Scarlet Letter Bad Vs Good

Hester is a character portrayed in both the light and the dark as she walks out of prison. She is free of sin, but is reminded everyday by the letter she wears. Hester struggled with the Puritan’s intolerance to Pearl and her. Hester “like a black shadow emerging out into the sunshine like she was free of sin” depicts the contrast between light and dark. (Hawthorne 49). When she walked into the sunshine she felt like something was lifted off of her chest. As a seamstress she had “sewn on her chest in bright red…an A” (Hawthorne 50). This mark symbolized the acceptance of her sin.

In the "Scarlet Letter" Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her chest at all times as punishment for committing adultery. People see her much differently now that she has this mark upon her chest and start to treat her with disrespect and shun her. Throughout the novel the letter "A" changes from a symbol of her sin to one of that of perseverance and hope. The scarlet letter reminds Hester to raise her daughter Pearl so that she wouldn't make the same mistakes as her. Just as Hester, we had to wear our own versions of the scarlet letter upon Hester's chest for an entire day.

In the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne makes many references to the devil and evil’s influence on major characters and on the people in the town. The major characters change the way they act towards one another, and are physically and mentally affected negatively. The evil influence not only affects how the people in the town act towards each other but if affects how different people view the scarlet letter that Hester wears. Hawthorne also tries to convince the reader that Pearl’s existence is evil, but good things can come from evil as well as bad. By describing these instances Hawthorne drives the point that the devil and evil overtime are prominent themes and shape the plot.

In chapters 7-9 in the novel The Scarlet Letter, the purpose that Nathaniel Hawthorne is trying to get across is helped greatly by literary devices such as diction, imagery, syntax, and tone embedded in this novel. Hawthorne uses strong diction to intensify situations to bring out anticipation and feelings. Hawthorne uses an abundance of imagery to help understand the strong diction, and to help set the mood and tone of each chapter. Hawthorne, then, ties all these literary devices together to further his point that the sin was not only an act of affection, but it also creates a problematic combination of love and evil. The problematic combination intensifies throughout the novel, but chapters 7-9 is where this combination of love and evil really begins.

Society has unintentionally been guided by the same themes since the beginning of time. The recurring themes that are present in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic The Scarlet Letter are still relevant in today’s society. When high school students and teachers claim that Hawthorne’s novel is archaic and should be removed from the curriculum, they are absolutely wrong. Hester Prynne, the main character of the novel, commits adultery and as punishment, has to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest for everyone to see. Throughout the novel, Hester is faced with obstacles such as the struggle between self and society and the burden of publicly suffering for her sins. Despite a substantial amount of time having passed since Puritan times, the themes that Hester Prynne had to experience are still pertinent. Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, is driven mad by his incessant need for revenge and in society today there are many occasions where people are plagued with the desire to seek vengeance. There are some instances in life where human nature takes over without people even realizing and revenge is one of them. Also, people are right when they say “history repeats itself” because some of these themes never go away. The Scarlet Letter takes place in the strict religious time of the 1600’s and although the book seems outdated and obsolete, the ideas inside are still relevant and therefore high school students should continue to read this work

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

The very scarlet letter from which the novel’s name is derived from is a symbol of sinning; the scarlet letter represents how Puritan society views sinning as unforgivable and something for public speculation. Hester is punished by wearing hers out for the world to see. The letter is “so fantastically embroidered” that one townswoman argues that its intricacy and design defeat the entire purpose of wearing it. The scarlet letter serves as an

Also, Hawthorne juxtaposes motifs to reveal Hester’s point-of-view and understanding. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester forcefully wears the embroidered letter “A” with golden thread representing sin and adultery. Then, her daughter asks, “What does the letter mean, mother?” Her mother responds, “for the scarlet letter, I wear it for the sake of its gold-thread” (163). In this quote, Hester is hiding the real logic of why she is wearing the scarlet letter, because she understands Pearl is still a child, she would not be able to understand the hypocrisy of the society. Furthermore, the community forced her to wear it as a source of a punishment. However, this juxtaposition of wearing the item for the sake of its beauty, is a different idea contrasting the genuine reason of why she is wearing the scarlet letter. Additionally, another symbolism that Hawthorne juxtaposes is the meaning of the allegorical object in the novel. This object is the scarlet letter, which its meaning changed from the beginning to the end of the book. At first, the author represents the idea of the wickedness of the letter it has on Hester, “[that] transfigured [Hester] . . . [and it] illuminated upon her bosom” (51). Not only, the scarlet letter has a peculiar “effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (51). Thus, the author interprets the meaning of the scarlet letter

