More handpicked essays just for you.
Analysis of The Scarlet Letter
How does hester change throughout the scarlet letter
What is the relationship between the scarlet letter and hester
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Analysis of The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the setting of the country plays a significant role in both the characterization of Hester, the protagonist, and in the development of the work as a whole. It was only when Hester was banished to the country in isolation that she was able to achieve enlightenment--and it was only when Hester reached enlightenment that the other characters were able to grow as well. The country setting also served to establish the values of the novel--the country is depicted as a place where such virtues as modesty, wisdom, and love are held in high regard. After Hester gives birth to her illegitimate child, Pearl, the townspeople decide to punish her by sending her away, to live in the country (far removed from town) with only her child for company. Their intention was that she would have time by herself to think on her guilt and repent her sin--but she did quite the opposite. She grew to be a strong, independent woman without any need of society’s blame or forgiveness. The country setting played a pivotal role in her growth as a character--living away ...
The two of them, after Dimmesdale dies, continue with their plans to go back to England where they hope for a better life. Once in England, the two are able to change their lives around for the better. Pearl is even found to have a family of her own: “Mr. Surveyor Pue, who made investigations a century later, … Pearl was not only alive, but married, and happy, and mindful of her mother; and that she would most joyfully have entertained that sad and lonely mother at her fireside” ( Hawthorne 392). Pearl was able to overcome her old life and create a new one, a better one, one that was just for her. Even though her mother was no longer around she tried her best to kept in touch with her. She also kept her and her mother’s experience in mind never to let herself go back to that life. After spending many years in England, Hester finally returns to New England. When she returns she is full of sorrow and regret; however, she continues to wear her A on upon her chest as a reminder of her pain. With returning to the land of sin, people came to Hester, mostly women, with problems of their own. They hope by talking to someone who has been through so much will help them, or give them insight on what life is like to be on the outside: “And, as Hester Prynne had no selfish ends, nor lived in any measure for her own profit and enjoyment, people brought all their sorrows and perplexities, and besought her counsel, as one who had herself gone through a mighty trouble. Women, more especially,—in the continually recurring trials of wounded, wasted, wronged, misplaced, or erring and sinful passion,—or with the dreary burden of a heart unyielded, because unvalued and unsought,—came to Hester’s cottage, demanding why they were so wretched, and what the remedy! Hester comforted and counseled them, as best she might” (Hawthorne 392-393). Even though Hester was miserable and thought that no
Pearl is a symbol of Hester’s transgressions and even has similar qualities as the sin which she represents. Pearl’s life and behavior directly reflects the unacceptable and abnormal nature of Hester’s adulterous sin. Hester is plagued with more than just a letter “A”; she is given a child from her affair who is just as much a reminder of her sin as the scarlet letter. Ultimately Hester overcomes the shame associated the scarlet letter and creates a sense of family for herself and Pearl. This relationship is integral to the theme of this novel and the development of its characters.
Hester is facing it all, from public scorn to loneliness. Hester becomes an outcast from everyone in a New England colony with her daughter, Pearl. Author, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes of the eventful life of an adulteress in an eighteenth century colony in this fictional classic. Hester Prynne is a young married woman who moved from England to a colony in Massachusetts. While waiting for her husband to arrive, Hester has an affair with a man named Dimmesdale and is put into prison. Hester, even though she is caught in her sin, shows great strength of character; Hester chooses to protect those that she cares about even though it causes her personal suffering. As a result of her strength, Hester causes great change in others around her.
From the very beginning of The Scarlet Letter, while Hester is shamed by having a baby as tangible evidence of her sin and shame, the responsibility of caring for Pearl and raising her with love and wisdom serves to calm the defiant, destructive passion of Hester's nature and to save her from its wild, desperate promptings. This sentiment is poignantly portrayed in Hester's visit to the Governor's mansion. While there, she pleads with the Governor, magistrates, and ministers that she be allowed to keep Pearl, exclaiming, 'She is my happiness!--She is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only...
In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne portrays a society filled with betrayel, secrecie, and sinners. The people of society do not show their true colors and hide their true intentions. Dimmsdale, Chillingsworth and Hester all have fallen to sin, however they all believe they are not the worse sinner and try to seek justice for themselves.
