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Nathaniel Hawthorne's Diction In Scarlet Letter

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Society has had a long history of belittling both people and their individuality, and also not allowing people to reach their full potential. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne is constantly talking about society in a negative way. Hawthorne himself is a transcendentalist who views society as a terrible institution and a way to stop people from reaching their true potential. Hawthorne's view of both puritan society and society during his time plays into his view and characterization of Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne is a fictional character who committed a sin and was publicly shamed and shunned from society because of it. Hawthorne's use of negative diction and vivid imagery conveys a more disappointed, but also somewhat …show more content…

He uses terms like “graceful foliage” and “bare harsh outline” to compare who Hester could have been vs who she became, due to the scarlet letter. This damaging diction and harsh comparisons implies that Hawthorne is ultimately disappointed in Hester. Hawthorne also uses compare and contrast to contrast Hester and the society she lives in. He says “Men bolder than these had overthrown and rearranged the whole system of ancient prejudice” to display that he is disappointed in Hesters inability to take control of her life. He is also disappointed that even though she could have, she never rebuilt society to her standards. In this section Hawthorne is showing what Hester should have done and why it led to his negative feelings towards …show more content…

Hawthorne also uses repetition to show Hester in a more positive light, outlining his ambivalent tone. He uses negative diction to show that it isn't just Hesters fault for not improving upon herself, it is also society's fault. He uses more diction like “ to say that Hester needs to teardown society and build it from the ground up if she truly wants her situation to get better. A device he uses effectively here is imagery. He creates the image of other people who rejected society and succeeded to prove his point that Hester would have been much better off if she had done what she wanted to, not what she needed to. Hawthorne also uses dark diction like “wandered without a clew in the dark” and “labyrinth of a mind” to display that Hester is unable to break free from society, and instead wanders around without a purpose. In the last sentence he says “the scarlet letter had not done its office to prove that even though he is ultimately disappointed in Hester, he is also somewhat proud of her. He uses compare and contrast to describe this feeling. He contrasts the “wild and ghastly scenery” with the last sentence to show the many different ways he feels about Hester. The last sentence implies that even though he may seem disappointed in just about everything Hester has done, he is still able to see the good she has done in her

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857 Words | 4 Pages

To begin, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes pathos throughout his writing to imprint the importance of individual conscience into the reader 's mind. Hawthorne begins the book by having the reader pity the main character, Hester Prynne, as she is a young, husbandless, mother in a society that shames her for her unfortunate circumstances: “haughty as her demeanor was, she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung in the street for them all to spurn and trample upon” (Hawthorne, 53). The consistent misfortune of Prynne evokes emotion in the reader and stresses the weight of her decisions. Prynne manages her way through such a hostile society -“Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly on your bosom” (Hawthorne, 188)- in a way that is metaphorically applicable to the real world, allowing the reader to truly connect and understand the character for who they are.

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When Hawthorne declares, “the effluence of her mother’s lawless passion,” he is essentially blaming her for her misfortune and saying that her mistakes have led her to where she is; however, he implies that it was inevitable with how uncontainable her personality and passion was. This slightly condemnatory tone towards Hester contradicts the sorrow and criticization towards society that he once had. Hawthorne is experiencing a complexity in his tone. It seems as though he is unsure of where he should stand on this issue. Hawthornes transcendentalist ideas praise individuality, so her

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927 Words | 4 Pages

The author uses slow transitions in the novel to change our The view and his portrayal of Hester. He also uses Hester’s character to compare and bring attention to himself. Hester in particular, is first described in the novel by Hawthorne as deviant

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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

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1153 Words | 5 Pages

This shows how ungrateful and judgemental her society is. All things considered, through these many skills Hester accomplishes, the meaning of the scarlet letter, embroidered on her chest, changes in meaning from ‘adulterer’ to ‘able.’ This eventually leads to women looking up to her and going to her for advice. As a result, “the scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence too” (Hawthorne 257). Hester’s experiences living with society, as they looked down upon her, eventually changes the way society looks at people and the choices they make.

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We are introduced to Hester by hearing the description of fervor, “A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods and other bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes” (Hawthorne 45). The idea that a character is introduced with such distinction shows the ostracization the character will deal with. The importance of this quote is not only exhibited by its words but also it’s place in the novel, by being the introduction to Hester and the first words of the novel, immense value and deeper meaning is added than it would have if the quote had been later on. Hester is talked among the townspeople as a “... woman [who] has brought shame upon us all, and [she] ought to die.” This is the pinnacle of shame she experiences and as the novel progressed so did the towns folks’ opinions.

