The Hypocrisy: The Scarlet Letter

Reading Note #2 “I shun father and mother and wife and brother when my genius calls me.” “Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins.” These criticisms found in Emerson’s Self Reliance, and his essay Friendship.

In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay titled “Self-Reliance” he speaks on the topic of the individual, creating the idea that an individual being independent leads to greatness. Emerson’s writing within this memoir is relatable to young individuals who are looking for themselves, an individual must avoid conformity and false consistency while following their own thoughts making themselves an individual. Within the essay, Emerson uses a range of rhetorical devices to prove that every individual can do great by being an individual and not like everyone else, something that young people everywhere should hear while growing up with the heinous act of peer pressure.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet letter (1850) depicts mid-seventeenth puritan society which was solely based on puritan values and traditions. He establishes realities about the Puritans in relation to America’s history and past, as he highlights the harsh cruelties of that society and their judgements on protagonist Hester Prynne for her one little act of adultery. Thus, Hester has to live in isolation, as she is also subjected to wear an embroidered ‘A’ on her breast which is supposed to classify her as an adulterer within the Puritan society. These events are similar to Hawthorne’s past as he draws parallelisms between his puritan ancestors and protagonist Hester Prynne.

In June 1642, in the Puritan town of Boston, a crowd gathers to witness the punishment of Hester Prynne, a young woman found guilty of adultery. She is required to wear a scarlet "A" on her dress to shame her. She must stand on the scaffold for three hours, to be exposed to public humiliation. As Hester approaches the scaffold, many of the women in the crowd are angered by her beauty and quiet dignity. When demanded and cajoled to name the father of her child, Hester refuses.

One quote from “Self-Reliance” that really struck me was “To be great is to be misunderstood” on page 554. This is little part of the central theme of encouraging individualism. Emerson pushes non-conformity to the extent of encouraging not caring what people think. He list so many great revolutionaries in history and describes them as misunderstood. I think this also connects with me because for a long part of my life I felt misunderstood and judged constantly, I wish I would have read this passage through those times because it really shows proves that being great does not mean being a conformist. On page 552, Emerson writes “My life is not an apology, but a life” which also settles with me because I used to feel as if I had to be apologetic

A major universal idea that touches upon every part of The Scarlet Letter is the feeling of hypocrisy. Displayed on the board is a black mask, which represents how characters had two sides throughout the story. Not only were characters such as Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and Hester hiding a secret from others in the novel, but dramatic irony happened various times. The three clothespins in the middle of the board have a baby invitation, a heart, and a cross hanging which represents how everything could quickly be dropped and changed for the worse within the blink of an eye, The baby invitation that says “Welcome to the world baby Pearl” which symbolizes how Pearl being born proves that Dimmesdale is a hypocrite. The heart symbolizes how Hester

If the truth be told to set one free, then what will a lie do? The answer to this question can be found in The Scarlet Letter, as a secret torments the soul of a respected minister. In the novel, extreme hypocrisy is seen in the community’s leaders while goodness is found in an adulterer.

Boston, a city influenced by Puritan faith, has a small town on the outskirts of the city; in this city, a young woman named Hester Prynne resides here. Hester moved to Boston when her husband, known as Roger Chillingworth, was lost at sea. Hester gained a sexual relationship with a man named Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester has been released from the jail on the charge of adultery and punished by the town. Hester has the option to move to another town, but she chooses “not run away from her story, but she runs off with it” (Bloom 3). Hester’s punishment is to “wear the letter ‘A’ forever, she knew the meaning of the letter ‘A’, she believed that it wasn’t punishment, as she couldn’t rebel in public, so she kept silence” (Sang 447). As the years

The Pursuit of Self-Reliance Emerson’s work “Self-Reliance” impresses on the reader the need for non-conformity. In the passage, he explores how such independence is found in youth, arguing that the dependence on self requires the openness of mind, “being whole” (Emerson 63), untainted by standards and expectations that come with maturity. The passage can seen as an advocate for the idea that “life is for itself” (64), and also serves as advice towards attaining an attitude of non-conformity. Arguably, it adds to the text as a whole by emphasizing the message of the author, and also creating a deeper understanding through the use of common representation.

“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.” (40) Every aspect of the story of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, whether it be major or minor, stems from this line. From beginning to end, the scarlet letter has a major bearing on the unfolding of the plot. Hester Prynne, an adulteress, is spared death for her sin, but she must wear a scarlet letter “A” for the rest of her life. Her husband, who has been living with Native Americans for the past two years, arrives in town just in time to see her holding a baby and being publicly humiliated for the crime of adultery and vows to get revenge. As

In this essay Emerson proudly emphasizes how he believes that every person should have self reliance. Emerson defines self reliance as reliance on one’s self and not others; to not go along with society but to follow their own trustworthiness and will. This means to believe in himself or herself and not depend on others. It also means to take responsibility and to not imitate somebody else. One of Emerson’s quotes in this essay states, “We imitate; and what is imitation but the travelling of the mind?” (17). He shows that societies members imitate each other. This should not be reality. Every person can and should think for themselves. Emerson understands that the world is chaotic and calls on individuals to make order of it. People should be united in society yet they should each take part in their own way with their own thoughts.

She realizes that to redeem herself she has to face the situation rather then escape from it. Readers can see how this desire to accept punishment results in a renewed sense of pride. Had Hester left Puritan society it would then suggest to the readers that the Puritans successfully enforced their punishment. Hester’s sense of pride however does not allow her to feel powerlessness against Puritan society. Even though the Puritans allow Hester to leave Boston and thus forget about the adultery, Hester’s decision to stay emphasizes how she has responded to sin with responsibility. Through her hard works to help not only herself but her community, it allows readers to see that although on the outside Hester is a sinner, inside she is a saint who seeks to help others in society.

“Truth was the one virtue which I might have held fast… save when thy good – thy life – thy fame – were put into question.” These words spoken by Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter display her practice of situational morals and hypocrisy. Hawthorne displays this major element of human nature, hypocrisy in all characters save young Pearl who is blatantly unique from most people. Dimmesdale, Hester, and the entire Puritan community are hypocrites, and their hypocrisy manifests itself in the conflict of this novel. Hawthorne created a drastic difference between the inward and outward lives of everyone in this story and they can be related to the hypocrisy present in modern society. People never change,

Emerson 's essay on self-reliance unearths a plethora of distinctive lessons that serve to guide the people of society in each of our pursuits to become fully human. Serving as the overall driving idea behind the essay, Emerson details the significance of man valuing and acting upon his own ideas and judgement. He writes, “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men,—that is genius,” which simply means that to trust oneself is the epitome of brilliance, to further accentuate that belief. He also notes that society idolizes thinkers who present their own unique concepts, yet we as a society are too weak to speak our own minds. By dismissing our thoughts, we will start to notice a trend in which we see traces of those thoughts in the words and works of others, leading to self-shame as we cowardly accept our own opinions pouring from the mouth of someone else.

It is important for each individual to value their own self reliance, opinion, experience, believe in themselves and be brave to do what they think is right. Believing in ourselves is the key to being successful. Emerson comments, “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in private heart is true for all men – that is genius.” (01). Emerson encouraged people to believe in themselves, no matter what others thought. Each individual’s mind has value and society has no power to control us. We were born to enjoy life, so we have the power to do what we think is right. Emerson also states, “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own, but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” (05). People should stand up for themselves and