Hester, the wearer of the scarlet letter, is now facing public humiliation upon the scaffold in front of the whole community. Hester spots a man, a stranger standing in the crowd. Is he really a stranger? The way Hester and the man exchange looks, there's evidently a connection between them. Hawthorne uses figurative language devices to show the emotions the stranger has when he spots Hester. While standing on the scaffold, Hester emulates the sin that she committed and the horror that this stranger is feeling when he shows up. Hester’s life is now converging her new life, advancing the plot through the meeting of her husband upon standing at the podium. This critical event in Hester’s life advances the plot by introducing her husband, as we later learn is Roger chillingworth, creating a new conflicts. Despite this being the very …show more content…
In the first moment of recognition Hester has of this stranger, there is a sense of fear, between them. Hawthorne has used a sense of imagery and the device of simile to show the expression the husband had. Knowing that this was Hester’s husband, how is he going to react about Pearl? He is scared and doesn’t really know what to do. “It was carelessly, at first, like a man chiefly accustomed to look inward, and to whom external matter are of little value and import, unless they bear relation to something within his mind (Hawthorne 57).” One can only imagine Chillingworth’s expression. Besides the way he was looking at Hester, he also had a look of fear. “A writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them, and making one little pause, with all its wreathed intervolutions in open sight (Hawthorne 57).” Chillingworth tries to be calm about it, knowing that Hester is watching him and he is surrounded by a bunch of townspeople. He is trying to avoid drawing attention towards
Hester Prynne, the protagonist in the book The Scarlet Letter, has committed the sin of adultery, but learned to use that mistake as a form of strength. Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, sent her to America and was supposed to follow her, but never arrived in Boston. While Hester was waiting on Chillingworth, she had an affair with the town minister, Dimmesdale. As a result, Hester gave birth to a beautiful daughter and was forced to wear the scarlet
The central theme in The Scarlet Letter is that manifested sin will ostracize one from society and un-confessed sin will lead to the destruction of the inner spirit. Hawthorne uses the symbol of the scarlet letter to bring out this idea. In the novel, Hester is forced to wear the scarlet letter A (the symbol of her sin) because she committed adultery with the clergyman, Dimmesdale. Because the public's knowledge of her sin, Hester is excluded physically, mentally, and socially from the normal society of the Puritan settlement. She lives on the outskirts of town in a small cottage where she makes her living as a seamstress. Though she is known to be a great sewer amongst the people, Hester is still not able to sew certain items, such as a new bride's veil. Hester also has no interaction with others; instead she is taunted, if not completely ignored, by all that pass her by. Despite the ill treatment of the society, Hester's soul is not corrupted. Instead, she flourishes and improves herself in spite of the burden of wearing the scarlet letter and she repeatedly defies the conventional Puritan thoughts and values by showing what appears to us as strength of character. Her good works, such as helping the less fortunate, strengthen her inner spirit, and eventually partially welcome her back to the society that once shunned her.
The Scarlet Letter starts off by throwing Hester Prynne into drama after being convicted for adultery in a Puritan area. Traveling from Europe to America causes complications in her travel which also then separates her from her husband, Roger Chillingworth for about three years. Due to the separation, Hester has an affair with an unknown lover resulting in having a child. Ironically, her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, is a Reverend belonging to their church who also is part of the superiors punishing the adulterer. No matter how many punishments are administered to Hester, her reactions are not changed. Through various punishments, Hester Prynne embraces her sin by embroidering a scarlet letter “A” onto her breast. However, she is also traumatized deep within from everything she’s been through. Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts this story of sin by using rhetorical devices such as allusion, alliteration and symbolism.
with. Having a heart blinded by love Hester choose to stay in the town and
free from the laws and regulations made by the king of England. In the new
It seems as if Hawthorne wrote this scene for the purposes of exhibiting the harshness of Puritan society, and to allow the reader some insight into Hester's thoughts. Hawthorne places the focus onto Hester at this moment. The reader observes her before the full effect of the scarlet letter has had a chance to take hold of her. The reader is also able to see the cruel and judgmental behavior of the crowd through their language, such as when they call her a hussy. "This women has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there not law for it?"
