couple, her curiosity and love of nature contrasted that of the rest of the working-class town. Afterwards she realizes the harshness of New England life through her attempted suicide with her love interest Ethan Frome that leaves her quadriplegic, she, like the other citizens, loses her passion. She suffered the consequences of pursuing a married man and performing incompetently as an indentured servant. She transforms into a character much like Ethan’s wife Zeena, sick and

In the novel Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton explores the themes of imprisonment and entrapment. The characters portrayed in her novel are trapped and imprisoned by many elements including their environment, loveless marriage, predestination, mind-set, religion and many more. These themes are also explored in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Two characters, each present in a different novel, displayed how sociality can bring many predicaments in a person's life. Hester Prynne, from The Scarlet Letter, and Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby, both are similar when it came to independence, and proving how it's safer. In the very start of the novel of The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne was put into trouble because of how she committed adultery. This was due to how she was dependent on somebody else, and the moment she was with someone, trouble came her way. Hester was put up in front of a scaffold for three hours in front of the whole town, and had an “A” get stitched into her dress. Humiliation gathered up into her life, and here was no one there far to protect her. Hester had to live by herself with her daughter Pearl, and found a way to live off of being a seamstress on the outskirts of the town she lived in. Hester was always alone and had to learn to be independent rather than having someone to depend on, which was first a princem, but later she managed her life very well and people of the Puritan society began to accept her more as a person. Since Hester had no one to

When creating their works, writers often put forth the idea of character alienation to assist in the portrayal of a certain society’s values and morals. Although present in an abundance of literary pieces, the concept of alienation is rarely as vividly accounted for as it is in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter, in which Hester Prynne’s estrangement from puritan society in response to her “sin” of adultery reveals the ideas and standards of puritan society to be hypocritical and punitive.

From fairy tales to mythologies, fables to romance to even the simplest short stories of a third grader’s book, almost all of them often comprise a scheme of Heroes vs. Villains, and Good vs. Evil. Similarly, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne also contains many of the same situations and characters with their own symbolic meanings that allow them to express strong and demanding feelings through the symbols that they carry. Hester Prynne, whom appears as a sinful woman, a shame to the society, is created to represent the goodness of the story. Ironically, her husband, Chillingworth, who initially appears to be an intelligent and honorable man, is created to symbolize a daemonic evil. He is symbolic of the hidden sin and immorality

The best stories focus on characters whose situation gets completely changed as the narrative progresses. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter,Arthur Dimmesdale is a character who fits this mold as he goes from a polished, respected minister to a sinner in the eyes of much of the community. Dimmesdale is a tragic, dynamic hero that shoulders the weight of his own inauspicious secrets, yet tries to save his soul’s plummeting value in order to receive not only God’s graces, but also the Puritan society’s confidence. Hawthorne argues that the extreme Puritan societal pressures, while seen as beneficial by most Puritans, create a society that requires rigid conformity and a fear of ostracization amongst its constituents.

Analyze Hawthorne’s writing style in light of its ability to enhance his purpose. Hawthorne uses symbolism to help guide the book. For example, Hester Prynne’s scarlet letter was meant to be her punishment, but she hand-sews the letter and turns it into a work of art, thus turning her shame into something beautiful. “[The letter A] was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore

Many novels, despite having dissimilar plots, oftentimes contain similar story elements. Whether the similarity is the goal of the protagonist, or the motive of the antagonist, a similarity can be found between novels. And even with the similarities, differences occur, which allow for comparison and contrast. And thus it is with Billy Budd by Herman Melville and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The two books are different concerning plot and setting, but they have similarities in the effect of the setting on the characters, the conflict between the protagonists and antagonists, and the theme of human depravity.