Suffering is the bane of humanity, as it wrecks physical and emotional harmony. Contrary to the assertion that suffering is meaningless, it is capable of strengthening the human resolve. The characters of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, must grapple with emotional pain that threatens to destroy them wholeheartedly. But Hawthorne conveys the idea that suffering is the key to making one stronger, and he develops his characters through the agony they experience.
Hawthorne uses Hester Prynne's Scarlet Letter to convey the symbolism of stigma and oppression, but also to act as a catalyst that will eventually cause her to triumph over its negative effects on her soul. Originally, the Scarlet Letter has "such potent and disastrous efficacy", that "no human sympathy" (91) can reach Hester. Hawthorne capitalizes on the Puritans fear of sin, and so the Scarlet Letter acts as a tangible caveat that drives them away. Hester must bear the terrible burden of being ostracized from her community due to her crimes against the Almighty, as well as Puritan morals. But as "the tendency of her fame and fortunes [...] set her free", Hester's Scarlet Letter becomes a "passport into regions where other women dar[e] not tread" (190). By committing adultery, Hester has discarded her Puritan ethics, but at the same time gains a new sense of freedom that will eventually triumph over the stigma of the insidious 'A'. Hawthorne transforms the Scarlet Letter from a curse to a blessing, just as Hester turns it from a blot of shame into a badge of honor. Hester transcends her initial suffering, and channels her energy into helping others, impressing the Puritans with her compassion. The townsfolk comment that the Scarlet Letter A actually stands for ...
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...ercome any problem with modern technology. People must come to understand that suffering is natural, that no one is immune from its terrible effects on the human heart. But if humanity were to adhere to the examples of Hester and Dimmesdale, they can overcome their initial fear of pain, and rise above it. Depending on their choice between the joy of life as seen in Pearl or the sadistic greed of Chillingworth, Man can become prosperous or bring ruin upon himself. If humanity were to see the hopeful message of The Scarlet Letter, they could see that suffering is a virtue in disguise, one that allows Man to see his faults and weaknesses laid out before him, and perhaps correct them. The novel explains that suffering is meant to test the human resolve, in order to make them grow. For it is a terrible thing to suffer; yet it is a beautiful thing to suffer and be strong.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a truly outstanding author. His detailed descriptions and imagery will surely keep people interested in reading The Scarlet Letter for years to come. In writing this book he used themes evident throughout the entirety of the novel. These themes are illustrated in what happens to the characters and how they react. By examining how these themes affect the main characters, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, one can obtain a better understanding of what Hawthorne was trying to impress upon his readers.
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.
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.
Despite its prevalence, suffering is always seen an intrusion, a personal attack on its victims. However, without its presence, there would never be anyway to differentiate between happiness and sadness, nor good and evil. It is encoded into the daily lives people lead, and cannot be avoided, much like the prophecies described in Antigone. Upon finding out that he’d murdered his father and married his mother,
In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne displays a society filled with sinners who believe the are not the worst and that they deserve justice. Some of the them trampel over each other in seeking justice how Chillingsworth tries to destroy Dimmsdale in a way of seeking justice for himself. Hester tries to escape a whole continet to give herself and her a family a better life in a form of seeking justice. While Dimmsdale confesses his sin a form of getting justice for himself by dying without any regrets. All of these characters were sinners who believed they werent the worse sinner whic is why they deserved justice.
The scarlet letter “A” was worn by Hester Prynne daily to show her sin of adultery. While the primary meaning of the “A” was adulterer it later signified able, “People refused to interpret the scarlet “A” by its original signification. They said that it meant “Able,” so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne 152). Hester has overcome her sin and did not let it define her as a woman. Hester being ostracized and tormented for doing what every woman does shaped her into a strong, able woman. The townspeople, at least in private life, do not look at her as the woman she was, but the woman she has
'Among many morals which press upon us from the poor minister's miserable experience, we put only this into a sentence: Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!';(Ch.24: 236) Hawthorne expresses the purpose of writing this novel in that short sentence. He creates characters who have sin and disguise these sins for their own salvation. Slowly these sins evolve the characters, it strengthens Hester, humanizes Dimmesdale, and turns Chillingworth into a demon. The story is Hawthorne's depiction of the effects of sin on the hearts and minds of humanity during the Puritan society through the characters Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth.
