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Character Names In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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It is estimated that an average of 130,000,000 babies are born each year around the world. (Ross 2). These infants possess given names that have significances behind it such as a saint name, after another family member, or a trait that the word possesses. Correspondingly, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter characters develop entitlements to names that have specific meanings. Pearl Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale reinforce character names that possess deeper definitions. The names Pearl Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale, in The Scarlet Letter, depict their personality traits and amplifies how others view them. Hester Prynne only has one treasure, her daughter Pearl Prynne, whom she advocates throughout her life. Meanwhile, the town which Hester and Pearl Prynne live in, torment Hester because of her grave sin, adultery. As a result, Pearl Prynne supports her mother and becomes her prized possession. After Hester Prynne stands on the scaffold for hours, Hester Prynne presents the name of her daughter, which is Pearl Prynne because she “...purchase[s] [her] …show more content…

Soon enough, Reverend Dimmesdale allows Roger Chillingworth to move in with him because of his illness. He did not know that Roger Chillingworth has a plan; he, therefore, becomes “[d]oomed by his own choice…” (Hawthorne 76) because Chillingworth displays adequate behaviors at first, but plans revenge on Reverend Dimmesdale in secret. For instance, Roger Chillingworth plans on breaking up Reverend Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne, so he can have Hester Prynne for himself. After Reverend Dimmesdale confesses to his sin on the scaffold, he “...hast escaped [Chillingworth]” (Hawthorne 210), he becomes a real father to Pearl Prynne and accepts his sin. Reverend Dimmesdale let his enemy overpower him because he is dimwitted until he broke free and confessed his

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Dimmesdale And Chillingworth's Secrets In Scarlet Letter

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Dimmesdale and Chillingworth both have secrets that make them look and act differently, their secrets affect their character and how they do their job. Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl but he doesn 't want to face the same humiliation as Hester did for his sins. Because of his secret he self punishes and fasts, he also preaches better than he did before although his health is failing. Chillingworth’s secret is that he was the husband of Hester while he was away, before she cheated on him. Chillingworth gets uglier and uglier driven by the need to get revenge on Pearl’s father.

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Arthur Dimmesdale's Guilt Quotes

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Mentally, his guilt strains his mind, which causes his physical deterioration, and the weakening of his body. As Dimmesdale finally admits his sin to the townspeople, his guilt is lifted, and he is able to release himself from his captivity. Though he deteriorated both mind and body from his guilt, by telling the townspeople of his sin, it was as if “a spell was broken” (238). He no longer needed to force himself to hide his sin, which was what was hurting him. By finally dealing with his sin in a similar way to Hester, Dimmesdale was able to free himself of his self-imposed captivity and

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Emotions Spill In Kate Chopin's The Scarlet Letter

1418 Words | 6 Pages

This child of its father’s guilt and its mother’s shame hath come from the hand of God” (Evans). Though as much as she wants to question Pearl being her daughter, she realize that Pearl is a living reminder of her “sin” she has committed. In the novel “the talk of the neighboring townspeople...had given out that poor little Pearl was a demon offspring...ever since old Catholic times…

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How Is Hester Prynne Sentenced To Jail

340 Words | 2 Pages

In 17th century Boston, Hester Prynne has just been sentenced to prison after being on trial for committing an act of adultery, which caused the arrival of her daughter, Pearl. In addition to jail time, she was doomed to wear a scarlet, embroidered letter A. When Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, arrives back from his mysterious adventure, asks her to tell the name of her secret lover to repay him for the sin she committed; however, she refuses once again and Roger vows to force her lover out of hiding since she would not tell him herself. Seven years after this incident, the extremely ill Reverend Dimmesdale meets in the woods with Hester and Pearl. After a heartfelt conversation between the reverend and Hester, they develop a plan to

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Character Foils In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

612 Words | 3 Pages

The reader is especially made aware of Dimmesdale's mental state in the eleventh chapter, “His inward trouble drove him to practices more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome, than with the better light of the church in which he had been born and bred” [150]. This suggests that he is racked with immense guilt and shame at the falsehood he is living and suggests that he is physically abusing himself as a result of this guilt. This directly contradicts Chillingworth's mental state of fury and vengeance that he falls deeper into as the story progresses. These two characters also hold striking incongruities as to what drives them onward as the account

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Scarlet Letter Dbq

932 Words | 4 Pages

1. A. Hester Prynne is a very bold and daring person. She is one that accepts her sin and doesn’t let it necessarily take over her life. She has a very wild, desperate and defiant soul and has a flightingness of her temper and her actions she is some times very capable at keeping in her emotions. She is one that tends to disobey society, she dresses pearl up on a scarlet dress with gold designs to show that she is also the scarlet letter. B. Arthur Dimmesdale is very ashamed of his sin that he committed but he does not want the people to know that he committed adultery

