Scarlet Letter Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Dimmesdale. Ye have both been here before, but i was not with you. Come up, hither once again, and we will stand all three together!” She silently ascended the steps, and stood on the platform, holding little pearl by the hand. The minister felt for the child's other hand and took it “ (Hawthorne 143) From here they are starting to become closer and you notice the closeness that they have bythe way that they all stood together under the moon holding hands. Pearl feels liberated because even though it's night you are still able to see people around. It also implies that they are able to get through the struggles but does not affect them all that much because sooner than later Dimmesdale admits that he is the father of Pearl and Hester kisses Dimmesdale immediately “Partly supported by Hester Prynne, and holding one hand of little Pearl’s the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale turned to dignified the venerable rulers; to the holy ministers, who were his brethren; to the people, whose great heart was thoroughly appalled yet overflowing with tearful sympathy” (Hawthorne 379) It’s able to explain how truthful he was to share out his family and how Pearl accepted to grab his hand in front of all the people. Since she’s been truthful the whole time she was blessed with good fortune after Dimmesdale had died. She met a man who she married and

“Certainly, if the meteor kindled up the sky, and disclosed the earth, with an awfulness that admonished Hester Prynne and the clergyman of the day of judgment, then might Roger Chillingworth have passed with them for the arch-fiend, standing there, with a smile and scowl, to claim his own. So vivid was the expression, or so intense the minister's perception of it, that it seemed still to remain painted on the darkness, after the meteor had vanished, with an effect as if the street and all things else were at once annihilated” (Hawthorne. Chapter 12.) This passage shows the reader the malevolent nature that Chillingworth begins to take on in the novel, seeming almost inhuman in his unwavering hatred for Dimmesdale, and the torture he inflicts upon him. Once again his lack of remorse is expressed plainly for the reader.

Throughout this chapter Dimmesdale is tempted to do things, and is described as “At every step he was incited to do some strange, wild, wicked thing or another” (Hawthorn, 171). This is also confirmed by Olivia Taylor in her paper in which see is comparing Rev. Dimmsdale to a character from another novel “Like Dimmesdale, she too experiences moments of seeming insanity as she labors”(Taylor, 2). Much like Jesus was tested by satan after fasting for forty days Dimmesdale is tempted time and time again, but dimmesdale is not Jesus, and in his current condition by the end of his journey home Dimmesdale is nothing but a hollow shell of his former self, and he enters his house a broken man. Before We dive deeper in to the chapter let us look at a brief overview written by Robert

Claiming to be a doctor due to his Medicinal knowledge, Chillingworth becomes Reverend Dimmesdale’s doctor. Unlike the rest of the Puritan society, they find the forest to be a free and easy escape rather than it being the devil’s ‘second home.’

The insight I have gained from this excerpt is the reason being Pearl rejects Dimmesdale is as a result from him not publically acknowledging her. Furthermore, the reason being Pearl dislikes him is, due to he acts differently when in public, in contrast when he was in the forest, to illustrate he holds hands with pearl in the forest, however when they are in public he behaves as if they don't know each other. In addition, the insight I have gained is that Pearl exclaims to her mother that he is a strange man, in order to mock and ridicule Dimmesdale and Hester. Furthermore she achieves mocking and ridiculing Hester and Dimmesdale by referencing that he holds his hand over his heart, in order to connect it with the scarlet letter in Hester’s

Mr. Wilson tests Pearl’s Puritan beliefs by asking who made her. Pearl knows the correct answer; however, she cantankerously replies that she was “plucked… off the bush of wild roses, that grew by the prison door” (99). Governor Bellingham and Mr. Wilson are terrified and want to take her away from Hester. However, Hester protests that she will fight for the right to keep her. The child is God’s gift of both her happiness and torture, and if they take her, she is willing to die first. By request, Dimmesdale then persuades Governor Bellingham and Mr. Wilson that by allowing Hester custody, she will bring the child to heaven by learning from her mistakes. Pearl then proceeds to caress Dimmesdale's hand, followed by a hesitant forehead kiss from

Pearl condemns Hester to a life of shame by forcing her to constantly remember her sin. In particular when the townspeople threaten to take Pearl away from Hester: However, Dimmesdale speaks up and says “‘It meant, doubtless the mother herself told us, for a retribution too; a torture to be felt at many an unthought-of moment; a pang, a sting, an ever-recurring agony...’”(65). This shows that Dimmesdale believes that the reminder of her sin, Pearl, is a worthy recurring punishment and torture for her. Ironically, later it is found that Dimmesdale is Pearl’s unknown father. Suddenly the text has another meaning. He says that her sin is punishment worthy, but he is guilty of the same crime. In other words, he believes he also deserves such punishment

Due to the fact the Dimmsdale neglects that he is the father of Pearl it leds him to have agonizing guilt. In the story, every time Pearl and Dimmesdale are in the same room or spot at the same time it seems he, “. . . to press his hand against his heart (Hawthorne 83).” This is a sign of the pain that he feels in his chest is festering inside of him every time that he is seen near Pearl. Guilt is normally held within the chest and due to the fact that he is feeling so much guilt and pain; he decides to carve a letter “A” into his chest to signifi the actual guilt and pain he feels around Pearl. When Pearl and Dimmesdale are in the woods together and he leans down and kisses her and pearl wipes it off the kiss. This makes him realize that Pearl

