Innocence of Children in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Essay

The children In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter play a major role in the Puritan society. With their honest opinions of Hester and Pearl, the children are presented as more perceptive and more honest than adults. Due to their innocence, children are capable of expressing themselves without constraints; there are no laws or regulations that they are bounded by. As an adolescent go through the stages of life and grow older, they begin to be more conscious of the how they act as they are more aware of society and the things that are occurring in the world, creating a filter for their actions. When they remain as the children, on the other hand, are adventurous; they are still exploring the universe that seems to fill with mysteries that are bound to be solved. They tend to attach to the truth and they are not afraid to speak it freely. Children differ from adults in their potential for expressing these perceptions. With their obliviousness to the things that are actually going on around the town, children therefore react differently compared to the adults, who are more knowledgeable. Perceived to be immature, young children are presented as more perceptive and more honest than adults due to their innocence, how they are unaware of the reality and the crimes that are presented in society by the adults enables them to be blithe and not afraid of saying what they feel like. Due to their naivety, when they express what they perceive to be true, they do not get punished,

In The Scarlet Letter, the children play a variety of roles. "Pearl keeps me here in life, Pearl punishes me too!" (Hawthorne 90) This is a significance that Pearl is both a blessing and a curse to Hester, and she seems at times to serve as Hester’s conscience. The town children, on the other hand, are brutally honest and cruel about their opinion of Hester and Pearl.

Characters lose their innocence throughout American literature. What exactly does “losing their innocence” mean? Losing one’s innocence can be seen as a character maturing. A character may lose his/her innocence in ways including the viewing of a traumatic event, especially one that will scar his/her life forever. Losing one’s innocence can also be caused by losing one’s trust in someone whom he/she once trusted, catching a glimpse into the “real world”, or performing an act of immorality. The recurring theme of loss of innocence, as seen throughout American literature and reality, can affect a person and the people around him/her both negatively and positively. As a result, the audience can see the character mature through losing hope of dreams, becoming an outcast of society, gaining a new perspective of ideas, or gaining confidence. Negative and positive effects falling onto characters as a result of a loss of innocence can be found in works such as The Scarlet Letter, The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and The Hunger Games; this theme can also be seen in real life through the effects of children exposed to violent video games.

From her initial introduction to the reader as the “yonder babe, (…) of some three or four months old”, Pearl represents the beauty of the truth (54). As she struggles to find answers about her mother’s scarlet A while simultaneously growing up, Pearl identifies as an innocent character, despite her creation. It is frequently noted that she looks similar to the scarlet letter that her mother so reluctantly bears, with her “bright complexion [and] eyes possessing intensity both of depth and glow, and hair already of a deep, glossy brown” (76). Her similar appearance to the scarlet letter furthers her permanent connection to the letter. Additionally, it highlights the notion that her mother will likely never be able to look at her without reminiscing upon her sin. As Pearl develops, her fire-like actions and dark appearance further molds her into the fleshly expression of Hester’s adultery. Furthermore, Hawthorne ensures to characterize Pearl throughout the novel as a friend to the sunlight, a friend to the truth. As she begins to pick determine that Dimmesdale is her father, the sunlight welcomes her. This is because she is the only innocent character who is not afraid to step into the sun’s rays. Pearl recognizes the light’s love for her and audibly notes, “the

Hawthorne portrays the town children as a reflection of their rigid Puritan society, divulging that children are predestined to obtain the prejudiced beliefs of their societies. Throughout the novel, Puritan society displays a critical attitude towards sin. The Puritan community also believes that when one person has sinned, the entire community is shamed. Thus, Hester is bitterly scorned by the townspeople for her adultery. For instance, as Hester publicly stands on the scaffold, adhering to the strict punishment her society forces upon her, the townspeople’s actions reveal their strict intolerance towards sin. One woman suggests branding Hester upon her forehead for additional punishment, while another states that Hester “has brought shame

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, the Puritans are depicted as a sad and uniform group of people. Hawthorne never explicitly states his negative views towards the Puritans, rather he chooses to imply these views through his diction, color symbolism, comparing and contrasting, and his use of irony.

In the fictional novel The Scarlet Letter, the contrast between public and private truth is made quite clear. The three main characters of this book make perfect examples of this overarching theme. The characters in this book are the pastor Mr. Dimmesdale, the doctor Roger Chillingworth, and the adulteress Hester Prynne. First, Mr. Dimmesdale, who seems like devout clergyman to the public, has a big secret that could get him killed if it were made known. Next, Roger Chillingworth, a harmless doctor in the eyes of the public, is actually a man on an evil and vengeful mission. Finally, Hester Prynne’s public truth is that she is unimportant outcast while in private the complete opposite is true. In conclusion, Mr. Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, and Hester Prynne all are prime examples of the theme, public versus private truth, that Hawthorne tries to convey in The Scarlet Letter.

