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Themes in the scarlet letter
Plot of emotions in the scarlet letter
Theme analysis of the scarlet letter
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Brianna Whaley
Honors Am Lit p.4
21 September 2015
Hester at Her Needle
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book, The Scarlet Letter, chapter 5 "Hester at Her Needle," Hawthorne uses torturous, diction and allusion to emphasize the torture that society creates. In this passage, Hawthorne really sympathizes Hester and shows that she’s independent and she can take care of her daughter, Pearl by herself, without the community and society taking her away from Hester.
Hawthorne's use of painful, hateful words suggest that the scarlet letter is being forced onto Hester. Hawthorne describes, "and grew pale whenever it struggled out of her heart, like a serpent from its hole". Hawthorne's use of the word "serpent" emphasizes the pain which is created
In The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne efficiently conveys his purpose to the audience through the use of numerous rhetorical devices in his novel. Two such rhetorical strategies Hawthorne establishes to convey his purpose of informing the audience of valuable life lessons in The Scarlet Letter are characterization and the theme of duality.
Pearl is an example of the innocent result of sin. All the kids make fun of Pearl and they disclude her from everything. She never did anything wrong, but everyone treats her like she committed the sin also. Pearl acts out against the children that make fun of her and acts like a crazy child. She cannot control the sins that her parents committed.
In the beginning of the book, Hawthorne paints the picture of a female named Hester who has sinned. Not only is she publicly ostracized for having an affair while unmarried, but her major repercussion, her daughter, receives her punishment as well because she derives directly from sin. It is through these tribulations that Hawthorne exemplifies Hester and Pearl, no matter how young, as strong, independent females. These characteristics were not easily applied to females during this time. Hawthorne’s ability to show Hester collected and under control to the crowd, although she may have felt otherwise inside, while she exits the prison and while she is on the scaffold, exhibits her as a strong woman. The fact that Hester exits the prison “by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free will”, and the fact that while on the scaffold, under pressure, Hester refuses to give the name of the father of her child, also proves her strength and compassion. She states, “Never!....It is too deeply branded. Ye cannot take it off. And would that I might endure his agony, as well
What exactly is this secondary community? Hawthorne creates this sort of secondary community that is always there and is able to express emotions that are the very opposite of what the Puritans show by using nature. “Nature personification, for Hawthorne, is an effective vehicle with which to bridge the gap between the community of humankind and the community of nature” (Daniel 3). Hester and Pearl are outcasts from the Puritan society due to Hester’s sin. She broke their rules of morality, and for this reason nature must be used as their peer. “Mother and daughter stood together in the same circle of seclusion from society” (Hawthorne 78) and so, it is nature who lends a hand and helps.
adultery but by the end of the novel the "A" has hidden much more meaning than
In the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, the letter is understood as a label of punishment and sin being publicized. Hester Prynne bears the label of “A” signifining adulterer upon her chest. Because of this scorching red color label she becomes the outcast of her society. She wears this symbol of punishment and it become a burden throughout her life. The letter “produces only a reflection of her scarlet letter; likewise, the townspeople's image of Hester revolves around her sin. The evil associated with Hester's actions and the letter on her chest consume all aspects of her life, concealing her true beauty, mind, and soul” (R. Warfel 421-425). Society pushed blame upon Hester Prynne, and these events lead to the change of her life. The Puritans whom Prynne is surround by view the letter as a symbol from the devil, controversially some individuals look upon the letter, sigh and fell sympathy towards her because they have or are involved in this same situation. Nonetheless the haunting torture Hester Prynne battles daily drags on, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows this torture “of an impulse and passionate nature. She had fortified herself to encounter the stings and venomous stabs of public contumely wreaking itself in every variety of insult but...
How do you tell the difference between reality or something virtually unreal? As kids we were taught the difference between a metaphor and a simile. In the 1990’s President Bill Clinton had an affair with his intern Monica Lewinsky. The public and social media used figurative language when describing Lewinsky: “I was branded as a tramp, tart, slut, whore, bimbo, and, of course, that woman” (Lewinsky 2015). Well, in, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne he tends to make something out of nothing. He’ll say something about the protagonist but mean something totally different. More specifically, he uses character descriptions to play with the relationship between figurative language and literal reality.
Hawthorne was a talented and skilled writer, who was greatly influenced by the the community in which he lived. Instead of giving in to society dashing his hopes of becoming a successful writer, he wrote about Hester to express himself and explain his conflicts with the crooked, oppressive society and beliefs of the time. He discusses the problems in a way that every reader can relate to and sympathize with the characters. He skillfully transforms a symbol of shame and sin into a symbol of maternity and nurturance. The Scarlet Letter is truly a symbol of believing in people's capabilities. It is a symbol of resistance to society if all it causes people to do is reject their identities and who they really are.
