The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story of immorality, guilt, and vengeance. Hester Prynne, once an ordinary woman living in a New England colony, becomes branded as an adulteress when she is discovered to be pregnant. She is involuntarily forced into prison and after her release, is required to wear the scarlet letter “A” for the rest of her life, eternally being defined and perceived as an adulteress. The product of Hester and Dimmesdale, her clandestine lover and partner in the deed, is their daughter Pearl. Hester’s life is now forever different, because of her obligation to wear the “A” and her daughter Pearl. Both Pearl and the letter are direct effects of her sin and are symbols that represent elements of Hester’s life …show more content…
As Hester begins her new life, one in which she has sinned in an unforgiving act of adultery, she is forced to sew her own garment of guilt, the scarlet letter “A”. As Hester does this with elegance and fine cloth, it signifies her positive attitude in the horrible and unimaginable situation in which she has found herself. The perspective on which she has in her situation is the beginning of a long and hard path in which she undergoes. Although Hester starts from the bottom of society as she is an adulteress, much like the rosebush in the opening of the novel begins to grow from the weeds, she grows as a character into a beloved member of society. Hester’s astonishing transformation through the discrimination she endures is reflected and signified by the symbols introduced in the novel. While the symbols in the novel may seem like normal elements, they truly are meaningful components of the story that directly reflect Hester as she endures the trials, overcomes the hatred, and the remarkably transforms the meaning of the scarlet letter
> Hester Prynne is the protagonist, the main character of the novel. She wears the scarlet letter A in order to inform others about the sin she committed. Due to this, the townspeople have many reactions towards her. For example, townspeople discriminate her, they have anger towards her, they ostracized her. However, after Hester‘s actions change for the better, townspeople reactions changed and started treating her better, they even consider the letter A as able instead of
The Scarlet Letter is set in modern day Boston, during the 1630s. The protagonist, Hester Prynne, is in a lot of trouble for committing adultery. She is put on the scaffold in front of the whole town and was publically humiliated. Not only was she publically humiliated, but she has to wear a letter A on her chest for the rest of her life. Many thought this punishment was not enough, for example they wanted her to be killed for this sin. The reason for Hester committing adultery is because her husband has been missing for two years. And she has lost her ‘love’ for Chillingworth, Hester’s husband. Pearl, Hester’s daughter, is the symbol of Hester’s sin in the
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne follows the story of Hester Prynne in seventeenth-century Boston and her journey as the ashamed town outcast and sinner. On this journey readers are introduced to Hester’s daughter, Pearl, her lover, Dimmesdale, and her former husband, Chillingworth. The story starts off with Hester and her young child Pearl walking out into the town to climb atop the scaffold where they are to be ridiculed for Hester’s sin of adultery. Hester is identified with a scarlet “A” on her chest resembling the sin she committed and to mark that she should be alienated throughout the town. But, when townspeople see Hester they are mesmerized by her beauty, “The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale. She had dark and
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is set in the 17th century puritan Boston, Massachusetts, it tells the story of Hester Prynne who has a daughter named Pearl out of an affair and struggles to live her life a new and with dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores the themes of sin, guilt, and revenge. The Puritan town of Boston had gathered around to witness Hester's punishment for her crime of adultery. She was required to wear a scarlet “A” on her dress to shame her. She walks down the scaffold with dignity and takes this punishment and makes the best of it. She owns wearing the scarlet “A” by personalizing it with embroidery and making it beautiful. The women on the street are angered of how graceful and beautifully she
In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is more than a literary figure in a classic novel, she is known by some people to be one of the earliest American Hero’s. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester commits adultery and has a child that she must care for all alone. She is forced to wear a powerful, attention grabbing “Scarlet A” on her chest while she must try to make a living to support her and her child, Pearl. Even though she must face all the harsh judgment and stares she does not allow her sin to stop her from living a successful life. She looks past the Letter as a symbol of sin and turns it into a sign of approval. Hester
During his first week of presidency Donald Trump signed off to the expansion of keystone XL, a pipeline that transports crude oil from Alberta all the way to Texas. The pipeline is said to run for 876 miles and is thirty six inches in width. There would be two power stations which would require around 378 miles of original powerlines. In general this pipeline would entail a lot of construction, thus creating more job prospects. (Burd and Armand 274)
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne focuses more on the symbolic meaning than on characterization. The Scarlet Letter revolves around the themes of sin, guilt and redemption, which are conceptualized through an adulterous life story in Massachusetts. Adultery is expressed in a means, which is not only psychologically disturbing but also reflects upon understanding of the human heart. Hester Prynne is an adulteress who is forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her gown according to Puritan practices. Arthur Dimmesdale, struggles in the background with guilt for fathering her secret child, Pearl yet the woman gets to be castigated independently. Furthermore, Dimmesdale is a cleric and Chillingworth who is Hester’s husband, from
After going through suffering and embarrassment because of her crime, Hester realized that she was not enemy, but society was. With the shameful thoughts towards the scarlet letter on her clothing drifting away, the “A” had transformed into a symbol of independence, growth, and how Hester became to be the person she was when she had finally
