The Scarlet Letter

At this point in the chapter, Hawthorne expresses that Dimmesdale was on the verge of true repentance and confession. He even caught a glimpse

The Scarlet Letter is a well known novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The novel is composed and written in Salem and Concord, as well as Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1840's. The narrator of the novel is in an omniscent state, meaning he knows more about the characters than the characters know about themselves. Although the narrartor is omniscent, he also makes sure to include his ideas and opinions on situations, making him also greatly subjective. Being subjective, as well as omniscent, historical fiction along with a story displaying constant symbolism is evident.

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic The Scarlet Letter, nature plays a very important and symbolic role.  Hawthorne uses nature to convey the mood of a scene, to describe characters, and to link the natural elements with human nature.  Many of the passages that have to do with nature accomplish more than one of these ideas.  All throughout the book, nature is incorporated into the story line. The deep symbolism conveyed by certain aspects of nature helps the reader gain a deeper understanding of the plight and inner emotions of the characters in the novel.

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne's work, The Scarlet Letter, nature plays a very symbolic role. Throughout the book, nature is incorporated into the story line. One example of this is with the character of Pearl. Pearl is very different than all the other characters due to her special relationship with Nature. Hawthorne personifies Nature as sympathetic towards sins against the puritan way of life. Hester's sin causes Nature to accept Pearl.

The Scarlet Letter Introduction The Scarlet Letter is a classic tale of sin, punishment, and revenge. It was written in 1850 by the famous American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It documents the lives of three tragic characters, each of whom suffer greatly because of his or her sins. Shot Plot The story begins with Hester Prynne, a resident of a small Puritan community, being led from the town jailhouse to a public scaffold where she must stand for three hours as punishment for adultery. She must also wear a scarlet A on her dress for the rest of her life as part of her punishment. As she is led to the scaffold, many of the women in the crowd complain that

1. Hester Prynne is portrayed as a Christ figure in The Scarlet Letter. She displays self-sacrifice, saintlike features, and exemplifies some biblical teachings throughout the book. The first, which is self-sacrifice, is shown when Hester is standing on the scaffold in front of the whole town and will not uncover the other participant in the adultery. Reverend Wilson questions her of this man that helped commit this crime, “Speak out thy name! That, and thy repentance, may avail to take the scarlet letter off thy breast” (60), with the attempt to bribe her by promising the possible removal of the scarlet A. She refuses to sell out her secret lover with the responses “Never” and “I will not speak!” (60) but the young clergyman keeps questioning Hester. She is willing to take the fall for the both of them and stand up there with the humiliation of their actions. “It is too deeply branded. Ye cannot take it off. And would that I might endure his agony, as well as mine!” (60). This reinforces her firmness in protecting Dimmesdale and from completely razing his name as a minister by telling the public. She is willing to endure the ignominy from the public without exposing him, which is an example of self-sacrifice. With saying that, Hester is like Jesus Christ because he was crucified for our sins as a form of self-sacrifice so we could have eternal life and go to Heaven. Hester's actions for Dimmesdale caused her much more agony and humiliation by the public because of the

Transcendentalist philosopher Emerson once noted that “the universe is composed of Nature and the soul” (qtd. in Perkins 591). The vitality of nature’s power is one of the fundamental pillars of Transcendentalism. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter mirrors this concept, nature playing a vital role in the story from cover to cover. From the influence of the nature (specifically the forest, flowers, and sunlight), on the plot, there is a common theme shown throughout the novel. Hawthorne implemented these elements in The Scarlet Letter to emphasize how nature is a ways of shining light on the truth.

Dimmsdales sins affects his physical well-being, and his mental stability. Since he never publicly admits his sin, he has to keep his sins bottled up within him. He has no way to relieve himself of the burden of his sins, but to be shamed in public. He ultimately becomes a coward and he tortures himself . He was healthy before, but as the years go by, he becomes sickly, and he worsens his condition by abusing himself. Later on through the years, when he joins with Hester and Pearl in the forest , he becomes different, and when they decide what their plans will be, his health changes, and his energy seems as I it was back. He changes and transforms to another person. "The minister's own will, and Hester's will, and the fate that grew between them, had wrought this transformation. It was the same town as heretofore; but the same minister returned not from the forest." He changed to a new him.

