Pearl In John Steinbeck's The Scarlet A

Nathaniel shows hatred and perceptiveness because of Pearl wanting to know the true meaning of the scarlet letter. “Silly Pearl, what questions are these? There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about. What know I of the minister’s heart? And as for the scarlet letter, I wear it for the sake of it’s gold thread!” Hester then asks Pearl is she is aware of the meaning it holds for her. However, it is clear that Pearl does not know it’s true meaning and Hester does not enlighten her because she feels Pearl is not mature enough to understand it. Pearl continues to inquire about the scarlet letter’s origins. Hester adds more weight on her own back by lying to Pearl about why she wears the scarlet letter. Pearl interrogates her mother about the A on her bosom. This represents that Pearl will find out about the true meaning of the letter later in the

Hester's daughter, Pearl, functions primarily as a symbol. She is quite young during most of the events of this novel—when Dimmesdale dies she is only seven years old—and her real importance lies in her ability to provoke the adult characters in the book. She asks them pointed questions and draws their attention, and the reader's, to the denied or overlooked truths of the adult world. In general, children in The Scarlet Letter are portrayed as more perceptive and more honest than adults, and Pearl is the most perceptive of them all.

'This child ... hath come from the hand of God, to work in many ways upon her heart ... It was meant for a blessing, for the one blessing of her life! It was meant, doubtless ... for a retribution too; a torture to be felt at many an unthought-of moment; a pang, as sting, an ever-recurring agony, in the midst of a troubled joy!" (Hawthorne 105)

As she was growing up all she saw was people look at her like she’s a demon and shouldn’t be there. Another way it affects her behavior occurs when they ridicule her mother also and I feel like that may be one of the main contributors to her behavior. But i want to know why do the puritans act the way they do?, and I also want to look at how does society affect her behavior. Because in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel

It is very sad that a child has no purpose in life other than show his parents guilt and shame. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Pearl was a little girl who was the product of and adulterous act when the minister at the church Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale and a young lady named Hester Prynne. “We have spoken of Pearl’s rich and luxuriant beauty—a beauty that shone with deep and vivid tints, a bright complexion, eyes possessing intensity both of depth and glow, and hair already of a deep, glossy brown, and which, in after years, would be nearly akin to black. “ (Hawthorne 52) Here is a brief description of Pearl, furthermore Pearl is also described as a child who seemed to have some sort of wildness in her.It is said that Pearl was a girl who distinguished herself among others. Pearl was intelligent, very

Children accept who they are with no influence from society or feelings of guilt. As Hawthorne describes Pearl’s carefree attitude, he writes, “Her final employment was to gather sea-weed… and thus assume the aspect of a little mermaid… Pearl took some eel-grass, and imitated, as best she could, on her own bosom, the decoration with which she was so familiar on her mother’s… the letter A” (Nathaniel Hawthorne 115). As little Pearl plays, the scarlet letter does not symbolize shame for her. Pearl accepts the scarlet letter as nothing out of the ordinary, and even envies its beauty. Through Pearl’s actions, Hawthorne reveals how children view shame and societal pressure. Although the scarlet letter embodies the entirety of Hester’s sin and shame, Pearl does not run from it or feel ashamed because of it. Hawthorne uses Pearl as an example of how adults should view symbols of sin in their society instead of running from the sin, they should forgive readily and accept the reality of their present situation. Furthermore, in his literary criticism, The Obliquity of Signs, Millicent Bell reveals how out of Hester’s societally constructed sin and shame came this perfect example of Pearl. He writes, “Hester’s sin is not only unutterable but involves a name, that of her partner, which she refuses to utter. Her sexual history is so private that it cannot be imagined when we gaze at her in the chaste aftermath of Hawthorne’s novel. And yet that privacy has its public manifestation, the child Pearl” (Millicent Bell 23). Bell reveals how even out of Hester’s most taboo and secret sin came Pearl, whose manifestation publicly

“Imagination is the key ingredient to overcoming fear and doubt.” Throughout “The Scarlet Letter”, Nathaniel Hawthorne tends to emphasize the intensity of Pearl’s imagination by describing the way Pearl saw the world around her and by talking about the way the people who noticed her vivid imagination, referred to her as a “witch-child”. In “The Scarlet Letter”, Pearl grows up secluded from the rest of the children in the New World. She learns to entertain herself and keep herself company by using her imagination. This is one big example of Pearl overcoming the hardships that she grew up with. As the book progresses, and as Pearl gets older, we see her overcome more hardships she is challenged with to create a strong, independent young girl. The poem provided written by Emily Dickinson comes to show how overcoming Pearl’s hardships led her to blossom from a strong, independent young girl, into an even stronger, successful woman.