As Roger Chillingworth constantly plots his evil plan to let Dimmesdale suffer through the act of adultery but still asks himself, “what evil have I done the man”, so do both of the characters in Poe’s writings. They’re nefarious and malice mindset leads to evil, corrupt acts as shown throughout the writings. They disregard his teleological beliefs and the purpose of keeping in line with the Lord, instead straying to negative things, ultimately affecting others surrounding them, never receiving full closure with themselves. Through the thought of confession, both Dimmesdale and Chillingworth contemplate their values, affecting their inner and outer

The last theme that Pearl displays is Good Can Come from Evil. Pearl not only represents this theme, but she foreshadows it from the beginning of the novel. Pearl is a product of sin, yet Hawthorne shows the reader that she is the only “hope” for Hester and Dimmesdale. This is shown through the rosebush and how throughout the story there is always an interest in the rose when it comes to Pearl. For example, Pearl always wants a rose and she says that she came from the rose bush when asked where she came from. Also when Pearl kisses Dimmesdale she changes completely, for the better. Lastly at the end of the book it says how Pearl is the only one to live a great life because she has a family, is married, and she is the richest heir in the world because of Roger Chillingworth’s fortune. “...he bequeathed a very considerable amount of property, both here and in England, to little Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne.” This shows how Pearl deserves her life for being born from sin, even though Pearl is the result of an evil action; she is the only innocent character in the story. Another example of how Good Can Come from Evil is when pearl kisses Dimmesdale.

This passage is significant because it develops character and helps advance the plot. It shows that Chillingworth doesn’t blame Hester entirely but instead puts most of the blame on who ever got Hester pregnant instead. This was a good chapter because it is the first event that shows the development of hate Chillingworth has towards Dimmesdale despite having not even met him yet. I can infer by doing introducing his resentment by having a sinister tone to his words it helps develop the plot and is part of the rising action. Earlier in the chapter I assumed that Chillingworth may not want to have any connection with Hester based on the secrecy he showed and now I think that since he finally alone with Hester without any witnesses he still shows

From an early age, she fixates on the emblem. Pearl's innocent, or perhaps intuitive, comments about the letter raise crucial questions about its meaning. Similarly, she inquires about the relationships between those around her—most importantly, the relationship between Hester and Dimmesdale—and offers perceptive critiques of them. Pearl provides the text's harshest, and most penetrating, judgment of Dimmesdale's failure to admit to his adultery. Once her father's identity is revealed, Pearl is no longer needed in this symbolic capacity; at Dimmesdale's death she becomes fully "human," leaving behind her otherworldliness and her preternatural

In the forest scene, Pearl alienates herself from her Mother and entertains the consequences of her mother’s folly. The absence of Hester’s scarlet letter, produced by the arrival of Dimmesdale, seems to portray a feeling of “dreary change” (184) on little Pearl, in which her mother feels a true sense of freedom. This conflict of feeling toward the brooch causes the frustration and estrangement between the two. Showing her isolation, “Pearl had reached the margin of the brook, and stood on the other side, gazing silently at Hester...” (181), Pearl fears her Mother’s failure to abide by a most important and unspoken role: never take the letter off. In doing this, she hesitates to cross the brook and approach her elders, unnerved at the consequences

His physical suffering comes from harm inflicted upon himself. “Mr. Dimmesdale’s secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge. Oftentimes, this Protestant and Puritan divine had plied it on his shoulders; laughing bitterly at himself the while,” (Hawthorne 132). This self-harm and physical suffering certainly comes from the dark guilt eating at his soul. Later in the passage, we hear that Dimmesdale did this in an attempt to “purify” himself. As for the person inducing Dimmesdale’s mental suffering, that would be Roger Chillingworth, who was seeking out revenge for Dimmesdale's sin. Chillingworth is constantly probing at an open wound, poking, and prodding at what he knows is Dimmesdale's weakest spot, his guilt. “Would you, therefor, that your physician heal the bodily evil? How may this be, unless you first lay open to him the wound or trouble in your soul?” “No!--not to thee!-- not to an earthly physician!” cried Dimmesdale,” (Hawthorne 124). By making Dimmesdale hear about his wrongdoing and constantly probing at it, Chillingworth creates a great mental suffering for Dimmesdale. One can only bear so much suffering before becoming weakened.

While speaking to Hester about Dimmesdale, Chillingworth utters these haunting words: “A mortal man, with once a human heart, has become a fiend for his especial torment!” (155). While speaking Chillingworth “lifted his hands with a look of horror, as if he beheld some frightful shape, which he could not recognize, usurping the place of his own image in a glass” (155). Chillingworth becomes cognizant of the adverse effect his revenge is having on him and is horrified. He no longer recognizes himself, for his need for revenge has twisted and deformed him into a different being, into a fiend, both physically and spiritually. However, his insatiable need for revenge refuses to let him forgive Dimmesdale and move on. Even after Hester pleads with Chillingworth to forgive Dimmesdale so that he alone can escape the “gloomy maze of evil” (157) they have been doomed to wander, he chooses to hold on to his hate instead of taking the path of redemption and forgiveness. In pursuing the path of revenge Chillingworth kills the “kind, true, just” (156) man that had been so deeply wronged and who deserves justice, and nurtures the tormenting fiend that so aptly horrifies