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Essay About The Mistakes Hester Prynne Ever Made

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“It’s okay to not be perfect. It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to do something that you wish you hadn’t done, because if we don’t do those things we never grow.”- Dawn Stanyon. Hester Prynne was one of the main characters in the book The Scarlet Letter and she made a horrible mistake which in the end became the best mistake she ever made. In the beginning of the book Hester Prynne had committed adultery and had a baby because of it which caused people to look down upon her and they made her wear a scarlet A on her clothes to show that she committed adultery. Hester instantly regretted the decision she made, but she never knew how this decision could impact her life for the better. She became emotionally stronger, she became a wiser and …show more content…

Hester never took her anger or frustration out on Pearl, and that took great patience from Hester. Pearl was the one who brought curiosity and happiness into Hester’s life. Undeniably, Hester truly loved Pearl, there was no doubt about that. Hester did not want Pearl to make the same mistake when she got older and Hester just wanted the absolute best for Pearl. Pearl was a strange child and Hester thought that was because of the sin she committed, but in all honesty, Pearl just looked at things in different perspective. To Hester’s shock she discovered that Pearl was more mature and imaginative. Hester practically raised Pearl by herself and Pearl turned out to be a Godly, honest, and innovative young girl. People saw how hard it was for Hester and so things changed.
Hester became known as the woman who was able to do anything. In the beginning the scarlet letter represented adultery and shame, but then the A represented “able.” Hester Prynne showed people that greatness can come out of huge mistake. One bad chapter does not mean your story is over. Willingly, Hester wanted to pick herself up again and move on with her life and eventually people noticed that. They began to respect her and think of her as strong and commendable

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She is responsible for all of the hate that is portrayed upon Hester. However, what pearl represents to Hester, is her wild side, how she can be herself and not care about what the town thinks. In chapter 14 Hester and Pearl are at the beach, “Hester bade little Pearl run down to the margin of the water,and play with the shells and tangles sea-weed, until she should have talked awhile with yonder gatherer of herbs. So the child flew away like a bird, and, making bare her small white feet, went pattering along the moist margin of the sea...the image of a little maid, whom Pearl, having no other playmate, invited to take her hand, and run a race with her. ”(154) Pearl is happy and free and influences Hester be the same way.

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765 Words | 4 Pages

She continuously mocks her, doing things that make Hester feel bad and frustrated. Pearl is Hesters silent antagonist and she might even be better at keeping Hester from getting what she wants more than Roger. Pearl has of course caused all these events to take place with her birth, she also causes Hester to wear the A like the village did, and she as stated before mocks her for the entirety of the book. Pearl has caused all of these events to take place with her birth being the catalyst. To quote Hester “To assure herself that the infant and the shame were real” (Hawthorne 56) Pearl is the living proof of the sin committed.

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481 Words | 2 Pages

Pearl keeps me here in life.’” Pearl is the only thing that keeps Hester happy since otherwise she is all alone. Without Pearl, Hester would have no reason to live. Pearl is a blessing and a retribution. “‘It was meant for a blessing; for the one blessing of her life!

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764 Words | 4 Pages

In the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne was a character of high integrity. She lived by her own values and merits no matter what the consequence, and refused to give in to the abundance of temptations that were presented to her. The scarlet letter also provided lessons that Hester needed to learn in order to continue her development as a person. Men living by Dimmesdale’s standard, hiding the fact they have sinned and having to be pushed to the edge to confess, feel integrity takes a back seat to getting what you yearn for. For them, their moral code is only a guide, seldom

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941 Words | 4 Pages

Nonetheless, it will be hard; Hester is steadfast to make her daughter Pearl, have a life, just like any other ordinary child. Hester is a remarkable, but peculiar character,

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1294 Words | 6 Pages

Hester dislikes the fact that the “scarlet letter” may be perceived as a sign of weakness, and instead learns to be empowered by the “A”. Ultimately, Hester actively made a positive impact on the community and proceeds to raise pearl, her child, without any assistance from Roger or Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester exemplifies her independence through her ability to maintain financial stability while raising her daughter and working. Hester eventually morphs the public's view of the scarlet letter into something positive. The narrator says, “many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification.

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896 Words | 4 Pages

The Scarlet Letter was Hester’s forced punishment and is a reminder to the whole community of Hester’s sin of adultery. As Hester’s character grows in strength she realizes that “if truth were everywhere to be shown, a scarlet letter would blaze forth on many a bosom” (59). Hester expresses how everyone sins and if everyone was punished the way she was, many people would have to wear a letter of their own. The punishment of wearing the “A” gave Hester the freedom of not having to hide her sins from others. However, the people with hidden sins have to protect their reputation which causes a lack of freedom.

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659 Words | 3 Pages

Nathaniel Hawthorne developed the townspeople to not only tolerate but eventually praise her for her courage and bravery. In “The Scarlet Letter” it states, “...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.” This line is significant because after all of the embarrassment of walking around and being mocked for the letter, she is finally accepted by everyone for her courageousness. Finally, after many have eulogized her for the letter “A” she is given the offer of a lifetime to remove the reminder of her affair, however she refuses to take her letter away.

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562 Words | 3 Pages

When she sees Dimmesdale repeatedly placing his hand over his heart, she asks her mother why he does that. Every time she asks, Hester is reminded of Dimmesdale and how their sin keeps them apart. Whenever Pearl asks about the letter that Hester wears, she is reminded of the reason she has to wear, even if she won’t tell Pearl the real

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1118 Words | 5 Pages

The stereotypes applied to nineteenth century women were not just stereotypes, they were realities. Women were expected to stay home and do all the cooking and cleaning for their family. They were entirely dependent on their male counterparts for all their tasks outside the domestic sphere. They were generally considered unintellectual and uneducated. Women were generally suppressed in early society.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

The townspeople “[began] to look upon the scarlet letter as a token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since.” This quote exemplifies how sin is not a death sentence for Hester. Through hard work and charity it allowed the rigid Puritan society to see her as something different, and as someone who would not let society define who she was. Hester, thus, was not only able to change herself, but also the image in which society viewed her by working hard to benefit the public. Likewise, the scarlet letter which was supposed to represent sin was instead “fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom.”

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744 Words | 3 Pages

As stated in chapter six, "Her [Hester] only real comfort was when the child lay in the placidity of sleep. Then she was sure of her, and tasted hours of quiet, sad, delicious happiness; until—perhaps with that perverse expression glimmering from beneath her opening lids—little Pearl awoke!" (Hawthorne X) Pearl is Hester 's greatest treasure, but she cost Hester everything. Because of Pearl, Hester has no chance at a happy life, but Pearl brings her happiness. Pearl is almost like a paradox.

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893 Words | 4 Pages

Right from the start, Hester knew that Pearl was going to be different from the other kids because she was born a sin. Pearl acted differently from the normal kids, which may be because she wasn’t around other kids to see how they acted and learn from them. “The truth seems to be, however, that the mother- forest, and these wild things which it nourished, all recognized a kindred wildness in the human child” (Hawthorne 140). Pearl was connected more with the forest than she was with people. She spent more time in the forest, playing with flowers and moss, and she didn’t play with other kids because they didn’t want to be around her.

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433 Words | 2 Pages

Hawthorne described three things in The Scarlet Letter. Sin, guilt, and redemption. Hawthorne uses people to symbolize them. Hester Prynne was one. Hawthorne allows the reader to get a better understanding by using biblical references.

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959 Words | 4 Pages

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.

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