Every pearl begins as a dangerous and harsh intrusion into life. A piece of dirt is inserted into an oyster’s environment where it doesn’t belong. The oyster can either respond by dying, or by accepting and surrounding the sand with care. With continual care, the oyster turns the small speck of dirt into a beautiful pearl. The Scarlet Letter is a story of how one woman takes a scandalous event and rather than allowing the event to define her, she, by constant kindness, turns her life and her child into something of worth. The theme I am focusing on in The Scarlet Letter is the person and the concept which embodies courage and redemption.

Pearl’s rebellion in the Puritan Society Today in society being different and not fitting in the crowd is not unusual but people are still antagonized for it. Society makes people feel as being different from everyone else is such a horrid thing, that they ostracize people who don’t follow the crowd. For centuries society has been taunting people who are different. If someone does not follow the ideals of society they are judged and looked down upon.

The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, deals with adultery, sin, and morals. The main character, Hester Primm, commits adultery with Reverend Dimmsdale. A child is born from this sin. Hester is left to raise her child on her own due to Dimmsdales pride and ego. Hester's daughter, Pearl, is a symbol for everything under the sun.

For example, the first thing she instinctively clutches to is the A fastened on Hester’s chest: “But that first object of which Pearl seemed to become aware was the scarlet letter on Hester's bosom” (Hawthorne). Here, Pearl’s aberration illustrates her deviation from normality. While Hester believes Pearl’s outlandish nature is God’s punishment for her sin, Hester also recognizes that Pearl is a gift from God, representing possible redemption. Pearl’s shift from endearing to demon-like behavior reinforces the idea that Pearl is Hester’s savior, yet also her tormentor. Pearl’s attachment to the A was further exemplified when she “imitated, as best she could, on her own bosom the decoration with which she was so familiar on her mother's” (Hawthorne). Despite society’s belief that Hester can only redeem herself through public shame, wearing the A, Pearl believes that the only escape from sin is in nature, as shown through her creation of a green A. Additionally, Pearl intentionally made the A to provoke her mother, wondering “if mother will ask me what it means,” characterizing Pearl as Hester’s tormentor (Hawthorne). Furthermore, while Pearl is physically attached to the A, she is also mentally, as shown through her constant questioning of Hester. “what does this scarlet letter mean?—and why dost thou wear it on thy bosom?—and why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?” (Hawthorne). Pearl is

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne's work, The Scarlet Letter, nature plays a very symbolic role. Throughout the book, nature is incorporated into the story line. One example of this is with the character of Pearl. Pearl is very different than all the other characters due to her special relationship with Nature. Hawthorne personifies Nature as sympathetic towards sins against the puritan way of life. Hester's sin causes Nature to accept Pearl.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, symbolsim is constantly present in the actual scarlet letter “A” as it is viewed as a symbol of sin and the gradally changes its meanign, guilt is also a mejore symbol, and Pearl’s role in this novel is symbolic as well. The Scarlet Letter includes many profound and crucial symbols. these devices of symbolism are best portayed in the novel, most noticably through the letter “A” best exemplifies the changes in the symbolic meaning throughout the novel.

Children, in Puritan times, were often seen as gifts from god. They almost seemed like angels. But what about a child that was born from sin? In Nathaniel Hawthornes, The Scarlet Letter, Pearl acts as a messenger of God to ensure that both Hester and Dimmesdale accept their sin through dialogue. How would a mother feel if her own child were to associate her with her worst trait?

In a small fishing village by the name of La Paz, live a simple, content, and calm family. The family consists of a child, Coyotito, and husband and wife, Juana and Kino. Kino is a poor fisherman and pearl diver that is simply working to support his family that he cares for very much. In the novel, Kino eventually acquires a pearl that he hopes will change his life around. As a result, the whole of his village despises Kino. They envy him for the rarity that is the pearl. Kino envisions an education for Coyotito, a rifle, and a marriage in a church, but realistically, the pearl shows death and more morbid outcomes such as Juana being beaten, and Coyotito being ill. Throughout the novel, the pearl noticeably has an impact on Kino's