The Scarlet Letter - The Forest as a Symbol of Freedom
“Wilt thou let me be at peace, if I once tell thee?” asked Hester. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, life is centered around a stiff Puritan society in which one can not indulge in their deepest thoughts. Puritan society does not let human beings show how they really feel. Therefore Hester had to seek refuge to explore her inner thoughts, such as the forest. In the forest Hester brings out many hidden emotions, Hester shows her love for Dimmsdale, and the forest is a place where the both of them may have an open conversation without the constraints of Puritan society.
The forest is a symbol of freedom. Nobody ever watched over the forest as a place of misbehavior, that is why people went there to do what they wanted. “Throw off the shackles of law and religion. What good have they done you anyway? Look at you, a young and vibrant women, grown old before your time. And no wonder, hemmed in, as you are, on every side of prohibitions. Why, you can hardly walk without tripping over the commandment or another. Come to me, and be masterless.” Of coarse Hester takes advantage of this when she meets with Dimmsdale in the forest. She talks to him about things they could never imagine to discuss in any other place except the forest. “What we did had a concecration of its own, we felt it so, we said to eachother.” Dimmsdale is shocked and tries to hush Hester but realizes he is in the safety of the forest and no one else may hear them. Just the thought of Hester speaking to Dimmsdale in their society is un mentionable. Yet in the forest they may feel free to do as they wish and not have to worry about any one else knowing. In Puritan society every one is assumed to be selfrelient. The puritans believe that you should have yourself to depend on emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Therefore Hester could never show her true emotions to Dimmsdale or for them to comfort each other. In the forest all of these cares are thrown away. “Be though strong for me, advise me what to do.” This is Dimmsdale’s cry for help to Hester, which they could never discuss in their Puritan village. When he asks her for help he shows that he thinks of Hester as an equal and he is not above her in any way.
... 2002. Mexican immigrants use about $250 million in social services such as Medicaid and food stamps and another $31 million in uncompensated health care, that leaves a profit of $319 million” (218). But should we still allow people to put their lives at risk?
Although a portion of Leuchtenburg’s evidence supporting his opinion on which case constituted a constitutional revolution involved the shift in the Court’s decision-making, the question of the reason for the shift in the Court begs to be explained. At the time, during the case of West Coast v. Parrish, the court seemed to be in sorts fueled by politics. The Justices were concerned with the consequences that could very well up rise from their reluctance to approve the standard legislation. In other words, they may have shifted their votes in hopes of saving the traditional foundation. Justice Roberts’ voting decisions would then need to be closely examined seeing that he supported the liberal side in 1934 concerning the case of Nebbia v. New York, supported the conservative side in 1935-1936 concerning the Rail Pension and Tipaldo, and then returned to suppor...
In Plato’s Meno, Socrates claims that all learning is actually recollection (80d – 86c). What prompts Socrates to make this claim, and what does he mean by it?
2. Were you involved in investigating possible illegal activities? If so, why did you feel it is necessary for public officials to remain honest?
While the naval war is usually known for only little attention in histories of World War I, the Royal Navy's blockade of Germany played a dangerous role in the War. The U.S. Navy linking with the Royal Navy played a significant role in overcoming the German U-boats in the North Atlantic. The Germany Navy while technically effective disastrously diminished the German war effort. Germany's building of a High Seas Fleet was one of the causes that public view on Britain turned against Germany and that Britain come unto the War. Yet, the small U-boat fleet, showed a key competition to the British. In the early war, U-boats drowned three British cruisers, shocking the people of both England and Germany. The U-boat campaign was a major reason that public opinion in America turned against Germany and that America entered the War. Despite the huge investment, the German Navy accomplished nothing in return to counter balance the cost for Germany.
The Symbolic Use of Nature in The Scarlet Letter In Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic The Scarlet Letter, nature plays a very important and symbolic role. Hawthorne uses nature to convey the mood of a scene, to describe characters, and to link the natural elements with human nature. Many of the passages that have to do with nature accomplish more than one of these ideas. All throughout the book, nature is incorporated into the story line.
