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How Is Chillingworth's Alienation Isolated

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Alienation creates a microcosm of society within a single person, and thus the values society views to be good or bad are displayed by an isolated being. Nathaniel Hawthorne shows what society disapproves of through the isolated Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter. Chillingworth’s differences from the people of Boston isolate him. Out of the respected personality he once had, Chillingworth’s alienation brings out devilish attributes, which the Puritan society frowns upon. Chillingworth emerges as a stranger in the colony, and after seeing Hester displayed as an adulteress, isolates himself. When he has his first conversation with Hester in the jail cell Chillingworth says that he is “a stranger” and was made one “sorely against [his] …show more content…

Chillingworth began his investigation into Hester’s relationship as “a judge, desirous only of truth,” but as he continued his investigation he gained “a terrible fascination” that would hold him until he solved the mystery (138). His obsession with this case leads him to dedicate all his time into figuring out the truth, thus changing his personality. The Puritans would have believed his desire to seek the truth legitimate, however his terrible fascination with something unholy goes against Puritan values. Along with his personality, Chillingworth’s alienation brings on changes in his physical appearance, and the people who thought he was a gift from Heaven in the beginning begin to see “something ugly and evil in his face” (136). Through this Hawthorne reveals isolation can bring out the worst in even the best of us. Chillingworth’s inability to relate to Boston’s society and his bad intentions change him physically into a devilish creature, which the Puritan society disapproves of. Others begin to notice a change in his personality, for any “spectator could see his blackness” (181). Blackness has always been associated with the dark and unknown. Since the unknown is feared, blackness began to symbolize something to fear and a devilish characteristic, and thus, Hawthorne reveals Bostonians disapproval of Chillingworth’s malicious intentions. Through his alienation Chillingworth became

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A person’s outward appearance often influences the way others perceive their character. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth arrives in the colony to find that his wife, Hester, is being punished for extramarital relations. As the storyline continues, Chillingworth acts as the colony’s physician, becoming very close to Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne. Consequently, Chillingworth’s desire for revenge guided his appearance and interactions with Hester Prynne and Dimmesdale, ultimately altering his character.

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Chillingworth is described as having been “calm in temperament, kindly... a pure and upright man” (88), throughout his life. However, while living in the Puritan town, he allows his quest for vengeance to consume him, and “he now [digs] into the poor clergyman’s heart, like a miner searching for gold; or rather, like a sexton [gravedigger] delving into a grave, possibly in quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead man’s bosom” (88). Chillingworth is determined in his search for retribution, so much in fact

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In Hawthorne 's mind, Chillingworth is “haunted either by Satan himself or Satan’s emissary.”

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Throughout the book Chillingworth reminds Hester of her wrong doing an example of this is when the novel states, “As he spoke, he laid his long forefinger on the scarlet letter, which forthwith seemed to scorch into Hester’s breast, as if it had been red-hot. ”(Hawthorne 64) Chillingworth's efforts to please himself by making Hester feel guilty for her actions during his absence sways the way many things happen in the book, like at the end when he decides to join the voyage that Dimmesdale and Hester planned to escape

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He is satisfied with Hester before the corruption is brought into their relationship. Chillingworth talks about how he was wrong to think that the “simple bliss [Hester]...might be [his]” (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 51).

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Chillingworth’s guilt results in the degradation of his physical and mental demeanor, which ultimately turns him into a figure of evil. Chillingworth faces a multitude of problems, but the concealed guilt transforms his body and changes his physiognomy for the worse. Originally, Chillingworth is portrayed as an innocent man with great knowledge, but after some time the studious nature that offered Hester a reason to accept his proposal changed, for the, “former aspect of an intellectual and studious man... had altogether [vanish],”(Hawthorne 145), which portrays the first inclination into the physical deformities of Roger Chillingworth after torturing Dimmesdale. What was once an innocent man free of guilt, is now a demonic person with the intent of revenge.

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WOW! What a great 2 day broadcast on Dr. Dobson 's Family Talk! I really found the author, Rebecca Hagelin, very inspiring. She shared so many practical ways for parents to strengthen their families. As a teen, I heard a conference speaker who urged parents to tell their kids "yes" consistently so when they needed to say "no", their kids were able to respect them and accept their "no" answers much easier.

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Almost immediately after Chillingworth first encounters his source of obsession- seeking vengeance on Hester’s lover- he speaks to Hester in the prison, where the drastic change of his soul can already be seen. “‘Art thou like the Black Man that haunts the forest round about us? Hast thou enticed me into a bond that will prove the ruin of my soul?’ ‘Not thy soul,’ he answered, with another smile.

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“One of the many steps in order to accomplish a positive vibe in your life is to cease dwelling on the negative thoughts and memories from your past, and to quit limiting your potential by pondering on what you’ve done poorly”, as my mother repeatedly told me. In the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne sets out his main characters to reveal the different aspects of an individual that may occur when placed in difficult situations. Hawthorne’s main characters: Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, each take a different pathway in the method that they would set free themselves from their prisons. Hawthorne presents Chillingworth as the greatest sinner because Chillingworth sought for evilness without admitting to fault, and commits most of the seven deadly sins until the end of his days. In the beginning, Chillingworth desires to seek revenge, and fills his soul with wrath.

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Another statement that Hawthorne makes in this section is that Chillingworth will not find anything except for mortality and corruption, but these were the things that he sought (125). This is giving the reader more insight on Chillingworth and his obsession. Chillingworth’s plan to infiltrate Dimmesdale’s home as his personal caretaker was to search for the truth. The once wise man had transformed once his obsession took control of him. Chillingworth’s

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Hawthorne’s immoral imagery depicts Chillingworth as untrustworthy. Later on, symbolism associates Chillingworth as a vicious person that seeks information for his own well-being. “In a word, old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of man’s faculty of transforming himself into a devil, if he will only, for a

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What defines a princess expensive clothes? Fancy parties? Castles? Tiaras? It might seem like that at first, but look closer…

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In the romantic novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays Roger Chillingworth as the prime example of pure evil. Chillingworth is characterized as a symbol for evil because Hawthorne illustrates him and his thoughts as being associated with the devil and Hell. Through Hawthorne’s descriptions, Chillingworth’s malevolent ideas and eagerness to expose Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale are revealed. Consequently, Chillingworth serves as the antagonist in the novel because of his plot to seek vengeance on and torment Dimmesdale. Through the use of figurative language and syntax, Chillingworth’s description and his actions symbolize him as a mysterious and wild evil doing the devil’s bidding.

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Chillingworth has a helpless victim, who doesn’t even realize who Chillingworth is yet, and he exercises his power over the minister with great enthusiasm. When Hester meets him in the forest, Chillingworth has a blackness in his visage and a red light showing out of his eyes, as if “the old man's soul were on fire, and kept on smoldering duskily within his breast.” (pg.153). In seeking vengeance, he has taken on the devil's job. His obsession with revenge is what makes him the worst sinner and, therefore, a pawn of the devil so, it’s ironic that Hester meets him in the dark forest, a place the Puritans see as the home of the Black

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The narrator portrays him as an intelligent but angry old man that does not have any interest in his wife any longer unless it is plotting revenge. One theme in this chapter is something that can slowly destroy people mentally, guilt. The irony that took place in this story is that Chillingworth is trying to find the father of his wife's child. The main theme in chapter three and four is obeying the law of the people and if failed to be done it will end in punishment. Journal Entry 3: Chapters 5-6 For the rest of Hester’s life she will be forced to wear a red embroidered “A” at all times on her clothes.

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