In the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, the letter is understood as a label of punishment and sin being publicized. Hester Prynne bears the label of “A” signifining adulterer upon her chest. Because of this scorching red color label she becomes the outcast of her society. She wears this symbol of punishment and it become a burden throughout her life. The letter “produces only a reflection of her scarlet letter; likewise, the townspeople's image of Hester revolves around her sin. The evil associated with Hester's actions and the letter on her chest consume all aspects of her life, concealing her true beauty, mind, and soul” (R. Warfel 421-425). Society pushed blame upon Hester Prynne, and these events lead to the change of her life. The Puritans whom Prynne is surround by view the letter as a symbol from the devil, controversially some individuals look upon the letter, sigh and fell sympathy towards her because they have or are involved in this same situation. Nonetheless the haunting torture Hester Prynne battles daily drags on, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows this torture “of an impulse and passionate nature. She had fortified herself to encounter the stings and venomous stabs of public contumely wreaking itself in every variety of insult but...
...to portray through Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, that without responsibility for wrongful deeds our world will eventually be destroyed just like these two individuals. However, Hawthorne, through the portrayal of Hester, shows that he has not given up on humanity. If our world is going to survive for future generations it has to model itself after Hester’s behavior. Yes, sin is inevitable but we must learn to respond to it with responsibility, forgiveness, and redemption rather than with guilt, revenge, and uncertainty. More importantly we must learn to remain honest and truthful in whatever action we carry out because in the end only God will have the power to grant us the ultimate forgiveness by saving us or damning us to Hell.
Hawthorne was a talented and skilled writer, who was greatly influenced by the the community in which he lived. Instead of giving in to society dashing his hopes of becoming a successful writer, he wrote about Hester to express himself and explain his conflicts with the crooked, oppressive society and beliefs of the time. He discusses the problems in a way that every reader can relate to and sympathize with the characters. He skillfully transforms a symbol of shame and sin into a symbol of maternity and nurturance. The Scarlet Letter is truly a symbol of believing in people's capabilities. It is a symbol of resistance to society if all it causes people to do is reject their identities and who they really are.
Hawthorne's statement through Chillingworth offers insight into Dimmesdale and Chillingworth along with a representation of Hawthorne's disapproval of the Puritan values. This disapproval is the driving force of the novel, and it underlies the relationship between Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, and the prevailing greater justice of God. The contrast of the Puritans' justice and God's makes the message of the story greater than a love story or a story of a sin. With this theme, The Scarlet Letter becomes a comparison of the flawed justice of humans and the divine justice of God.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s well known novel, The Scarlet Letter, extensive diction and intense imagery are used to portray the overall tone of the characters. In particular, Hester Prynne, the wearer of the Scarlet Letter, receives plentiful positive characterization throughout the novel. Hester’s character most notably develops through the town’s peoples ever-changing views on the scarlet letter, the copious mentions of her bravery, and her ability to take care of herself, Pearl, and others, even when she reaches the point where most would give up and wallow in their suffering.
Suffering is apart of life, just like joy and love is. We can never choose how life treats us but we can always choose how we react and get back up again. Through Fever 1793 we see up close and personal how suffering can affect us, and how sometimes it can affect us in positive ways. How suffering can help turn the page to the next chapter in our lives. How suffering doesn’t always mean losing but also gaining.
As Hester wears the scarlet letter, the reader can feel how much of an outcast Hester becomes. When walking through town, “…she never raised her head to receive their greeting. If they were resolute to accost her, she laid her finger on the scarlet letter and passed on” (Hawthorne, 127).She believes that she is not worthy of the towns acknowledgments and chooses to ignore them. The guilt that now rests in Hester is overwhelming to her and is a reason of her change in personality.
First, Hester is one guideline that with reveal sin and also leads to many different sins. She suffered from the strange insight and had been isolated from Puritan society, however, she only suffered from outside not from inside. Different from Hester, Arthur Dimmesdale is totally opposite. He is a noble man in front of people, but behind his majestic mask, he is an ugly sinner and always without forgiveness. He suffered not from outside. He was afraid his mask would be disclosed and expose his true colors, therefore, he refused to confess his sin which leads to his wife’s suffering, his daughter’s acceptance, and his own tribulation. Hawthorne used his detailed language with romantic writing style to describe the struggle of two lovers. The red color letter “a”, as the second main guideline, is the most typical symbol. The letter, with an unlimited imaginary association, made people wandering in Hawthorne’s fiction world. Red is the color of blood and fire, also a symbol of life, strength, and passion. Fire is the source of light and heat of human life, and the fire of love is the source of human life. Hawthorne combines symbolism with romanticism and endows this letter a new life. Hawthorne also focuses on the consequence of selfishness, guilt, and sin in this book. He uses his meticulous technique to describe a