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921 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the passage, Hawthorne uses clear, distinct diction to create a sense of firmness to assert Hester’s views regarding her outlook on her own existence and that of women in general. Diction, a facet of writing comprised of both mood and word choice, is very influential in creating a framework for explanation and sustaining a particular message or theme. As a result, the author can ‘push’ a certain message, per se, to the reader by developing a distinct mood in writing. In the case of The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne developed a negative mood to represent Hester’s negative view. For example, in the lines, “She discerns, it may be, such a hopeless task before her.

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This shows that Hester does not necessarily need to worry about what the people of Boston think of her or how she needs to redeem herself in order to fit back into the society. When Hawthorne says “The angel and apostle of the coming revelation must be a woman, indeed, but lofty, pure, and beautiful; and wise, moreover, not through dusky grief, but the ethereal medium of joy; and showing how sacred love should make us happy, by the truest test of a life successful to such an end!” he is showing how there is no way for Hester to change her society. She should have love and joy, but instead she is faced with guilt, which leads to her downfall. Along with this, Hawthorne demonstrates how the people of Boston are actually the sinners while Hester and Dimmesdale represent the Angel and the Saint of the city.

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659 Words | 3 Pages

The novel “The Scarlet Letter”, written by Natheniel Hawthorne is overflowing with figurative language, symbolism, and many other thematic subjects that have important roles within the story. Hester Prynne is the unfortunate bearer of the scarlet letter which is a symbol of her adulterous ways. Throughout the novel she is condemned yet admired for this small golden laced letter on her chest. This letter might seem insignificant but it turned her life upside down.

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665 Words | 3 Pages

She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, but is forgiven. Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity" and she can do no wrong. Not only Hester, but also the physical scarlet letter, a sign of shame, is shown as a beautiful, gold and colorful piece which

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1458 Words | 6 Pages

Nathaniel Hawthorne, a famous American author from the antebellum period, notices the emphasis on individual freedoms in the works by Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalists during his residency in the Brook Farm’s community. In response to these ideas, Hawthorne writes The Scarlet Letter, a historical novel about Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale’s lives as they go through ignominy, penance, and deprecation from their Puritan community to express their strong love for each other. Their love, even though it is true, is not considered as holy nor pure because of Hester past marriage to Roger Chillingworth, and thus Hester gained the Scarlet Letter for being an adulterer. Hawthorne utilizes biblical allusions, such as the stories of

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1201 Words | 5 Pages

Hawthorne's word choices open up new ideas to the audience, the reader may think this and ponder was this truly a logical thing to happen to Hester and if so why? He is also able to reconnect from near the beginning of the novel back to when it was just Hester and Pearl taking on the world with each other hand in hand, but he can open up a new chapter and allows Hester to find a sense of peace. Hawthorne writes, “ We have thrown all the light we could acquire upon the portent, and would gladly, now that it has done its office, erase its deep print out of our brain; where long meditation has fixed it in very undesirable distinctness.” (pg. 211) This connects by showing that at the beginning of the novel, when Hester first wore the letter, and she did not care what everyone else thought and wore it with confidence, it came full circle to the end of the novel where she wore the letter no longer as a representation of her sins but as a reminder of the life

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842 Words | 4 Pages

Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 18th century novel The Scarlet Letter tries his hand through the novel to use dramatic irony to develop suspense and foreshadowing within it. Hawthorne creates these ideas through the character transformation of the many bodies within his story, primarily Hester Prynne from her punishment for sin, the townspeople from the predominant characters, Dimmesdale from his hidden sin, and Chillingworth from his heinous, devilish intentions. These people are used as they’re the main focus of the book, and when interacting together can create all three of the aforementioned traits, be it through the sight of Chillingworth through the townspeople’s eyes or the connection between Dimmesdale’s pain and Hester’s mark on her chest.

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I have decided to apply for this degree as I want to pursue a career in web development. During my BTEC Software Development Diploma I discovered that my interests and strengths were in the creation of and exploration of websites rather than other aspects of the course. I understand and enjoy the subject more than any other unit in the course because I find it a very interesting mixture of technical knowledge and creative design. Before enrolling on the course I taught myself HTML and CSS from www.codeacademy.com which established and developed my skills and interest and helped me to understand the subject in a more detailed way. At GCSE I really enjoyed Media Studies and think this course would be a great way to connect technology and media in an interesting and enjoyable career path.

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In the “Scarlet Letter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays hypocrisy of the Puritan society, where the protagonist Hester Prynne face many consequences of her actions and the how she tries to redeem herself to the society. During the seventeenth puritans believe that it is their mission to punish the ones who do not follow God’s word and it is their job to stop those from sinning. Therefore, the hypercritical puritan society punishes Hester harshly for committing adultery, but in Hester’s mind, she believes that what she did was not a sin but acts of love for her man. Eventually, she redeems herself by turning her crime into an advantage to help those in need, yet the Puritan society still view her as a “naughty bagger.” (Hawthorne 78)

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