The Scarlet Letter Act By Nathaniel Hawthorne

In a surface examination of the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is quickly evident that no good things come from the wilderness. Therein, the wilderness is often associated with the savages and the devil. In his work The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne finds herself exiled by society for having an adulterous affair with the town reverend which brought forth the child known as Pearl. Pearl is quickly established as the child of the wilderness: wild, capricious, and thought by the town to be a demon-child. She represents several entities in the novel just by her being, but when her morality is delved into, much more of the nature of the story can be revealed. Pearl’s role is often overlooked as a formative force in the novel. Some scholars have gone as far as to denounce her as unnecessary to the story’s makeup. Upon close examination, it can be determined that Pearl is indeed a necessary element. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Pearl presents themes of morality, both personal and cultural, as well as the divide between society and nature, through her interactions with Hester, Reverend Dimmesdale, and the scarlet letter itself.

As great effect as emotions can have on someone, even greater is the effect of how one reacts to his emotions. Arguably the two most influential of these emotions are guilt and anger. They can drive a man to madness or encourage actions of vindication. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale are subject to this very notion in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter. Hester simply accepted that what she had done was wrong, whereas Dimmesdale, being a man of high regard, did not want to accept the reality of what he did. Similar to Hester and Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth allows his emotions to influence his life; however, his influence came as the result of his anger. Throughout the book, Hawthorne documents how Dimmesdale and Hester 's

All of the major characters in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne are dynamic and go through some form of character development. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, who are at the forefront of the central conflict in the plot of the novel, are no exception. While their respective evolutions in character were noticeably different, each was emphasized by the three scaffold scenes. The differences of Hester and Dimmesdale’s respective character developments are highlighted and emphasized by the three scaffold scenes in the novel.

The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, many of the main characters suffer from toils of sin. Especially Arthur Dimmesdale, the local puritan clergyman who has committed adultery and can 't admit to the people of the town in Boston what he has done. He lived under a strict society where the system and all of its components were based on God. He suffers from this because he values the Puritan way. Arthur Dimmesdale does not come out for many reasons and that isn 't right, which makes him a coward throughout the novel.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was quite progressive for his time and his novel, The Scarlet Letter, is a wonderful example of this. Before he married his wife, Sophia Peabody, Hawthorne joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist group (Nathaniel Hawthorne). According to Merriam Webster, transcendentalism is, “a philosophy that emphasizes the a priori conditions of knowledge and experience or the unknowable character of ultimate reality or that emphasizes the transcendent as the fundamental reality” (“Transcendentalism”). Put simply, transcendentalists thought that intuition and knowledge of ourselves is more a more important reality than the scientific, sensual reality. As a group, these people held very progressive views on women’s rights, education,

The blinds on the windows are shut, it feels like a prison cell as I sit under the spotlight. The darkness outside makes me feel somber and alone. I stare at the glowing screen and think to myself, “It’s just me and this paper.” In December of my junior year in high school, I was assigned a persuasive essay on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter; it was my first academic essay of the year. My previous experiences with academic writing were both stressful and unfulfilling; when the essay topic was announced, I felt only resentment and anger, I remembered my past tribulations. With my mother’s help, this essay was different; after I submitted it to the teacher, I possessed a new perspective on academic writing. From my experience, I learned that strong writing skills are vital to communication, critical thinking, and life outside of the classroom.

In the “Scarlet Letter” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne symbolism plays a major role, especially the letter “A”. The letter “A” or the Scarlet Letter directly stands for adultery, which is committed by the main character, Hester, and the priest, Mr. Dimmesdale. The letter “A” though has a deeper meaning than just adultery because it is a symbol of sin and embarrassment, or at least is meant too. Although the letter “A” is meant to be a symbol of embarrassment it develops throughout the story and transforms into a symbol of normality and understanding.

In The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne examines the moral consequences of sin, or an offense against religious or moral law, and poses the question to his readers; can individuals be redeemed for their sins? The two central characters in the novel, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, both commit the sin of adultery. However, each character deals with their wrongdoing in opposite ways. Initially it seems that Hester Prynne’s sin is worse than that of Reverend Dimmesdale due to her sin being visible to all of society. Even though Hester’s sin causes her alienation from society, she is able to find independence while living on her own that gives her strength. On the other hand, town reverend Arthur

Children encompass parents’ lives from the day they are born into this world, often altering their plans for the future and their desired outcomes for life. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the most seemingly complex and misinterpreted of characters is Pearl, the illegitimate daughter of Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The deviations in Pearl’s temperament, conduct, and character in the progression of the plot are a guide to the varying moral statuses of Hester and Dimmesdale. Performing the role of a compelling, rather than static force within the novel, Pearl saves both Hester and Dimmesdale, even motivating Dimmesdale to confess publically his sins and reminding Hester of her sin. As a result, Pearl serves as a moral guide to both her mother and father throughout the entirety of the novel.

