rebelliousness was understandable and justified by the author, in Pearl’s case, the thirst for sheer disobedience against the laws of society is her innate trait.She also embodies an acute thirst for justice which is not childishly developed. It is especially shown in the famous scene of the scaffold when reverend Dimmesdale refused to stand next to her and Hester in the market square. She burst with anger, feeling the priest’s manifestation false regarding his feelings and the hypocrisy characteristic to him (Thou wast not bold! - Thou wast not true!" Answered the child. "Thou wouldst not promise to take my hand, and mother's hand, to-morrow noontide). We note that for the nervous and weak Dimmesdale, Pearl is as the materialized conscience, …show more content…
The dark and mystical forest plays an important role in the poetics of the novel. After all, there is the meeting between Hester and Arthur Dimmesdale, which became a turning point in the development of action and characters. The forest ,which is almost always endowed with the epithet “dark”(dark, gloomy) it’s not schematic in comparison with other symbols of nature, which Hawthorne pounces only individual strokes and are referred to in the text no more than one or two times. It is a cluster of mysterious supernatural forces often encountered in the novel, moreover, the writer deliberately calls the whole chapter “A forest walk”.The forest creates an uncertain and mysterious impression when we read about Hester and Pearl walking in the forest. Here, nature is not only used by Hawthorne for artistic means, for the dark paths of the forest become a symbol of human spiritual quest. But not all the characters perceive the forest in the same way. The symbol of forest is emphasized two-foldly - he alludes to both the good and dark beginning. The symbol of forest is a kind of resting place that opposes the laws of society, so only there that Hester and Dimmesdale breathe a breath of fresh air. In the woods, you can escape from the anger and surrounding attacks. The multi-faceted character of the forest and its interpretation depends on the view of his own characters. This symbol does not
Throughout history individuals or groups of people have responded to power in a multitude of ways. Hoping for religious freedom, the Puritans left England for America starting in the 1620s. The Puritan community chose to withdraw in response to conflict with the higher power in England. Coincidentally, Hawthorne wrote about a Puritan Community in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during this period of migration, and in this community like all others there is always conflicts revolving around power. Hawthorne uses power imbalances in the Scarlet Letter to characterize and transform Hester, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth.
Of all the symbols in The Scarlet Letter, the forest is one of the most important. By providing an escape from the overbearing nature of puritan life, the forest allows characters to be presented in a different backdrop, it can serve as a place of both light and darkness, but above all, liberty. For every character that visits it, the forest is freedom, protection, and peace. Without it, there would be no contrast with the village as well as puritan society, and Hawthorne?s message would not be as convincing.
As the book progresses, the reader will observe the development of Pearl’s psyche while witnessing the deterioration
The naivete of a child is often the most easily subjected to influence, and Pearl of the Scarlet Letter is no exception. Throughout the writing by Nathaniel Hawthorne, she observes as Dimmesdale and the rest of the Puritan society interact with the scarlet letter that Hester, her mother, wears. Hawthorne tries to use Pearl’s youth to teach the reader that sometimes it’s the most harmless characters that are the most impactful overall. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Pearl has learned the greatest lesson from the scarlet letter through her innocence as a youth and her realization of the identity of both herself and her mother.