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The Scarlet Letter Dimmesdale's Transformation

523 Words | 3 Pages

Dimmesdale starts living with Chillingworth so the doctor can keep the feeble minister ‘healthy’; the doctor, reversely, tries to make Dimmesdale feel conflicted about his morals which leads to Dimmesdale obsessively whipping himself “...on his own shoulders” and“... fast[ing]...in order to purify [his] body… rigorously...until his knees trembled beneath him[self]...” (132). He is enveloped in his sin, and cannot escape it unless he tells the truth. In fact, Dimmesdale could not stop thinking about his sin which “...continued to give Mr. Dimmesdale a real existence [which] was the anguish in his inmost soul” (133).

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Reverend Dimmesdale In Scarlet Letter

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Reverend Dimmesdale suffers psychologically in the novel. Starting off as the epitome of religious guidance, Dimmesdale was the character least expected to be guilty of sin. But a further look into the story, and it is seen that Dimmesdale was guilty of arguably the greatest sin of the time, adultery. The Reverend wishes to admit this sin, but Hester Prynne does not allow him to, and Dimmesdale starts to break down, his sin haunting him, in every sleeping and waking moment. For example, Hester states, while meeting Dimmesdale in the woods, "There was a listlessness in his gait; as if he saw no reason for taking one step further, nor felt any desire to do so, but would have been glad, could he be glad of anything, to fling himself down at the root of the nearest tree, and lie there passive, for

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Hester Prynne Symbolism In Scarlet Letter

665 Words | 3 Pages

Once he confessed his sin to the community, his guilt was gone too. Even after Dimmesdale repented, God still did not like the sin because his has still committed an unforgivable sin. But, once he repented, he felt as though he was separated from that sin. God shows mercy on those who repent, and He showed mercy on Dimmesdale by, in a way, taking away his shame. He took away his shame by taking away

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The Sin Of Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter

1404 Words | 6 Pages

Because of the effects that Dimmesdale’s sin has on Chillingworth, the town suffers as well. The betrayal of their pastor leads them to refuse to see the truth when he pleads for the public to see his guilt at the end of the novel, and his secrecy from the people that adore him is one of the slyest and vile parts of his sin. The blind faith that the public has in their reverend is mislead by his deceit, which causes his sin to grow to a scale that Hester’s never did. Dimmesdale also harmed Pearl, by not standing with her and Hester on the day they were condemned. When she is grown, she asks, “Doth

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The Hidden Sin In The Scarlet Letter

686 Words | 3 Pages

He was the last person that people would think as a sinner. Dimmesdale was sin when he was committed adultery with Hester. He broke the law of church, but he was afraid to face the punishment and indifferent attitude from he masses. As a faithful follower, Dimmesdale also afraid the punishment of God, so he flog himself with a whip. The physical and spiral torture and the control of Chillingworth stranded him in a world that he cannot contact with others.

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I want to be a United States military officer in order to pass on the knowledge and experience that I have gained to future generations of Soldiers. With more rank comes greater responsibility. I will use my abilities and understanding of leadership to bridge the gap between noncommissioned officers and commissioned officers. As I progress through the ranks I can influence a greater number of Soldiers and enable junior leaders to be the kind of leadership we looked up to when we started this journey.

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744 Words | 3 Pages

It is quite obvious in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter that Pearl, Hester Prynne 's daughter, plays a major role. Not only is she one of the main characters, but she is prevalent theme in the novel, as well. Pearl is not written like a regular character. Most of the other symbols in the story, such as the scarlet letter or the rose bush, lead back to Pearl. Pearl takes on many symbols and serves great purpose.

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If it was not for secrets, The Scarlet Letter would not be a story. Throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book many characters are dealing with something they have to keep quiet. It may be a sin they have committed or something they know, but the way they deal with their secret determines how they feel about themselves. The two main secrets in The Scarlet Letter are who the father of Pearl is and who Hester Prynne’s husband was. As the secrets get revealed, many lives are changed drastically.

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1146 Words | 5 Pages

This effects her every day life going out in public and getting ridiculed by all the towns people she is surrounded by. Hester Prynne doesn’t just have to live with a mistake right on her shirt, but people also help her remember past. She does have her daughter or her “sole treasure.” The young girls name is pearl and she is not exactly like the others. It isn't easy because her and her mother are considered different in the community so she is lonely but very

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