In The Scarlet Letter (1850), Nathaniel Hawthorne’s theme of “the mesh of good and evil” illustrates, through the linking of symbols and characters, the reality of human nature. The expression of these opposites creates the mirroring affect that Hawthorne alludes to countless times in the story whether it is at the Governor’s house or the brookside in the woods. Throughout the story the relation of the flowers, the mirror that each character has inside them, and the comparison of the leach to Chillingworth, are the symbols that express the fault of human nature. Flowers of different colors not only paint a picture of contrast but the underlying meanings of the difference displays “the mesh of good and evil” in the truth of human nature. The …show more content…
Hester intertwines the sin that she has done and wears upon herself and she acts as if it doesn’t exist by doing charitable work unselfishly for the poor, the sick, and the dying: “‘Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ the 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 106). The way Hester changes view of the A is unknown but that creates the mirroring affect for Hester: “What remains problematic, what Hawthorne compels us to explain for ourselves, is her dramatic change of purpose and belief” (Bercovitch 577). Pearl’s intertwinement between her life as a beautiful loving daughter and her wild nature is the theme of “mesh of good and evil”. The wildness is the evil that lives in all mankind that must be maintained: “Whenever that look appeared in her wild, bright, deeply black eyes…”(Hawthorne 63). The eloquent and admirable minister Dimmesdale is hiding the sin that eats him from within because even in the people that seem as if no evil is in them that’s just human nature to have it: “With a convulsive motion, he tore away the ministerial band from before his breast…on the breast of the unhappy minister, a Scarlett Letter – the very semblance of that worn by Hester Prynne — imprinted in the flesh”(Hawthorne 161-162). Chillingworth is the kind physician to Dimmesdale but he seeks demonic avenge on him through torture. Chillingworth keeps the minister alive just to torture him like a leech does to its
Beginning with the very first words of The Scarlet Letter the reader is thrust into a bleak and unforgiving setting. “A thong of bearded men, in sad-colored garments,” that are said to be “intermixed with women,” come off as overpowering and all-encompassing; Hawthorne quickly and clearly establishes who will be holding the power in this story: the males (Hawthorne 45). And he goes even further with his use of imagery, painting an even more vivid picture in the reader’s mind. One imagines a sea of drab grays and browns, further reinforcing the unwelcoming feeling this atmosphere seems to inheren...
Hester is a youthful, beautiful, proud woman who has committed an awful sin and a scandal that changes her life in a major way. She commits adultery with a man known as Arthur Dimmesdale, leader of the local Puritan church and Hester’s minister. The adultery committed results in a baby girl named Pearl. This child she clutches to her chest is the proof of her sin. This behavior is unacceptable. Hester is sent to prison and then punished. Hester is the only one who gets punished for this horrendous act, because no one knows who the man is that Hester has this scandalous affair with. Hester’s sin is confessed, and she lives with two constant reminders of that sin: the scarlet letter itself, and Pearl, the child conceived with Dimmesdale. Her punishment is that she must stand upon a scaffold receiving public humiliation for several hours each day, wearing the scarlet letter “A” on her chest, represe...
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 characters Hawthorne develops are deep, unique, and difficult to genuinely understand. Young, tall, and beautiful Hester Prynne is the central protagonist of this story. Shamefully, strong-willed and independent Hester is the bearer of the scarlet letter. Burning with emotion, she longs for an escape from her mark, yet simultaneously, she refuses to seem defeated by society’s punishment. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale claims the secondary role in The Scarlet Letter; he is secretly Hester’s partner in adultery. Conflicted and grieved over his undisclosed act, he drives himself to physical and mental sickness. He fervently desires Hester, but should he risk his godly reputation by revealing the truth? Dimmesdale burns like Hester. Pearl, the child produced in Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin, is the third main character. She is fiery, passionate, perceiving, and strikingly symbolic; at one point in the novel she is referred to as “the scarlet letter endowed with life!” Inevitably, Pearl is consumed with questions about herself, her mother, and Dimmesdale. The reader follows Pearl as she discovers the truth. Altogether, Hawthorne’s use of intricately complex, conflicted ch...
During this puritan time in the 1600s. Nathaniel Hawthorne who is an anti-transcendentalist speaks about sin. But not just any sin, secret sin in this novel “The Scarlet Letter.” Hawthorne expresses many themes and symbols in many strange and mysterious ways. Hawthorne is a very dark and devious man. The scarlet letter A that is embroidered on Hester’s bosom symbolizes adultery. Adultery is the sin that she has committed. Hester had a whole husband and made a baby with a man that wasn’t the husband. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of Hester’s Cabin, Leeches, and Dimmesdale to contribute to the overall theme of Good Vs. Evil.
