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.
Many of Hawthorne's works center around what is right or wrong, and
the consequences of breaking the basic links between humans by
committing acts of sin. Although Hawthorne has several great works to
his credit, the one that is generally considered to be the best is
"The Scarlet Letter".
Imagine there is no freedom of choice. The human race is going
straight to hell. Only God'' fickle grace can save us. Only be giving
yourself totally to His devotion can you escape hell's gapping,
flaming mouth. This is what the Puritans lived through. Religious
leaders spit out so many fearful images that the people had no choice
but to follow "God's" will. Now imagine that even after all that fire
and brimstone, you decide to do it your way anyway. This is what
Hawthornedemonstrates in "The Scarlet Letter". And none of this could
have been the least effective had it not been for the tale's setting.
The setting was all-essential for this story. If Hester Prynne did her
adulterous deed in present-day Amer...
... middle of paper ...
...ing into her mother's eyes. "Will he go
back with us, hand in hand, we three together, into the town?" Once
again, the adults tell her a deeper truth that contradicts all their
previous words: "Not now, dear child."
Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" is a wonderful piece of
American Literature. The setting of the story related well to the
history of Salem, Massachusetts and that time period in history.
Works Cited
===========
Bayer, John G. "Narrative Techniques and the Oral Tradition in The
Scarlet Letter."
American Literature. Vol 52 no 2 May 1980: 250-263.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "The Scarlet Letter". Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press, 1962.
Waggoner, Hyatt H. "Hawthorne: A Critical Study". Cambridge,
Massachusetts: The Belknap
Press of Harvard University Press, 1955.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is one of the most respected and admired novels of all time. Often criticized for lacking substance and using more elaborate camera work, freely adapted films usually do not follow the original plot line. Following this cliché, Roland Joffe’s version of The Scarlet Letter received an overwhelmingly negative reception. Unrealistic plots and actions are added to the films for added drama; for example, Hester is about to be killed up on the scaffold, when Algonquin members arrive and rescue her. After close analysis, it becomes evident of the amount of work that is put into each, but one must ask, why has the director adapted their own style of depicting the story? How has the story of Hester Prynne been modified? Regarding works, major differences and similarities between the characterization, visual imagery, symbolism, narration and plot, shows how free adaptation is the correct term used.
The novel “The Scarlet Letter” was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 and is probably the book for which he is most famous. He was a prolific writer and wrote many short stories, a few collections, and several novels during his writing career. Nathaniel Hawthorne was injured as a child and became an avid reader and decided that he wanted to be a writer. Though he was a lackluster college student, after graduation he returned to his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts and began his writing career in earnest. Not only did Nathaniel Hawthorne have one of his ancestors who had been one of the three judges involved in the Salem witch trials (of which he was not too proud, but it probably helped his career because it was depicted in his writings), but also he had many influential friends to include President Franklin Pierce, Henry David Thoreau (Author), and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Poet), Herman Melville (Author) and he had actually rented the “Old Manse” mentioned in “The Scarlet Letter” from Ralph Waldo Emerson (Essayist). The “Scarlet Letter” is a work of non-fiction, but the preface is loosely based on Hawthorne’s actual life due to the fact that he actually did work at the Customs House in Salem and did lose his job there, which gave
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the strong values of the puritans in the 17th century through the townsmen and women. Religion was a way of life for the puritans. Their values interjected in their emotions, attitudes, actions, and speech. Hester Prynne committed adultery, which defies the puritan’s beliefs. By examining the punishments that were given to Hester, Hawthorne is able to continue to emphasize the puritan beliefs and values. Community was to follow the beliefs of God and to do their duties the best they could; yet they were there to criticize and punish all who disobeyed the religion or laws. Through narrating the tail that is to follow, Hawthorne can better display the puritan beliefs of plainness, aversion to festivities, and the importance of the puritan’s beliefs.
"To be fully human is to balance the heart, the mind, and the spirit.'; One could suggest the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, that one should not violate the sanctity of the human heart. Hester was well ahead of her time, and believed that love was more important than living in a lie. Dimmesdale’s theology and his inclinations render him almost incapable of action; Chillingsworth dammed himself, along with Dimmesdale. Hester was “frank with [Chillingsworth].';
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne has introduced a character that has been judged harshly. Because, she has been misinformed of her husband’s death; therefore, she was greave and had sought comfort resulting in a baby from the lover whom gave her comfort. When her secret had been discovered she was isolated for committing a treacherous crime of adultery, as one of her punishments she was forced to wear an A on her chest. The novel presents a structure of a society, using symbolism and diction to give underline meaning to the themes, portraying religious tendencies ruled by the philosophy of good and evil.
Most everyone has two sides to their character, one that shows in public and one that stays confined to the safety of a more private setting. However, there are times when the private side overshadows the public persona and escapes. Then the person is either left standing there to clean up their damaged reputation or liberated with a sense of relief to finally show their true colors to society. Thus creates the predicament of the characters in The Scarlet Letter, written in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Instead of starting the audience at the beginning of the ordeal, Hawthorne sits the reader right into the aftermath of Hester Prynne’s sin. The unforgiving nature of Puritan culture condemns Hester for having passion for any other besides her husband, even though they do not know if he is even alive at this point. Her private self, the side that longed for another man, overwhelmed her public Puritan image and escaped, leading her down the path of temptation. This Puritan atmosphere collides with many dark romantic elements, such as the guilt and sin of someone romanticized to the reader, and the evocation of sympathy to the “bad” character, the one wrong in the context of the book, but most everyone secretly roots for. Hawthorne mixes the Puritan culture with romantic elements to evince the struggle of the private self to create a false public image and conform to the masses.
