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Essay On The Importance Of Setting In The Scarlet Letter

560 Words3 Pages

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, setting plays a key role in how the story circulates. The effect of setting alone could change an infinite amount of things, and although all of the effects are important, these are the most significant. Without the setting The Scarlet Letter’s character’s , plot, and ending would be completely different. The post-U.S. and religious time period plays an important role because without this the basic moral of the story would be entirely different. Hester was a woman who was being punished for adultery. If the time of this story was present then the issue would be seen in a different light. Yes, Hester’s actions would be seen as negative, but their is no punishment that would cause her harm or humiliation as the scarlet letter does. To add on Dimmesdale wouldn’t be afraid to confess his sin as much as he was because the only fear he’ll face is the disapproval of his peers. Therefore, if The Scarlet Letter took place during a …show more content…

In the novel Hester and Dimmesdale met in the night because they believed the night had a different set of rules than the day. Yes that may be true, but the extent of that isn’t that far. If this wasn’t in a religious town, than the rules that they had applied to the night would be no different than what could be done in the morning. Another example would be the meetings that occurred in the forest; the forest was seen as a private place that was far away from the ears of the town. If the forest wasn’t there then the meetings Hester and Dimmesdale had would not be about their sin o about resolving the situation they were placed in in, but instead about much less important things so they wouldn’t draw attention. Along with this was the scheming the two did, so if they never met in secrecy then their plans and warnings would have never gone through, which would lead to a different

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