The Scarlet Letter – Hester as Community Role Model
“Woman, it is thy badge of shame!" (107). Governor Bellingham was describing the scarlet letter to Hester while they were discussing if the punishments that Hester had to go through were adequate enough for the crime. Hester was living in the outskirts of the city in a small abandoned cottage for several years with the only thing that had any monetary value in her life, her child and the product of committing adultery, Pearl. She and her little Pearl were shunned from the community for her acts. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is punished in more than one way, and she is able to deal with it openly so the community will, over time, forgive her.
The most obvious subject of punishment that Hester had to cope with is wearing the scarlet letter. "By the point which drew all eyes and, as it were, transfigured the wearer. . . was the scarlet letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom" (51-52). Hester wrought the scarlet letter before she stood on the scaffold. When Pearl asks her why she wears the letter she replies that she wears it for its gold thread. Hester wears the letter for many years, even after the people in the community care anymore, so that she will be fully forgiven for her sin.
In the beginning of the story, Hester is faced with serving the temporary part of her sentence, standing on the scaffold in front of the whole town. "It was a circumstance to be noted, on the summer morning when our story begins its course, that the women of whom there were several in the crowd, appeared to take a peculiar interest in whatever penal infliction might be expected to ensue" (48). The citizens of the town had gathered to criticize Hester as she stood on the scaffold, and many of the town’s women were discussing the simplicity of Hester’s sentence, since the usual punishment for committing adultery is the death penalty. Although she had to put up with the remarks about her for three hours while she was standing on the scaffold, the ridicule followed for many years to come. Hester and her daughter were thought upon as sinners long after Hester had served her sentence.
The purpose of this report was to give you background and career information on Tyra Banks so that you can see why she would the best choice for endorsing your product. I think you should have Tyra Banks endorse your Campbell’s Chunky Soup because not only is Tyra Banks a super model and an actress, she is also a person who made it out of a difficult situation and she never gave up on her career. She is also involved in the community.
Gamliel,E., (2012). To end life or not to prolong life: The effect of message framing on attitudes toward euthanasia. Journal of Health Psychology 18(5) 693–703.
Stevenson focuses on two different characters Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but in reality these are not separate men, they are two different aspects of one man’s reality. In the story, Dr. Je...
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.
In Robert Louis Stevenson’s, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dual nature of man is a recurring theme. Jekyll constantly struggles with good and evil, the expectations of Victorian society, and the differences between Lanyon and Jekyll.
Stevenson’s most prominent character in the story is the mysterious Mr Hyde. Edward Hyde is introduced from the very first chapter when he tramples a young girl in the street, which brings the reader’s attention straight to his character. The reader will instantly know that this person is a very important part of this book and that he plays a key role in the story. This role is the one of a respectable old man named Dr Jekyll’s evil side or a ‘doppelganger’. This links in with the idea of duality. Dr Jekyll is described as being ‘handsome’, ‘well-made’ and ‘smooth-faced’. On the other hand, Mr Hyde is described as being ‘hardly human’, ‘pale and dwarfish’, giving of an impression of deformity and ‘so ugly that it brought out the sweat on (Mr Enfield) like running’! These words all go together to conjure up an image in the mind of an animal, beast or monster. During the novel...
“The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde” is a novella written in the Victorian era, more specifically in 1886 by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. When the novella was first published it had caused a lot of public outrage as it clashed with many of the views regarding the duality of the soul and science itself. The audience can relate many of the themes of the story with Stevenson’s personal life. Due to the fact that Stevenson started out as a sick child, moving from hospital to hospital, and continued on that track as an adult, a lot of the medical influence of the story and the fact that Jekyll’s situation was described as an “fateful illness” is most likely due to Stevenson’s unfortunate and diseased-riddled life. Furthermore the author had been known to dabble in various drugs, this again can be linked to Jekyll’s desperate need and desire to give in to his darker side by changing into Mr Hyde.
The westward movement was a time period from the 1840’s to the 1860’s, where the Americans traveled west for search of land and/or gold. In this essay, you will read about the wagon trails, Manifest Destiny, people, medicine, religion, politics, railroads, and the gold rush.
Dr. Jekyll reflects on the “hard law of life” (Stevenson 42) which is governed by religion. Because religion always calls man towards pure intensions and the good, also away from atrocious pleasures, Dr. Jekyll wants to remove the bad within him to have a completely pure soul. At first he tries to conceal the other side of himself, but now to his defense, the time has come to indulge in his pleasures. His reasoning is to further his knowledge or relief himself from sorrow and suffering (Stevenson 42). With this decision, he now starts to deviate from his respectable image in society and starts to show the attributes of an
... he is warned by Hyde that if he decided to witness the transformation, it could produce disastrous effects. Hyde tells Lanyon “if you shall so prefer to choose a new province of knowledge and new avenues to fame… your sight shall be blasted by a prodigy to stagger the unbelief of Satan.“ (119). Yet Dr. Lanyon, in submission to the evil and imprudent side of his dual nature, decides to watch.
Hester’s role in the story is described as sleeping with a priest and got accused of committing adultery and got punished by having to wear a scarlet letter “A” on the breast of her gown (Hawthorne 71). Hester Prynne’s punishment is to go to prison and then with her child, Pearl, go and stand out on the platform in front of everybody wearing her scarlet letter on the breast of her gown (Howells). Hester...
One of the major ideas presented in Jekyll and Hyde is the need for both good and evil to live in coexistence within an individual’s conscience. Jekyll’s experiments prove that a balance between the two sides of nature is crucial to be content in the world. He realizes that the only reason he is able to be one of the two sides of his nature is because he has the capacity to be either as long as both are present within him. He makes this clear in the quote, “I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both” (125). Jekyll aims to segregate his good side from his bad side. He begins on his endeavor to create a potion that creates an entirely new identity for the evil element of his nature named Mr. Hyde. Jekyll is pleased with himself and feels that he has been successful in his undertaking. He maintains this happiness until Hyde begins to commit unspeakable crimes without Jekyll’s rationality and sense of morality to temper him. Jekyll becomes miserable trying to contend with his evil counterpart and it is then that Stevenson’s message is evident. It is difficult to maintain true happiness without both sides of nature present within one’s conscience to balance each other out and to coexist.
Hester Prynne’s sin was adultery. This sin was regarded very seriously by the Puritans, and was often punished by death. Hester’s punishment was to endure a public shaming on a scaffold for three hours and wear a scarlet letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life in the town. Although Hawthorne does not pardon Hester’s sin, he considers it less serious than those of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. Hester’s sin was a sin of passion. This sin was openly acknowledged as she wore the "A" on her chest. Hester did not commit the greatest sin of the novel. She did not deliberately mean to commit her sin or mean to hurt others.
To begin with, Stevenson shows duality of human nature through society. During the Victorian era, there were two classes, trashy and wealthy. Dr. Jekyll comes from a wealthy family, so he is expected to be a proper gentleman. He wants to be taken seriously as a scientist, but also indulge in his darker passions.“...I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality/ of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in/ the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said/ to be either, it was only because I was radically both..."(125).
As a future educator, I have many goals. My first goal would be to never overpower my students. Being a teacher should not be a job, it should be a passion. I will focus my classroom around the student’s needs, rather than my own. The classroom will revolve around the students. I will be their guiding hand through education. Another goal of mine is to have the students interact in a positive way. Social interaction is very important. As students combine with peers they share knowledge and learn how to solve problems. In the real-world, this what will happen. Whenever I can, I li...