and the Consequences of Silence Throughout the history of literature, both American and foreign, a common theme that authors incorporate into their work is the nature and consequences of sin and the weighty, lingering feeling of guilt. The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an example of this type of work. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbol of the scarlet letter ‘A’ as a representation of her sin to show the novel’s theme that sin carries heavy consequences and the
Nowadays, a person that commits a crime is punished through a sentence in jail, community service, or a death penalty. However, the consequences now differ from the consequences in the seventeenth century. In the sixteen-hundreds, when a citizen commits a crime, he, or she, is punished by carrying a letter. The letter was either stitched onto the criminals clothes, or branded on their body. For example, a criminal might have a “T” branded on their arm to represent thief. While the criminal is walking
the pages of The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter, set in the mid-seventeenth century, describes two Salem, Massachusetts residents, Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and their troubles with sin, guilt, and shame, similar to Adam and Eve. In the devout town of Salem, Hester and Dimmesdale commit adultery, regarded in Salem as an act comparable to murder, resulting in Hester’s physical shame, the scarlet letter, and Dimmesdale’s emotional shame, his torturous secret
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, is a compassionate yet riveting piece of English literature that supports the movement for equality of suppressed women during a most tumultuous time during the 1800’s. Hawthorne’s use of emotional diction and imagery throughout his novel employs a deplorable tone upon the story. It serves as a stark representation of an imaginative yet realistic example of the indifference of men and women during these changing times. Deeply held Puritanical beliefs
A clam. One may think a clam is externally a murky, grisly sea creature. One peeks into a clam and notices a pearl, a thing of rare beauty, which resembles purity. In the Scarlet Letter, Pearl, Hester Prynne’s daughter, embodies a clam. She is a symbol of the adulterous relationship between Hester and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, thus born out of sin. Simultaneously Pearl is a happy blessing, giving her mother a possibility of redemption. The narrator specifies,“Of great price-purchased with all she
Without an honorable reputation a person is not worthy of respect from others in their society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the struggle to shake off the past is an underlying theme throughout the novel. Characters in this novel go through their lives struggling with trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with actions that lost them their honorable reputation. Particularly, Hawthorne shows the lasting effect that sin and guilt has on two of the main characters
mark of the Scarlet Letter, Hester was able to accept this life and continue without the fear of public scorn and humiliation. Although the mark still played a heavy role Hester’s place in society, she was able to overcome its hindrance to an extent, and turn the letter into something positive in the eyes of the Puritans, as shown when the author writes, “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
messages in the book. In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne symbolism is quite evident throughout the text. In the case of Pearl, Hester's Daughter, she symbolizes many things in the text. Pearl forces Hester to deal with her sin and learn to cope with the consequences she faces resulting from what she did. Pearl helps send the message of the importance of forgiveness and consequences. She symbolizes the sin that Hester has committed and the shame Hester has to face. Pearl also symbolizes
The Scarlet Letter. They hoped that the sinner would show God their mercy. Now, in the 21st century, public shaming is still taking full effect because of social media, such as Instagram and Facebook. The victims that could not escape public shame are Monica Lewinsky, Justine Sacco, and Hester Prynne. If kids like Tyler Clementi get shamed to death then public shaming is getting dire because the consequences impact a person socially, professionally, and personally. First, public shame affects
everyday lives around the avoidance of sin. So when one committed a sin he/she was punished. Death, torture, beatings, and public shaming. Shame, it's to have painful feelings of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior. The e of shame is seen many times throughout the texts The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Both tell stories of men plagued by their sin of adultery and what they do to deal with the guilt they have brought