ATTENTION-GRABBER The Scarlet Letter is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It takes place in the middle of the sixteenth century but was written in the eighteenth century. Hawthorne tells the story through his point of view about the scarlet letter he finds years before writing the story. When the story begins, Hester is being tried for the sin she committed while holding a baby. She commits adultery and receives a punishment of wearing the letter “A” on her bosom. Throughout the novel, the story behind the letter is revealed and many of the secrets behind the letter are revealed. Hawthorne believes hope can change outcomes for the better over time. Hawthorne shows hope through Hester who changes for the better, Dimmesdale who admits his sin, and Pearl who gives hope to Hester.
A sin is defined as any act regarded as a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale were forced to face the realities and hardships of committing a mortal sin in the eyes of a predominately Puritan society. Seven years after moving to America alone, Hester assumed her husband, Roger Chillingworth, to be dead and had moved on with the town minister—Dimmesdale. The two lovers ended up having a child out of wedlock, which ensured them the public scorn from their community. Hester, while raising their illegitimate child, Pearl, was ostracized by society and required to wear a scarlet letter, “A,” on her chest as a sign of her wrongdoing. Dimmesdale remained the unknown father of Pearl, by keeping his sin a secret from the townspeople. Because of their unique circumstances, Hester and Dimmesdale were ultimately affected differently by the same sin. Hester was audacious and accepting about the sin, while Dimmesdale was secretive and suffered.
In the book, Chillingworth is a physician who had been captured by Native Americans sometime ago and subsequently released by them into Boston, Massachusetts, who was strictly a Puritan settlement at the time. In the years of his imprisonment by the Indians, he was taught many native herbs and plants of the New World, and their uses on the human body. Through this, he entered Boston as a physician, known to have "gathered herbs, and the blossoms of wild-flowers, and dug up roots, and plucked off twigs from the forest-trees, like one acquainted with hidden virtues in what was valueless to common eyes." ( The Scarlet Letter , p. 120). Chillingworth had the knowledge of a particular drug, Atropine, which caused a sickness that closely resembled the condition of Dimmesdale. Chillingworth's motive for retribution to Dimmesdale for his adultery was very clear throughout the book, "There is a sympathy that will make me conscious of him. I shall see him tremble. I shall feel myself shudder, suddenly and unawares. Sooner or later, he must needs be mine." (p. 80). Chillingworth's vengeful nature consumed his life and his only goal in life became the torment of Hester's adulterous husband, Dimmesdale. He was already showing signs of sickness, assumed by the reader to be attributed to his guilty conscience, and these were only amplified by the poisoning Chillingworth had inflicted upon him.
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne analyzes Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. In the story, Hester is the main character of the story and was called Mistress Prynne (Hawthorne 70). Dimmesdale, in the story was referred to as Reverend Dimmesdale (Hawthorne 90). Chillingworth was originally named, Roger Prynne but later in the story he changed his name to Roger Chillingworth. In the story, Hester committed adultery with Dimmesdale against Chillingworth and in the beginning she got punished and sent to prison and later she got to get out of prison but with the exception of having to wear the letter A on her breast every time she went out in to town.
The Scarlet Letter, a classic American novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, contains a plot that follows the controversial life of Hester Prynne, the main protagonist of the story. Set in the mid 1600’s in Boston, Massachusetts, it represented the Puritan society and its ideals at that time. Its rich plot has enticed and enraptured readers for many years, while Historical elements have allowed readers to analyze and understand the content better. The Scarlet Letter is a piece of historical fiction that contains a real representation of the period in which it is set in and is mostly historically accurate, barring a few minor inaccuracies.
Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his novel, The Scarlet Letter to critique the Puritan faith. In developing his story of the adulteress Hester Prynne, he uses both religious and natural imagery to show his disdain for the Puritan religion. The Scarlet Letter is a vivid portrayal of his utter dislike for the Puritans and everything that they stand for. Hawthorne is in complete disagreement with them and makes it clear throughout the book.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, there are many moral and social themes develped throughout the novel. Each theme is very important to the overall effect of the novel. In essence, The Scarlet Letter is a story of sin, punishment and the importance of truth. One theme which plays a big role in The Scarlet Letter is that of sin and its effects. Throughout the novel there were many sins committed by various characters. The effects of these sins are different in each character and every character was punished in a unique way. Two characters were perfect examples of this theme in the novel. Hester Prynne and The Reverend Dimmesdale best demonstrated the theme of the effects of sin.
The Scarlet Letter is a well-known novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In this novel Hawthorne wrote in depth about the Puritans’ reception to sin, in particular, adultery. He also includes brilliant visuals of the repercussions that occur when the town of Salem hears of Hester’s adultery. There are many relationships within the book, from a lover to a beautiful yet illegitimate daughter. Symbolism runs throughout, even a simple rose bush outside of a jail holds so much meaning. Hawthorne reveals themes all through the novel one in particular, was sin. Although sin does not occur often in the Puritan lifestyle Hawthorne shows the importance and change this one deceit makes for the town of Salem.
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...