Hester's Punishment In The Scarlett Letter

Everyone in the town each has different views on their life, for Hester, her punishment has changed the view of the world around her. At the beginning of The Scarlet letter, Hester is put on the scaffold in the middle of the town. She is being publicly humiliated as well as questioned for what she has done. Hester stands on the scaffold looking as if she is not sorry for her sin. She stands there holding Pearl while being punished. Before all of this happened she was described as a tall and elegant person. She is portrayed as a beautiful woman who has a rich complexion. The town is shocked by how she elegantly embroiders the scarlet letter “A.” Hester decides that she deserves the punishment of the town for her sin of adultery. When

While he was gone she had come to the decision of cheating on him. In result to her sin she decides to stays in the town to further punish herself. She feels that she needs to be punished by not just the town, but also by herself. She stays in the town, but she is on the outside of them. The town continues to scorn Hester for what she has done throughout her life. The outcome of her sin, the child Pearl, also causes Hester feel her mistake everyday. Although Hester has messed up her life she still tries to help the town through sewing. When Hester brings the gloves to the governor's hall, she is confronted about Pearl. The governor wants to take away Pearl because he thinks that Hester is a bad influence on her. When Hester heard this she became all panicked. She respond by saying that Pearl is her only sunshine and the only good that God has given her. Due to Hester’s sin, the town has viewed her as one of the worst people in town. They scorn her by treating her like she is an outcast. The town’s view slowly changes though. They begin to see that a person should not be judged for one action, but instead by many different actions that they do. The townspeople begin

She displays compassion to all of the town even if they ignore her, by comforting the poor, the sick and the downtrodden. The town starts to say they are proud of Hester, they even interpret the letter a as “Able.” She has become stronger through her sin, Hester has defied the society through displaying her sin. She accepts her sin by showing no shame publicly to the town, but internally Hester feels the mistake that she has done. When Hester is told that she may be able to take off the scarlet letter, she refuses to accept this. She respond by saying “It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off this badge. Were I worthy to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature or be transformed into something that should speak a different purport.” Hester explains that she believes that no one can remove the letter besides God. She feels that she deserves even more punishment for failing to stay in good faith with the Puritan law. Hester has a new view on the surrounding people, she sees that everyone sins, everyone has their imperfections. When Hester talks with Chillingworth she sees that his life is filled with revenge. Hester’s view has on Chillingworth has