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Diction In The Scarlet Letter

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Sprinkled Snickerdoodlepastasauce Scarlet Letter Essay Throughout the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne shifts from a disapproving tone in the beginning of the passage to a more hopeful tone near the end of the excerpt. During the initial parts of the text, Hawthorne utilizes Anglo-Saxon diction in order to convey a disapproving tone towards the Puritan Society. The author begins the text by immediately portraying the townsfolk as wearing “sad colored garments,” and “some [women] wearing hoods.” Through this description of the residents, he deems them to be dull and boring. Additionally, Hawthorne also uses this blunt word choice while describing the area the Puritans reside in. He immediately describes the prison and it’s surroundings- …show more content…

Whereas the writer described the prison as “unsightly,” he describes the rose bush as “ covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him.” Immediately what comes to mind is the protagonist vs the antagonist. The rose bush, the noble creature, against all odds, fighting for good, and this society, ugly and evil, fighting against what is right. This difference in diction immediately juxtaposes the society from the “wild” rose bush, and signals the shift in tone, revealing Hawthorne’s attitude towards the two different …show more content…

Hawthorne notes that the rose bush, with it’s “fragrance and fragile beauty,” in the presence of unsightly vegetation, a gloomy old prison, with people wandering about in depressing garments. Not only does this make the reader picture the beauty of the rose in contrast to ugliness of the environment, but Hawthorne also alludes to the idea of a rose bush in this conforming, bland society as a whole. Furthermore; near the very end of the passage, Hawthorne makes a last significant allusion to the rose bush- “It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet… of human frailty and sorrow.” This last reference to the rose bush significantly reinforces the idea of the rose bush as the drink to nurture the independent ideas of society while starving the conformity that is exhibited throughout the story. His allusions towards the symbol -that is the sweet moral blossoms- reinforces hope for a brighter future for human

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Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, one of the protagonists of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, stands as a highly conflicted character. The source of his divide stems from the consequences of private sins, and is prevalent within the first paragraphs of Chapter 12, “The Minister’s Vigil,” where the narration chronicles Dimmesdale’s surroundings as he dream walks through the town in a state of limbo. He is portrayed as a model citizen who lacks moral imperfections to the general public yet suffers privately from the juxtaposition of his sins to his position within the community. In this specific passage, Hawthorne uses somber diction and imagery to illustrate Dimmesdale’s strife, while portraying his internal conflict through the formation

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Puritan’s harsh beliefs represented the beginning of the Nineteenth Century in the newly colonized America. Their community ruled with an iron fist: unforgiving, pitiless, stern. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses his disagreement with puritan priorities by revealing the hypocrisy widely practiced throughout their community. Hawthorne’s utilization of dim diction aids in the establishment of his scornful tone, while inclusion of symbols and intricate juxtaposition all serve to accentuate the Puritan’s duplicity. All these factors combine to develop a critical tone which rebukes puritan society.

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Rosebush In The Scarlet Letter Essay

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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s rosebush in The Scarlet Letter represents the prisoners who are living within the shadows of the prison. Throughout the novel Hester, a prisoner, is seeking redemption, so she’s willing to sacrifice her reputation for the sake of her daughter. The rosebush is a symbol for those who are suffering or going through a difficult time. The rosebush is growing in the shadows of the prison, as are the prisoners who have a chance at redeeming themselves. Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne overcomes several challenging obstacles that come her way and try preventing her redemption.

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When you think of a Puritan society, what comes to your mind? Perfect, flawless, and a religion based on following God? Well, that is what it says on paper, but is it really that perfect? Throughout the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne jabs at the Puritans in an attempt to portray just how flawed they really are. After reading the book, you want to think that Hawthorne is telling the story of sinning in a Puritan society.

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How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Dishonesty In The Scarlet Letter

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Relinquishing the truth often results in both rightful punishment of the culprit and ease of mind, however, dishonesty provides a host of benefits. Coincidentally, Nathaniel Hawthorne showcases such benefits in his novel The Scarlet Letter. In the first chapter of the novel, Hawthorne describes a single rose bush signifying a sort of mercy for inmates in front of a prison of Puritan Boston. Although many interpret the rose bush as a symbol of hope, it best symbolizes deception for self-security, which is evident in the characters’ reluctance to reveal identities and the beautiful, yet dangerous nature of the rose bush itself. Now, throughout the Scarlet Letter, most of the cast, predominately Hester Prynne, employ dishonesty to ensure safety

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In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne exposes these same structural flaws of strict Puritan community and the inherent, inevitable

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After this, Hawthorne focuses our attention on a single rose bush, which is portrayed as a symbol of hope in the story. We can see this as

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The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne—esteemed as the first American author—accentuates that the effect of time on American society, which inevitably breaks what is positive and pure, will eventually leave the nation in ruins by dropping subtle pieces of evidence in the plot and characters. The entire plot of the novel is quickly proven to be that of a pessimistic nature, even established even on the first page, where a towering prison engulfs the hope of a mere rosebush; however, Hawthorne’s true nihilistic perspective is shown by the progression of the background characters outshined by the spotlight of the protagonist. At the dawn of the novel, the gossips—a group of matrons who are notorious for their prowess of condemnation—are

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Rhetorical Analysis Of The Scarlet Letter

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The rose-bush conveys a brighter and joyful tone, which is evident when words like “delicate gems” and “fragile beauty” are used as descriptors. The rose-bush is further talked about as a happy symbol for people walking into the prison: “...and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him.” This quote shows parallelism while talking about someone’s heading to their doom, and having something even that small to give them joy. The parallelism used here is in place to help shift the tone from gloomy and depressed, to something brighter and happier.

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Language In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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The entirety of of The Scarlet Letter is written from the perspective of an anonymous third person narrator. Due to his egotistical tendencies, much of the novel is told through very didactic word usage because the narrator intends on teaching the readers instead of solely telling a story. Another prevalent aspect of the work in the difference of diction between the descriptions and speakings of each individual character. Hawthorne ensures that the language a character uses reflects on their personalities as well as follows along with their characterizations throughout the book. In possessing very formal diction overall, the narrator also manages to include artistic aspects such as imagery, metaphor and personification to enhance the novel’s

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Nathaniel Hawthorne did not always speak positively toward the Puritans, but he has respect for the group. The main symbol that stands out is the scarlet letter “A” that was stuck on Hester Prynne for her actions of adultery which is a theme for this book. Another symbol is the rose bush that grew right outside of the old, rusty, decaying prison

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