During the colonial period in what is now the East Coast, Puritans lived strict lives. Like other cultures, the Puritans had scaffolds in the center of their small town for special events, mainly for public punishment. In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, there is an importance to the scaffold, both in terms of who is on it and when the scene occurs. In total, there are three main scaffold scenes, two by day and one by night. The painting held portray the differences in the three scenes and how the symbolism of the scarlet letter has developed throughout the plot. One thing that is noticeable of all three scenes, is that they are mainly seem from the perspective of the puritans. Therefore, since the scenes are in terms of the puritans’ perspectives, …show more content…
Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl are all in black and white sketches, rather than coloured drawings. The reasoning behind this is to make sure that they stand out compared to the colourful background and to show how the townspeople viewed people as either good or evil, black or white. This is something that is constantly challenged, mainly through Hester’s speculation of the role of women and about how distinct the difference between the treatment of men and women in colonial puritan society. Another instance is when the townspeople begin to see Hester as someone good, helpful, able, rather than a sinner. This is also seen with Mr. Dimmesdale and how the people constantly see him as someone who is always good for following the word of God. However, the reader knows the internal conflict that he is constantly fighting against, with his want to reveal the truth behind his pain and mental torment. Along with the black and white sketches, the only colour in Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl is the red of the “A” to represent the townspeople’s constant reminder of their sin, and the truth that they hide from the public. It is important to remember that the painting is in the perspective of the Puritans, rather than the main characters. The views that they have over what is right and wrong are constantly challenged throughout the novel, and how the scarlet letter affects the way the plot develops, such as how Hester
The three scaffold scenes bring great significance to the plot of the Scarlet Letter. The novel is based on repenting the sins of adultery. The scaffold represents a place of shame and pity but also of final triumphs. Each scene illustrates the importance of the scaffold behind them with many potent similarities and differences.
A few years later the event is again repeated. It is very similar to the
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter," there are three very important scenes that all take place at the town scaffold, a place of great shame in their strict Puritan society. These scenes represent the progression of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale over the course of the story. Each scene involves him in some way and one can easily see that he has changed dramatically in all three.
Then, when the readers are convinced that the England the Puritans left behind was utopian during that era, Hawthorne goes on to describes the Puritan marketplace as “colorless”, “diluted”, and overall boring in comparison to England. This provides a strong contrast, which is necessary to convey Hawthorne’s ultimate message. Also, while describing the beauty of Old England’s celebration, Hawthorne says, “Nor would it have been impractical, in the observance of majestic ceremonies, to combine mirthful recreation with solemnity, and give, as it were, a grotesque and brilliant embroidery to the great robe of state” (lines 10-11). In this way, he combines words, such as “brilliant”, “mirthful”, and “majestic”, with words such as “solemnity”, and “grotesque”, to provide a blatant contrast, enforcing the obvious differences between the two cultures. Through his use of juxtaposition, Hawthorne creates an environment where readers are able to see a more enhanced view of both established cultures, and at
The central theme in The Scarlet Letter is that manifested sin will ostracize one from society and un-confessed sin will lead to the destruction of the inner spirit. Hawthorne uses the symbol of the scarlet letter to bring out this idea. In the novel, Hester is forced to wear the scarlet letter A (the symbol of her sin) because she committed adultery with the clergyman, Dimmesdale. Because the public's knowledge of her sin, Hester is excluded physically, mentally, and socially from the normal society of the Puritan settlement. She lives on the outskirts of town in a small cottage where she makes her living as a seamstress. Though she is known to be a great sewer amongst the people, Hester is still not able to sew certain items, such as a new bride's veil. Hester also has no interaction with others; instead she is taunted, if not completely ignored, by all that pass her by. Despite the ill treatment of the society, Hester's soul is not corrupted. Instead, she flourishes and improves herself in spite of the burden of wearing the scarlet letter and she repeatedly defies the conventional Puritan thoughts and values by showing what appears to us as strength of character. Her good works, such as helping the less fortunate, strengthen her inner spirit, and eventually partially welcome her back to the society that once shunned her.
