The Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne

The children In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter play a major role in the Puritan society. With their honest opinions of Hester and Pearl, the children are presented as more perceptive and more honest than adults. Due to their innocence, children are capable of expressing themselves without constraints; there are no laws or regulations that they are bounded by. As an adolescent go through the stages of life and grow older, they begin to be more conscious of the how they act as they are more aware of society and the things that are occurring in the world, creating a filter for their actions. When they remain as the children, on the other hand, are adventurous; they are still exploring the universe that seems to fill with mysteries that are bound to be solved. They tend to attach to the truth and they are not afraid to speak it freely. Children differ from adults in their potential for expressing these perceptions. With their obliviousness to the things that are actually going on around the town, children therefore react differently compared to the adults, who are more knowledgeable. Perceived to be immature, young children are presented as more perceptive and more honest than adults due to their innocence, how they are unaware of the reality and the crimes that are presented in society by the adults enables them to be blithe and not afraid of saying what they feel like. Due to their naivety, when they express what they perceive to be true, they do not get punished,

Hester’s righteous battle against the villagers in defending her name does nothing more than display her courage and respectability. Throughout the novel, “The Scarlet Letter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne manages to implement various symbols in order to add meaning and understanding of certain aspects of the novel. In the novel, many symbols, such as the “Black Man,” are conflicted in the idea of meaning between the Puritans of the society and Hawthorne, but at the same time, some uses of symbolism represent similar ideas, as conveyed by the author. Hawthorne’s uses of symbolism represent the same religious idea as in comparison between Hawthorne and the Puritans, but some contrast the Puritan beliefs and rather are presented to foreshadow

““There was witchcraft in little Pearl’s eyes, and her face, as she glanced upward at the minister, wore that naughty smile which made its expression frequently so elvish.” (Hawthorne 145) This, is a misleading description that Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts of Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne, in his classic novel The Scarlet Letter. Pearl is the living product of sin for her mother. Born out of wedlock, Pearl is a unique child that tends to be very moody and unpredictable. However, Pearl, at such a young age, demonstrates outstanding knowledge and exhibits curiosity to her mother’s scarlet letter, and the hypocrisy of Puritan society. Although Pearl portrays devilish characteristics and performs mischievous behaviour, she

In the Scarlet Letter there are characters that are important to the novel; however there is one specific character that relates to the topic of the story is Arthur Dimmesdale. The character Arthur Dimmesdale is a respected minster in Boston. However even though, Arthur Dimmesdale is a minister and preaches against sin to his congregation, he commits the ultimate sin with a young married woman named Hester Pryne. For punishment Hester Pryne becomes pregnant and shunned from public society, Dimmesdale is forced to live with guilt and later in the novel dies from the same sin within his body. Critics that have read the Scarlet letter would argue that Dimmesdale is a weak or ennobled character because he didn’t tell the community of his sinful crime. Another characteristic that critics would agree on is that Dimmesdale was a hypocrite. Arthur Dimmesdale is a character that is weak and hypocritical to his own belief.

Everyone sins. This is a well-known and true fact. Whether it is lying to a peer or causing a car accident, everybody sins everyday. The early Puritans of the 16th century were strong believers in everyday sin and writers showed the Puritan way of life in their books, many of which are considered classics. Three characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter—Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Pearl—all represent a sin that is revealed through their actions or the actions of others. Hester Prynne’s sin of adultery is revealed to all at the beginning of the novel. Because her sin is revealed, she can peacefully live her life without the shame of unspoken sin. People still judge her harshly, but she can stand upright before them

In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's, Scarlet Letter, the little girl Pearl, is the living and breathing symbol of adultrey which is proven by her mother and unknown father to admit their sins to all of the townspeople. Pearl herself, is the Scarlet Letter which sometimes leads to her being given the characteristics of a demon. Pearl 's spirit, love for nature and many other characteristics that she carries, reveals her distinct and unusual personality. She also understands many things that a regular 7 year old wouldn 't even think about, proving that she is a symbol. Pearl, is also the biggest connection between Hester, her mother, and the minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, whom is her father.

Each character in the novel represents one or more philosophies including Romanticism, Reason, and Puritanism that one could adhere to in life. Romanticism focuses on the individual and preaches finding truth, Reason, involves the belief that one can use logic to solve anything and a perfect society will create perfect men, and Puritanism, where all that matters to anyone is God. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester Prynne 's untethered adherence to several philosophies, Roger Chillingworth 's strict adherence to logic and reason, and Arthur Dimmesdale 's unwavering devotion to Puritanism to prove that true, and complete happiness can never be attained by strictly following one philosophy.

