Loss of Innocence in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne does an admirable job of expressing the true nature of his characters. Nowhere in his story is this more obvious than in his portrayal of the children. Children, in their innocence will say or do anything, for unlike adults, they are not constrained by societal expectations. They are oblivious to most manners and politics and therefore, are less reserved than the adults when it comes to questioning things or speaking their mind.

Through Pearl, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne explores innocence as well as naivety in the mind of a young child. These qualities, along with the idea that all children are born free of sin, allow Pearl to escape the meaning of the Scarlet Letter that has turned her family upside down. The Scarlet Letter serves as a reminder of the sin that Hester commits by having a child out of wedlock. When Hester becomes pregnant and is forced to wear the Scarlet Letter, her community looks down upon her and wrongfully places the impurity of her actions onto her unborn child. Despite what people in the town think of Pearl, Hester views Pearl as a treasure, naming her ‘Pearl’ after something of opulence. In order to not taint this view, Hester tries as hard as she can to shield Pearl from the punishment of the letter telling her that she simply likes the gold trim on it and lying about its negative connotation. Instead of a curse, Pearl is a blessing in disguise and a gift from God, described as “a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion” (74).

Hester Prynne -- adulteress and sinner, but also strong, courageous and kind. She lives with the first two words as her identity, with the scarlet “A” as her name tag; A reminder to everyone and herself of her sins. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne; Hawthorne expresses his belief that everyone has an equal potential for sin, what causes people to be different from each other is how they react to their sin. The sins committed by people can affect them differently than how it may affect another person. Sin is not something that everyone feels the same way about. Lucius Annaeus Seneca makes a point saying that: “The first step in a person's salvation is knowledge of their sin”. There is no way we can resolve our sins alone. We can only acknowledge our sin and repent; We can try to be the best versions of ourselves but sin does not just disappear. It is a daily trouble everyone’s life, sin changes every person from the individual they are supposed to be. For example, Hester accepts what she has one and tries to move on and redeem herself by helping the poor and raising her daughter. On the contrary, Chillingsworth dwells in his sins and submits to what he had done making him become dark and satan-like. He no longer can recognize admirability, he has a focused on revenge and hate. There are also people comparable to Dimmesdale, who hide their sins in shame of what they have done, unable to move on.

With all the chaos present in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, there is a central point at which the novel revolves around: Hester Prynne’s sin. Because of her adulterous actions, she is mocked by both modern and Puritan society. It is through her character as an adulteress that D.H. Lawrence scorns and evaluates Hester Prynne’s flaws through his use of brief diction, sarcastic tone, and biblical allusions.

to temptation, much like Young Goodman Brown did when he gave into the “devil”. Brown's journey, therefore, represents the loss of his innocence when he leaves Faith (his wife and but also a symbol of Brown’s religious conviction throughout the story), to take a walk through the forests with this mysterious man, when his Faith had pleaded him to stay with her which is shown when he tells this devil, “"Faith kept me back awhile." The traveller which accompanies Brown is a symbol of evil and the devil. He makes himself to be as a friend when in fact he is only leading Goodman Brown towards evil and sin. The traveller says, "Wickedness or not," said the traveller with the twisted staff, "I have a very general acquaintance here in New England.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the protagonist Hester Prynne was a young, beautiful and buxom woman who got shunned out and alienated from the society for committing adultery. Hester was humiliated and insulted from everyone in her community. With its consequences, Hester used her strength and ability to get through all the disgrace and pain the scarlet letter supposed to cause. Hester Prynne seeks for companionship and sympathy but nothing avail at first. She started charity work hoping to find forgiveness and sympathy.

In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne narrates the story of Hester Prynne, an adulteress living in Boston during the seventeenth century. His purpose in this passage is to detail the change that overcame Hester after she had been subjected to her punishment of constant ignominy. Hawthorne adopts a sympathetic tone towards Hester, revealing that he believes women need to be delicate and tender in order to retain their feminine appeal.

