Rhetorical Analysis On The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his bold novel, The Scarlet Letter tackles a variety of themes that include: sin, guilt, redemption, postfeminism, and organized religion's abuse of power. Hawthorne spoke in a somber and grim tone, designed to arouse a sense of suspense for his readers. The audience in which he was addressing would have been conservative Christians and women suffragettes, all of whom reflected the ideologies during this time period. By instilling clever diction, Hawthorne exposes hypocrisy in Puritanism and objects against the religion's superfluous punishments; which force individuals to endure unnecessary and extreme suffering.

To begin with, Hester’s sin drove the story, but after the community established her as a sinner, she overcame her sins but she still struggled through other characters. Instead of depicting Hester’s inner turmoil directly to Hester, Hawthorne portrays her tumult through other characters in her life such as Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and the community. Dimmesdale proclaimed to Hester, “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

In his essay “On the Scarlet Letter,” D.H. Lawrence criticizes Hester’s immoral behavior for her adulterous actions. Lawrence views her as a shameful member of Puritan society and centers his argument on her sin and its effects on the story’s plot. D.H. Lawrence’s use of different literary techniques strengthens his claim that Hester is not the heroine through his sarcastic tone, abrupt syntax, and biblical allusions.

During the 17th century, a Puritan commonwealth presided over Boston and was known for its strict adherence to religious, moral and social codes. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes rhetorical strategies in order to denounce the Puritan system of beliefs and bring to light the hypocrisy of the Puritan community as he tells the agonizing story of a young woman who was condemned by society.

The power of imagination makes us infinite, and when it is dulled, one can feel trapped. Only after freeing ourselves, can we understand the beauty of a creative mind. Nathaniel Hawthorne explains how he also had to get back in tune with his imagination after not using it for years while working at the Custom House. Hawthorne draws a very well sketch of the boring life at the Custom House, and how after his head was “cut off” he got the mindset to be able to write the Scarlet Letter. In this long introduction to the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices to describe character traits, show relationships between characters, hint at future events, and enrich the plot for the reader's enjoyment. With his effective use of imagery, symbolism and biblical allusions, Hawthorne adds depth to the novel while creating a connection to the meaning beyond the story that it tells.

In his work “On the Scarlet Letter,” D.H. Lawrence addresses the controversial character of Hester Prynne. He is just one of many critics who have analyzed Nathaniel Hawthorne’s fictional character, where some look to her as a hero and others blatantly shame her for her sin. Lawrence makes up the latter of this crowd, and is able to prove his case in a very meaningful manner. The critic believes that Hawthorne sugarcoats Hester’s image, and tries to make it look as if she is the victim of the tale. Disregarding this sympathy, he addresses the root cause of her sin rather than its consequences. As he writes, he uses a multitude of literary techniques to help convince readers of Hester’s seemingly evil character, using descriptive diction, a

Chapter 10 is called “The Leech and His Patient.” This title is a perfect symbol for what happens in the chapter. Roger Chillingsworth continues to work on his patient, Dimmesdale, to try to figure out what is wrong with him. At the same time though Chillingsworth, the leech, is growing obsessed with his patient. Chillingworth has connected Dimmesdale's spiritual sickness to his physical sickness. At the end of the chapter, he finds something on Dimmesdale’s chest while he is sleeping, which he is overjoyed by. This mark is a permanent mark, Dimmesdale’s own scarlet letter, except it is part of his skin, not a detachable letter. While leech can be used to represent physicians as physicians commonly used leeches, the idea of the leech

“I was chained between two nations” Throughout the novel, chains was mention variously. Figuratively of course. Chains, in the novel, is suppose to represent her inability to choose her own opinion, whether it’s being a loyalist or a patriot. She is stuck between her two choices to choose because they both promise something that she desires; freedom. It was unclear as to which side she will choose, as her opinions changes throughout the novel. In the beginning, she was a patriot. her friend, Curzon, promised her that if she becomes a spy for them against the Locktons, (who were loyalists), then she and her sister will receive freedom. She does what she was told, and acted as a spy, and gave many important information to Patriots. But the patriots didn’t keep their own end of the deal. Isabel soon believes that even if the colonies become independent from Britain, slaves will

One simile I found in this passage is " But methinks, dear Sir, you look pale; as if the ravel through the wilderness had been too sore for you."