Pearls behavior could be described as abnormal, disrespectful, undignified, or altogether opposite of most Puritan customs. “The child could not be made amenable to rules” (p42); she will not conform to the Puritan view of what a child should be like. Pearl’s enduring disobedience is representative of Hester’s disobedient act. Pearl should be constant reminder of personal sin to everyone that meets her; however, as it would be, she only reminds others of Hester’s sin. Around strangers, and at certain times at home, this poor child becomes merely an “unpremeditated offshoot of a passionate moment." (p52)
Through observation of the dialogue and actions of others, she seemingly makes connections between these behaviors in order to draw conclusions about her relationship with other members of the community when these are not explicitly explained. After the custody battle in which Hester fights for the right to remain as the guardian of her child, "Pearl…stole softly towards [the reverend], and taking his hand in the grasp of both her own, laid her cheek against it" (78). This appears to be Pearl’s act of gratitude towards the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, yet it is interesting that this otherwise short-tempered and spunky child behaved in such a gentle manner towards the man. Perhaps she notes her mother’s frantic voice and posture as Hester pleads with the men who wish to take Pearl away, establishing that her relationship with such men is not a pleasant one. Pearl may also notice Dimmesdale’s request that the child remain with her mother, followed by the softening of Hester’s face as her crisis is brought to an end; it is evident that the relationship between this man and her mother is more sympathetic than the aforementioned one. Without hearing a single word uttered, Pearl realizes that Dimmesdale has, in a way, saved both
Pearl is a symbol for innocence, punishment, sin, beautiful, and a devil child. Pearl is the punishment that came out of Reverend Dimmesdale’s and Hester’s sin. She constantly changes back and forth between different symbols. Hawthorne expresses Pearl’s symbolism very well and in the end it really shows Pearl’s true identity. “Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. Now see! There it is, playing, a good way off. Stand you here, and let me run and catch it. I am but a child, It will not flee from me; for I wear nothing on my bosom yet”(Hawthorne 202)! Pearl is essentially a product of her mother, Pearl and Reverend Dimmesdale’s sin. Pearl is Hester’s sin and, Pearl is always by Hester either by her side, holding her hand, or hugging her. Pearl always ends up being a little pest but she is the only thing that Hester has going for her. “So Pearl -- the elf-child -- the demon offspring, as some people up to the epoch persisted in considering in her -- became the richest heiress of her day in the New World. Not improbable, this circumstance estimation; and had the mother and child remained here, little Pearl at a marriageable period of life might have mingled her wild blood with the lineage of the devoutest Puritan among them all. But, in no long time after the physician’s death, the wearer of the scarlet letter disappeared, and Pearl along with her”(Hawthorne 287). This quote states that still after everything has happened Pearl had hope and trust. She turned out to be one of the richest and successful people. She has changed so much throughout the novel and it’s amazing to see how Hawthorne used Pearl’s symbolism in The Scarlet
The forest is generally sought out as a place where no good happens in many stories such as Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe. It is no different in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. It is where many mysterious things reside in the wilderness. The town in the book can contrast the forest as a sanction where people are are immune from the darkness. They differ, but they also aid in conveying the bigger themes of the story. Some people might see the forest as a “happy place” for Hester and Pearl, but it should really be looked upon as a place of sin when comparing it to its foil, the town, which in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter contrasts to aid in the themes of the nature of evi, civilization versus wilderness, and identity
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
Nathaniel Hawthorne created themes in The Scarlet Letter just as significant as the obvious ideas pertaining to sin and Puritan society. Roger Chillingworth is a character through which one of these themes resonates, and a character that is often underplayed in analysis. His weakness and path of destruction of himself and others are summed up in one of Chillingworth's last sentences in the novel, to Arthur Dimmesdale: "Hadst thou sought the whole earth over... there were no place so secret, no high place nor lowly place, where thou couldst have escaped me, save on this very scaffold!" (171).
Pearl is reluctant to approach Dimmesdale, and she throws a fit when she sees her mother’s scarlet letter on the ground along with her hair down. Pearl has assumed the role of a living scarlet letter, so when she sees the letter on the ground she sees herself being disregarded by her own mother. Hawthorne’s purpose of this chapter is simple, he wants the reader to understand what is happening through Pearl’s perspective. For her or for any child, change is hard, and Hawthorne clearly demonstrates this idea throughout this
The act of civil disobedience existed for a long time, dating back to the Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and early Christians. The height of the civil rights movement was the 1950’s to 1960’s. During this time period, many activists fought for racial equality and rights. Civil disobedience was practiced by these people who fought for racial equality and rights. Martin Luther King Jr. and Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mocking Bird used civil disobedience as an act of fighting back against injustice in order for a better society. These two people, Martin Luther King Jr. and Atticus Finch, of the time of the 20th century practiced civil disobedience in the name of justice.
Pearl lived a different life than any of the other puritan children. She is a free spirited child. Hester lets her blossom intointo the brilliant child she blooms into through the story. Pearl is not afraid to speak her mind. “She could recognize her wild, desperate, defiant mood, the flightiness of her temper, and even some of the very cloud-shapes of gloom and despondency that had brooded in her heart” (Hawthorne 93). Hester saw the light in her child and embraced it. The other Puritan children are confused by Pearls behavior. They have never been around a child li...
...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.
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.