From adultery to satanic children The Scarlet Letter has about every horrid possible outcome known to man. With all of the hate, discontent, trouble, toil, and strife someone says that once you go deeper into the readying there are several good thing. So among the hate for Hester and her child, among the doctor who was only keeping the priest alive for his own personal gain, among the priest living a lie for his own sake there is supposed good. I will find some but, I am telling you know that I personally do not agree. I believe that this book it meant to give of what happens when you do something you know is wrong, but I will not justify it for you, no sir, I will not believe most of what I wright.

Guilt and Relief Author Stefan Zweig once brilliantly wrote “No guilt is forgotten so long as the conscience still knows of it.” In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, pastor Dimmesdale struggles with the guilt that he bears. Though, he tries to fight it and repent for his sins, he is mistaken in his efforts. He will not, however, tell anyone of his sin because he is scared of the possible retaliation from the townspeople. He lives for seven years in this painful state of guilt because he has yet to realize that the only thing that can save him is letting it all out.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, the main characters struggle to overcome sin, guilt, and public humiliation in a Puritan New England society. In the beginning of the novel, Hester Prynne is led to the scaffold to serve her punishment for committing adultery, a crime and a sin in Puritan culture. In addition to standing on the scaffold to be publicly embrassed, Hester also must wear a scarlet letter "A" to show her sin of adultery. The townspeople, including Hester's werid husband Roger Chillingworth, seek to find the true identity of Hester's lover and the father of her illegitimate child, Pearl. Hester refuses to publicly admit that Pearl's father is Arthur Dimmesdale, the town minister; because she wants to protecting him

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne has an extremely complicated relationship with her community. Throughout the course of the novel, this relationship changes dramatically, going from one of contempt and isolation to a more healthy one, in which the town accepts and even venerates her. Hester’s relationship with the town parallels the symbolic change in meaning behind the scarlet letter. In the townspeople’s point of view, she and her letter transform from a physical representation of sin and shame to a symbol of charity and ableness.

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays how a young woman, Hester Prynne, is forced to live with the scarlet letter “A” on her breast to mark her shame of adultery. Hester commits the appalling crime with the widely known Puritan minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. Being punished to wear the scarlet letter brings about a change among Hester’s character due to the ridicule from the public, the constant reminder of her sin from Pearl, and becoming secluded from society. Knowing his reputation and importance to the town, Dimmesdale is forced to bury this sin, bringing about an increasing amount of guilt through the years. Along with Hester and Dimmesdale, the letter affects Pearl’s life, making it difficult for the poor child to reach acceptance

Throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the constant theme of guilt, resentment, and revenge is mirrored through various scenes and characters. Hester Prynne commits the cursed sin, adultery, leading to her wearing of the notorious scarlet letter “A”. Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne’s adulterer, struggles with the crushing burden of guilt; as the respected pastor of the Puritan community, Dimmesdale must keep the heavy weight of sin to himself. Hawthorne most clearly depicts the subject of guilt through Dimmesdale, a respected reverend who ironically commits an unforgivable crime of passion. He is exemplary in performing his duties as a Puritan minister, a sign in which he was one of the chosen disciples of God, but he would not forget his sin and considers himself as a hypocrite. With the guilt

Sin is something we are all guilty of, however some let their sin affect them negatively and never learn from their mistakes. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, tells the story of Hester Prynne who is found guilty of adultery. The Puritans of Boston force her to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest, symbolizing that she is an adulteress. Hester is married to Roger Chillingworth, a fact she hides. As a result of their sin, Hester and Dimmesdale have a child, Pearl who constantly reminds them of their immorality. The letter greatly changes Hester, and causes her to be publicly shamed and outcasted, yet also helped her grow closer to the society. The impact of the scarlet letter causes her to be disgraced by the society.

The Scarlet Letter is a mysterious tale of intrigue, guilt, and revenge. Nathaniel Hawthorne weaves a story based on Puritan values and the consequences surrounding them if they are broken. The story’s focal point is that of the sin of Hester Prynne, accused of adultery, thrown into jail, and placed high on a scaffold for others to look upon her in contempt and disgust. The main plot behind the novel is that of the secret inner turmoil of the pious Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester's secret lover, who must come to certain realizations about himself. Other supporting cast members include Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s former lover, and Pearl Prynne, the child of Hester’s adulterous relationship. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses