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analysis of The Scarlet Letter
puritanism in Hawthorne's works
psychological exploration of character in scarlet letter
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Recommended: analysis of The Scarlet Letter
A common theme throughout literature is religion and how the author feels about his or her faith. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices to draw comparisons between characters and events in The Scarlet Letter and Biblical figures and accounts. A few of the devices found in this novel that connect it to the Bible are symbolism, paradox, allusions, and characterization. It is important to first look at the characters and how they are described through characterization.
The first rhetorical device is characterization. The way the main characters are described by Hawthorne sets up how they will be perceived. It is through this that we see the first inklings of biblical figures. Biblical characters are seen in Pearl, Hester, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and the Puritan people. The first is that Hester has many traits in common with the Virgin Mary. Both are originally shunned by society, but later accepted. Although Hester has sinned, within her the reader sees a character who is very loving and with the birth of Pearl, motherly. The fact that Pearl is the child of Hester, or the Virgin Mary as we have now identified her, it is only natural that we examine her as Jesus. The origins of Pearl and Jesus are similar in that both their mothers do not expect to have the child. But as they grow up, it becomes clear that the are not ordinary children. Both characters posses an innate ability to "read" people and who their emotions, as is seen in Pearl’s ability to visualize an “A” on Dimmesdale even though he does not wear a physical one. Jesus can also be seen in Dimmesdale during his last days of life. Dimmesdale’s death is caused by his sin and Jesus died for the sins of all people, both men dying without objection. Another Biblical character is seen in Chillingworth. Throughout the novel he is described as a man whose life is based on revenge and hatred. This “was a striking evidence of man’s faculty of transforming himself into the devil.” (155) The final part of characterization is in the similarities between the societies of the two times, Biblical and Puritan. Both the Jews/Romans and the Puritans accused and persecuted those who the saw as unholy, while in fact they were the least holy of all. Their pride in being religiously strict caused them to lash out at those who in hindsight are the holy ones. With this basic ...
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...r being Biblical stories in disguise. The first is the connection between Hester and the Virgin Mary. The paradox is found in Hester’s representation of Mary. Hester was definitely not a virgin; however, her counterpart, Mary, and her life are most miraculous because she was a virgin. Another paradox is seen through the similarities of Pearl in Jesus. Pearl comes from sin, but goes on to live a beautiful life. Jesus on the other hand was born without sin, only to be condemned by and subsequently killed by the establishment. Another paradox is in that the Puritans prided themselves on being good Christians and condemned those who they found unholy. Ironically it is they who are the bad people and the people they have condemned whom are the best Christian, (barring Hester and that whole adultery thing.)
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s use of rhetorical devices allows for a vivid connection to be drawn between his novel and the Bible. The use of symbolism, paradox, allusions, and characterization create a story that has in it the underlying of Bible stories. The use of the most widely read book as a pillar for his novel strengthens Hawthorne’s criticism and commentary on the Puritan society.
Through the rhetorical device characterization, Hawthorne is able to promote his motive of exposing the audience to the life lesson: People grow stronger by recognizing their own weakness. Hester Prynne, the female protagonist in the Scarlet Letter charged with adultery, is forced to wear the embroidered letter “A” on her chest to symbolize the stigma of her sin. In the beginning of the novel,
Men and women walk around in the same neutral colored clothing, hand in hand with the lord and their Puritan values. However, these seemingly ordinary Puritans are all similar in one form— sin. In archaic theme-based literature, similarities can be distinguished between two stories and their attributes. Within the works of The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, a plethora of correlative elements can be identified by the reader.
The theme of racism is well depicted in The Help , whereas the theme of sin is ever present in The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne depicts sin through multiple characters, he shows the art of sin committed through revenge, guilt, adultery, and consequence-as in the people who commit sin or are associated to a sin committed by another , like pearl who is the consequence of her parents affair. Hester , pearl mother, stood for the perfect example of sin for all women
After the death of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s character Dimmesdale from the book the Scarlet Letter, there have been many theories about the cause of his death. Some literary analyzers claim that his guilt was the cause of his death. Others say that Roger Chillingworth, a physician, poisoned him with Atropine and Scopolamine. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale’s guilt appears to be the cause of his death, but his symptoms point towards Atropine and Scopolamine poisoning.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter introduces themes within the story that recur in several settings and serve as metaphors for the underlying conflicts. The trouble in interpreting The Scarlet Letter is the fact that the story is packed full of symbolism that can be either overlooked, or misinterpreted. From the actual letter ‘A’, down to the use of colors, Hawthorne wrote his story with the intention of making the reader work harder and read deeper into the characters and actual meaning of the story.
