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Critical appresiation of the novel the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne
Critical appresiation of the novel the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne
An analysis of puritanism in the scarlet letter
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Paragraph 1 (Intro): In the 1850 gothic romance, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays how the hypocrisy of the Puritan society runs rampant over the issue of adultery. Which then becomes a staple of a novel, that shows how the community reacts horribly by spitting and degrading Hester for committing a heinous crime; that was mainly influenced by the culture he had developed within such community. The Scarlet Letter was set upon Massachusetts Bay in the 1600s, that would revolve around his somber tone toward the endless bombardments Hester Prynne faces, as it impacts Dimmesdale and Chillingworth’s subconscious the most.Thus, would implement various stylistic elements such as, symbolism, motifs, and imagery, in order to get the reader more in depth with the various themes that contribute to the story’s …show more content…
Essentially, The Scarlet Letter portrays the overwhelming sin attached with the wearer as it encourages vast reactions toward the symbol.
Paragraph 2 (Author): In the novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne has grown up with the knowledge of what Puritans had practiced in the 1800s, and wants to enlighten others of the repulsive religious actions through the eyes of Hester Prynne. The novelguide states, “Hawthorne did not condone their acts and actually spent a great deal of his life renouncing the Puritans in general (VII). Similarly, The Scarlet Letter was a literal “Soapbox” for Hawthorne to convey to the world that the majority of Puritans were strict and unfeeling.”() Nathaniel Hawthorne states, “They were stern enough to look upon her (Hester’s) death, had that been the sentence, without a murmur at its severity...”(53) Which instills the idea of how Puritans back then would not bat an eye, and would only belittle Hester profusely for the sin she committed. Having her walk shamefully up the scaffold, as she is met with the undaunting eyes of the crowd that make the scarlet letter burn deep
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.
Beginning with the very first words of The Scarlet Letter the reader is thrust into a bleak and unforgiving setting. “A thong of bearded men, in sad-colored garments,” that are said to be “intermixed with women,” come off as overpowering and all-encompassing; Hawthorne quickly and clearly establishes who will be holding the power in this story: the males (Hawthorne 45). And he goes even further with his use of imagery, painting an even more vivid picture in the reader’s mind. One imagines a sea of drab grays and browns, further reinforcing the unwelcoming feeling this atmosphere seems to inheren...
I chose this word because the tone of the first chapter seems rather dark. We hear stories of the hopes with which the Puritans arrived in the new world; however, these hopes quickly turned dark because the Purtains found that the first buildings they needed to create were a prison, which alludes to the sins they committed; and a cemetery, which contradicts the new life they hoped to create for themselves.
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).
The characters Hawthorne develops are deep, unique, and difficult to genuinely understand. Young, tall, and beautiful Hester Prynne is the central protagonist of this story. Shamefully, strong-willed and independent Hester is the bearer of the scarlet letter. Burning with emotion, she longs for an escape from her mark, yet simultaneously, she refuses to seem defeated by society’s punishment. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale claims the secondary role in The Scarlet Letter; he is secretly Hester’s partner in adultery. Conflicted and grieved over his undisclosed act, he drives himself to physical and mental sickness. He fervently desires Hester, but should he risk his godly reputation by revealing the truth? Dimmesdale burns like Hester. Pearl, the child produced in Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin, is the third main character. She is fiery, passionate, perceiving, and strikingly symbolic; at one point in the novel she is referred to as “the scarlet letter endowed with life!” Inevitably, Pearl is consumed with questions about herself, her mother, and Dimmesdale. The reader follows Pearl as she discovers the truth. Altogether, Hawthorne’s use of intricately complex, conflicted ch...
The Scarlet Letter starts off by throwing Hester Prynne into drama after being convicted for adultery in a Puritan area. Traveling from Europe to America causes complications in her travel which also then separates her from her husband, Roger Chillingworth for about three years. Due to the separation, Hester has an affair with an unknown lover resulting in having a child. Ironically, her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, is a Reverend belonging to their church who also is part of the superiors punishing the adulterer. No matter how many punishments are administered to Hester, her reactions are not changed. Through various punishments, Hester Prynne embraces her sin by embroidering a scarlet letter “A” onto her breast. However, she is also traumatized deep within from everything she’s been through. Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts this story of sin by using rhetorical devices such as allusion, alliteration and symbolism.
It seems as if Hawthorne wrote this scene for the purposes of exhibiting the harshness of Puritan society, and to allow the reader some insight into Hester's thoughts. Hawthorne places the focus onto Hester at this moment. The reader observes her before the full effect of the scarlet letter has had a chance to take hold of her. The reader is also able to see the cruel and judgmental behavior of the crowd through their language, such as when they call her a hussy. "This women has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there not law for it?"
“The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a classic American piece of literature, filled with important symbolism and metaphors which can still be applied to today’s most important and pressing issues. With the emphasis on tiny details that Hawthorne likes to focus on, the book hides nothing of importance from the audience apart from very obvious plot points to be revealed explicitly later in the book. Not only this, but Hawthorne also uses very descriptive imagery to help to decipher exactly what he wants the reader to see and precisely how to feel about it. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne’s clever use of irony and extended metaphor becomes a very effective way to reveal the novel’s conclusion which strikes immediately as unexpected but still easily foreseeable in the greater context of the story.
Three gossips present at Hester’s public shaming moan at Hester’s “merciful” punishment, one even going as far as declaring “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die.” (Hawthorne 36). As time passes, however, and Hester dutifully lives out her penance, the people start to see the piety of her everyday actions. After seven years, they go from crying for her death to exclaiming “None so ready as she to give of her little substance to every demand of poverty…None so self-devoted as Hester, when pestilence stalked through the town.” (Hawthorne 110). They also declared her “a self-ordained Sister of Mercy…Such helpfulness was found in her,—so much power to do, and power to sympathize,—that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able.” (111). When the people of Hester’s town managed to stop gawking at Hester, they easily saw her true nature and changed their ideas 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.
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...
Hawthorne implies the Victorian society should be less chastising because the final judgement is ultimately up to God. Railton analyzes that Hawthorne’s “plan for The Scarlet Letter was to communicate as well as to explore the depths of our common nature, the truths of the human heart” (Railton 486). The superficial judgement hinders their ability to seek truths about their society. The Puritans, in the story, are consumed with Hester’s sin, that they are unable to reveal sympathy from their human
D.H. Lawrence’s essay On The Scarlet Letter has a purpose to analyze and criticize the main character of the novel - Hester Prynne. Lawrence does this most effectively by analyzing the sin of adultery, and then applying it to Hester’s case. Thus, the essay proves to be quite convincing and effective as a result of his use of specific techniques. Lawrence’s essay is powerful because it uses the techniques of a sarcastic tone, a set of historical allusions, and a critical form of syntax. Lawrence uses a sarcastic tone to show his critical mood towards Hester, and even towards the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne.
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.
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...