The Scaffold of Sin in The Scarlet Letter "This scaffold constituted a portion of a penal machine . . . . The very ideal of ignominy was embodied and made manifest in this contrivance of wood and iron" (Hawthorne 62-63). A scaffold's effect on the novel can be seen through an examination of the first, second, and third scaffold scenes. These sections mark the beginning, middle, and end of the novel. The novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is constructed around
Importance of the Scaffold in The Scarlet Letter Since the beginning of time humans have had to confront their sinfulness. Some rely on religious faith to help with the struggle against sin while others add to their sins by lying to hide other sins. In the end, man must stand alone – as a sinful creature before God. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale struggles with his sin until he discovers the scaffold as a place to find peace with himself. That scaffold holds more importance
The Scaffold and Forest in The Scarlet Letter 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
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, the author uses three scaffold scenes to mark the development of Hester Prynne. The image of Hester atop the scaffolding is a metaphor for her forced solitude; for her banishment from society; and for the futility of her punishment. In the first scene, Hawthorne uses the scaffold to explain how Hester can not believe that the “A'; and the baby are real. In the second scaffold scene, Hawthorne tries to convey to the reader that Hester has fully
came to a sort of scaffold (51),” Hawthorne tells in the opening seen of the novel, The Scarlet Letter. The scaffold is a place for punishment. “This scaffold constituted a portion of a penal machine, which now, for two or three generations past, has been merely historical and traditionary among us, but was held, in the old time, to be as effectual an agent in the promotion of good citizenship, as ever was the guillotine,” Hawthorne states in explaining the scaffolds use. The scaffold had wooden steps
The Signigicance of the Scaffold Scenes in the Scarlet Letter 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. In the first scaffold scene Hester Prynne is depicted standing alone while clutching her baby. She has
symbol is the scaffold. During this period in time, the scaffold was used for public humiliation. Those who had committed either a crime or a sin were forced to stand upon it in front of everybody in the town, as a form of confession or public recognition of one’s sin. In The Scarlet Letter, the scaffold not only represents the act of confessing but it also can be seen as a symbol of the stern, inflexible doctrine of the Puritan faith. The Scarlet Letter is centered on the three scaffold scenes, which
Justice at the Scaffold in The Scarlet Letter Richard Harter Fogle acknowledges the aspect of the superhuman as "the sphere of absolute insight, justice, and mercy: few of Hawthorne's tales and romances can be adequately considered without taking it into account" ("Realms of Being and Dramatic Irony" 309). This superhuman aspect surfaces through Divine Justice in The Scarlet Letter. On the other hand, the merely human application of justice emerges through the Puritan laws, or Earthly Justice
Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne chooses the scaffold scenes to show powerful differences and similarities. Each scaffold scene foreshadows the next and brings greater understanding of the novel. By beginning with the first, continuing with the middle, and ending with the last platform scene, we can gain a better understanding of this masterpiece. At the beginning of the book, Hester is brought out with Pearl to stand on the scaffold. Here the scarlet letter is revealed to all.
the most symbolic of these is the scaffold; many souls are condemned upon it and are subjected to intense inquiry, where reality becomes a brutal punishment. In contrast to the scaffold is the forest beyond the town, here, there is no judgment and reality is relative to the individual. Hawthorne creates this setting for the characters to escape from themselves and society without restraint or worry, the comparison is clear: the market place, especially the scaffold, represents the harsh reality of
structure for the novel, each scaffold scene conveys something different. One could say, arguably, that nearly everything in The Scarlet Letter is a symbol for something else. In the novel, there are four different versions of the letter “A”. The first is presented at the beginning of the book, where Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” upon her breast. The second occurrence is during the second scaffold scene, when the pastor Arthur Dimmesdale is on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl, and
was unable to reveal his dark secret. That leaves Hester. In the beginning she was not only forced to be true to herself and the whole town, but to emotionally and mentally evolve. She had found her identity in the novel the day she stood on that scaffold. If given a choice, Hester would have rather worn the mark of shame than not, because the letter had transformed her into who she is. The blood red letter may not be pretty, but it is immensely better than living a lie. By digging a little deeper
meteor meant some great act of God or the Devil was about to take place. All a meteor is, is a chunk of rock of that is being incinerated in our atmosphere. As a second example, when a person was up on the scaffold it meant that they deserved scorn and ridicule and no mercy. The scaffold meant you had shame and guilt and it was for all the others to see. In those times people were taken to mean things as well. Hester was good hearted and almost clean but was seen as a sinful evil person
The Scarlet Letter: Sin, Isolation, and Reunion Nathaniel Hawthorne uses setting, plot, and the characters to develop the theme of Sin, Isolation, and Reunion in his novel, The Scarlet Letter. In this novel Hawthorne uses the scaffold along with other places in the setting to develop this theme. He develops the plot by making one character torment or act as the conscience of another to develop the climax and the resolution. The characters help develop this theme by tormenting other characters
(51-52). Hester wrought the scarlet letter before she stood on the scaffold. When Pearl asks her why she wears the letter she replies that she wears it for its gold thread. Hester wears the letter for many years, even after the people in the community care anymore, so that she will be fully forgiven for her sin. In the beginning of the story, Hester is faced with serving the temporary part of her sentence, standing on the scaffold in front of the whole town. "It was a circumstance to be noted, on
or themes to the reader by using ordinary objects. Three of the elements he uses as symbols are the settings of the Puritan town and the forest and weather. The first of the two main settings is the Puritan town that includes the prison and the scaffold. The Puritan law is based on their religion. The town maintains a sense of strict moral values and disciplinary measures in accordance with the Puritan religion. Therefore, the town stands for lawfulness and purity. It serves as a contrast to Hester
characters to life by showing us human nature and by making them breathe and cry and have emotions that only real people can feel. Hester has real emotions as Hawthorne shows us when he tells what is going through her head when she is on the scaffold in the first scaffold scene; “…she saw her own face, glowing with girlish beauty…” He also shows us Dimmesdale and the guilt he endures “…the judgement of God is on me…it is too mighty for me to struggle with!” He shows us how Pearl’s darkness throughout the
for the crime committed. It is as clear as glass, that these decisions that come from evil beings will also be immoral, and evil. Decisions made by moral judges reflect how much evil they possess within them. Hester had to stand on the scaffold, which was a place for public shame, and had everybody judge her for her crime, committing adultery. This punishment was decided for her by a group men who had political power. These men also thought that they were punishing an evil person, Hester
ANALYSIS OF PLOT STRUCTURE The Scarlet Letter is a unified, masterfully written novel. It is structured around three crucial scaffold scenes and three major characters that are all related. The story is about Hester Prynne, who is given a scarlet letter to wear as a symbol of her adultery. Her life is closely tied to two men, Roger Chillingworth, her husband, and Arthur Dimmesdale, her minister and the father of her child. Her husband is an old, misshapen man who Hester married while still in Europe
Hawthorne, had many various turning points. The most interesting to me were the ³scaffold scenes.² Each had its own exciting moments. It kept the story moving. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the ³scenes² as major turning points. In chronological order, the first ³scaffold scene² was what started the novel. The book opened right where Hester and Pearl were on the scaffold. In this scene, Hester and her baby are standing on the scaffold in front of the entire village. Everyone one is staring and whispering. She