The, Secrets, Retribution And Redemption Essay

Life is constantly putting everyone through trials that test our perspective on what is right or wrong in society; some people view it as a straight line that divides right and wrong, while others believe there is no line, only a blur. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s,” The Scarlet Letter”, tells the tale of the adulterous, Hester Prynne, ( the main character ) who struggles to find out what is right and what is wrong throughout the struggle of being seen as a living punishment of adultery.In "The Scarlett Letter", a rosebush is used to depict Hester's morality and the way she tries to develop a balance between keeping secret the father of her child and accepting the way society portrays her. The townspeople always denunciate her and go as far as calling her "The spawn of satan"(51).

People have been stereotyping outcasts since the beginning of time. This behavior is a crucial component of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. The main character of the story, Hester Prynne, resides in a community of Puritans; who are notorious hypocrites. Their harsh rules are basically impossible to follow, therefore setting their citizens up for failure and punishment. Hawthorne tells the story of Hester Prynne with the elements of sin, judgement, and revenge.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, is a compassionate yet riveting piece of English literature that supports the movement for equality of suppressed women during a most tumultuous time during the 1800’s. Hawthorne’s use of emotional diction and imagery throughout his novel employs a deplorable tone upon the story. It serves as a stark representation of an imaginative yet realistic example of the indifference of men and women during these changing times. Deeply held Puritanical beliefs led countless of people to believe that individuals, especially women, who committed sins of any type would never reach heaven upon their passing. Men, on the other hand, were judged less severely if accused of a crime. Hester Prynne, the

Shakespeare once said, “If it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul.” In the 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter, a young woman named Hester Prynne was just that. Nathaniel Hawthorne tells a story of a young woman named Hester, who commits adultery, and how she struggles to raise a daughter, and keep her lover from judgement. In the Puritan society, honorable sin was not a possibility. Throughout the book, characters deal with consequences for their actions that change their views on how they should deal with problems. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingsworth, the main characters, all have consequences for their sins. In the book sin changes the characters’ personalities, choices, and actions.

Hester Prynne was shunned and labeled by society due to the fact she had an illegitimate child while her husband was allegedly lost at sea. She endures seven years of punishment and suffers through extreme physical change because of it. Her punishment was to wear a red scarlet letter on her chest to publically humiliate her and inform everyone of her “Adultery”, people began to accept her as she was, even in her lesser form, and the meaning of the letter began to change to a more positive symbol. By the end of the novel Hester regained her beauty after removing the scarlet letter once and for all. The physical, mental, and spiritual development of Hester Prynne in the novel

“There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love (Bryant H. McGill).” The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller in 1953, is set in Salem, Massachusetts. The play occurs at the time of The Salem Witch Trials, which took place from 1692 until 1693. Nineteen people were sentenced to death for failing to admit to witchcraft, with many more being accused. Two of the main characters in the play accused of witchcraft are John and Elizabeth Proctor. As the play progresses, the reader sees their relationship evolve; from cold in the beginning, to supportive in the middle, to a caring, forgiving relationship in the end.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter conveys the theme that everyone has the potential to find purpose in life regardless of their place in society. This idea strongly opposes the ideas of a puritan society which consists of people who live based on their predetermined destination. Furthermore, saints, elected by God, have the power to tell others how to live. Thus, creating a community where church and the state have much power and influence over the townspeople. In Hawthorne’s novel, Hester Prynne, the protagonist, is condemned by the church and shunned by society for committing the crime of adultery.

Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the ideology of Puritan society in the novel the Scarlet Letter; however reader also get to witness his characters being an illustration of hypocrisy and victims to their own guilt. In the Scarlet Letter, as in many of Hawthorne’s shorter works, he makes profuse use of the Puritan past: its odd exclusionary belief, its harsh code of ruling, its concern with sex and witchcraft. The Scarlet Letter is a story that is embellished but yet simple. Many readers may view this novel as a soap opera due to the way Hawthorne conveys this Puritan society’s sense of strictness and inability to express true emotion along with the secrecy and how deceiving the characters are being. As the story unfolds the main character Hester Prynne is bounded in marriage at an early age. She engages in an adulterous affair with an unknown member of their small village. Hester soon becomes pregnant and with her husband’s absence the chances of this child belonging to her husband are slim. The towns’ people know that she has committed a sin and imprisons her for her crime.