The author Nathaniel Hawthorne is an Anti-Transcendentalist which believes society is the only thing that keeps humans in check. That if society didn’t exist the human race would not survive Which also believes that nature is a evil thing. This book is based in Puritan times.

In the story, the theme of hypocrisy is supported by the forest, the prison, the scarlet letter, and the Puritans. Throughout the course of the book, when characters are within the forest, their true nature is generally shown. When Mr. Dimmesdale is within the forest, he is weak and deteriorating, both physically and mentally, and appears to be in the most forlorn state, having nearly completely given up on living a true life and torn between revealing his true self and continuing to wear the fake face he puts on for the Puritan society; while he is also weak and deteriorating physically in the eyes of the Puritans, they still regard him as being mentally strong and pure, something they are fooled into thinking due to his ongoing acts of hypocrisy.

The novel ‘The Scarlet Letter’ written by Nathaniel Hawthorne takes place in Boston, during the seventeenth century. There is an extensive use of nature that the author ties in to his work for the symbolism you see continuously throughout the book. Hawthorne not only uses nature for symbols, but also in a way to present and discuss human nature. There is a clear theme of nature that the author correlates the novel’s characters with the real world. As you begin to read more in-depth of the book you see the incredible imagery that allows the reader to get an understanding of the characters, as well as the fundamental message of the novel. In all, nature has an essential part in this novel, not only does it suggest future events, but it

Nature is uncontrollable. Nature is wild. Nature is free. Nature isn’t subjected by human laws, so it perceives us for who we are and not for what we have done in the past or continue to do. From the very beginning, we have seen man attempt to control the untamed side of humans. We are used to laws that we’ve had to be obedient to, rules that we wouldn’t dare to break. But the question is, who handed man the role to distinguish between what is right or wrong? Who gave man the authority to try to tame natural human impulses? Hawthorne portrays nature so significantly in the Scarlet Letter because the book is based off of the strict Puritan lifestyle, and it forgives us for disobeying their man-made laws, it allows the people who have become an outsider in society and provide a security blanket from the judgmental minds of man.

The Scarlet Letter is a story that was described by an unknown narrator who claimed to have found it among other documents. The Scarlet letter story is a love narration about two lovebirds Hester Prynne and her husband who had changed his name to Rodger Chillingworth. The story begins with Hester being escorted to be punished for adultery as a young man tells her missing husband. Hester had given birth to her daughter Pearl but could not say who the father was. Angered by the actions of his wife, Rodger decided to go for revenge. A young and eloquent minister in Boston town by the name Arthur Dimmesdale highly defended Hester when she was almost being separated from her daughter. Rumors went round that the minister was the one responsible for the pregnancy. One day the minister fell sick. Rodger took the opportunity and went to offer medical assistance to the minister. While

The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne is a literary classic due to the outstanding words and example of great symbolism. This book was written due the Romantic period of Literature in America; examples of work from the Romantic period exemplify an emphasis on human emotion and characteristic. In this novel, many quotes can be used to show important to certain aspects to reveal a more in depth meaning. Quotes can be used to give a clearing meaning of the theme, importance of the setting, characterization throughout the novel, and some quotes can be meaningful to the reader.

Every human being feels the necessity to express one's own natural emotions. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's “The Scarlet Letter”, life is built upon an early 1800’s puritan society with a strict set of laws that forbid anything that they believe to be wrong. This means that the people who live in it have to find different ways to cope to their deepest desires hidden from the eyes of society. Hawthorne gives the people a perfect place to do this; the forest. What better place to symbolize freedom then miles of wilderness where all the trees and animals get to live freely? The life in there has more creative and emotional freedom then the people of the “more advanced” society living right outside it. The forest provides a safe place for the free will of love, freedom of emotion and to be oneself.