The, Knowledge, And The Human Condition

Many of the characters suffer from sin, but Hester is the one that suffers the most and goes to jail. Hester shows how someone can succeed even though people say a lot of things about her. Even though people don't like her she is brave and doesn't worry about it. One of the quotes that showed perseverance is “walk the streets as brave as ever (Hawthorne 12).” Even though people talked about her she was brave and minded her own business. The information that was given by the story was valuable because it showed to never let anyone stop

To start the book, we find that a young woman has committed adultery and when standing in front of a mocking crowd, she is ashamed of her actions. Continuing through the book we find that the adulteress, Hester Prynne, displays many examples of positive outcomes arising from negative situations. She becomes more and more aware of the faults of society and becomes wiser as she deals with the consequences of her actions. Even though Hester made a terrible decision that came with many extremely negative effects, she gained personality traits, perceptions, and people that rose from her mistake.

René Descartes, a rationalist of the 1600, studied and critiqued the nature of knowledge and the reality of the world. Descartes was well known for his Method of Doubt where he encouraged using doubt explicitly and systematically as a tool for reaching certainty. He aimed at proving ideas and beliefs to be true but, to him, it is essential to detach from trusting the senses to provide certain knowledge. Jonathan Bennett overviews Descartes’ ideologies and principles on human knowledge and material things; He also describes the visible universe as according to Descartes. Bennett in detail covers each point fully which later can compile to show Descartes’ principles of philosophy.

Religion is a major theme in this novel. These themes have been developed by her introductions to Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, and St. John Rivers. They all have differing views of the afterlife and they both help and harm what she believes will happen after death.

Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the truth about Hester’s situation. This is the fact that she is not alone; others have sinned, just not been caught. Despite Hester’s feeling of utter isolation, her predicament gives her a second sense of the many sins under the surface. This could be compared to present day in the way that the people imprisoned are not the only sinners. It does not make everyone innocent because they do not have a scarlet letter or reside in a

This was a very interesting journey to go through and I actually enjoy having the opportunity to share these intimate events with everyone. I was not sure how I would approach this paper because I felt like there are so many events in my life that have brought me to where I am now. The events I decided to share with you were things that came through me and onto the paper naturally. I hope you all see how they all connect and understand how these events taught me about myself and who I am. It was important for me to share the story about how I was born so there would be this understanding of why I usually chose to take the hardest route in life.

Hester is thrown in jail for committing adultery and while serving her time in jail she experiences several aspects which shape her for who she is once she leaves. One of many memorable experiences that affects her entire future is that she conceives a child while being locked up in a jail cell. Hester’s experience in the jail wasn’t very good, she was isolated in jail. While in jail she conceived a child and the child had many issues later on in life because of the jail. The jail is an extremely dark and grim place, unfit for any human to feel even remotely comfortable in. The imagery of the jail cell portrayed in the novel reflects upon the feelings and development that Hester is experiencing while in jail, “The wooden jail was already marked with weather-stains and other indications of age” (Ch. 1). The aged cell reflects how Hester is experiencing aging while in jail and how she is getting older by each minute of every day. The fact that she obtains a child makes her feel old as it is and the jail cell makes this feeling more dreary and miserable. Hester is also showing signs of being weathered down by living through such terrible conditions in jail. The stains in this quote reflect on how she is tainted by this burden of wearing an “A” everywhere she goes as she leaves jail. Committing adultery will leave a large stain on Hester forever which makes her feel awful and guilty for what she has done. A symbol that is located right outside of her jail cell, a rose bush, symbolizes Hester’s passion while the thorns symbolize the sin that

Throughout the story Hester demonstrates the thoughts of the forest being a place of sin. When one thinks of a forest, they see danger and darkness. These characteristics are also associated with sin and rebellion against the Puritanical laws.

It is no wonder that Hester is so confused by her sin and its implications, because her guilt is contradictory in and of itself. The scarlet letter she wears, the symbol of her sin, and her little daughter Pearl, the product of her sin, remind her every day of how she has done wrong. And yet, in some mysterious way, these marks of sin save her from other sins. Pearl, though looked upon by others as a devilish child, is perhaps a gift to Hester. Without Pearl,

Imagine yourself on display in front of your whole town, being punished for cheating on your husband or wife. Today adultery is looked down on, but in reality nobody makes a huge deal out of it. Sin can affect a person in many ways, but whether it’s good or bad only time can tell. In the old days, religion and law were looked at as one, and Hester Prynne just so happened to sin, which in turn caused her to break the law. In the novel, Hester displays that how a person deals with sin has a lasting impact on the people around her, and most importantly those that are the closest to her.

This internalization of salvation was the end of punishment in itself for Hester. In Hawthorne’s demonstration of Hester, the requirement for a Savior is narrowed since salvation depends upon the actions and kind deeds of the person. In The Scarlet Letter the character ,s penetrating through the heart became a central point, as clear all the way through the personality of Hester that how she considered and thought and keeping in mind her suffering she consoled every needy and wounded

I have identified several themes that are interwoven throughout the book. There are three main themes that are incorporated in the book; sin, knowledge, and the human condition. The first theme, sin, is depicted by the presence of the strong Judeo-Christian origin this country was built on. As evident by Hester’s form of punishment for her crime, Christianity was deeply rooted in the present time. This Christian culture reminds me of the environment that I was raised in. I was adopted into a Mormon family at the age of four. I was taught similar morals, values, and beliefs. I have made similar mistakes, and have been condemned for them. Like Hester, I was isolated from the world around me.

Looking at Hester’s time spend alone in Boston, we can assume that she acted upon her deepest most-inner longing for passion and sexual desire for another human being; it could be possible that Hester was tempted into the bed of another man, but readers are not given that information. We can look at this act as lust, the first of the deadly sins. Hester lives her life in the puritan religion of simplicity and purification of the human

The chorus of this song, “Uh oh, where can I go? Everybody's watching me” helps to capture the mood of the novel. Since the audience mainly has access to Hester’s point of view, we feel the pressure of everyone’s constant judgement. We get the same sense of fear and shame being experienced due to not being able to escape her past mistake. Hester can’t go anywhere throughout the book without people watching her and seeing only sin. In verse two, “I go through all the trouble of keeping it within my walls, I try to be as subtle as I can” the calm mood of the story is also tied in. Hester tries to earn redemption and keeps to herself. She and Pearl live mostly on their own, trapped inside a wall of judgement and shame, but they don’t act out of

Day after day, Hester is reminded of the reason of her exile from her previous, everyday life. Hester was an adulteress, and with that sin came a child. Singlehandedly, Hester had to raise this child, without a any moral, financial support. Often in times breaking down into tears talking to the heavens asking