Rhetorical Techniques In Scarlet Letter

In his novel “The Scarlett Letter” (1850), author Nathaniel Hawthorne reflects on the beauty and compassion of Hester and the ugliness and heartlessness of Chillingworth. Hawthorne supports his claim by describing the beauty of Hester and her strong, honest, and hard-working self, and the old, weathered, and cruel man of Chillingworth. His purpose for writing the novel is to showcase the hypocrisy of a Puritan community, who are quick to judge people for their sins but often commit the same sins themselves. Hawthorne writes with a sympathetic tone towards Hester for what she has to go through, being judged, and seen as an outcast. While he uses a more critical tone towards Chillingworth and the Puritan community for their hypocrisy and judgement

Hawthorne’s attitude towards Chillingworth is very critical as Chillingworth is portrayed as a cruel, withered, old man whose own desire for vengeance turns him into an even uglier person inside and out. He is first portrayed as a scholarly man and somewhat kind. Although his pursuit of knowledge does tend to take him away from his wife and their relationship. This often left Hester feeling very alone. Hawthorne wasn’t fond of Chillingworth at this time, although he wasn’t as critical of him as he soon would be. Chillingworth endured many trials on his way to join his wife in America. The hardest of which was being held captive by Indians. Each of these trials slowly took a toll on him. He turned more cynical and negative. Then when he finally arrived in Boston, there stood his wife on the gallows holding a baby that most certainly wasn’t his. He only wanted one thing once he found out the truth, vengeance on the man with whom she had the affair. Hawthorne’s attitude toward Chillingworth became very critical now, as Chillingworth was only focused on vengeance. Hawthorne sees him as a cold-hearted man, with every day passing he turns darker and darker. Once his vengeance is within his reach, Chillingworth realizes that he has nothing left. Vengeance had become his identity. He didn’t know who, or what, he was without. leading to his downfall. Hawthorne’s attitude toward Chillingworth is negative as vengeance completely consumes the old man. Hawthorne described Chillingworth’s appearance as old, weathered, and nothing like his beautiful wife. Leaning more into the fact that he was ugly inside and out. Hawthorne’s attitude toward Chillingworth reflects the reader’s attitude toward him, making them feel critical of