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 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.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a novel that focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hawthorne revolves the theme around the four main characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth., and Pearl. Hester Prynne is forced to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ after committing adultery against her husband Roger Chillingworth, with the minister Arthur Dimmesdale. As a result an odd child is born.
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 it meant Able. So strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength. On page 185” This changes Hester’s sin because she learned to not sin anymore and the people started to accept her for who she was when they all said the Letter means able instead of adultery. She doesn’t let others’ words define her or let her mistakes define who she truly is because only she knows who she truly is.
Andrew Son Mrs. Slater English 1 April 3, 2023 Odysseus Cannot Be A Hero Poseidon keeping Odysseus away from his family would have saved all of Ithaca. Odysseus’s poor behavioral attitude of Hubris that both violates Greek values and modern standards shows how he should not be considered a hero. According to the Long Island Psychology Center, Atara Wertentheil explains that “arrogant thinkers are likely to have less adequate performance at work, in daily tasks, or in their personal endeavors” (Wertentheil). A hero’s strife to protect their fellow men has not been shown in most of the epic poem yet shows off violence to the people he loves most. In Gareth Hind’s adaptation of Homer’s
The Scarlet Letter is an excellent example of how the power of a symbol can be enough for a person to change for better or for worse. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the main characters, Hester, is punished by wearing a scarlet letter “A” as a symbol for the sin of adultery she committed. This novel documents how a small, red symbol can affect someone and how that person changes as a result of it. Throughout the book, Hester visibly changes as a result of the scarlet letter not only mentally, but also physically. In The Scarlet Letter, the scarlet letter changes Hester not only internally changes Hester’s thoughts and actions, but also physically changes Hester’s appearance into a dark, gloomy character.
The book The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne has symbolism all throughout it. People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts. Throughout the book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to signify philosophies that are evident during this time period. Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against their ways, committing adultery. For this sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life.
Within the novel “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the townspeople’s opinion on the meaning of Hester’s scarlet letter changes. Once meaning adulterer it is now the symbol for able due to Hester’s charitable works. The shift in the meaning of her letter signifies that the town is willing to forgive her. The town’s forgiveness is in part due to human nature which, “loves more readily than it hates. Hatred, by a gradual and quiet process, will even be transformed by love” (Hawthorne 110).
In society, people are criticized and punished for their individual choices and flaws, according to Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter. The protagonist, Hester prynne, is a strong-hearted woman who faces hardship, but uses her inner strength to face the adversity and reveal her true self. Within the society that Hester lives in, Adultery is one of the worst sins that could possibly be committe, thus needing great punishment. Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” upon her bosom as a life long punishment for committing Adultery. Arising from this punishment, Hester is forced to find her way to prosper her uniqueness and individuality, even amongst the rigid society.
Nathaniel Hawthorne writes The Scarlet Letter and demonstrates the controversial topic through the scarlet letter “A”, which is owned by Hester Prynne. The scarlet letter represents sin, adultery, righteousness, and able throughout the story. Besides the major theme, there is the significance of Mother Nature expresses the essential relationships between main characters, the contrast to the Puritan society, and changes in several different situations. It makes the society lightened and brought honesty back. Hester has imprisoned, and there is the rosebush on the outside of prison-door.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” he applies symbolism to develop the theme of identity and society. Starting as a symbol of shame, the scarlet letter becomes a symbol of powerful identity to Hester, and the letter goes from meaning “adulterer” to meaning “able.” When the people of Hester’s community first find out what she did they were upset and “with which society frowned heavily upon her sin”(77). The severeness of Hester’s crime causes her to be heavily judged by society, and not in a good way. Even though Hester commits a crime so horrible when around people she “contrives so perfectly” to show off and “ represent the scarlet letter”(93).
Anti transcendentalist and author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, introduces his way of writing and beliefs through The Scarlet Letter. The novel takes place during Puritan time, in the 1600s and tells the story of Hester Prynne and her scarlet letter. Hawthorne uses numerous people and objects to symbolize the represented idea or quality within each character or item. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of the wild rose bush, Hester’s cabin and Pearl to contribute to the theme of Good vs. Evil.
At the beginning of the story, the scarlet “A” is considered as a badge of shame. Hester doesn´t show the scarlet letter as a symbol of shame when she wears it, because she wears a beautiful scarlet “A” embroidered with gold, that she made herself thanks to her ability in making precious needle works. Hester is capable of wearing the scarlet letter in a very determined and secure way. This is why, at the beginning of the story, the townspeople think she is “proud” of her sin. The puritan beliefs say that the scarlet letter should not be pretty, because it is a “punishment” for the sinners to feel ashamed.
With Hester changing her ways and helping the poor, the community changed, “They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne 168). While the community originally viewed the “A” as a symbol of sin, they began to see it too as a symbol of being “Able” because all that Hester Prynne had overcome. The Scarlet Letter had many examples of symbolism, but none were more significant that the letter “A”
The meaning of the scarlet letter and the way people view Hester changes throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The scarlet letter was originally suppose to represent adultery and was there to show everyone the sin Hester Prynne had committed. Hester had to
