ipl-logo

How Does Hawthorne Use Satire In Custom House?

1826 Words8 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Symbolism in the scarlet letter essay

Hayley Babbitt Period 2 Mr. Nelson 9/22/2015 AP Lang Scarlet Letter discussion questions Custom House Notes: -written just after he was fired from the Salem Custom House in 1849. -original manuscript of The Scarlet Letter is lost, and house printing style was imposed on the 1850 edition, so that version varies occasionally from Hawthorne 's spelling, capitalization, and word division in manuscripts of the same time period. -"Custom-House " sketch is a blend of fact and fantasy. In it Hawthorne does refer to real people, places, and events in Salem, and he also uses this first chapter to introduce the fictional Hester Prynne who wears the scarlet letter that the narrator finds in the Custom House attic. 1) A custom house is a building where …show more content…

5) The narrator’s descriptions of his co-workers in the custom house reveal that he thought they were lazy and undeserving of the job. This is shown on page 5, “Oftentimes they were asleep, but occasionally might be heard talking together, in voices between speech and a snore.” 6) The conflict the narrator faces because he is tied to a desk job is that it is preventing him from beginning the story, which gets resolve once he gets fired. 7) The device that Hawthorne uses to set up the story of the scarlet letter is that the narrator of “Custom House” found an unusual package that contained some fabric with a faded letter A imprinted on the cloth, with some papers describing the entire story behind the letter. The narrator then used those documents to create the story of Scarlet Letter. 8) The role time plays in moving from the action depicted in the story of the scarlet letter to the time of Custome House to convey the narrator 's thoughts throughout the story, contrasting the different time periods. Chapter 1 …show more content…

5) In the book Scarlet Letter, the main colors describe so far is brown and red. Brown seemed to be used a lot when it comes to character description, especially Hester Prynne. Brown fits Hester Prynne since it represent sensuality, strength, and maturity which are all traits Hester Prynne seems to have. The color red is also mention a lot as the Scarlet Letter. Red is very fitting for the Scarlet Letter because red symbolizes passion, love, and seduction. These characteristics fit the Scarlet Letter to a T. 6) In Chapter 3, the last sentence is: “It was whispered, by those who peered after her, that the scarlet letter threw a lurid gleam along the dark passageway of the interior.” (Hawthorne, Pg 67). The meaning of this sentence is that some the highly religious Puritans thought the scarlet letter was brightly glowing, which they could have assume was from hellfire due to their religious beliefs. Chapter 4 1) Hawthorne describes the child to be a “type...of moral agony which Hester Prynne had borne throughout the day.” (Hawthorne, pg 68). This mean is that this baby was born out of sin which goes against Hester morals, and now is forever a reminder of what she

Show More
Related
315 Words | 2 Pages

Hawthorne uses many forms of rhetoric to portray his characters, but relies heavily on pathos in the instance of Hester Prynne. She’s a member of an inherently misogynistic society, and because she’s a woman, her every act is scrutinized. As punishment for her act of adultery, Hester is ordered to adorn her chest with a permanent scarlet letter. Although the audience is well aware of the atrocity of the sin she’s committed, Hawthorne’s writing sparks a feeling of empathy within the reader. Throughout the novel, the reader is exposed to several clear uses of pathos.

Read More
867 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel the scarlet letter, the scarlet letter is shown through the use of imagery and figurative language to demonstrate that judgment through society as well as sin is bad while the scarlet is a symbol of sin wrapped in good and beauty. Hester is able to take something that was meant to be a punishment for a crime she committed and turn it into something absolutely stunning. Hawthorne portrayed Pearl

Read More
1113 Words | 5 Pages

In the beginning of the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne introduces the main character Hester Prynne, a young, beautiful member of a Puritan society being punished for her sin of love, not lust. The opening chapters introduce the reader to gossips who deem her original punishment, death, too harsh and contrary to Puritan beliefs that unborn babies should be given a chance at life. Instead, Hester and her child are to be alienated and shunned. In addition she is to wear the letter ‘A’ (which stands for ‘adultery’) on her chest which will forever display her as a symbol of shame for her sin. Though a very resilient figure who soon overcomes this pain, Hester’s isolation takes a negative toll on her life.

Read More
616 Words | 3 Pages

Symbolism Within The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne created symbolism throughout The Scarlet Letter in order to develop the theme throughout Hester’s life. Hester is portrayed as a sheltered soul, shunned from society due to her adulterous acts. The red A and her daughter, Pearl, are symbols of Hester’s shame which she bares proudly despite society's harsh judgements. Hawthorne is able to use symbolism to develop themes, characters, and analogies in the Scarlet Letter.