In the essay The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus attempts to give answers to some tough questions. He wants to know if life is worth living or how we can make it worth living, as well as whether or not it is possible to live with certainty. To him, the absurd man realizes that life is absurd after his expectations are repeatedly contradicted and he realizes the world is an unreasonable place that cannot be explained. These unreasonable expectations of certainty ultimately cause many absurd men to think that life is not worth living when they are faced with what they feel is a hopeless situation. Camus offers an alternative to the problem the absurd man faces and it is not suicide or “Philosophical suicide”. Other philosophers commit philosophical suicide by suggesting that there is enough evidence, whatever it maybe, that one should survive on hope alone or make some leap. But Camus thinks that if a person is honest and truthful to themselves that they know they are nothing more than “a stranger” in this world. So how does one live a life worth living when faced with absurdity?
Despite Hester never fitting the description of what a Puritan actually stands for, she emerges and transforms into a respected young woman of society during her revolution. Even though Hester’s humanity degrades itself based on her imprudent actions that resisted Puritan society, the scarlet “A” transforms her rebellion. Hester creates her own symbol for herself rather than one that masks her all along. In writing the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne highlights the importance of being a nonconformist. Evidently, through the character of Hester Prynne, self-awareness is key in order to achieve happiness. To repress defining characteristics of a human being is to ultimately destroy their individuality.
The Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 between the Confederate States of American or the “South” and the Union or the “North”. It consisted of many battles including Shiloh, Antietam, Stones River, and the Battle of Gettysburg. It was an estimated 620,000 men that lost their lives during this gruesome war. Most consider the war to have been inevitable because neither the North nor South was willing to compromise in their beliefs or values in order to avoid it.
When Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest, they discuss their true feelings about their experiences since Hester was branded with the scarlet letter. Hawthorne describes how, “No golden light had ever been so precious as the gloom of this dark forest” (192). The rare presence of light in this otherwise dark situation symbolizes the relief both Hester and Dimmesdale feel after sharing the truth about Dimmesdale’s torturous guilt and Hester’s marriage to Chillingworth. In every scene previous to this one, the forest is associated with witchcraft, evil, darkness, and secrets. This prior association is contrasted by the shedding of sunshine on the sinful pair after releasing the last of their secrets. This scene is a turning point in the novel and shows how despite Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin and the consequences they’ve had to suffer for it, they are able to find some peace in the fact that they have confided in each other and fully admitted their
the reservists are the volunteers for the armed forces which are the Army, Royal Navy & Royal Air Force (RAF). The army's volunteers are the TA. The Royal navy's and the RAF's volunteers are their reservis...
The historical setting is highly significant in the novel since it is intertwined with the public’s belief and values, which shape overall themes of the novel and the main characters’ traits. The main setting of the novel takes place in New England during the middle of the seventeenth century, and the setting is the essential factor that develops the core conflicts among Hester, Dimmesdale, and the Puritan society; in fact, the historical setting itself and the society within it is what Hawthorne intends to reveal to the reader. New England in the seventeenth century was predominately organized around religious authorities, and indeed, a large portion of the population had migrated to the colony of New England with religious purposes. Therefore, the strict and religiously centered historical setting is well demonstrated through Hester’s townspeople when Hester commits adultery. The church authority and the townspeople require Hester to wear the large “A” embroidered scarlet letter, which symbolizes adultery. This act is aligned with the historica...
The forest represents a refuge from society for Hester Prynne and Minister Dimmesdale. At the same time, it symbolizes nature’s role as a shelter from society. This adds to the themes that society as a whole is morally deprived and nature is essentially good. It becomes a place where they are unshackled from Puritans’ strict law that is corrupted. Once under the forest’s shelter, they are then permitted to meet and speak heart fully to one another. Moreover, Prynne resides in the outskirts of Boston in the forest area. By doing so, Prynne is demitting everyday direct contact with the other town’s people. This adds to the two themes by making the readers view the forest as a mother trying to protect Hester and Dimmesdale from society’s wickedness.
...ancing efficiency and effectiveness in management. The outcomes I would include in this list include increased accountability, promotes clarification of roles across the organization, and enabling an organization to define itself. The personal goals I could set based on the outcomes in this program are improved efficiency and effectiveness in leadership and management. These goals will be achieved through commitment to management education and extensive research on the topic. The area I need to grow in is understanding how personality affect leadership style and how to develop the most appropriate leadership style based on personality and other important aspects in management. Growth in these areas will not only include extensive training and research but exercising leadership in various management scenarios that would provide the basis for evaluating progress.
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...