Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was born in Salem, Massachusetts in the year 1804. His ancestors include John Hathorne, who was the only judge who was involved in the Salem witch trials that never did apologize for his actions. So, Hawthorne, added a "w" to make his ancestral name in order to hide this relation. He attempted many novels; However, The Scarlet Letter was, by far, the most successful. The Scarlet Letter is an engaging and decisive work defined by Hawthorne’s use of symbolism. He used the symbols often throughout the book to create different themes. One of the key themes is that the definition of good and evil are subject to the varying viewpoints of certain people or groups of people and this is clear through the use of multiple symbols and characters. The very first symbol to appear in the novel is the red rose. Hawthorne uses the rose bush to symbolize hope and beauty. The rosebush is the last vision of beauty criminals see before entering the prison where they will enter a depressed state of mind. It is also the last sight seen by criminals heading out to be executed. “But on one side of the portal… was a wild rosebush… with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer…their fragile beauty…in the token that the deep part of nature could pity and be kind to him” (Hawthorne 56). This description emphasizes Hawthorne’s theme of the rosebush symbolizing hope and beauty. Later in the story, it is implied that Pearl is like the rosebush. She is beautiful and
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,
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
Why is sin important? It is believed that sin is important to people because their deity places guilt on their wrongdoings to show that those actions are not to be repeated. In contrary to this belief, there are people with religious views that hold no importance with sin. Depending on the individual’s religious views, sin can be a conflict between oneself and a “higher” being or it can not affect the individual at all. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Dimmesdale is an ordained Puritan priest that had committed a grave sin in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He had committed adultery with a married woman, Hester, the woman that is married to Roger Chillingworth. After Chillingworth has heard about this news, he seeks
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.
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.
Children have sponge-like mindsets that are full of curiosity and through each negative and positive encounter, they are able to learn from their experiences. Through their experiences, they are able to be more perceptive about their surroundings and are more honest than adults because they do not know what they say is either right or wrong. Children differ from adults in their potential for expressing these perceptions because they are not afraid to say or express anything but the truth. The children in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, are presented as more perceptive and honest than adults due to their actions of perceiving Hester’s scarlet letter, expressing their opinions without knowing if it is right or wrong, and their willingness to ask questions. In the Scarlet Letter, Hester’s daughter, Pearl, has a willingness to ask questions about the scarlet letter on Hesters chest to help her have a better understanding of why her mother wears it. Pearl shows how different a childs mind is from an adults since she does not understand the mark on her mother 's chest is a punishment. Children are able to be more perceptive and honest than adults because they express their ideas out loud without knowing if it is either correct or incorrect; despite how rude it might be. The ideas that children pick up are usually picked up by the action of their parents. Children are shown to be blunt and innocent because they are young and curious about everything leading them
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.
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.
The clockwork of Nature does not stop for any Man. In the classic novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Dimmesdale conceals an abominable truth. Avoiding subjugation to the conservative Puritan's Society rule, the reverend feigned obliviousness all the while Hester, the person he committed adultery with, fearlessly bared her shame upon her bosom. The society held Dimmesdale to a higher standard; as a result, their influences hindered his ability to take responsibility for his actions. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne manipulates complementary diction, parallel juxtapositions, guilt-ridden indirect characterizations, and enlightening dialogues to interpret how the society symbolized the prison bars cemented by incarceration, cannot bring to naught the natural order of humanity.
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.
To “be true,” in terms of The Scarlet Letter, one must outwardly show the secret of his identity (Male 325). However, a common characteristic of all people is to hide their sins in secrecy. In The Scarlet Letter, the effects of hidden sin and revealed sin are exemplified through the lives of Hester Prynne, Pearl and Arthur Dimmesdale. Together Prynne and Dimmesdale commit an act of adultery against Chillingworth, which forces Prynne to admit her sins to the community. While Prynne’s open conviction of sin cause her to meet ignominy and scorn, it allows her to gain the forgiveness of society. Even though Pearl does not commit her own sin, she is affected by the sin of her mother. Dimmesdale keeps his sin of adultery hidden. This gives him a sense of guilt that causes inward anguish, ultimately leading to his death. Surprisingly, many characters created by different authors have similar traits to the characters created by Hawthorne. In fact, what is true for all characters is that the effects of guilt and hidden sin are worse and less honorable than the effects of public criticism and revealed sin.
The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 is a dark romanticism. The novel was written about two main characters Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale and their forbidden love. Hester and Dimmesdale have committed sin by having an affair, which leads to the conflicts in the story. The affair it self-was forbidden because Hester was a married woman and Arthur was a minister. Is the relationship between Hester and Dimmesdale true love? What is true love anyways? There are many ways that these questions can be answered, but one thing is for sure this story line is complicated in many ways.
Nathaniel Hawthorne is the author of the prodigious book entitled The Scarlet Letter. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne commits adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Her husband, Roger Chillingworth, soon finds out about the incident after it becomes clear that she is pregnant. The whole town finds out and Hester is tried and punished. Meanwhile, Roger Chillingworth goes out then on a mission to get revenge by becoming a doctor and misprescribing Dimmesdale. He does this to torture Dimmesdale as a form of revenge. Hester is publicly punished and is contrived to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her bosom. This is how she was punished. This was a way to shame her and seclude her from society. Hester was forced to stand on a scaffolding and stare out over the people that were watching her with her scarlet letter “A” embroidered on her chest. Over time the scarlet letter “A” in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, acquired many meanings including adultery, able, and angel.