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Hawthorne's Relationship With The Puritan Society In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Hawthorne is in relation to the Puritan society through his ancestors in addition to a long line of judges preceding him; whom were known for cruel sentencing during the salem witch trials. 20 or more witches were convicted of a crime under the judgement of Hawthorne's grandfather. Considering the correlation between the Puritans and Hawthorne himself- being more open minded- many see why he chose to separate himself with them. (The Scarlet Letter) Among all the Hawthorns were known for judging people and deciding their fate, similar to the Puritan people. They felt very strongly about people getting what they so deserved in return of their sins. In The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses his background knowledge and familiarity with the Puritan …show more content…

Hester has strong belief that her husband has deceased while away, she begins a relationship with Dimmesdale and falls in love with him, thinking that her husband is dead she allows herself to fall more for him during …show more content…

Hester's secret is revealed when the town learns she is bearing a child. Although upon questioning Hester doesn’t deny her sin, she doesn’t announce the name of her lover. Hester protects his identity because of his status within the community. The town sentences Hester to jail time for her wrongdoing, upon release she is to wear a scarlet letter A. Doing this Hester is publically humiliated in her hometown. “The Scarlet letter burned on Hester Prynne’s bosom. Here was another ruin, the responsibility of which came partly home to her.” (Hawthorne, p.116) Later is it learned that Hester’s lover was in fact Dimmsdale the town’s minister, whom himself sins by keeping this secret and continuing to preach and teach the ways of the bible. (The Scarlet Letter Analysis) Hawthorne exploits sin by utilizing the characters mistakes and putting emphasis on the fact that during this time period sin was against everything the Puritans stood for. Hawthorne occasionally reminds the reader sin isn’t easily forgotten. In Hester’s

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How the Scarlet Letter Transforms Hester In The Scarlet Letter, when Hester is first brought out on the scaffold to by publically shamed for her ignominy, Arthur Dimmesdale pleads with her to name him as her fellow sinner so that he will not have to reveal himself when he exclaims, "Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.” Hester refuses him and Dimmesdale goes unnamed and unpunished until the very end of the story. While Dimmesdale refuses to accept responsibility for his sin, Hester embraces the shame of the community. It is this difference which causes Dimmesdale enormous amounts of guilt and pain while Hester in able to find peace with herself and with her situation.

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Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a brilliant spokesperson and a devout and wise Puritan minister in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, is the lover of a woman who commits adultery, Hester Prynne. Hester, a recognizable adulteress, wears the scarlet letter and lives as an outcast. Contradicting, Reverend Dimmesdale’s sin stays hidden from the Puritan community, know only to Hester and himself. As a minister, Dimmesdale believes he should suffer from punishments the way Hester did for committing the same crime, which leads him to fall into a terrible mental and physical state.

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Hester Prynne is the protagonist of the story. She commits the sin of adultery and her punishment was to wear the scarlet letter “A” on her chest for the rest of her life. The color scarlet of her letter represents a sexual sin. This is her punishment of shame because wherever she goes everybody will see her for her sin and her evil and not anything else. Even with Hester facing all this shame and punishment from the public she wears her scarlet letter with confidence and almost like she is proud of it.

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