What Is The Reoccurring Theme Of The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his bold novel, The Scarlet Letter tackles a variety of themes that include: sin, guilt, redemption, postfeminism, and organized religion's abuse of power. Hawthorne spoke in a somber and grim tone, designed to arouse a sense of suspense for his readers. The audience in which he was addressing would have been conservative Christians and women suffragettes, all of whom reflected the ideologies during this time period. By instilling clever diction, Hawthorne exposes hypocrisy in Puritanism and objects against the religion's superfluous punishments; which force individuals to endure unnecessary and extreme suffering.

The very scarlet letter from which the novel’s name is derived from is a symbol of sinning; the scarlet letter represents how Puritan society views sinning as unforgivable and something for public speculation. Hester is punished by wearing hers out for the world to see. The letter is “so fantastically embroidered” that one townswoman argues that its intricacy and design defeat the entire purpose of wearing it. The scarlet letter serves as an

In Nathanial Hawthorne’s famous standard of American literature, The Scarlett Letter, Hawthorne examines individual cases of sin occurring within society known for its intolerance of sin and strict religious principles, the Puritans. In The Scarlet Letter , each of the main characters, whether protagonist or antagonist, are guilty of a sin or form of “evil”. However, one character stands out from the rest. This character is guilty of the worst form of malice and evil in the entire book. His name is Roger Chillingworth. By reviewing his sinful actions, motivations and personality, as well as the different symbols Hawthorne creates to represent him, the true extent of Chillingworth's evil becomes apparent.

Nathaniel Hawthorne was a brilliant writer of the 19th century. Hawthorne created a novel that reflected the time period of the Puritans in New England. The Scarlet Letter contains a representation of the people during that time period but can also be related to the reader’s time period. Originally, God created the world with complete perfection until man fell, and sin entered the world. In the eyes of God, a sin is a sin. There is no worse sin that one can commit. Man is the one that decided that one sin could be more harshly judged than another. Hawthorne uses the theme of sin to show the importance of one’s faith and conviction and how those principles relate to fallen sinners.

The blinds on the windows are shut, it feels like a prison cell as I sit under the spotlight. The darkness outside makes me feel somber and alone. I stare at the glowing screen and think to myself, “It’s just me and this paper.” In December of my junior year in high school, I was assigned a persuasive essay on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter; it was my first academic essay of the year. My previous experiences with academic writing were both stressful and unfulfilling; when the essay topic was announced, I felt only resentment and anger, I remembered my past tribulations. With my mother’s help, this essay was different; after I submitted it to the teacher, I possessed a new perspective on academic writing. From my experience, I learned that strong writing skills are vital to communication, critical thinking, and life outside of the classroom.

In the novel, Scarlett Letter, the Puritans live in a community bent on conforming to the common beliefs and values set by their society. Those whose ideas and values diverge from the norm are criticized and despised for their individualism. Hawthorne portrays this ignorance and conformity through the Puritans' belief that the forest is evil and unruly. However, because the forest is secluded far from the influences of society, Hawthorne suggests that in the forest people are able to express the individuality they are deprived of in their Puritan settlement. Thus, the forest, an embodiment of freedom and individuality, is used as a symbol to contrast the harsh Puritan society with the free nature of the forest in order to convey the

Novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, in The Scarlet Letter, recounts the events of an adulteress living in a Puritan community, who is forced to submit to public shaming and the vengeful actions of her husband. Hawthorne elaborates on the underlying idea that Roger Chillingworth is maleficent, which works towards the overall purpose that evil temptation ultimately causes negative outcomes. Through the utilization of Biblical allusions, Hawthorne conveys the similarities between Chillingworth and multiple evil figures. He uses the parallel structure of juxtaposition to show the differing relationship between Chillingworth's desired and actual character. The continuation of his ongoing argument is seen through the ominous language that Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne is greatly influenced by both transcendentalism and puritan theology. Transcendentalists believe nature to be good, while puritans believe nature to be evil. Both theologies are easily discernible in probably his most famous work The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne is influenced by both theology but a claim made that he unquestionably belongs to one side cannot be adequately supported. Here, examples from The Scarlet Letter will be presented and explained as to how they reflect either transcendentalism or puritanism theology.

In, “The Scarlet Letter,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about a girl named Hester Prynne, who has to live in a Puritan society with the burden of a huge sin. Hester deals with the judgmental eyes of the townspeople, a burning passion for her new lover and a revenge plot formed by her thought to be husband. Now we must note that Hawthorne was an anti-transcendentalist who was obsessed with Puritanism. An anti-transcendentalist is someone who sees people as evil from birth and believes society is good while the wilderness is bad. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of a rose bush, Pearl, and sunlight to contribute to the overall theme of good vs evil.

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.

Hester’s sin and her recovery from her sin exemplify the morals in The Scarlet Letter. At the beginning of the novel, she commits adultery and is publicly shunned for it. The townspeople, who represent society as a whole in the novel, consider Hester to be a “brazen hussy,” and treat her accordingly (41). They also consider her “fantastically embroidered” letter to be “ignominious” and a symbol of Hester’s “disgrace” (41, 42). By wearing the letter, Hester feels the wrath of the townspeople. During her walk to the scaffold, Hester feels “ an agony from every footstep,” and “as if her heart had been flung into the street for them [the townspeople] all to spurn and trample upon.” (41) The scarlet letter throws Hester into anguish and despair; however, her public suffering eventually leads to her survival. As the novel

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American author who used his writings to express his dark, gloomy outlook on life (the scarlet letter). When he wrote, he focused on the limitations and potential destructiveness of the human spirit, rather than on its possibilities (the scarlet letter). He used his outlook on life to write his most popular novel, The Scarlet Letter. In this book he wanted to show that the Puritans were not a peaceful group like people assumed (the scarlet letter). Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter in the late 1840s to depict what was happening in his life and to satisfy his need for money (the scarlet letter); as a result most literary critics praised

In the Puritan society the outlandish mindset of the leaders caused more harm than good with the witch trials in Salem to the events mentioned in The Scarlet Letter. Sin and evil the new world cloud the vision of the citizens, yet they are two separate actions and have different definitions. Hawthorne explains the difference between the two in the novel and also shows off his famous skill of questioning a society’s rules, regulations, and social structure. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his writing style of ambiguity, and ornate word choice to relay his opinion of the puritan society. Characters, quotes, and symbols give us a snapshot of the time and thoughts on events and ideas during the era. Hawthorne’s characters are a

Chillingworth now takes room with Dimmsdale only pretending to be his friend but secretly plotting his demise. Shortly after people begin to notice "something ugly and evil in his face which they had not

The Scarlet Letter Critical Analysis Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, the direct descendant of John Hawthorne, and a judge at the infamous Salemwitchcraft trials. The guilt that Hawthorne felt over the actions of his ancestor had an enormous impact on his writings. In his introduction of "The Scarlet Letter", Hawthorne accepts the guilt from his forefathers and offers to repent for their crimes (Waggoner, 5). This unusual way of viewing guilt and sin is one driving factor in Hawthorne's writing. The other, which is closely related to the first, is the relationship between men, and of man to humanity as a whole.