The scarlet letter once held the meaning of adultery, but now means something completely different. The scarlet letter now means able; it becomes the embodiment of the strength seen in Hester (Hawthorne 121). Thus giving birth the to idea that a person’s mistakes define them in the way that they choose. Hester chooses to face her iniquities which allow her to decide how this decision will define her.

Hester Prynne is the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. She was a beautiful woman who, because of her adultery, experienced persecution and was ostracized by everyone in her town. Her shame and guilt gave her an understanding of sin and redemption. She serves as an example of someone who is rejected by society and, because of it, grows in both strength and wisdom. Hester’s sin overshadowed her beauty and talent, but her humble and generous deeds gained her respect over many years.

All wrongful actions have consequences, furthermore, the consequences of one mistake has the power to flip one’s life upside down and ultimately change their life forever. This is what happens to Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Hester has been found guilty for adultery, a sin punishable by death in the Bible, and is forced by the Puritan society in which she lives in face major repercussions. Hester is forced to atone for her sins through prison time, public humiliation, and the forced wearing of a scarlet letter. Despite this, Hester Prynne is a resilient young woman, determined to overcome the circumstances thrust upon her, although she slowly becomes less of a woman and loses her ability to love, she remains

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the protagonist Hester Prynne was a young, beautiful and buxom woman who got shunned out and alienated from the society for committing adultery. Hester was humiliated and insulted from everyone in her community. With its consequences, Hester used her strength and ability to get through all the disgrace and pain the scarlet letter supposed to cause. Hester Prynne seeks for companionship and sympathy but nothing avail at first. She started charity work hoping to find forgiveness and sympathy.

Society has unintentionally been guided by the same themes since the beginning of time. The recurring themes that are present in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic The Scarlet Letter are still relevant in today’s society. When high school students and teachers claim that Hawthorne’s novel is archaic and should be removed from the curriculum, they are absolutely wrong. Hester Prynne, the main character of the novel, commits adultery and as punishment, has to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest for everyone to see. Throughout the novel, Hester is faced with obstacles such as the struggle between self and society and the burden of publicly suffering for her sins. Despite a substantial amount of time having passed since Puritan times, the themes that Hester Prynne had to experience are still pertinent. Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, is driven mad by his incessant need for revenge and in society today there are many occasions where people are plagued with the desire to seek vengeance. There are some instances in life where human nature takes over without people even realizing and revenge is one of them. Also, people are right when they say “history repeats itself” because some of these themes never go away. The Scarlet Letter takes place in the strict religious time of the 1600’s and although the book seems outdated and obsolete, the ideas inside are still relevant and therefore high school students should continue to read this work

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is often renowned as his best work. The novel tells about the rigid ideas of 19th century Puritan New England through the story of Hester Prynne, Minister Dimmesdale, and Pearl. Hawthorne points out that the Puritans are often more ready to judge, punish, and damn someone than to forgive them. He is very critical of this idea, and goes against it by ending the novel with Hester Prynne becoming a respected individual that other women often look to for advice, and by changing the perception many people have of the Scarlet Letter from, “Adultery” to “Able”. Throughout the novel Hawthorne refutes the harsh ideals of the Puritans through the

Often in society people are criticized, punished and despised for their individual choices and flaws. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author uses Hester Prynne to symbolize that those who challenge social conformities can benefit society as a whole. Though she has been banished for committing adultery, she sees that the community needs her. Through her generous accomplishments the community realizes she is a person who, regardless of her sin, can affect the community in a positive way.