Read More
997 Words | 4 Pages

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the nineteenth century, provides insight into the social stigma surrounding gender equality in his own community and era. Throughout the chapters, Hawthorne's uses Hester to provide a direct reflection to the lives of women in the nineteenth century. Hawthorne employs devices such as specified diction which pertains to each individual character, multiple shifts in the tone used in order to draw attention to shifts in judgment or beliefs of characters, and imagery in order to validate his overall personal belief that women deserve the autonomy and respect that men have possessed for centuries. Hawthorne uses the Scarlet Letter as a novel for social change by characterizing Hester as a woman

Read More
1099 Words | 5 Pages

The color red symbolizes death but also paradoxically connotes birth. After she commits adultery, Hester gains Pearl as a result of her sin, but her child is the motivation for her to live to redeem her reputation because Hester does not want her child to live such a dark and ruined life of a sinner. The recognition of the society suggests that Hester’s dedication into labor and attitude of redemption is an act of bravery and she deserves compliments and reinterpretation of the scarlet letter as an award for her strive to live. The redness of the scarlet letter, nevertheless, is a sign of sin and death to Hester. In fact, she perceives the symbol as a “red-hot brand” (147).

Read More
858 Words | 4 Pages

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter takes place during the 17th century in the harsh and unforgiving Puritan settlement of Salem, Massachusetts, and follows Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale in the aftermath of an irreversible act. The already married Hester Prynne has given birth to Dimmesdale’s child and has taken the consequences of their actions solely upon herself, refusing to reveal Dimmesdale as the father of her child. Hester’s sacrifice leaves them both with internal and external dilemmas as they try to continue their lives under the scrutinizing and unrelenting watch of their community. Throughout the novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes the rhetorical strategies of juxtaposition, paradox, imagery, and diction to highlight

Read More
1244 Words | 5 Pages

Often times, we interpret a novel at its face value, only reading the text on the page instead of really delving into the true meaning behind that text. Since that meaning is not explicitly stated, different readers can develop different interpretations of the same text. This idea of repeated hidden meanings throughout a novel is classified as a motif, and most of the time motifs are used in order to subtly convey ideas to the reader through seemingly plain text. In the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses motifs and symbols to convey subtle ideas, one example being his harsh criticism of Puritan culture. One of the most prominent motifs in his novel is the Black Man, an imaginary being who Hawthorne equates to the devil.

Read More
1270 Words | 6 Pages

She receives three punishments from the townspeople, who claim they will free her from her sin. The community orders Hester to go to jail, wear a scarlet letter on her chest, and stand on the town scaffold for hours. Hester wears her scarlet letter proudly on her chest, and endures much suffering because of her public ridicule. Hester is “kept by no restrictive clause of her condemnation within the limits of the Puritan settlement” after she was released from prison, but she chooses to stay (Hawthorne 71). Later, Hester’s child, Pearl, symbolizes the Puritan view of Hester.

Read More
520 Words | 3 Pages

Hawthorne described, “...the scarlet letter, was so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. ”(Hawthorne 51). It symbolized sin because in a puritan society something so beautiful is sinful. It shined like a sin that everyone came to see. While Hester was coming up the scaffold for her public punishment of adultery, the beadle said to her, “Come along,Madam Hester, and show your scarlet letter to the market place.”

Read More
499 Words | 2 Pages

There are various examples of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter, but one of them wraps the whole story together: the meaning of the scarlet letter A. In this passage, Hester Prynne wears an embroidered letter A on her bosom as punishment. At first the A stood for “adulterer”, but the townspeople later gained respect for her and said “Such helpfulness was found in her-so much power to do and to sympathize-that many people refused to interpret the scarlet “A” by its original significance. They said it meant ‘Able’” (Hawthorne 107).

Read More
509 Words | 3 Pages

“Pearl took some eelgrass, and … imitated, on her own bosom, the decoration… on her mother’s : A letter “A”, but freshly green, instead of scarlet!”, a quote pulled from Chapter 15, is another attempt by Hawthorne to convey the contrasting ideal of Pearl’s innocence and purity to Hester’s sin. The green of this imitated scarlet letter worn by Pearl is associated with nature and purity, while the scarlet of Hester’s original letter is typically associated with passion and

Read More
1142 Words | 5 Pages

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was published in 1850. It focuses on the life of the main protagonist, Hester Prynne, living in a Puritan community. Both Yamin Wang and Maria Stromberg offer insight into The Scarlet Letter and analyze multiple aspects of the story.. Both Wang and Stromberg claim that there is an underlying ideology hidden in the texts of the book. Wang approaches the story from a feminist approach and states that Hester represents the feminism in the Puritan community, and she analyzes the Puritan’s outlook on women in their society.

Read More
1284 Words | 6 Pages

Bhimani 1 Outline Prescribed Question: How does the text conform to, or deviate from, the conventions of a particular genre, and for what purpose? Text: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Thesis: In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne effectively conforms to the conventions of the gothic genre for the purpose of characterizing the Puritan society as oppressive, portraying the hypocrisy found within Puritan society and highlighting the consequences for not confessing sin.

Read More
813 Words | 4 Pages

In conclusion the Scarlet Letter that Hester Prynne wears on her chest had three different meanings throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Adultery, Able and in

Read More

More about How Does Hawthorne Use Satire In Custom House?

Open Document