The Scarlet Letter Theme Analysis

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is set in the 17th century puritan Boston, Massachusetts, it tells the story of Hester Prynne who has a daughter named Pearl out of an affair and struggles to live her life a new and with dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores the themes of sin, guilt, and revenge. The Puritan town of Boston had gathered around to witness Hester's punishment for her crime of adultery. She was required to wear a scarlet “A” on her dress to shame her. She walks down the scaffold with dignity and takes this punishment and makes the best of it. She owns wearing the scarlet “A” by personalizing it with embroidery and making it beautiful. The women on the street are angered of how graceful and beautifully she

-Pearl connect Dimmesdale to the “Black Man” who is the devil, to show he has sinned

The imorialty that is betrayed in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book “ The Scarlet Letter” is very descriptive. The characters Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale commit adultery. They both end up paying for their sin but in to very different ways. Hester is open with hers while Dimmesdale tries to hide the truth. As the story goes on the character change and they have two very different views on the sin that they have both committed together.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, takes place in June of 1642 of the Puritan town of Boston, Massachusetts. Hester Prynne, the protagonist, is married to Roger Chillingworth. They decided to leave Europe to have a new life in Boston; unexpectedly her husband failed to join her. After two years waiting for her husband’s return, she engages a personal relationship with Arthur Dimmesdale which causes an improper affair, and she gives birth to a baby girl named Pearl. When living in a Puritan society they forced Hester to wear the letter “A” as punishment; which stands for “adulterer”. Also for another act of punishment, the community made Hester stand on a scaffold platform for three hours for public shaming. To her surprise she recognizes a person in the crowd; her husband. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne demonstrates the theme of guilt through the characters of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, but also the relationships between Hester Prynne and Roger Chillingworth.

Hester’s letter “A” allows her to think more deeply about her community, and be seen bolder than the other women in the town. For Dimmesdale, it’s the burden he must live with that grants him the ability to stay humble, and stand in unison with the other citizens. Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s sin causes them to work harder, and act kinder, in an act of repentance, whereas the town’s people see it as a way out of heaven entirely. The nature of evil is personified in the minds of the characters, and they constantly refer to him as the “Black Man.” This “Black Man” becomes appointed towards Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, Mistress Hibbins, and Pearl- thought to be the spawn of Satan. The debates over the cause of sin- did Chillingworth cause Hester to sin, by forcing her to marry him? Did Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin create the evil inside of Chillingworth?- depicts the vagueness of the idea Puritan’s have about sin. Identity and society are all about the way you see yourself, and the way you’re perceived by others. Hester remaining in Boston, despite her ability to leave, and her obedience to wear the scarlet letter shows her refusal to let society

They continue to using their citizenship in positive ways. Hawthorne describes Hester as a humble woman that is caring and helpful to anyone in their society, and Dimmesdale’s profession is a high-level pastor in Boston. The theme of good is represented in how everyone treats one another. Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays evil in other characters throughout the novel. One of the main antagonists in the novel is Roger Chillingworth.

Victimization in the Scarlet Letter In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, victimization is a major theme that affects many different characters. While the culprits of the crime are made clear early on, determining an ultimate victim of the story is much less feasible. Throughout the novel, while dealing with internal and external struggles, each character endures a sufficient amount of suffering. Although each character is affected differently by Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin, Hester, Pearl, and Chillingworth all become victims of the matter.

Lawrence uses biblical and literary allusions in order to refer Hester to well known stories and prove that she is evil. Lawrence does this throughout his essay and indicates that Hester is an evil person who committed adultery. While

The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a work of fiction written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Set in Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, during the years of 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair with a mysterious person. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores the theme of sin through Hester’s daughter, Pearl, and the red scarlet letter.

The Scarlet Letter is a story involving many symbols. The novel is set in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1640s, around the time colonization first took its place in America. The protagonist, known as Hester Prynne is a newcomer to the colony. Hester is a married woman from Europe who commits adultery in the colony gets arrested. Hester keeps the fathers identity a secret. One of her punishments for committing adultery is to stand on the scaffold to be criticized. The other main one is to stitch a scarlet letter on her clothes to publicly identify her as an adulterer. Soon after her child Pearl

b. Hester’s Home- Hester and Pearl live in a small cottage with a thatched roof on the outskirts of town

Jean Racine, a French writer and philosopher, has said “There are no secrets that time does not reveal,” and we see this quote play out in many events in history as well as the Scarlet Letter. Racine displays that secrets in time will alter the future of lives. By gaining an insight into how these secrets are resolved, how they affect daily lives, who they affect, and why, we will be able to understand how devastating secrets can be.

The Scarlet Letter is a book complete of secrets and deceptions. The book teaches you about the difference about telling the truth or keeping it a secret. It shows you the challenges of both telling the truth and keeping a secret from everyone. There are many vital scenes throughout the book. With many of the scenes, if they weren’t in the book it would have had a completely different ending. The Scarlet Letter is a book full of eventful scenes that keep the book both exciting and interesting.

Reading ' 'The Scarlet Letter ' ' again, I imagine Hester Prynne as she steps out of the Boston jail. She carries her out-of-wedlock baby in her arms but does not hide the ' 'A ' ' she wears on her breast. Her crime, though it will never be named in the book by more than an initial, is placed on exhibition. Yet she has converted the letter into her own statement by fantastic flourishes of gold embroidery. She is a mystery beyond the reach not only of her fellow Bostonians but also of the reader. To the end of her story she will be someone whose final meaning is as obscure as her reasons for blazoning the letter so that it looks like a badge of honor while it reinforces her condemnation.

Summary: A women named Hester, one of the protagonists in the novel, has committed adultery, and has a child. The townspeople believe that her punishment should be to wear the letter "A" on her clothing so she and the town can remember her sin. Her daughter name is Pearl. Hester will not reveal with whom she had the affair with. The reverend named Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl, but he hides the truth from the town, and lets Hester face the discrimination from the town alone. Hester and Pearl become the outliers in the town, but they find themselves comfortable with that. The town questions Hester 's parenting. Dimmesdale feels guilty, and tries to stop the separation of Hester and Pearl by arguing that God has given Hester Pearl to remind her of her sin. Chillingworth is Hester 's husband. Earlier in the novel, he tells Hester not reveal his identity. He pretends to be a doctor, specifically Dimmesdale doctor, because he suspects that Dimmesdale is the person who Hester has an affair with. In a very sneaky way, Chillingworth begins to attack Dimmesdale. Later on the novel, Hester and Dimmesdale agree to run away, but Pearl has a hard time accepting her mother without the "A" and Dimmesdale. They go ahead with the plan, and go back to the town for the next few days. Dimmesdale has a sermon, which eventually leads to his confession, and his