As the novel progresses, readers watch Hester transform herself from once adulterer to selfless civilian. In the beginning, readers learn quickly of Hester’s egregious sins. She cannot conceal her sin of adultery from her town as she has a child named Pearl as a result. She is publicly punished by being forced “…to stand only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory, and then and thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom” (Hawthorne 56). Hester must wear a scarlet letter ‘A’, which symbolizes adulterer, on her chest so that every person that comes upon her knows of the sin she has committed. Initially, Hester is mortified of the public symbol of sin she is made out to be and feels an immense amount of shame because of the callous stares from villagers. Eventually, she and Pearl move to the outskirts of town to try to move on with their lives while the indignity of the letter “A” follows. Over time, Hester begins to be a valuable aspect of society in that she sews clothes for the community and delivers food to the poor among many other good deeds. The townspeople begin to view Hester as a hard worker and her past slowly begins to fade. The once infamous letter becomes “…the symbol of her calling” and “… many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original
Hester Prynne, the main character of the book "The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, commits adultery, is considered a hussy, and has a child as the result of her sin. She cheats on her husband while he is absent from town and receives a harsh punishment for her behavior already. Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her bosom for the rest of her life. It is now on debate on whether or not Pearl should be taken away from her mother’s guidance. This is due to the fact that she is a sinner and might not be a qualified mother for her child.It is true, that no matter what you did in the past, a child is a blessing and parents change due to the love they have for their children. Therefore, Hester
The Scarlet Letter: a well-known novel throughout the world. A wife waiting for her husband to come back home. A woman who commits adultery. A woman who, as a result of her adultery, gives birth to a child. This woman, known as Hester Prynne, pays the price and must wear an embroidered scarlet letter ‘A’ on her bosom for life. The consequence Hester must pay haunts her for life. In the beginning of the novel it becomes clear to readers the reason the novel acquired the title The Scarlet Letter. All of the events that take place throughout the entirety of the novel are a result of Hester’s adulterous behavior. If Hester’s adulterous behaviors were nonexistent, Pearl would not have been born and Arthur Dimmesdale would not suffer or feel guilty
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the fictional story of Hester Prynne and her public humiliation as she is forced to wear the letter A on her chest due to her having a child with someone else other than her husband. The scarlet letter “A” stands for many things in the book but the initial meaning is that of adultery. The baby is Pearl and the name itself is given to her because she is worth so much to Prynne as in “her mother’s only treasure!” The beginning of the story sets the stage to what Prynne and Pearl will go through this tale, setting up the state of puritan utopia and why Prynne holds Pearl so close to her. The scarlet
‘The Scarlet letter’ is meant to be a symbol of shame for Hester, and instead it becomes a symbol of identity. As Hester’s character develops the Letter ‘matures” along side her . As it ages, it shifts from meaning “Adulterer” to stand for “ Able”.. Hester bonds to the letter as much as she bonds to little Pearl, by choosing to keep them both. She could have given Pearl to the minister and she could have fled New England and left the letter far behind her and moved on with her life, instead she chooses to embrace her punishments. The letter is almost insignificant beside Pearl as a symbol of the sinful act commited by Hester, and helps to point out the meaninglessness of the community’s system of judgment and punishment. The ineffectiveness of this course of action is reinforced in chapter seven “...and the bond-servant, perhaps judging from the decision of her air and the glittering symbol in her bosom, that she was a great lady in the land, offered no opposition.”
The blossoming roses (Pearl) and the treacherous thorns (Hester) present on the rose bush symbolize the dark isolation they both face from society. Hester tries to provide the best for her precious daughter by suiting her with the “richest tissues” (80) in order to prove that her daughter is not “clad in rustic weeds” (80) in the attempt to show the value and purity that she sees in Pearl, much like roses. Dressing Pearl up to resemble beautifulness and riches, like the roses she symbolizes, is done to distinguish between the sinner and the gift from God. Yet as one had to forever live amongst the sins and shame, the other was able to break free from the strict and judging Puritan society. Pearls ability to do so supports the idea that she
“On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold-thread, appeared the letter A.” (40) Every aspect of the story of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, whether it be major or minor, stems from this line. From beginning to end, the scarlet letter has a major bearing on the unfolding of the plot. Hester Prynne, an adulteress, has been spared death for her sin, but she must wear a scarlet letter “A” for the rest of her life. Her husband, who has been living with Native Americans for the past two years, arrives in town just in time to see her holding a baby and being publicly humiliated for the crime of adultery and vows to get revenge. As the story unfolds, Hester and Pearl continue with their day to day lives while Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Pearl’s father, struggles with the sin that he has committed. It later becomes public knowledge that Pearl, Hester’s daughter is the child of the beloved reverend. Hawthorne uses the themes of adversity resulting in joyfulness, presenting to the reader that even though everything at the present may be hopeless, there is something that will come about and make all the suffering seem petty, and freedom from captivity, allowing the reader to consider that while a burden may not seem like such, once it is removed, the effect is similar to that of a bird being set free from a cage. These lead to the production of the novel that is