In the beginning of the novel, the scarlet letter is seen as a symbol of Hester great sin of adultery and the child she has thence bared. Hester has always seen the scarlet letter as a shameful symbol of her sins she has made. Yet Pearl, Hester’s daughter, matures only knowing her mother with the scarlet letter and loving her for it. Pearl grows to love the A so much that she her self tries to duplicate it, “As the last touch to her mermaid’s garb, Pearl took some eelgrass, and imitated, as best she could, on her own bosom, the decoration with which she was so familiar on her mother’s A letter- the letter A- but freshly green, instead of scarlet” (Hawthorne 155). The scarlet letter has become a significant symbol in Pearl’s life and she cannot bare the thought of not having it. This deep attachment to the A leads Pearl to desiring one for herself. In one instance she had a fit about it by, “Stamping

after frowning, stamping her foot, and shaking her little hand with a variety of threatening gestures, suddenly made a rush at the knot of her enemies, and put them all to flight” (Hawthorne 58). Little Pearl had a fire in her and was often referred to as an “imp” due to her mischievous ways and would cause her mother grief in the way she treated the scarlet letter. When Pearl was first born, Hester observed, “The very first thing which she had noticed in her life, was -what?- not the mother’s smile, . . . [instead] the infant’s eyes had been caught by the glimmering of the gold embroidery about the letter; and putting her little hand she grasped at it, smiling . . .” (55).

Hawthorne uses light and imagery to demonstrate the sin of Hester’s crime and his disapproval. Throughout the text, the narrator has a very biased opinion which is in line with Hester’s opinions, and views Hester herself in a very positive light. However, Hawthorne truly views the letter as a vile object, as shown through Pearl. One day, while Pearl is still a child, Chillingworth and Dimmesdale watch as she places burrs on to the scarlet letter. Pearl first dances on a grave and when she is reprimanded by her mother, she finds burrs and “[arranges] them along the lines of the scarlet letter that decorated the maternal bosom” (Hawthorne 75).

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter demonstrates the impact of one wrongful act upon the three seperate lives of Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Hester Prynne is forced to live her life under the town’s inimical glare. Opposed to Hester, who faces discrimination from the towns people surrounding her, Dimmesdale faces his own suffering inside his own enclosed walls. The adults in the novel would eventually keep their comments to themselves at times for the growing sympathy for Hester however Hawthorne created the children to be brutally honest with their comments towards Hester and Dimmesdale.

Throughout The Scarlet Letter many symbols of adultery and sin coat the pages and release a stench that can be smelt throughout each chapter. But one odor remains persistent throughout the piece and is a critical aspect of the story that helps convey Hawthorne’s message. Pearl is a relentless reminded to, not only the reader, but to Hester, of her life altering sin that affected everyone she loved and cared for. Although Hester wears the letter “A” on her bosom and was castigated publicly for her sin, the importance of the “A” decreases as the story progresses and has little meaning nearing the end of the story. For example, “‘Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ they would say to

A common occurrence in the novel is when we see Pearl and Hester being teased by the other children of the town. They show out horrible things and don't even understand what they are saying. Many of them use vocabulary that they don’t understand. They do this because they are following what they see their parents do. It is a classic game of monkey see monkey do. Because children’s opinions are so easily swayed by their parents, they often think that that is the right way to live. They feel that judging and hate is how they should live their lives. When other kids are picking on Pearl and her mother, other kids will join in. They think that it is socially acceptable to do that. The minds of many of these Puritan kids is quite corrupt. They

Although times and people change, people’s general thoughts and actions in comparable situations remain timeless. This statement should be considered when determining whether or not The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne should still be including in high school curriculum. Many people argue that it should not be; that the book is outdated and could in no way relate to the lives of the young adults reading the classic novel. In the story, Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman, commits the shameful act of adultery. Since she did in fact commit a sin, Hester is looked down upon by her community and is forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her chest as a constant reminder of her actions. Throughout the story, Hester is forced to live and deal with the repercussions of her sin from the townspeople as well the people relating to the sinful action. Although the plot and setting of seventeenth century Massachusetts do not seem to relate to teenagers reading the book, the themes and ideas presented in the novel have eternal messages. Ideas pertaining to deception to maintain a reputation or for protection and the ongoing struggle of being accepted in society are themes that do not have an expiration date. Although The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne could seem like an outdated work of literature as it took place hundreds of years ago, it is still read and taught in high schools due to its portrayal of undying and universal themes.

The Scarlet Letter is a modern classic of American literature written about controversy and published with controversy. The main topic of the book, adultery, is written in a dark and sad way, as Hawthorne describes injustice, fate or predetermination and conscience ( Van Doren, 1998) . No other American novel of the time has such a controversial theme as Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter. The setting of Nathanial Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is the seventeenth century Puritan New England. But Hawthorne's writing for this book is heavily influenced by his own nineteenth century culture. Hawthorne strongly believed in Providence. Hawthorne was descended from the Puritan