Among the multiplicity of arcane elements hidden beneath the words in Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter", none is so apparent, yet strikingly subtle to the reader's perception and consumption of characterization than the allegorical play on words within the names of the characters. Both the protagonist and her rival within the plot are blessed with conveniently appropriate, fitting names. The four pillars supporting this novel are all cloaked with foreshadowing names, which silently clue the reader into what traits and significance the character holds as the story unfolds. These pillars that solidify the novel are Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Pearl.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s well known novel, The Scarlet Letter, extensive diction and intense imagery are used to portray the overall tone of the characters. In particular, Hester Prynne, the wearer of the Scarlet Letter, receives plentiful positive characterization throughout the novel. Hester’s character most notably develops through the town’s peoples ever-changing views on the scarlet letter, the copious mentions of her bravery, and her ability to take care of herself, Pearl, and others, even when she reaches the point where most would give up and wallow in their suffering.
Hester's fantastically embellished red letter takes on many meanings as a symbol. The gold thread with which the letter is embroidered symbolizes Hester's mockery of the Puritan way of punishment. A female spectator in the market place remarks, "Why, gossips, what is it but to laugh in the faces of our godly magistrates, and make a pride out of what they ... meant for a punishment?" (Hawthorne 61). The embellishment of the letter physically displays Hester's reaction to her punishment. Her strong will not only accepts the challenge that the Puritan church has laid before her, but she also laughs in mockery at it. The scarlet letter also shows the triviality of the community's system of punishment. Whenever Hester walks outside of her cottag...
The Scarlet Letter is about the Hester Prynne, a woman who was married, but got pregnant while the husband was away. This causes the town to ostracize her, especially because she does not reveal the identity of the baby's father. Then, Hester's husband comes back to town and tries to weed out the priest who has been the father the whole time, and make him sick with guilt. This book has many Romantic concepts throughout. The importance of the individual and the significance of nature are both very Romantic ideas that are strewn all throughout The Scarlet Letter. Romanticism was a movement that originated in the late 18th century. It was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution and the Age of Reason. Romanticism is mainly about the primacy of the individual and the importance of nature . Much of the big plans in the plot are made in the forest. Hawthorne almost always spends a little bit more time talking about nature when it appears. “This rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness...” (42) Nathaniels spends about half of a page describing the past of the rose-bush. This shows how he cares about the importance of nature, which is one of the main concepts of Romanticism. The way The Scarlet Letter is written in first person-omniscient also shows how Hawthorne believes in the primacy of the individual. The focus on Hester explains the way this book has the Romantic concept of the primacy of the individual. Although the story is mainly focused on Hester, Arthur Dimmesdale, the adultering priest has many Romantic themes about him.
...eril of death and infamy, and the inscrutable machinations of an enemy; that, finally, to this poor pilgrim, on his dreary and desert path, faint, sick, miserable, there appeared a glimpse of human affection and sympathy, a new life, and a true one, in exchange for the heavy doom which he was now expiating.
The Scarlet letter was pushed upon Hester Prynne by a theocratic society, for a sin that she had committed with a man whose name she would not reveal. The theocratic society placed Hester inside a jail with iron clamped doors. The jail was rusted, had iron spikes, and was decaying. The only sign of life this jail had was a wild red rose bush growing outside the door. When the prison door opened, she stood fully reveled to the town people and pulled the child closely to her chest and began to walk out. The narrator gives in detail the vision the people of Boston saw as they looked at Hester, “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter “A.” It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore” (51). The scarlet letter made Hester one of her own kind and separated her from the entire town. She was looked at as a sinner, being judged every time she walked into town, and was an example of sin. The scarlet letter made her different and the narrator explains, “It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (52).
Through the majority of the novel, Hester faces the hardships resulting from the scarlet letter. The first challenge is stepping onto the scaffold with her child, Pearl. This humiliation is only the beginning of the torment to come. Hawthorne exaggerates the cynical crowd and how, “...that SCARLET LETTER...taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and inclosing her in a sphere by herself” (46). Hester’s ostracism can be correlated with the father and son from The Road. Both entities were isolated from the rest of society. “On this road there are no godspoke men. They are gone and I am left and they have taken with them the world” (51). Different circumstances will differentiate the two, but they faced similar situations; no one was there to assist them. In Hester’s case, the seclusion only begins with disapproving glances and constant gossip. She begins her journey with this scarlet letter symbolically referencing to adultery. Hester creates the best of the sign and the letter was, “...surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread...It was so artistically done…” (46). Hester counters the punishment and creates something beautiful. This idea is also relevant to the birth of Pearl. She was born due to a sin, but is recognized as a beautiful child. Still, Hester has many other obstacles, in the form of