The Scarlet Letter is a wonderful and not so traditional example of the good versus evil theme. What makes this a unique instance of good versus evil is that either side could be considered either one. Hester could very easily have been deduced as evil, or the "bad guy," as she was by the townspeople. That is, she was convicted of adultery, a horrible sin of the time. As for punishment, a sentence to wear a scarlet "A" upon her chest, it would hardly be considered a burden or extreme sentence in present day. Another sin that Hester committed was the fact that she never told who the father of her child, Pear, forcing her to be without a father. Hester's silence also caused Dimmesdale to live in torture every day. Chillingsworth was also hurt by Hester's act of adultery and because of her, his life was destroyed and the only thing he could do was seek revenge against the man who had been with her.
Hester is being considered as the devil (Bellis 1), which is a sign that the town’s people are slanderous and judgmental. Their judgment has caused her to be isolated. “… A woman who had once been innocent…” is now considered as “…the reality of sin” (Hawthorne 39). They look at her as a threat diminishing their community’s chance for purification because “there was the taint of deepest sin…” (Hawthorne 24). My apprehension of Pearl is that she is the fruit of evil, because she is seen as “immortal” (Hawthorne 11). Because, she has caused a ruckus, her immoral acts have disturbed the nature of their society. They think this is morally correct because, “Political and generational ambivalence has its psychological counterpart…” (Bellis 2), which give them the right to make her an evil outcast.
As you yell back and forth, it all falls together in your tempered mind, every little sign you decided to ignore by thinking to yourself “Oh, we can work it out, no big deal!” boy were you ever wrong, from the way he ignored you after coming home from work, to the rolling of his bloodshot eyes after stumbling through the front door at 4am after his “friends birthday celebration” every. Single. Saturday. You knew it would be a disaster from the start, but you trucked on, for the fun times you had, when his apologies seemed sincere, to your friends constantly envying you for being with such a seemingly “perfect guy” but every empty night ends with a lung emptying sigh. If you only had paid more attention to the little things, none of this would ever be happening; you are constantly in the dark with him, when all you want is the light. After a thorough reading of the Scarlet Letter, the reader can conclude that Nathaniel Hawthorne has an immense focus on symbolism, whether it's on a subconscious level like night and day, or in blatantly obvious ways, from the red letter "A", to pearl herself.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, symbolsim is constantly present in the actual scarlet letter “A” as it is viewed as a symbol of sin and the gradally changes its meanign, guilt is also a mejore symbol, and Pearl’s role in this novel is symbolic as well. The Scarlet Letter includes many profound and crucial symbols. these devices of symbolism are best portayed in the novel, most noticably through the letter “A” best exemplifies the changes in the symbolic meaning throughout the novel.
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.
As Eric Burdon said, “Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It's a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other” (Brainyquote.com). Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter about the Massachusetts Bay Colony in Boston. In this book, Hawthorne shows that good and evil is present in everyone. Light and dark imagery, alluding to the larger conflict between good and evil, is present throughout the novel in the characters of Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth.
Evil manifests itself in characters from many books. These characters are usually the antagonists of the story. Rodger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Captain Ahab in Moby Dick by Herman Melville are examples of evil antagonists. Ahab and Chillingworth both are very similar in how the evil manifests within them.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Scarlet Letter”. American Literature: Volume One. Ed. William E. Cain. New York: Pearson, 2004. 809-813. Print
Symbolism can be found all throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. While most of the symbolism in his work may subtle, it all plays a large role in his novel. Symbolism is often defined as something, like an object, that represents something else or an idea. One may even say he overuses symbolism in his work, “The Scarlet Letter”, but the meaning of his symbols change throughout the novel. For example, the letter “A” has one meaning in the beginning, but it changes a few times by the end novel. Some of the major forms of symbolism within “The Scarlet Letter” are the letter “A”, Pearl, and the Arthur Dimmesdale.
The Scarlet Letter is a fictional novel that begins with an introductory passage titled ‘The Custom-House’. This passage gives a historical background of the novel and conveys the narrator’s purpose for writing about the legend of Hester Prynne even though the narrator envisions his ancestors criticizing him and calling him a “degenerate” because his career was not “glorifying God”, which is very typical of the strict, moralistic Puritans. Also, although Hawthorne is a Romantic writer, he incorporates properties of Realism into his novel by not idealizing the characters and by representing them in a more authentic manner. He does this by using very formal dialogue common to the harsh Puritan society of the seventeenth century and reflecting their ideals through this dialogue. The Puritans held somewhat similar views as the Transcendentalists in that they believed in the unity of God and the world and saw signs and symbols in human events, such as when the citizens related the meteo...