In Hawthorne's description of Hester on the pedestal he paints this shameful picture of Hester. He describes her in a guilty manner and emphasizes the pain Hester is feeling from this shame. Hawthorne expresses all of this guilt and pain in his first set of parallel phrases. For instance he repeats "a fixed gaze" twice in order to show the reader the intenseness of this part and then goes on to say the sun is "lighting up her shame" and making her "sin" clear to everyone watching her. He also refers to the "midday sun" as lighting up her shame and therefore making it more visible to the "whole people." He even goes as far as to describe her child as "sin-born" when she makes eye contact with the stranger, who is found out to be her husband. This adds to her feeling of guilt as Hawthorne makes it clear the baby in her arms is not her husband's child. Yet when he gets to the second set of parallel phrases he has this complete rhetorical shift and this whole guilty look of Hester disintegrates into one of almost sympathy. He goes from shaming and making Hester look guilty to describing how her privacy has kind of been torn away from her because of this whole situation. For example, he makes note of private affairs and compares them to the event taking place, he says things such as "features that should have been seen only in the quiet gleam of the fireside."

The Results Of Being Hunted To The Letter “A” Imagine wearing a scarlet letter that is so powerful that it leads to society shunning you. This is the image that Nathaniel Hawthorne throughout the novel. In the novel, the author explains and talks about the life about a young woman named, Hester Prynne, who lives in the Puritan town of Boston whose life is not the same because she committed adultery. Adultery is a serious and sinful crime, which lead to Hester acquiring the scarlet letter.

It is very clear that Lawrence thinks Hester is undeserving of everyone's attention, whether that attention is good or bad, when he tauntingly remarks “Oh luscious sin!” (Lawrence). Although it may seem as if he supports Hester, what he is really doing is mocking her and the fact that she is getting so much attention over a sin she committed. Lawrence goes on to state ¨To seduce a man. To have everybody know.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, the author uses melodramatic diction in order the emphasize Hester Prynne’s unusual comfort with the crowd’s attention. Prynne’s insecurity with confrontation causes her to isolate herself above a crowd rather than face confrontation. The narrator refers to the platform on which Prynne stands as a “pedestal”, connoting that she gains attraction from the audience in a certain sense of admiration. Prynne’s lionization of standing higher than everyone else in the audience portrays the amount of attraction she gains and how Prynne holds herself to some degree of worthiness because of her raised place. Amidst the audience, Prynne spots a “fixed gaze” from a stranger which draws her attention and causes her

In the stories of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the antagonist characters display parallel story lines through their searches for the enemy. Roger Chillingworth, the former husband of Hester Prynne and the antagonist of The Scarlet Letter, works against his wife in order to find her untold second lover. Frankenstein is a contrasting story in which an unnamed monster is the antagonist towards his human creator, Dr. Frankenstein. Yet despite quite different story lines, the two characters possess traits that exibit parallels between them. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth displays the startling passionate characteristics of an unwavering drive to seek out his foe, madness as his focus on his search takes over his entire being, and terrible anguish when his task is unexpectedly over, all of which are reflected in the daemon created at the hand of Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley 's novel Frankenstein.

In his essay On The Scarlet Letter, D.H. Lawrence contradicts Hawthorne’s portrayal of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne respects Hester and portrays her as a victim, whereas Lawrence argues that she is one of the main sinners in the novel. D.H. Lawrence establishes and supports his claim that Hester Prynne is unworthy of Hawthorne’s praise by effectively utilizing concise syntax, frequent repetition, and strong biblical allusions.