Several of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s story settings are during the time of the Puritans in the early settlement of America. In a couple of Hawthorne’s stories, his characters commit a sin so grave that, in the views of the Puritans, they are isolated from the community. This study will analyze one of Hawthorne’s short stories, “Young Goodman Brown” as well as his novel The Scarlet Letter to show the hypocrisy of the Puritan’s treatment of sin. In these stories, the Puritans treat sin with such severity that at times the treatment itself is worse than the actual sin; this shows how highly the Puritans viewed the necessity of punishment of sin. However, when it came to seeing the faults in people of high order in their community, they often ignored the issue or argued that their sin was for the good of the community; thus, revealing their hypocritical society.
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.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic, The Scarlett Letter, has become one of the most discussed novels of all time. A great deal of` controversy streams from the obvious gender-related issues throughout the story. Considering the setting of seventeenth-century Boston, the plot takes place in a conservative Puritan society. Because of this, Hester Prynne, the protagonist, spends the seven years, over the course of which the book takes place, dealing with the repercussions of what is believed to be a “crime” against God and her community. The situation she is put in is one very few people could truly endure. Yet, she is able to beat all odds and surpass peoples’ expectations of an “ordinary Puritan women.” The complexity of the story goes into the depths of gender equality and the unconventional position this woman has in society. Hawthorne is able to depict conflicting gender roles in The Scarlett Letter by illustrating the expected persona of a Puritan woman and directly contrasting that norm with his very complicated and well-developed character, Hester Prynne.
In his various works, Nathaniel Hawthorne addresses the religious themes dominant in colonial Puritan society. For example, the beloved Mr. Hooper of Hawthorne’s parable The Minister’s Black Veil dons a black veil, a mysterious change which the Puritans believed “could portend nothing but evil” (Hawthorne 630). As a result, the Puritans isolate their minister. Even though the parable does show the Puritans’ harsh and superstitious reaction to the vagary of the minister, the veil itself symbolizes both the minister’s isolation from society and his connection to society through original sin. This veil and other symbols in Hawthorne’s works illustrate the universal truth that “all art is paradox.” Hawthorne approaches this notion in his novel The Scarlet Letter by placing contradictions at the heart of his art. The female protagonist, Hester Prynne, bears the societal burdens of adultery as she wears the scarlet letter “A.” Because of her suffering and struggle to find her place in society, Hester Prynne eventually receives redemption. However, Hester’s crime alters the lives of two others: Minister Dimmesdale and the physician Chillingworth, who both seek salvation, and by the end of the novel, all three redeem themselves. Nonetheless, the three would not have redeemed themselves had they not sinned. Through the contradictions of the true Christian model and his characters’ personalities, Hawthorne reveals that redemption is still possible even after one falls.
In the book, Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne expressed numerous themes throughout the course of the book. One particular theme is that characters in the novel, Dimmesdale, Hester, and even Pearl are inherently flawed humans. This idea that humanity is inherently flawed is that we were born imperfect, and during puritan times, puritans believe that through Original Sin that everyone was born with sin. However, despite being born with Original Sin, many puritans saw that these characters were sinful because of what they did. However, Nathaniel Hawthorne saw that these characters were sincerely flawed humans, like all of us.
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.
This article also focuses on the aspect of sin. In this book it brought up that in the book the word “adultery” is never once mentioned. It talked about how Hester committed the sin but Pearl is the one who suffers it. In this article is asked multiple questions abo...
In Hawthorne's intricately woven tale The Scarlet Letter, his characters create a parallel theme with the Biblical story of Original Sin. By examining the characters and their interactions and insights about each other, one can examine the symbolic parallels with the Garden of Eden.
His style is wordy, and filled with unnecessary explanations. His poor use of metaphors leads to misunderstanding, taking away from literary meaning. Glaring examples of vain attempts at elegance appear throughout Hawthorne’s works. Because of his narrow subject base and devoted focus to negligible topics, Hathorne is no longer relevant to contemporary reader bases. Of the classic authors Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works are the poorest of quality because of the nature of his overzealous composure, uninterested writing style, and contemporary
Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of America's most renowned authors, demonstrates his extraordinary talents in two of his most famed novels, The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. To compare these two books seems bizarre, as their plots are distinctly different. Though the books are quite seemingly different, the central themes and Hawthorne's style are closely related (Carey, p. 62). American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne is most famous for his books THE SCARLET LETTER and THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES, which are closely related in theme, the use of symbolism, characterization, and style.