Essay On The Scaffold In The Scarlet Letter

However, Arthur Dimmesdale's confession is not as clear and resounding as he wants it to be. His shriek in the night was only loud to him because he partly wanted to confess, and he perhaps thought that in standing on the scaffold he was taking a huge step. When a person gets to this point, they have two options according to Hawthorne. Either go all the way in confessing or go half-heartedly into it, and if this path is taken, it is more likely to stay hidden. Dimmesdale, himself, does try keeping it hidden even longer since no one found him there that night. However this should be viewed as a failure of Dimmesdale's courage lacking for necessary confession, rather than character for repentance.

In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, we notice that action only happens in a few places, among which are the forest, the market place, the governor’s residence, and Dimmesdale’s house. Although all these locations are significant to the story, the most important symbol among them is certainly the scaffold in the market place, where the story begins and ends. The scaffold’s meaning changes throughout the story and has different values for different characters. It represents humiliation, then insight, and finally redemption for Hester and Dimmesdale, but for Chillingworth, it symbolizes birth of sin, growth of sin, and ultimately consummation by sin.

The idea of those who have sinned can be cruelly punished is one that that is both emitted in the Scarlet Letter and The Crucible. Both literary works share similar ideas, but also have quite a few differences. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the writer, utilizes symbolism for the scarlet letter, to be a symbol of Hester’s shame. The embroidered “A” on Hester’s bosom symbolizes the sin of adultery which she had committed. Not only was the sign of embarrasment used but also the scaffold had great importance in the Scarlet Letter. The scaffold was used as place of humiliation and guilt, where the criminal was put in a place to be viewed and judged by the whole town, ultimately, being judged by God. In addition, Pearl, Hester’s daughter was a constant reminder of the sin Hester had done. The town viewed Pearl as the devil’s offspring, due to the fact that she was born out of sin and not real love. In all, symbolism helps readers see the character’s emotions and realize that symbols form a person.

The Scaffold is first introduced as a symbol of pain and sorrow. Hester is being forced to stand upon it as part of her punishment for adultery. She is miserable while she is serving this public shaming. For Dimmesdale, however, the scaffold becomes a sign of relief. When he stands on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl he is relieved and a weight is lifted off of his shoulders.

The scaffold’s first appearance in the novel takes place when Hester Prynne and her daughter, Pearl, are being interrogated by the top officials of the town. Here, Hester and Pearl are forced to climb up to the scaffold, where they are singled out and alienated while they are forced to endure public

The scaffold’s symbolism and what it represents changes many times throughout the novel. It represents different things for different characters and the symbolism varies. For Hester it is a symbol of punishment and challenge because of the way she is forced upon the scaffold to take in the judgment from the townspeople. For Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale the scaffold becomes a symbol of human bonds and it becomes a safe place away from the judgments of society. For Dimmesdale it becomes a symbol of freedom from the guilt he had for

The first scaffold scene symbolize sin. The first scaffold scene is taking place in the marketplace during the day. On the scaffold Hester is standing on the scaffold holding her baby with a scarlet letter, Hester Prynne is standing on the scaffold for committing a sin, which is adultery. Hester baby is also a symbol for Hester sinning. This scaffold scene symbolize sin because Hester is being punished for adulterers and in results she got a living scarlet letter wick is Peal. “"If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!"” (p.46). The quote that is being stated states that Hester is being asked questions about who is the other sinner because they are

The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, has a plot that is greatly affected by significant scaffold scenes. During these scaffold scenes, the main characters are on a scaffold, or raised platform, as the center of attention for a period of humiliation and punishment. The reader is introduced to Hester Prynne and her daughter, Pearl Prynne, during the first of three scaffold scenes. It is revealed that Hester is being punished for committing adultery. Halfway into The Scarlet Letter, Hester and Pearl appear on top of the scaffold for the second time.

Hester Prynne, the protagonist of the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is first seen in the story on the scaffold in the marketplace. The scaffold is where criminals stand for punishment of their crimes, and her crime is adultery. As well as being required to stand on the scaffold for three hours to be publicly humiliated, Hester must also wear a red badge in the shape of the letter 'a' for the rest of her life so that she can be easily identified as an adulterer, and shamed for it. However, she appears to be unashamed of her vibrant and indelible mark of sin, and as she stands in front of the crowd, one member of it observes, "her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and disgrace in which she was enveloped" (37),

In the first scaffold scene Hester Prynne is introduced as a beautiful women who commits an ugly sin. Hester is now known for committing adultery. Standing on the scaffold is one of her very minor punishments. It states, “she ascended a flight of wooden steps, and thus displayed to the surrounding multitude” (Hawthorne 37) . Hester Prynne walks up the stairs gracefully not ashamed of her scarlet letter. The scarlet letter is another punishment she receives but she also flaunts the letter and is unashamed of it. Hawthorne says, “When the young women- the mother of the child- stood fully revealed before the crowd, it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom” (Hawthorne 35) . Hester Prynne becomes terrified because the townspeople start

The novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, tells the tale of Hester Prynne, who has committed adultery in the Puritan community and therefore must be sentenced to wearing a scarlet letter A upon her breast of clothing for the rest of her days. The story starts as she is walking up to the scaffold where she must present herself to the community and is inquired by the minister to identify the father of her child and she receives berating by the community for her sin. Hester lives her days on the outskirts of the town with her young babe, Pearl, sewing and making fine pieces of clothing that even royalty would be jealous of. Dimmesdale, the minister of the church, goes through a lot of mental torment, even going to the point of whipping himself to rid himself of the guilt he is feeling. A sizeable percentage of people believe The Scarlet Letter to only be a story describing the punishment of adultery by the Puritan community, but in actuality, Hawthorne presents a deeper meaning with his use of symbolism, some examples would be the forest outside of town, the scaffolding in the middle of town, and Pearl along with the rose bush outside the prison door.

   It all starts when we see Hester having to go on the scaffold and stand there as for all to see her shameful sin as it is exposed. A group of women begin to have a discussion about Hester and the shame she has brought upon them, one woman states, "At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead. She may cover it with a brooch, or such like heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever" (Hawthorne 39).

When the romantic novel begins in Boston, Massachusetts, Dimmesdale, a local minister, stands with one hand over his heart in shame. Hester’s unknown partner, Dimmesdale, keeps his identity secret, afraid of disgrace to his holy name. As he watches Hester Prynne, former lover, suffer on the scaffold, he suffers himself. The scaffold is a raised platform, placed in the center of the town, for public humiliation. Hester, a known perpetrator for adultery, has the punishment of jail time, scaffold humiliation, and the wearing of the “A” embroidered on her clothing. Although these seem like terrible punishments for what seems like a not so terrible crime, these are far better than the original punishment for this crime of adultery, death. Despite her situation, Hester stands proud with her daughter in her arms. Hawthorne reveals numerous emotions throughout the three scaffold scenes to invite the reader to look at the text from different perspectives (Swisher). As the novel progresses, each scaffold scene is manipulated to show the different factors chosen to set the scene. Sunlight and darkness are used by Hawthorne to create the tone of the novel (Swisher). The “A” stands for pride, embarrassment, and shame (Swisher). Finally, the relationships between main characters change during the entirety of the novel to show how they develop as characters dealing with the situation presented (Swisher). Throughout the three scaffold scenes, Hawthorne emphasizes public humiliation,

   It all starts when we see Hester having to go on the scaffold and stand there as for all to see her shameful sin as it is exposed. A group of women begin to have a discussion about Hester and the shame she has brought upon them, one woman states, "At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead. She may cover it with a brooch, or such like heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever" (Hawthorne 39). Hawthorne