Normally when most people think of vampires, they envision a deathly, pale creature with fangs. But Thomas Foster seems to think differently, who argues that it is not necessary for a vampire to embody a stereotypical vampire. Surprisingly enough, even humans can be these types of monsters. From Foster 's perspective, being a vampire not only includes an individual 's aesthetics, but also their actions, personality, intent, and overall representation of personal identity. The classic novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, presents an excellent example of this occurrence, where the character Roger Chillingworth meets the criteria of a vampiric figure, based on Thomas Foster 's ideas of vampirism, found in his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
... pillar of morality and righteousness within her community, in strength and becomes a source of support to him in his weakest moments. Lastly, Hester’s transformation from sinner to a symbol of strength is realized after her return to Boston “Women, more especially, in the continually recurring trials of the wounded, wasted, wronged, misplaced, or erring of sinful passion… came to Hester’s cottage, demanding why they were so wretched, and what the remedy!” (234) At last near the end of her life Hester Prynne, while never fully able to wash herself clean of her sin, has regained a place in her community as a counselor to other women due to of her ability to empathize with their situation and serve as an example of unwavering strength in the face of suffering and hardship.
Is it acceptable to neglect one’s crimes and move on, or is it better to openly confess yourself in front of your peers? In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the main character, Arthur Dimmesdale, experiences both ends of the question. From initially disregarding the need to repent for his sin, his figure and character drastically change. By repenting in the wrong ways, Dimmesdale’s character continues to worsen until he finally publicly atones for his mistakes. Hawthorne’s views on the theme of repentance are embodied within the tragic and symbolic character of Dimmesdale, which he uses to demonstrate how repenting leads to a strong-willed and free being.
Thomas Hobbs and John Locke have two very opposing viewpoints on human nature. Locke believes that human nature is innately good; Hobbs thinks that human nature knows right from wrong, but is naturally evil and that no man is entirely “good”. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of the classic novel The Scarlet Letter, believes that every man is innately good and Hawthorne shows that everyone has a natural good side by Hester’s complex character, Chillingworth’s actions and Dimmesdale’s selfless personality.
“A bloody scourge…rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him, as an act of penance.” (Hawthorne, 141) In the Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Minister Dimmesdale starved himself, whipped himself, and tortured himself to get rid of the guilt caused by his sin with Hester Prynne. Hawthorne describes the minister’s guilt as the evil that anchored him down and shows how Dimmesdale tortures himself but can never get rid of it. His guilt came from many things. First was his guilt for committing the crime with Hester Prynne. Second is his guilt for not being with her at the time that she was put upon the scaffold. Last was his guilt from not revealing himself to his own daughter and from having to stay out of her life due to fear of being shamed by the community. Hawthorne’s views on guilt and Dimmesdale are mostly that his guilt controlled his life completely until the very end when the power of the sin and guilt took over to the point where he couldn’t control himself.
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, contains many profound characters. The townspeople intrigue the reader because they gradually evolve throughout the book, as would any solitary character. In the beginning of the novel, they are generally rigid and judgmental towards Hester, because she has committed adultery. Throughout the novel, they slowly allow Hester and her daughter into their community, but still look at them with suspicion and doubt. Finally, in the end of The Scarlet Letter, the town forgives her of her sin, and she cautiously finds her place in society. Hawthorne uses the strict Puritan townspeople as a criterion by which all societies can be measured. The townspeople, as with any individual character, possess a certain depth that develops with knowledge.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the story is set in New England during the colonial times, mainly the middle of the seventeenth century. As the plot of the novel progresses, the importance of setting is further aggrandized when the main character, Hester Prynne, is isolated in a strict Puritan society. To further elucidate Hester’s situation, Hawthorne utilizes two types of settings, physical and historical setting. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the settings to expose the rigidness of the Puritan society of the time period and how its obstinate and judgmental nature impacted people within the society.
As a living reminder of Hester’s extreme sin, Pearl is her constant companion. From the beginning Pearl has always been considered as an evil child. For Hester to take care of such a demanding child, put lots of stress onto her life. Hester at times was in a state of uncontrollable pressure. “Gazing at Pearl, Hester Prynne often dropped her work upon her knees, and cried out with an agony which she would fain have hidden, but which made utterance for itself, betwixt speech and a groan, ‘O Father in heaven- if Thou art still my Father- what is this being which I have brought into the world!’” (Hawthorne, 77).
By being with Hester, Pearl got to experience a different manner in life which enabled her to see an outside perspective of Puritan life and learn moral lessons from it. Pearl was not born into the typica...
The Scarlet Letter is a blend of realism, symbolism, and allegory. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses historical settings for this fictional novel and even gives historical background information for the inspiration of the story of Hester Prynne in the introduction of The Scarlet Letter, ‘The Custom-House’. The psychological exploration of the characters and the author’s use of realistic dialogue only add to the realism of the novel. The most obvious symbol of the novel is the actual scarlet letter ‘A’ that Hester wears on her chest every day, but Hawthorne also uses Hester’s daughter Pearl and their surroundings as symbols as well. Allegory is present as well in The Scarlet Letter and is created through the character types of several characters in the novel.