Everybody has weaknesses, and no one can deny that. Some people are jealous, some have bad habits they need to break, and some are over-nice (but in the bad way). Mine happens to be the third one in that list. In multiple situations, I have been too nice to the point where it hurts me and makes me miserable. Where this weakness is the worst is definitely in relationships: both romantic and friendships. My personal weakness of being too nice isolates me from being happy for myself in the same way as Hester’s sin isolated her from the Puritan community in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In my perception, if I had a scarlet letter, it would be the letter O for “over-optimistic”, meaning that I am way too optimistic in an unreal fashion. What I’m doing is trying to please everybody and make everyone happy, when really I need to, at the same time, focus on making myself happy and not letting myself get miserable just from doing what somebody wants. It is somewhat important for Hester’s community to forgive her for what she has done because they are so judging of what she did. People in the town would call her a “hussy” and make the claim that they’d give her a worse punishment if they could (Hawthorne 48). More importantly, although, Hester needs to internally forgive herself and find a way to see the lesson that she learned and the good that came out of this, which she did at the end of the novel. My personal weakness of being too nice compares to Hester Prynne’s in the sense that it affects how I look at myself and cuts me off from society. Being too nice can be a bad thing at times, and committing adultery also has a big effect on how you look at yourself. Either way, learning how to deal with your problems, small or big, and working to fix them is the only thing that matters. Even though our problems are nowhere near the same level, it still affects our daily lives knowing that we have those
It's something that has been said since forever by well meaning parents and high school counselors and in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author reiterates this bit of advice to the characters as well as the readers: "Be true!" When viewed from the surface, almost none of the characters followed the simple suggestion offered by Hawthorne, or the entire conflict of the novel could have been averted. Chillingworth the revenge monger was unwilling to reveal even his real name and intent, and Dimmesdale the sentimental and trusted pastor, was unable to reveal his dark secret. That leaves Hester. In the beginning she was not only forced to be true to herself and the whole town, but to emotionally and mentally evolve. She had found her identity in the novel the day she stood on that scaffold. If given a choice, Hester would have rather worn the mark of shame than not, because the letter had transformed her into who she is. The blood red letter may not be pretty, but it is immensely better than living a lie. By digging a little deeper into the novel, it's plain that Hester is the only one true in the entire book, both to her self and society. Hester and Hester alone had the courage to do what was right by showing who she really was. She let the events of the novel shape her like a ball of clay into the person she would become, instead of controlling events or resisting change. Although many may say she didn't learn her lesson by wanting to run off with Dimmesdale, she had in fact learned her lesson thoroughly and by admitting her love she didn't make the same mistake a second time.
And it is this power of accepting and enduring her sins that the power of the scarlet letter brings. A symbol meant to signify her hideous crimes but instead a sign of identity of her own true personality. A letter that can symbolize an entire life, past crimes, and what brings the encouragement to not deny who you really are, and to be proud of yourself.
By taking the blame for her and Dimmesdale’s sin, Hester shows herself to be noble. Rather than hiding in her home with her disgrace, Hester goes about her usual daily activities, eventually supporting herself by becoming a seamstress. Apparently, years of sewing red letters on her clothing developed a skill within her. Her quiet strength gradually makes her sin and its symbol less of a fault, and the people of the small community where she and Pearl live accept her as more than anyone else. She is now an asset to their society, performing honorable deeds and conducting herself as a kind and understanding
Hester's sin is that her passion and love were of more importance to her than the Puritan moral code, but she learns the error of her ways and slowly regains the adoration of the community. For instance, 'What we did had a consecration of its own. We felt it so! We said so to each other! Hast thou forgotten it?';(Ch.17: 179). Hester fully acknowledges her guilt and displays it with pride to the world. This was obvious by the way she displays the scarlet letter with elaborate designs showing that she is proud. Furthermore, she does not want to live a life of lies anymore when she states 'forgive me! In all things else, I have striven to be true! Truth was the one virtue which I might have held fast, and did hold fast, through all extremity save when thy good--the life--they fame--were put in question! Then I consented a deception. But a lie is never good, even though death threaten the other side!';(Ch.17: 177). Hester learns from her sin, and grows strong, a direct result from her punishment. The scarlet letter 'A' was as if a blessing to Hester changing her into an honest person with good virtues. Fittingly, she chooses to stay in Boston with Pearl although Hawthorne admits, ';…that this woman should still call that place her home, where, and where only, she must needs be the type of shame';(Ch.5: 73). She is trying to stay and face her consequences instead of running in the other direction. Most people would leave a town where they are looked upon as trash the scum of society. Finally, the colonists come to think of the scarlet letter as '…the cross on a nun's bosom';(Ch.
When someone makes a mistake there are two options, own it and move on with life, or push it to the back of your mind and let it haunt you for the rest of your life. Hester Prynne chose to own it and move on with life, which was the best choice. Many people would have chosen to force it to the back of their minds, which in turn would cause much more suffering than choosing to deal with their mistake. Hester is able to face her troubles head on and that makes her a real hero. It shows that she has realized her mistake and accepted it. Facing her trials head on makes Hester able to move on with her life instead of being stuck in the past.
