Scarlet Letter Ambiguity Essay

In Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the deceptive Roger Chillingworth could most certainly be considered a morally ambiguous character. Throughout the novel, Roger Chillingworth everlastingly remains misleading as to whether he lies on the side of good or evil. Even at the end of The Scarlet Letter, the knowledge of Roger Chillingworth is extremely nebulous. The mysterious Roger Chillingworth, although ultimately emanating to be evil, attests to be a challenge when determining his morality. Roger Chillingworth attempts to beguile us by enacting the role of a physician, and ensconces his relationship with Hester Prynne. He lives with Arthur Dimmesdale, vindicating that he is serving Arthur Dimmesdale a helpful medicine, while

Ambiguity in short stories is common and can be used in many different ways by the author. Flannery O 'Connor uses ambiguity in

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author presents three symbols that all reinforce the main idea of the novel. The main idea that reoccurred throughout the novel is that people don’t have to let their mistakes or circumstances determine who they are or what they become; it’s all in how one interprets life. Many symbols may seem as just an ordinary character or coincidental object to some readers, but the symbols have a deeper, underlying meaning. Although there are many symbols in this book, there are three that really help support the main idea: Hester Prynne’s scarlet letter, the meteor, and Hester’s daughter Pearl.

"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'" (51). That one simple letter set into the bodice of a young woman named Hester Prynne, tells a story of heartache, pride, strength and triumph in the book elegantly written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter (1850). Hawthorne's novel provides many types of symbolism. One of such is the symbolism of a red rose bush growing outside the gates of the town prison.

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.

    Literature is never interpreted in exactly the same way by two different readers. A prime example of a work of literature that is very ambiguous is Joseph Conrad's, "Heart of Darkness". The Ambiguities that exist in this book are Marlow's relationship to colonialism, Marlow's changing feelings toward Kurtz, and Marlow's lie to the Intended at the end of the story.

The Scarlet Letter Introduction The Scarlet Letter is a classic tale of sin, punishment, and revenge. It was written in 1850 by the famous American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It documents the lives of three tragic characters, each of whom suffer greatly because of his or her sins. Shot Plot The story begins with Hester Prynne, a resident of a small Puritan community, being led from the town jailhouse to a public scaffold where she must stand for three hours as punishment for adultery. She must also wear a scarlet A on her dress for the rest of her life as part of her punishment. As she is led to the scaffold, many of the women in the crowd complain that

However, when you examine them in greater depth it becomes apparent that there is more to them than there originally appeared to be. The first is that of the scarlet letter itself. The “A” was originally intended to show people that the person wearing it was a sinner who had committed adultery. However, as the novel develops it becomes more of a sign of heaven through the meaning of angel. This is first seen when an “A” appears in the sky shortly after the death of Governor Winthrop. It is at this time that the townspeople decide this is a sign that Governor Winthrop was a good Christian who has gone on to a better life. But the townspeople cannot help but realize that this is the same thing which the have made one of their own people, Hester, wear. Another symbol is found in what is one of Hester’s greatest skills. Her ability with a needle to sew and embroider better than anyone else has a lot more meaning than there appears to be. Hester uses sewing as her outlet when she is condemned by the townspeople, but it is through her seclusion and the sewing she does during her time alone that strengthens her faith in herself and God, much like Mary did after she first learned of her pregnancy. This faith proves very helpful to her in more trying times. Yet another symbol is made through the rosebush. The rose bush is a symbol of sin, and Pearl continues to claim

Ch 5 1) Hester’s life is going as well as can possibly be while being the town’s pariah. The community treats her horribly, making her a symbol of sinful passion and frailty, while also scorning her whenever she comes in town. 2) On Page 82, Hawthorne writes: “She was patient-a martyr, indeed- but she forbore to pray for her enemies, lest, in spite of her forgiving aspirations, the words of the blessing should stubbornly twist themselves into a curse.” This shows that despite being a forgiving person, Hester does not trust herself to pray for the people in town due to her resentfulness towards them may end up ruining the prayer.

The characters in the Scarlet Letter are judged greatly through how and who they are able and unable to forgive. Such as the main female lead, Hester Prynne, and her struggle for the town to forgive her, finding the will to forgive herself and having God forgive her. Although, this was hard because every day she had to live with the scarlet letter upon her chest as a reminder of her sin. Another character that had one of the roughest times in the novel was Arthur Dimmesdale. This man kept a sin hidden for most of the novel and let it eat him away. The person that Dimmesdale needed to forgivehim the most was Pearl. He spent most of the novel trying to earn her beloved trust. Pearl would ask him favors to go into town with her but it

The first chapter of Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne describes a rose-bush in front of an old wooden prison door. Telling the reader that the rose symbolize some sweet moral blossom to the condemned. I can surmise that the author is foreshadowing the events that will take place throughout the story. The second chapter begins with women gossiping about a young lady named Hester Prynne and the consequence the magistrates decided on. The woman calls her a hussy, another women declares that the magistrates should have put a brand on her forehead, believing that having her wear the A on the bodice of her gown wouldn’t be enough. The woman’s crudity towards Hester was suprising, knowing these same women probably talked to her before she perpetrated her crime,

Beauty is often found in the most unexpected darkest places just like the rosebush outside of the prison door in a puritan colonial village. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, mentions that the rosebush symbolizes pride or a catastrophe that occurs, however, the thorns on the rosebush portray the struggles Hester Prynne had to face and overcome as society confronts their evilness when she presents herself with her child that is seen as a witch as a result of the sin her mother committed.

In The Scarlet Letter, sin and guilt represent the theme of morality throughout the entire novel. The scarlet letter “A” is the main representation of the protagonist assumed moral ineptitude. Yet there is a certain amount of vagueness that occurs at her initial appearance that leaves the reader a bit confused. Nathanial Hawthorne produces a marvelous piece of ambiguity that allows the reader to question their own idea of how morality is defined. While he works the theme of morality into all of the characters in the novel, the three main characters Hester Prynne, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale are the main focus if the idea of morality in the novel.

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.

“Women belong in the kitchen.” “All women should be barefoot and pregnant.” “Women are strictly homemakers.” These are a few of the commonly used phrases regarding the female role in society that date back to the mid-seventeenth century. However, ardent supporters of gender equality have surfaced in almost every culture where this ideology is practiced. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores this inveterate societal conflict through his story The Scarlet Letter. The main character, Hester Prynne, is punished for committing adultery by being forced to wear a scarlet letter upon her bosom; Hawthorne created a story sympathetic to the female cause and demonstrated, through Hester, qualities of early feminism that later establish themselves during his