Throughout the novel, Hawthorne discusses the themes of sin, guilt, and how society affects the shaping of an individual's character. He addresses the issue of hypocrisy and how hidden guilt can affect someone. He also portrays the nature of evil in human form. Purity, honesty, and joyfulness are symbolized by little Pearl. He wrote this romance to express himself and show the oppression of the society and the community in which he lived in. Hester's struggle against society is similar to his own. Both, he and Hester, resist Puritan values and beliefs. The society Hawthorne lived in discouraged him and stopped him from pursuing his passion in writing, but he still continues to write. His novel shows the inner conflicts of individuals, the conflicts between them and society, and discloses the truth of the human heart.
At the beginning of the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is labeled as the “bad guy”. The townspeople demand the other adulterer’s name, but Hester denies this revelation. She does not reveal it because she knows that the information will crumble the foundation of the Puritan religion and the town itself. “‘But, Hester, the man lives who has wronged us both! Who is he?’ ‘Ask me not!’ replied Hester Prynne, looking firmly into his face. ‘That thou shalt never know!’(Hawthorne 52). Hester knows that finding out that the father of the child, the Minister that is leading the town, will diminish credibility for the church and for Dimmesdale, the Minister. During her punishment, Hester decides to move out near the woods and make a living as a seamstress. Hester is regarded as an outcast from Boston, but she still gives back to the society that shuns her. ‘“Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ they would say to strangers. ‘It is our Hester, —the town's own Hester, —who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!’”(Hawthorne 111). Her acts of kindness, helping the sick and comforting the afflicted, toward the society that makes her an outcast shows the inner goodness of a person. Throu...
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s well known novel, The Scarlet Letter, extensive diction and intense imagery are used to portray the overall tone of the characters. In particular, Hester Prynne, the wearer of the Scarlet Letter, receives plentiful positive characterization throughout the novel. Hester’s character most notably develops through the town’s peoples ever-changing views on the scarlet letter, the copious mentions of her bravery, and her ability to take care of herself, Pearl, and others, even when she reaches the point where most would give up and wallow in their suffering.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, has an extremely elaborate, and well-depicted vocabulary. Many of his sentences and paragraphs tend to be very verbose, but at the same time very helpful in giving the reader an accurate representation of the exactly how Chillingworth reacts when he first sees Hester. Within the passage on page sixty-seven Hawthorne is giving an intricate description of Chillingworth’s reaction when he first sees Hester after she is released from prison. With his usage of both syntax and imagery throughout this passage, he most effectively illustrates his vision of Chillingworth. Hawthorne gives us quite a bit of description within this passage, which allows us to see an intellectual side of Chillingworth. Generally people are intellectual or religious, the big bang vs. Genesis. Chillingworth is portrayed as intellectual, which conflicts with the Puritan views of religion.
Everytime a kid does his homework, correctly, they are possibly advancing their knowledge and understanding of the subject at hand. Although, Alfie Kohn, author of the book “The Homework Myth” states, “Such policies sacrifice thoughtful instruction in order to achieve predictability, and they manage to do a disservice not only to students but, when imposed from above, to teachers as well” (Suhay). Not all homework will be beneficial. It can harm
In 2012 the French President Francois Hollande proposed a ban on homework within French schools. In support of this a year 12 student and student representative council member from Gardendale Secondary College prepared a speech. Aimed at educators within her school, the student makes some steering comments and convincing facts to turn the heads of principles, teachers, parents and fellow students against the giving and completing of homework.
As Hester wears the scarlet letter, the reader can feel how much of an outcast Hester becomes. When walking through town, “…she never raised her head to receive their greeting. If they were resolute to accost her, she laid her finger on the scarlet letter and passed on” (Hawthorne, 127).She believes that she is not worthy of the towns acknowledgments and chooses to ignore them. The guilt that now rests in Hester is overwhelming to her and is a reason of her change in personality.
Hester Prynne committed a crime so severe that it changed her life into coils of torment and defeat. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is publicly recognized as an adulteress and expelled from society. Alongside the theme of isolation, the scarlet letter, or symbol of sin, is meant to shame Hester but instead transforms her from a woman of ordinary living into a stronger person.
The Scarlet Letter is a blend of realism, symbolism, and allegory. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses historical settings for this fictional novel and even gives historical background information for the inspiration of the story of Hester Prynne in the introduction of The Scarlet Letter, ‘The Custom-House’. The psychological exploration of the characters and the author’s use of realistic dialogue only add to the realism of the novel. The most obvious symbol of the novel is the actual scarlet letter ‘A’ that Hester wears on her chest every day, but Hawthorne also uses Hester’s daughter Pearl and their surroundings as symbols as well. Allegory is present as well in The Scarlet Letter and is created through the character types of several characters in the novel.