To make up for her sin Hester “bestowed all her superfluous means in charity, on wretches less miserable than herself”. (Hawthorne 76) However, although Hester tries her best to contribute to the less fortunate than even herself citizens continue to “[insult] the hand that [feeds] them”...
Hester is not, by any means, a contrite sinner, nor is her innocence reflected upon her daughter Pearl, but in hurting herself and perhaps others, she has actually redeemed herself and her reputation and revealed society’s inner sin and debauchery within human nature. Hester Prynne is no familiar character without associating her with her personal sin of adultery, and has been the pitfall of not only herself, but her personal family and friends around her. She is put down, distraught, and even decimated after society has decided to punish her after ruining her reputation and any future offspring of her descent. Even though some may say she has committed this life by scandalizing her life with adultery with the higher order of the ministry, Dimmesdale—Hester did not desecrate her life by sin or by choice; Hester did not punish and inevitably sacrifice the reputation of others; Hester did not deplore her life, but rather mended her sinful wounds into a rewarding and captivating experience that has made her a better person. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester, even though shun before society and broken within, she did not quell on her humiliation, in fact she actually felt a sense of dignified glory and a strong sense of passionate sublime that followed her throughout her punishment, even haunting her through the scarlet letter....
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...
The people of the time period are strict Puritan thinkers that view the letter that Hester must wear upon her bosom as disgrace. She has shamed not only herself, but the community as well. With the obvious bright red letter glaring like a warning, people receive the signal to interact with her as little as possible. Hester becomes an outcast and lives alone with her daughter and tries to support them by becoming a seamstress. Hester even does things that would be see as redeeming or saint-like by making clothing for the
In the beginning she is publically shamed by her town for committing adultery and then forced to wear a big letter “A” on her clothes. Then she feels as though her daughter Pearl doesn’t think she is a good mother. Morally, that destroys a human being, but not Hester. Hester begins the long struggle of looking past the Puritan values of life, to redeem herself. She starts off by redeeming herself, to herself by accepting the big letter “A”. Using her needlework she makes the letter “A” look more eccentric to fit her style, and make her feel better about herself. Then she moves on to her daughter Pearl. She loves Pearl very much, and finally gains redemption from her. Which shows Hester that Pearl really loves her of the way she is. This gives Hester the boost she needs to redeem herself to the public. By going on the scaffolding with Reverend Dimmesdale, Hester shows the public she isn’t scared and knows that she will still end up in a good place. And will be known as a strong individual
In the opening of the book the Puritans dispise hester. Mentioned before they wanted to “Put the brand of a hot iron on her forehead.” They were a people of routine and anyone who broke their laws was shunned as Hester was. But Hester remained kind and helpful even to the people who hated her the most, and that goes back to heroism. But all along the trial of isolation from society she stayed true to herself. Hester is such a great example to the Puritans they end up adopting her back into society. They learn to to see past the sin and see the person. They even go as far as to call her thiers, saying in chapter 13, "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!" The town loves her now! They realize what a truly great person she
She sees the flaws in the society and knows that the only way to change their ways is to have their “whole system of society is to be torn down, and built up anew” (144). Hester wants to change not only her life, but the communities’ as well. Out of nowhere, all of a sudden, she had a need to make a change. It's almost as if she had an epiphany, like a “fearful doubt strove to possess her soul,... go herself to such futurity as Eternal Justice should provide” took complete control of her (144). Hester believes that for some reason, it is her responsibility to change the lives of women in her society, like its her fight to fight. She has these feeling inside of her that is saying “after everything that I have been through with this society and its standards and strict beliefs, I need to make this change because I am the symbol of the rights and needs of women” and she is. Hester Prynne is the symbol of what happens to women in this society and she is going to be the one who changes that; she is going to become a new symbol of women and her society and change the meaning of the scarlet letter from shame and sin to bravery and women's
She admits to her sin, and she admits that what she has done may be wrong, but she still carries a certain pride and power in her steps. The narrator in chapter three describes Hester, “ It was whispered, by those who peered after her that the scarlet letter threw a lurid gleam along the dark passage-way of the interior”(72). Although she has just been publicly shamed by all the ministers and men and every citizen in the town, Hester has no shame. She has a “so what if I committed a sin” attitude, indicating that she has no regrets to what she has committed, and even if anyone brings her down for having given birth to an illegitimate child, she will still continue to live and raise that child. This sense of pride can be described as a feminist notion because, back then, during the Puritan times, it was hard to come back from a sin that one has committed, especially if you were a female because women were considered even more inferior than they are today, and her pride and her willingness to continue fighting and not stop swinging further strengthens this feminist theme in the
Although they say I am “too nice,” I feel that I am not “nice,” just pleasant. I do not understand how a person can be “too nice.” I never found it a burden on anyone’s personality to be nice. Of course being nice has its advantages and it’s disadvantages, as do any other personality traits that a person would have. For example, a person could be vulgar and uncouth. Many people find this kind of behavior offensive of course, but some may find it relieving that a person could be so honest to how they feel by not holding back.
Science, childhood I use to write a personal daily diary. In this personal weakness portal, I wrote small personal changes, habits, and life style. When I started understanding different views about life, then I realized this writing is nothing but personal notes, which I wrote as a memory of daily activities, later it become my guidelines to judge myself as a person.