The Scarlet Letter Essay

Pearl’s existence reminds Hester of her act of passion, which the cultural morality of Boston dictates as sinful. This is evident not only because Pearl is the product of Dimmesdale and Hester’s action, but because of who Pearl is at heart. Pearl’s personality is as stated,

In his book, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells of a story where a young woman has had an adulterous relationship with a respected priest in a Puritan community. Typical of Hawthorne's writings is the use of imagery and symbolism. In Chapter 12, The Minister's Vigil, there are several uses of imagery when Dimmesdale, the priest, is battling with confessing his sin, which has plagued him for seven years. Three evident techniques used to personify symbolism in this chapter are the use of darkness versus light, the use of inner guilt versus confession, and lastly the use of colors (black versus white).

Hester loves Dimmesdale, but she does not love him enough to expose his sin publicly, and she conceals her knowledge of Chillingworth. Either you love something whole-heartedly, or you do not. Hawthorne might have portrayed Hester in a more favorable light then the other characters, but still she should have to wear a scarlet H in addition to her A.

Hester Prynne is kind of a role model, almost. I admire her ability to admit to sin and be willing to take the consequences. Surely she was not the only one during Puritan times who had an affair, or even sinned. Everyone sins every day, and so technically everyone should have a scarlet letter of some sort. In my opinion, this makes Hester above everyone else.

Hester Prynne's guilt is the result of her committing adultery, which has a significant effect on her life. Hester is publicly seen with the scarlet letter when she first emerges out of the cold

Hester committed adultery, which was believed by the puritans to be a horrible crime. Because of this she lives everyday with the constant reminder of her sin from "Scarlet Letter" she is forced to wear on her bosom. Hester is also pushed away from everyday society, and forced to live a hidden and lonesome life. While in prison she is presented with her first child Pearl, who gives her a small amount of comfort. For Pearl was still too young to communicate and connect with Hester. Eventually Pearl matures to become Hester's one and only true confidant and friend. Finally sharing some feelings of warmth and comfort with Hester. The same applied to the rose bush. After years of torment, it reaches a point in its life where it is strong enough to present to the world the beauty it

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

A common theme throughout literature is religion and how the author feels about his or her faith. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices to draw comparisons between characters and events in The Scarlet Letter and Biblical figures and accounts. A few of the devices found in this novel that connect it to the Bible are symbolism, paradox, allusions, and characterization. It is important to first look at the characters and how they are described through characterization.

He sees his former wife being shamed by the town for her sin of adultery and from that point on he is set on finding the man which whom had sinned and committed the same terrible crime as Hester Prynne. He later has a sense that it is reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. He furthers his investigation on Dimmesdale and becomes more and more evil by the day. Later on he persuades Dimmesdale to move in with him to help him as he is getting sick. At least that’s what he told him. In Roger Chillingworth’s head this is the perfect opportunity to finally find out if he is right about Dimmesdale being the father of Pearl. The shame and guilt held within Arthur Dimmesdale has made him grow very ill and he does not sleep very often because the sin of adultery keeps him awake in the late hours of the night. However, one night he slips up. He falls asleep and Roger Chillingworth takes advantage of this. He opens the shirt of sir Dimmesdale and sees what we can only assume is a scarlet letter “A” over his heart. Throughout all of Chillingworth’s mental torture and studies he does on the reverend he has been giving him medicine. Nobody knows if the medicine given to Arthur is helping him stay alive or if it’s slowly killing him inside and

Hester is very revealing throughout the novel, she is forced by the Puritans to reveal her facades. Dimmesdale is always hiding his facades, he covers up his true identity with the fact that he is a minister in the Puritan and church until the end he decides to reveal himself to the people. Pearl lives through her intuitions and her interactions with sunshine reflect Hester and Dimmesdale, and since she is a child she is considered very pure and innocent. Hester’s facades are revealed by the institutions and she is very open about her true-self and not covering up the Scarlet Letter. The truth will always be revealed at a point of life, and hiding your facades with another identity will destroy the personality.

The setting of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet letter” is crucial to the understanding of the event that takes place in the story. The setting of the story is in Salem, Massachusetts during the Puritan era. During the Puritan era, adultery was taken as a very serious sin, and this is what Hester and Dimmesdale committ with each other. Because of the sin, their lives change, Hester has to walk around in public with a Scarlet Letter “A” which stands for adultery, and she is constantly being tortured and is thought of as less than a person. Dimmesdale walks around with his sin kept as secret, because he never admits his sin, his mental state is changing, and the sin degrades his well-being. Chillingworth

Hester was forced to marry Roger Chillingworth, but she did not love him. She fell in love with Arthur Dimmesdale and slept with him behind Chillingworth’s back (Hawthorne 69). Hester Prynne was felt as if she was not loved by Chillingworth, so she decided to start seeing the priest Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester and Dimmesdale are not the types of shame and secrets (Howells). In Hester’s endurance of punishment there is publicity but not confession (Howells). The tragedy of the story is Hester Prynne’s personality (Howells). She dominates by virtue and is womanly and typical her (Howells). The A keeps Hester away but hardly equips her with

Pearl’s intelligence is described as “preternatural”, because of her young age and her possession of such intelligence which is abnormal as a three year-old. Roger Chillingworth’s evil transformation can be described as supernatural, as he is compared to the devil after his discovery on Dimmesdale’s chest. The reader may assume that there is a Scarlet Letter “A” on his chest is exemplifying his sin of adultery. Before Chillingworth makes his discovery on Dimmesdale, in the beginning of his commitment to assist Dimmesdale while he is ill, the townspeople were split in their opinions over if Chillingworth was spawn of the black man in the forest with dangerous motives or simply a kind

Hester and Dimmesdale aren’t all too different. They are both parents to Pearl, and they both committed adultery. Hester and Dimmesdale are both kind people with hearts that could never

For several years, Hester is prohibited from seeing her love in public. She can only meet with him privately. Even wanting to still see him represents true loyalty—after everything Hester has been through to protect Dimmsdale's secret is reason enough to be fed up with him (Swisher 53). Hester's loyalty to Dimmsdale continues until the end; she cradles him in his last dying moments on Earth. (Swisher 53) Hester keeps her loyalty to her husband, Roger Chillingworth, as well. He asks her not to reveal his identity in their first discussion of the novel, and she obliges. For many years, she keeps the secret while Chillingworth does dreadful things to Dimmsdale. Dimmsdale's deteriorating health is part due to the awful arts Chillingworth performs on his so-called “patient.” (Swisher 53) In chapter fifteen, Hester goes to confront Chillingworth about the situation. Hester argues and argues but Chillingworth