Othering is the act of differentiating oneself from another, often used to maintain a role of dominance. Because of this, it is no wonder large groups and societies use this thought process on smaller groups or against those who dissent against the dominating beliefs, roles, or ideologies. In the case of the characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and his short story “The Maypole of Merry Mount, othering is implemented by the Puritan groups against those they view as corrupt or morally wrong. This often leads to isolation, cutting the offending party off from the rest of society in an effort to control.

John Muir, pioneer of American conservationism, declared that “The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness” (Muir 313). For many modern Americans, the forest is a place of freedom, peace, and introspection. However, until the last century, the wilderness was often regarded with fear and resentment. Written long before John Muir and the conservation movement, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was well ahead of its time for its depiction of wilderness. In The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale leaves the beaten path and seeks refuge in the forest. There, he gains the strength and willpower to throw off seven years of hopelessness and take his fate into his own hands. Although the Puritans view the forest as a place of wild paganism, the forest symbolizes moral agency because it opens opportunity, transforms the characters into active agents, and asserts justice.

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

Everyone faces penalties for the choices that he or she makes. Nathanial Hawthorne, well-known dark romanticist and author of “Young Goodman Brown,” and “The Scarlet Letter,” displays a love for story and symbols. Goodman Brown in “Young Goodman Brown,” chooses to question his faith and sells himself out of everyone because he does not believe in anyone. Whereas Hester in “The Scarlet Letter,” was thrown away from everyone because of her actions. Hawthorne’s usage of light and dark imagery in both, “The Scarlet Letter,” and “Young Goodman Brown,” represents good and evil, and the difficulty man faces to differentiate between the two

The Novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is about a woman named Hester Prynne who is married to an older man, but not for love. Mrs. Pryne has an affair with another man named Arthur Dimmsdale and is completely ostracized by the community. It is revealed that because of this affair she gave birth to a daughter, Pearl. The main conflict Is external with Hester, but internal with her lover, Arthur. It is later revealed, Hester had taken full blame for the affair, but that is eating away at Dimmsdale’s conscience. Arthur’s health is slowly deteriorating. The climax is when Dimmsdale becomes an idol in the town after preaching powerful and influential sermons. Arthur would love nothing more than to confess, but such

Although Hawthorne goes back two hundred years to create a romantic setting for his famous novel The Scarlet Letter, he also envisions a hopeful future for women in which “sacred love should make [them] happy” (166). However, our present setting tells us a different story. We are presented with the problem of “slut shaming”: a subtle, yet deadly transfiguration of a woman’s passion and “sacred love” into moral frailty and opprobrium. As a male, I do not have the same authority to speak on this topic as someone who has experienced it firsthand would. I am a part of the problem, but so is our patriarchal society, and if everyone is part of the problem, then who should begin the inevitable discourse? The Scarlet Letter embodies the idea of exaggerated ignominy placed upon women who desire just to be a normal woman: someone of passion and caring. One would expect that with the one hundred and fifty years Hawthorne alots us to appreciate and respect a woman’s “sacred love,” we would have at least made strides to do so. Yet, it seems our society today has only embraced the shame that Hawthorne tried so hard to dismantle.

In the beginning of the Bible, Adam and Eve were exiled from the Garden of Eden for eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The story of Adam and Eve has been recalled in The Scarlet Letter because of the sinful acts Arthur and Hester commit, which lead to expulsion and suffering. Even though Hester Prynne is the main protagonist in the novel, she does not change much; however, we see Arthur change in various ways. It is through Dimmesdale’s suffering that Hawthorne illustrates his theme, namely the idea that though forbidden knowledge can bring suffering, exposing others to that same knowledge can bring redemption.

Within his 1850 romance novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne produces a storyline which progresses with a somewhat ambiguous protagonist. The obvious answer appears to be the book’s main character, Hester Prynne. After analyzing the text, Arthur Dimmesdale possesses many of the distinct qualities that define a novel’s protagonist and therefore raises the question of who is Hawthorne’s central character? Although he enters the plot as a rather unfavorable character, Dimmesdale owns three of the most important qualities for a literary protagonist. He has a distinct problem that needs to be fixed, he is held back by an opposing force, and he shows the ability to transform into a better, stronger individual. Although he is not an immediate answer for who plays the role of protagonist in The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale proves to be a worthy candidate of the position as he attempts to overcome his guilt caused by sin.