Comparing The Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his bold novel, The Scarlet Letter tackles a variety of themes that include: sin, guilt, redemption, postfeminism, and organized religion's abuse of power. Hawthorne spoke in a somber and grim tone, designed to arouse a sense of suspense for his readers. The audience in which he was addressing would have been conservative Christians and women suffragettes, all of whom reflected the ideologies during this time period. By instilling clever diction, Hawthorne exposes hypocrisy in Puritanism and objects against the religion's superfluous punishments; which force individuals to endure unnecessary and extreme suffering.

You’re free. Calmly sitting in a chair reading a book. One moment later, your tied up. Unable to move, unable to escape the ropes that tie you down. There is a tray of food in arms reach and you seem to be comfortably placed. You seek a way to get get out and run from whoever trapped you, yet part of you wants to stay. The pros and cons of the situation seem to be swirling around clouding your judgement. Equivalently, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the same clouded judgement with Hester’s exile. Throughout the novel Hester’s exile has the reader to believe that she has experiences that both enlighten and alienate her as a character. Even though experience with exile may seem to lead us down only one path, the one of despair and solitude, Hester’s experience with exile taught her that solitude gives strength, proving a rift teaches us more about our character.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American writer in the 1800s. He had many works of Romanticism, most being inspired by Puritan New England. One of these is The Scarlet Letter, which he wrote based on the Puritan era. Puritans had a series of beliefs including: the will of God explains all natural phenomena, God chooses who becomes one of the elect, and ministers and church members control and made up the government. Hawthorn does include examples of Romanticism as the story goes on, but this novel focuses more on the Puritan lifestyle throughout the timeline of the story. Hawthorne also includes a bit of sarcasm when mentioning the Puritan’s beliefs.

During the 17th century, a Puritan commonwealth presided over Boston and was known for its strict adherence to religious, moral and social codes. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes rhetorical strategies in order to denounce the Puritan system of beliefs and bring to light the hypocrisy of the Puritan community as he tells the agonizing story of a young woman who was condemned by society.

Historically, Puritanism was a popular way of life, playing a major role in English history during the first half of the 17th century. Back in that time a man named Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was a well known writer, had a history of creating stories about Puritan society. Although he wrote about the Puritans, he most certainly did not favor them, and this has become obvious throughout the storyline. In the uptight and dismal culture that Hawthorne paints for us in The Scarlet Letter, his distaste, annoyance, and utter hostility towards the Puritans in this time exemplify Hawthorne’s use of diction and symbols to persuade readers to dislike Puritans and their culture.

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 colors—concealment 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

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a fiction novel that uses real life places and people groups, but the story is made up. It takes place in Boston, Massachusetts during the Puritan time period. It is about a young woman, a pastor, and their child caught up in a sin that drags them through a lifetime of guilt and shame. The Puritan lifestyles of simplicity, strict punishment, and a focus on God insures and adds to their guilt and shame.

The Scarlet Letter Essay Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, wrote the book in the 1800s while the events in the book take place in the late 1600s Puritan society. The Puritan society in the 1600s functioned like a theocracy where God is recognized as the ruler. Also, the Puritan society functioned like a hypocrisy, where the rich kicked down the poor. Overall, the Puritan society was strict and judgmental. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of the scarlet letter, the burrs and Dimmesdale to contribute to the overall theme of guilt.

The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the early 1800s, was a novel that used symbolism to create a picture of a fictional story in the Puritan town of Boston in the 1600s. During this time period, Boston was a theocracy, meaning that its government was ruled by religion. The Puritan people lived their lives in total service to God and even went as far as living without any earthly pleasure in the hope that they would be rewarded in heaven. They thought that if they lived their lives without giving themselves to God, they would be sent to hell. N. Hawthorne had almost an obsession with Puritanism, and that was because his uncle, John Hathorne participated as a judge in the Salem Witch trials, and was the only one who never apologized

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the story revolves around the Puritan society. The Puritan society is a religion that doesn’t believe in having pleasure on Earth. The Puritan society also revolves around punishment. Nathaniel Hawthorne hates the Puritan society but is fascinated by how it works. His great uncle Hathorne was the only judge during the Salem witch trials who wouldn’t apologize for what he did.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a man who was both plagued and absorbed by the legacy of the Puritans in New England. He was related to John Hathorne, a Puritan judge during the infamous Salem Witch trials of 1692. In The Scarlet Letter, his fictional account of mid-17th century Boston presents an opportunity to examine different themes commonly associated with Puritans. Particularly the nature of sin, personal identity and the repression of natural urges are themes that appear repeatedly through the novel. While his account of this time period may not be completely historically accurate, it is indicative of the persistent thematic influence of Puritan culture on American and New England society.

. This could easily be interpreted as a direct reflection of the disappointment Hawthorne felt towards his Puritan ancestors. It expresses how he believed that the strict Puritan lifestyle had blinded and twisted their perception of reality, and how they ended up judging other men too harshly for simply just trying to live their lives. The Scarlet Letter was definitely influenced most by the misguided actions of Hawthorne’s relatives.

The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is one of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s most renowned novels. The matter of subject in the novel is revered almost 170 years after publication. Hawthorne walks his readers through the fate of Hester Prynne. He exhibits a woman who has been condemned by Puritan law to wear a scarlet A on her breast as a reflection of her punishment for adultery. Not only is Hester the protagonist of the novel, but she is also “the embodiment of deep contradictions,” which has delegated her as one of the most fascinating and mysterious female characters in American literature (Seabrook NPR). Not only does Hawthorne discuss the sadness and infirmity of humanity, he also dives deep into the consciousness of guilt in relation to the body, mind, and soul. He covertly criticizes the philosophy of the Puritans and examines the conscious struggle between authority and freedom. The main idea Hawthorne presents to his readers throughout the novel is the difference between the conventional idea of freedom and the unbreakable stance of patriarchal authority. He also sticks with the convention of his time by maintaining the standard feminine status as subservient, justifying the patriarchal society by creating a misogynistic village, and counters these aspects by disrupting the traditional ideology that the female is an object. He is able to do this by giving Hester Prynne a resolute attitude and Arthur Dimmesdale a fatalistic outlook.

In the Puritan society the outlandish mindset of the leaders caused more harm than good with the witch trials in Salem to the events mentioned in The Scarlet Letter. Sin and evil the new world cloud the vision of the citizens, yet they are two separate actions and have different definitions. Hawthorne explains the difference between the two in the novel and also shows off his famous skill of questioning a society’s rules, regulations, and social structure. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his writing style of ambiguity, and ornate word choice to relay his opinion of the puritan society. Characters, quotes, and symbols give us a snapshot of the time and thoughts on events and ideas during the era. Hawthorne’s characters are a

The Scarlet Letter Critical Analysis Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, the direct descendant of John Hawthorne, and a judge at the infamous Salemwitchcraft trials. The guilt that Hawthorne felt over the actions of his ancestor had an enormous impact on his writings. In his introduction of "The Scarlet Letter", Hawthorne accepts the guilt from his forefathers and offers to repent for their crimes (Waggoner, 5). This unusual way of viewing guilt and sin is one driving factor in Hawthorne's writing. The other, which is closely related to the first, is the relationship between men, and of man to humanity as a whole.