Scarlet Letter Essay: Shame And Identity

She begins to find ways to work with the resources she has and her moral increases dramatically. The scarlet letter become a part of Hester Prynne and she accepts this fact willingly. She accepts this to such a degree, that even when she is allowed to remove the letter, it doesn't feel right so she puts it right back on again. The letter does however have a deeper effect on her character in a positive way. The struggles Hester undertake due to the letter make her stronger and increase her will for a happier life.

The book, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is the scandalous story of Hester Prynne and how the scarlet letter ‘A’ burns on her breast. Hester has a child who is born in adultery. She is sentenced to stand on the dreaded scaffold and endure public shaming and to wear the letter of conviction for the rest of her days. Even in her suffering, Hester refuses to give the identity of the father, the highly regarded Minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. He is a cowardly man who is permits Hester to suffer alone. Even though he confesses his sins eventually, he refuses several other opportunities; therefore, he is weak and cowardly, and in no way a hero.

The Scarlet Letter is a novel about a Puritan woman who has committed adultery and must pay for her sin by wearing a scarlet “A'; on her bosom. The woman, Hester Prynne, must struggle through everyday life with the guilt of her sin. The novel is also about the suffering that is endured by not admitting to one’s wrongs. Reverend Mister Dimmesdale learns that secrecy only makes the guilt increase. Nathaniel Hawthorne is trying to display how guilt is the everlasting payment for sinful actions. The theme of guilt as reparation for sin in The Scarlet Letter is revealed through Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of northeastern, colonial settings, various conflicts, and

“Man had marked this woman's sin by a scarlet letter, which had such a potent and disastrous efficiency that no human sympathy could reach her,…” (Hawthorne 73). This quote shows the struggle of the letters shame because Hester committed Adultery with Dimmesdale which caused her to have to wear the letter in the Novel The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne. Although the letter represents Adultery and the sin and shame in the Beginning of the novel she takes the lesson that it gives her and turns it into a example of being able.

The Scarlet letter shows hester as a humble person. She had to suffer a lot in the beginning. I tried to convey this with her distaste of the town shaming her. I also made sure to highlight her persistence to protect herself and her child. That’s the one thing Hester always did, protect Pearl. I decided

Judging others’ actions comes easy, to think one would never fall so low but once Hester Prynne does, she accepts the burden of her sin, not expecting any esteem from society acceptingly enduring her new life consequence of her actions. Hester goes on living with the scarlet letter upon her, as a token of punishment which results in her isolation from society with no one but Pearl, her daughter. Standing up to fight for what God has given her, Hester, despite her error guarantees Pearl “keeps [her] here in life” and is her punishment constantly reminding her of what she wears upon her bosom. Pearl become the live version of the scarlet letter Hester wears over her heart and will not bear to lose the only valuable thing she has to hold on to.

In The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is more than a literary figure in a classic novel, she is known by some people to be one of the earliest American Hero’s. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester commits adultery and has a child that she must care for all alone. She is forced to wear a powerful, attention grabbing “Scarlet A” on her chest while she must try to make a living to support her and her child, Pearl. Even though she must face all the harsh judgment and stares she does not allow her sin to stop her from living a successful life. She looks past the Letter as a symbol of sin and turns it into a sign of approval. Hester

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, focuses on a woman by the name of Hester Prynne who committed adultery with a minister in a puritan society. When she bears the child, she is shamed for her actions through the use of a scarlet letter A which she is forced to wear on her chest. She is compelled to confront her sin by the public, but her lover, Dimmesdale, is not revealed. However, both characters deal with the guilt of their sins in different ways. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the idea of light and darkness to represent the futility of the puritan’s focus on public image, with light standing for the puritan focus on image, and the darkness representing the freedom and ability to be oneself.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, guilt and shame are the key themes throughout the text. This story encompasses the life of Hester Prynne, who, after committing the sin of adultery, is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” and be publicly shamed. In the Puritan religion, they believed that no matter what you did, there was no forgiveness. Because of this, Hawthorne illustrates the overall theme of guilt and shame.

“Many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able (147).” Scandals such as Hester’s have a short-lived impact, and as the shock of Hester’s sin fades, the meaning of her scarlet letter morphs into that of good. Besides just societal acceptance, Hester finds it much easier to accept herself as her sin had been revealed to the town, though not by choice. Though Hester still does not feel entirely as if she has a place in society, she finds solace within her own mind.

Arthur Dimmesdale, a beloved Puritan reverend in Boston, faces immense self-disgust due to having an affair with a married woman, Hester Prynne. He experiences enormous mental anguish because he will not confess his sin, and Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, torments him. His health continues to decline due to his

In the past, people who made mistakes were labeled by that one mistake. Such is the case for Hester Prynne, protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. She commits adultery, and is labeled with an embroidered A on her chest for the rest of her life. She must learn to be true to herself, find herself, in a world that only sees her as an A. The symbolism of the scarlet letter, the character Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and the theme of identity in society versus conformity make The Scarlet Letter a classic, still taught in schools worldwide today.

As you already know in the book “The Scarlet Letter”,Hester Prynne has been branded the scarlet letter and now she feels that the letter is now a permanent part of her and her identity and this is true as society now sees her not just as Hester Prynne but as the woman with the scarlet letter.We all have these “letters” and these letters are based by our actions and beliefs.Sometimes we give ourselves our own scarlet letters on purpose as a sort of mask to society but sometimes we are given them by society.Now,today I will be talking about my own scarlet letter.This scarlet letter has been given not made.This letter was given to me not even based by my actions but with my birth,the letter was given to me from the moment my mother saw her ultrasound and saw her first two children in her womb,my letter is the letter T.

Hester is a woman who has completely defied the Puritans. However, She masterfully displays value by accepting what she has done and dealing with consequences of her actions. Hester Prynne's choice to control the meaning of the scarlet letter changes her from a shameful and evil person to a compassionate woman. Her refusal to stop wearing the letter proves the letter has a different meaning rather than adultery. Hester Prynne transforms the meaning through her good deeds and deserved redemption.

As the story progresses they come to terms with Hester’s actions and begin to accept her again due to her constant helpfulness and her caring persona, shown when she sews for the needy (Hawthorne). “The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her, —so much power to do, and power to sympathize, —that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength (Hawthorne,