In the beginning, the scarlet letter represents the sinful nature of Hester’s crime, as revealed through the thoughts and feelings of Hester and the townspeople towards the letter. When first wearing the letter in public, Hester portrays herself as indifferent towards the town’s harsh language and detest for her, despite still feeling the intensity of her punishment internally. Hester portrays herself as indifferent towards the town’s harsh language and detest for her, and strong in the difficult conditions. By “wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she…with a burning blush, and…haughty smile…looked around at her townspeople and neighbours” (Hawthorne, 80).
That scaffold holds more importance than just somewhere to condemn prisoners. It is the one place where Dimmesdale felt liberated to say anything he wishes. In Puritan culture, the scaffold is used to humiliate and chastise prisoners, be it witches at the stake, thieves in the stocks, or a murderer hanging from the gallows. In The Scarlet Letter, the scaffold was viewed more as a place of judgment. “Meagre ... was the sympathy that a transgressor might look for, from such bystanders, at the scaffold.” (p. 63) Indeed, it was used for castigation, but it was also a place of trial: Hester’s trial was held at the scaffold. Standing upon the platform opens oneself to God and to the world. “They stood in the noon of that strange and solemn splendor, as if it were the light that is to reveal all secrets, and the daybreak that shall unite all who belong to one another.” (p. 186) Being on the scaffold puts oneself in a feeling of spiritual nakedness- where you feel exposed to God, but cleansed. It was the one place where Dimmesdale could find complete reconciliation.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's work, The Scarlet Letter, focuses on the small Puritan community of Boston during the seventeenth century. In the center of the town is a " . . .weather darkened scaffold. . . (234)" where sinners are made to face the condemning public. The accused experience strange phenomena while on the scaffold - some become braver, some meeker. And whether the public is looking at them or not, they become their true selves on the scaffold. In essence, everything that is real and true occurs on the scaffold, and everything that is illusion or hypocrisy occurs everywhere else.
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Puritan society greatly affects the characters boundaries, limitations, and expectations because of their emphasis on God and the community. When John Winthrop said that the Puritans should be a “city upon a hill” (Winthrop), he set the societal precedent that any act within the community reflected the Puritans as a whole for the surrounding people and God to see (Winthrop). Likewise, any act out of line was a stain on the entire community in the eyes of others and God. Puritans laws aimed to control relationships, families, clothing, and other aspects of life. For example, if children did not conform to Puritan ideas and customs, the parents were seen as unfit, and the child was taken away (“The Puritan Family”). To emphasize that people should not be tied to earth by worldly belongings, Puritans wore modest, simple clothes in “sadd”, or somber, colors (“The Puritan Family”). Puritan people were expected to conform to ...
Readers generally characterize the Puritan Townspeople in The Scarlet Letter by their attitudes in the beginning of the novel. When Hester first walks into the scene, most of the townspeople are very harsh and strict in their religions. They believe that adultery is one of the worst sins possible. One unyielding woman says, “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there not law for it? Truly, there is, both in the Scripture and in the statutebook. Then let the magistrates, who have made it of no effect, thank themselves if their own wives and daughters go astray.'; Although a young woman and a righteous man try to intervene with the angry old women, their voices are never heard. Also, Hawthorne associates ugliness with wickedness; therefore, all of the stingy women are described as being very ugly. They regard her not as a fellow sinner but as a woman so evil that she must be ostracized from her “perfect'; community. They view the scarlet letter that she wears upon her breast as a symbol of her atrocious crime of adultery and nothing more. The women in the beginning of the novel are so quick to pass judgment on others, yet they fail to recognize the sin in themselves. Once they realize this obstacle, the townspeople will become more understanding of Hester’s situation.
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...
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, people who commit a crime must face public humiliation by being forced to stand upon a scaffold. One of these people was Hester Prynne who commits adultery and was forced upon the scaffold. Throughout the book, there are three scenes where after standing on the scaffold, the person would feel relieved. The scaffold is a representation of freedom because when someone is standing on it they will be free of their sin.
There are three scenes in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne that showcase the development of the characters and the novel and all occur in the center of the town square on the scaffold. The scaffold unites Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth to provide structure and framework for the novel. The motivation and characters are established in the first scaffold scene, the second scaffold scene establishes the character development, and the third scaffold scene provides resolution.
The period in which the story is based is a decisive period in the history of America due to the fact that it was the period when puritanism was settled.
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...