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Use of symbol in the thematic of the scarlet letter
The scarlet letter introduction summary
The scarlet letter introduction summary
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Hester has to wear a letter A on her chest for her punishment of adultery. In The Scarlet Letter, the meaning and significance of the letter A is altered as the novel goes on. Hester, the townspeople, and Pearl all have views of the letter that change. Through their views of the letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author, reveals what his view on the letter is. Hester’s view of
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is seen as a disgrace for the town. The “A” on Hester’s chest forces her to feel like she has no independence, since she is not seen like a typical person; she does not feel like she
In the beginning of the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne introduces the main character Hester Prynne, a young, beautiful member of a Puritan society being punished for her sin of love, not lust. The opening chapters introduce the reader to gossips who deem her original punishment, death, too harsh and contrary to Puritan beliefs that unborn babies should be given a chance at life. Instead, Hester and her child are to be alienated and shunned. In addition she is to wear the letter ‘A’ (which stands for ‘adultery’) on her chest which will forever display her as a symbol of shame for her sin. Though a very resilient figure who soon overcomes this pain, Hester’s isolation takes a negative toll on her life.
Everyone makes mistakes, but it is what people do with their lives after the mistake that define them. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne changes throughout the novel physically and mentally. The letter “A” on Hester’s chest helps Hester grow into a better person. The “A” gives Hester Prynne confidence; she does not let her mistake define her. The “A” gives her courage because she stays in Boston even though everyone hates her.
The letter is a symbol of her sin and marks her as an outcast in the Puritan community. Despite this, Hester is able to find a sense of freedom within herself. In the article, Social Freedom and Commitment, Welch says, “Thus I understand social freedom to be the freedom to choose and act with and through other members of the community and to partake in the construction of the values, norms, and institutions of that community that shape one’s own daily life” (Welch 119). Welch is talking about how the community can shape someone’s everyday life. In the novel, Hester does not want to hear what her community has to say, and wants to only listen to herself.
During the 1930s, the Great Depression severely affected the economy of the United States as well as the majority of its citizens. This catastrophe, along with the Dust Bowl, resulted in people having their land and homes stripped away from them, their families becoming deathly ill, and having a huge lack of basic necessities for survival. In John Steinbeck’s novel, The Grapes of Wrath, he strategically structured his chapters in order to correctly portray what was going on during this period in American history. Steinbeck argued that the Great Depression was a widespread struggle, and through the unification of people, it would help ease the adversities brought about by this period, and he advanced these arguments through the use of interchapters.
The letter gave Hester a new power to sympathize with and be charitable to others. Townspeople even began to interpret the letter very differently from its original meaning. They began to believe that the symbol no longer meant adultery, however, its new significance was to mean “Able” (111). Her selfless acts of kindness attracted the attention of the community as she did needlework for the poor in her spare time. The community did not know the true reason of why Hester did this, but the act caused her true character and natural instinct to be generous to be reflected.
In The Scarlet Letter (1850) by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he focuses the story on Hester Prynne, a woman who has committed adultery and conceived a girl, Pearl, as a consequence. As retribution, Hester is forced to carry a scarlet letter on her bosom. The letter “A” initially denotes her act of adultery, however, as the story progresses, the symbol’s meaning transforms, standing for “Able;” ironically, what was intended to bring shame on Hester brought her strength. Similarly, this letter “I” represents my flaws which are my indecisiveness, inhibitions, and idiosyncratic self, but more so insecurities than anything else. To extend, insecurities inhibits my self-expression and inclination to take charge of situations concerning myself.
Thus the letter serves as a gateway into other people's secret crimes, and it acts as a focal point for the shame of the entire community. The letter thus can be interpreted as a symbol of shame shared by everyone rather than by Hester alone. The treatment of Hester worsens after she is displayed on the scaffolding. Her friends abandon her, and she must live in an isolated cottage on the outskirts of town. Even though Hester spends time helping to make clothes for the poor, they treat her badly in spite of her good intentions.
One would think that being placed in front of a crowd of people would bring forth the feelings of guilt, shame, and embarrassment, but Hester is different. After she gets over the initial shock of the situation, she is able to own it. The letter separates her from
Even though the Puritans may have designated the letter as a representation of sin, Hester’s renewed sense of pride does not want society to define the A for her. Rather Hester wants to define it herself and by doing so she develops responsibility and power over her own actions. Because Hester has the power to change who she is, she also has the power to change what the Scarlet Letter represents. By letting the letter be “embroidered with gold thread” readers are able to see how for Hester sin is not something to be fearful of; furthermore, it allows one to see how Hester has developed into an independent individual who accepts who she is and the situation she is presented with. Hester’s lover unfortunately
Every single happening in the universe always will inevitable create a resulting effect. Characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter face the repercussions of their own activity continually throughout the novel. Many of those within the novel either dig themselves into a pit of unrelenting punishment or elevate themselves to new heights of contentment all from the original activity taken place.
Not only could Hester not work to her full ability, she also was shamed by the public. While she was to stand on the scaffolding, the townswomen would whisper about Hester. “There was, moreover, a boldness and rotundity of speech among these matrons, as most of them seemed to be” (Hawthorn pg. 35 ) Hester faced judgment from the townspeople no matter how hard she worked to achieve a better life. As time passed their shaming went down, but she was never able to have a normal place in their society, because everyone's first impression of her would the the red letter of her
Receiving the scarlet letter changed every aspect of Hester’s life. Especially at the start of the story, the letter symbolized the solitude and great suffering Hester faced just because of a letter placed on her bosom. The “A” also depicted how no one viewed Hester the same way as before her peccant actions. “…she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance” (Hawthorne 109). The pejorative community Hester lived in never saw Hester as the beautiful, young woman she was, but now, as a horrible fiend.
“Was that Scarlet Letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. ”(Hawthorne 51). Because Puritans were so against Hester’s sin, they made her wear an “A” on her chest that stands for adultery. The townspeople wanted everyone who sees her know what she did so that she would be humiliated by it for the rest of her life. Hester was basically rejected by the town, and was scorned by the people everyday.
