Compare And Contrast The Scarlet Letter And Chicago

“The Color Purple” and “The Scarlet Letter” have many interesting aspects to analyze. The three main things I’m going to focus on are from “The Color Purple”. The first aspect will be on savior, the second on sexual identity, and the third on slavery vs freedom (literal and metaphorical). I have chose these topics to approach because there are many examples given throughout the book.

Despite the isolation, Hester supports herself and Pearl with nothing but her inner strength. She is able to deal with the negativity from the townspeople and the local government, and is even able to be honest and compassionate in ways such as acknowledging her sin, keeping the identity of her

Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of America's most renowned authors, demonstrates his extraordinary talents in two of his most famed novels, The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. To compare these two books seems bizarre, as their plots are distinctly different. Though the books are quite seemingly different, the central themes and Hawthorne's style are closely related (Carey, p. 62). American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne is most famous for his books THE SCARLET LETTER and THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES, which are closely related in theme, the use of symbolism, characterization, and style.

The edgy tale of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is comparable in many ways to Arthur Miller’s haunting play The Crucible. Both are set in Puritan New England in the 17th century and revolve around the harsh law enforcement of the time. However, The Scarlet Letter tells the story of a woman as she deals with her heavy Puritan punishment, whereas The Crucible follows hysteria as it spreads throughout an entire town. Hester Prynne, the main character of The Scarlet Letter, was found guilty for adultery and sentenced to wear a red letter A on her chest to inform people of her sin. Similarly, The Crucible’s main character John Proctor admits to having committed lechery and is sent to jail for this and for being a

In spite of that, what makes her the protagonist of the story is how she is able to overcome her punishment that was meant to give her shame. Throughout Chapter 13 of the book, Hawthorne shows how Hester’s confidence has developed in herself and in view of the town, most noticeably when considering the meaning of the scarlet letter, “Such helpfulness was found in her ... that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength,” (Hawthorne 107). Instead of subjecting to the shame that was forced upon her, she grew above it, conveying a different aspect of the theme of guilt, which is redemption. This is not to say that Hester did not care about the sin she committed, as she is very much reminded of it every day of her life while living with the child of that sin. In fact, the author addresses this by saying, “In giving her existence a great law had been broken; and the result was a being whose elements were perhaps beautiful and brilliant, but all in disorder,” (Hawthorne 60). Hawthorne is implying how Pearl represents the outcome of a sin and arranged it so that Hester is always living with that sin, therefore, always being reminded of the shame she is supposed to

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne decides to be unfaithful to her husband Roger Chillingworth with minister, Arthur Dimmesdale because she is lonely while her husband is gone and she has gotten feelings for Dimmesdale over time. Hester then gets pregnant and has to deal with the consequences for being an adulterous. In Chicago, Roxie Hart cheats on her husband, Amos Hart, with their furniture salesman, Fred Casely because Roxie has always wanted to be a star and Casely told her over and over again, “You’re a star, kid! My little shooting star!” Casely claimed that he knew a guy that would get Roxie into show business, but he lied about that just so he can sleep with her and when Roxie finds that out, she goes insane and shoots him. This contrasts to The Scarlet Letter because after Hester has an affair with Dimmesdale, she does not kill Dimmesdale, instead she keeps her head up, keeps the baby, forgives Dimmesdale, and attempts to get Chillingworth to back off. Chillingworth has made it his goal to ruin the lives of Hester and Dimmesdale because although he expected her to cheat on him, he feels betrayed and he has anger towards Dimmesdale for sleeping with his wife and impregnating her.

In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne committed adultery which led people to shame her. In the 1850’s adultery was a big sin and it wasn’t something done often. As well as in Chicago, Roxie Hart committed adultery during the roaring twenties and she even killed her lover, Fred Casely, because she didn’t get what she wanted from him. Both the novel and film are similar in the way that adultery is the big factor in the stories. Hester and Roxie were the adulterous but both husbands reacted in different ways. Hester and Roxie both committed sins.

From the beginning, we see that Hester Prynne is a young and beautiful woman who has brought a child into the world with an unknown father. She is punished by Puritan society by wearing the scarlet letter A on the bosom of her dress and standing on the scaffold for three hours. The scaffold is a painful task to bear; the townspeople gathered around to gossip and stare at Hester and her newborn child, whom she suitably named Pearl, named because of her extreme value to her mother. Her subjection to the crowd of

The film, Chicago and the novel, The Scarlet Letter are similar and diffrent pieces of literature. Has to do with two ladies that have committed adultery due to reasons of their own. One did it to find love and affection, while the other one did it for fame.

Both ladies Roxie and Hester commit a crime that is seen as severe in their era, but their crimes are different. In “The Scarlet Letter”, Hester Prynne’s crime is adultery, because during this time of colonial America, their laws are based on the Ten Commandments and if they are broken the punishment is death. In “Chicago”, Roxie Hart’s crime is killing the person she had an

In the book, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is very strong-willed and loyal. For example, when Dimmesdale tells Hester to identify the father and she replies, “I will not speak!” (51). When Hester is in front of many people; she stays strong and does not give Dimmesdale up. This is important because by not revealing the identity of the father, Hester stays loyal to Dimmesdale. Another example is when the governor tries to take Pearl away from Hester and she says, “Ye shall not take her! I will die first!” (85). Hester continues to be tough and not give up Pearl but also does not give the name of Pearl’s father. Hester continues to argue why she should keep Pearl and is willing to die before she would let someone else raise

Demi Moore's portrayal of Hester in the movie The Scarlet Letter proved her worth as a feminist actress, which led her to other, more modern female empowerment roles ranging from Striptease to GI Jane.  But in the moviemakers 'attempt to give the story what they might think is a little modern flavor, they barbarously misconstrued the theme, and thus the importance, of a timeless story.  In the novel, there can be little doubt that Hester is a strong person, but the movie made her out to be a martyr for women's rights.  The female empowerment theme of the movie also inevitably led to the characterization of Christians and their ethics as tyrannical and oppressive because the feminist

Trust –a feeling of confidence in someone or something other than oneself –is the building block of society. It binds relationships, it enhances communities. Those neglectful to their own idea –those who cease growth due to its restrictive nature –surrender their minds to its malevolent manner. When blindsided by someone they trust, one feels extreme anger or profound betrayal, such as Hester’s newfound optimism despite society’s attempt to humiliate her and Goodman Brown’s hopelessness after seeing people he trusts conversing with the devil. In Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester gains a new strength from the letter A after recognizing the evil nature of Puritan society. Whereas in Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown,” witnessing

Hester Prynne, the woman that has been living as one of the biggest sinners in this town. Since the time that she had to carry with such an atrocious title, Hester has been humiliated, mentally harmed, and has slowly lost her own sanity. Now even though she has gone through so much, there is two things that have not changed and that is for one, she has not once weared the scarlet letter with shame, she wears it with pride and at the same time with the responsibility of showing the sin that she will not be able to run away from. Secondly, Hester never stays away from her daughter Pearl, the girl that brings her the consolation that she needs but also that reflects on the acts of her sin. It can obviously be seen that Hester most keep her daughter Pearl, she has gone through alot and her daughter is all she has left to accompany her and bring her peace.

When the two protagonists are first introduced, they both commit adultery. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester was to move with her husband Roger to America, but after she had arrived, her husband never made it. Hester automatically just assumed that he had died at sea. Since her husband was gone for almost two years, she began a relationship with Arthur. In Chicago, Roxie felt that her husband was always working, so she chose to begin a relationship with Fred.