"An" is seen uniquely in contrast to some time recently. In this area of the novel,

Throughout history, Puritans have been known for extremely strict views towards other religions and people of other religions. Because they “deeply and fervently believed that they were doing the work of God”, Puritans often punished and shunned those who did not follow their rules or share their same views (Collier 62). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne presents these popular ideas and truths about the Puritan way of living in a symbolic story of submissive defiance. He creates a strong feminist that contradicts the majority of the Puritan views on feminism. This rebellious main character, Hester Prynne, greatly sins and, thus, the town punishes her and shuns her in hope that she will repent and take on her proper duties once more. However, Hester shows the strength of a woman through this public humiliation, and takes on the role of a feminist by showing this feminine strength. Despite the attempts from society to force Hester into their Puritan ways, Hester Prynne fulfills the notion of a feminist through her rebellious qualities and actions, and she proves to be a contrast by assimilating into the role of a Puritan woman and thriving in this role despite her public humiliation.

The spark flickers, then dies out, borne on lofty winds to extinction. The rocks strike again, and a flame leaps into the craggy logs, illuminating the faces of humanity’s ancestors. Humans have always changed, through the evolution of species, thoughts, and ideas. A significant change was wrought by the new immigrants to America, and as they settled in the budding New World. In many pieces of literature from this period, the change in American culture was reflected through the words of authors, often leaving clandestine clues to the nature of American society. Throughout the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the emergence of a new American belief system was represented by three of the main characters. Pearl, who was capricious and tempestuous, was synonymous with the flighty nature of immigrants to the new land. Dimmesdale, who demonstrated the trials of salvaging purity, showed the changing nature of religion, and Hester, the ever prideful, represented the struggles of governance within America. Hester’s little Pearl, born of sin and temptation, is representative of the hopeful immigrants into America. Though none of them knew it, their spirit and opportunities would lead them to defy authority and mark their own destinies, just as the young, impish child would grow to walk her own path towards choice. Hester, the mother of Pearl, is the ever watchful sentry. Her assimilation to the government and authority is blatant, as she tries to rein in a fleeting daughter, and

The scaffold is a symbol of isolation and guilt throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. All three of the scenes that take place on the scaffold show major character development that deal with the realities of being alone in suffering, punishment, and guilt. All the scenes have at least the four main Characters: Hester, Pearl, Rev. Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth is Hester’s husband’s pseudo name to protect his identity while he exacts revenge. Since the scaffold scenes are such major parts of Hawthorne’s story, I believe that they also directly impact the overall theme.

When considering the underlying aspects of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the most common themes that arise include the faulty utopian disposition Puritans had upon themselves and how the devious behavior of one woman can lead those same individuals to chastise and dehumanize the very character that is Hester Prynne. However, one of the many subjects that are more often than not left out of most debate is whether the judgment of others or the judgment of one’s self is more inflicting on an individual. Now throughout the duration of this novel we see the transformation of two polar opposite characters in Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale as both share the same crime of adultery. To pursue this further, Prynne who is publically reprimanded for her wrongdoings handles her precarious situation with a rather graceful and oblivious attitude. Hence this is where the two passionate lovers greatly differ as Dimmesdale (a high-standing priest in Puritan Society) is crippled by his nefarious act and as we indulge deeper into the premise of the story, he eventually pays the piper and meets his inevitable maker. Both individuals faced rather sadistic judgment for the duration of the story but the one question that lingers in the audiences’ minds are just what kind of judgment proved to be the most impactful upon the characters. Societal or self-judgment?

“Her attire, which, indeed, she had wrought for the occasion, in prison…seemed to express the attitude of her spirit” (Hawthorne 51). The Scarlet Letter explores the strict relationship between religion and law. By the mid 1630’s many Puritans settled in Boston, Massachusetts, from England. The villages where they settled often included houses, a community garden and a meetinghouse where church services were held. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter utilizes the late 1600’s to reflect on how the church would deal with serious issues including adultery. This raises the question: how does Hawthorne develop characters to express the corruption of the 1600s and the relationship between church and government? Through the developing of key