To begin, Hawthorne uses the scarlet letter “A” to reinforce the theme of Guilt. Hester Prynne, the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” upon her bosom because she has committed the sin of adultery. This leads Hester to feel guilty for the rest of her life. Hawthorne states, “... that scarlet letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (Hawthorne 51). The quote shows how feeling guilt has made her much more distant from the rest of the townspeople. Hester experiences this agonizing guilt whenever she glances in a mirror, or down at her chest. Pearl is the result of Hester’s

Ch 7) 1) The significance of Pearl’s apparel for her visit to the governor’s mansion is that the scarlet dress embroidered with the golden thread, which symbolizes the scarlet letter, is to remind the people that that she is a product of sin and that to them she is inherently evil. 2) Hester and Pearl’s reflection in the breastplate of the armor emphasize the scarlet letter on Hester’s chest. This can symbolize how the townsfolk view the two of them, living embodiment of sin marked by with a scarlet A and how they hide behind it’s appearence. 3) The qualities in Pearl that are being emphasized is her fiery temper similar, to her appearance, driving the children off with her screams and threats after they mocked her.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, as an admirer of psychology, uses a distinctive theme of moral ambiguity amongst his characters in the novel The Scarlet Letter. The characters, in particular Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth, are rather difficult to classify as either good or bad; they are simply human. Hawthorne’s moral ambiguity amongst these characters makes them more relatable to real human beings and serves as a clear portrayal of the complex human psyche. One can not be defined as simply bad or good; humans are much more complex than these two binary words which is why Hawthorne’s realization of moral ambiguity is quite profound.

"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...it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore; and which was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony." Hester uses what was originally meant to degrade her character and turns it into a beautiful decoration, that symbolizes her resilience and individualism, on her already not so "appropriate" outfit (at least for the Puritan community). This is outrages to the Puritans, who feel ridiculed by Hester's attitude. Yet later in the chapter, despite her pride, Hester still barely believes the situation she is currently in, this is shown when "She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast, that it sent forth a cry; she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were

What is most remarkeable about Hester Prynne is her strength of character. Her inner strength and honesty and her compassion to others, even ones that have condemned her is what is brought to the reader’s attention throughout the novel. At the beginning of the novel Hester is described as a radiant beauty, however seven years later her beauty is gone and the beautiful hair that she once had is hidden underneath a cap that she wears. In Chapter 13, she removes the cap and the letter “A” and she becomes the beautiful person that she was before her punishment. I think that this is symbolic in that when she removes her cap and letter she taking off the harsh structure of Puritan society. When Pearl demands that she put back on her cap and letter “ her beauty, the warnth and richness of her womanhood, departed, like fading sunshine; and a gray shadow seemed to fall across her.” While her punishment does change her physical appearance, it has a deeper impact on her character.

In “The Scarlet Letter,” Hawthorne presents the consequences of sin as an important aspect in the lives of Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingsworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale. The sin committed, adultery, between Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale had resulted in the birth of their innocent little girl, Pearl. This sin ruined the three main characters’ lives completely in different ways. With the sin committed, there were different ways the characters reacted to it: embracing the sin, concealing the sin, and becoming obsessed and consumed with it. With each reaction to the sin there were also different actions of redemption.

Hester Prynne, a character within The Scarlet Letter, is a prime example of Hawthorne's common transformation of individuals within his books. These mutations involve the qualities and attributes of her physical appearance, feminine emotions, and reputation among the townspeople. Throughout the novel, the mentioned elements of Hester's character develop and change several times, providing the reader with better understanding of the influence that the scarlet letter and other characters have on her.