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Scaffold Scenes In The Scarlett Letter

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In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” the basic structure for the novel is also provided by the scaffold scenes because everything else revolves around what happens during these scenes. Each scaffold scene foreshadows the next and brings about a greater understanding of the story itself. In the Scarlett Letter, Hawthorne uses these scenes to bring together the major characters and bring attention to the scarlet letter "A" on Hester Prynne and the significance of both her and her relations with Dimmesdale as well as the influence of Pearl on the entire story. The first scaffold scene gives the reader insight as to what the story is going to depict and how sin and guilt play major factors in the characters' lives. To explain, as Hester …show more content…

First, according to the community, Dimmesdale delivered the strongest speech ever, "never had man spoken in so wise, so high, and so holy a spirit." The main point of Dimmesdale's sermon was sin. This is ironic to the base of the story because the whole reason Dimmesdale is able to speak with so much knowledge of sin, is because he is a sinner. Dimmesdale knows how sin can effect someone and he knows how to speak of sin, in order to steer away his people from attempting to act sinfully. The true depiction of the third scaffold scene is Dimmesdale's confession, "ye, that have loved me. Ye, that have deems me holy. behold me here, the one sinner of the world!" This confession by Dimmesdale not only brings together the scaffold scenes, but it brings together the entire storyline of the book. Through the confession, Dimmesdale states why he is able to deliver such strong and emotion-filled sermons; that is because he lives out each and every day the sermons he delivers. The third scaffold scenes is the climax of the story and gives the final detail that has been foreshadowed through the other scaffold scenes as well as the entire book. And that detail is that the person that Hester has been pretexting from his guilt is not just a community member, but the most revered and beloved community member, in

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they would say to strangers. ‘It is our Hester, the town’s own Hester, who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick…”(147) Through her benevolent deeds over the years, Hester had managed to merge herself into the society that once scorned her. They no longer speaks badly of her, but would instead brag about her kind and caring nature to strangers. The most obvious change in their perception of Hester also lies in the reinterpretation of the letter “A” on her chest, which would now signify Able, resembling the strength of her heart.

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Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, one of the protagonists of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, stands as a highly conflicted character. The source of his divide stems from the consequences of private sins, and is prevalent within the first paragraphs of Chapter 12, “The Minister’s Vigil,” where the narration chronicles Dimmesdale’s surroundings as he dream walks through the town in a state of limbo. He is portrayed as a model citizen who lacks moral imperfections to the general public yet suffers privately from the juxtaposition of his sins to his position within the community. In this specific passage, Hawthorne uses somber diction and imagery to illustrate Dimmesdale’s strife, while portraying his internal conflict through the formation

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Initially, Dimmesdale does not appear incongruous to the Puritan society but acknowledges that vengeance will come upon him. He maintains his good

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This comes to show how much he’s willing to help in Hester’s situation yet proves to be helpful in many

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This is ironic because in this time of despair and acknowledgment of her guilt, he further elaborates on Hester's continuously

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The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, focuses on the life of Hester Prynne—the unlucky soul who is caught committing adultery and forced to live a life of shame and ignominy. The scaffold is not only the start of her predicament, but it is also the end of the once seemingly perfect Reverend Dimmesdale’s own guilt. The scaffold is the setting of a scene three times throughout the novel: the beginning, middle, and end. For such a lifeless object, it is difficult to recognize its significance in the novel; however, the scaffold is used by Hawthorne to portray the changing relationship between the characters, specifically Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl.

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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a novel that focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hawthorne revolves the theme around the four main characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth., and Pearl. Hester Prynne is forced to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ after committing adultery against her husband Roger Chillingworth, with the minister Arthur Dimmesdale. As a result an odd child is born.

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One of the best signs of symbolism is repetition shown throughout the story. The scaffold reappears within The Scarlet Letter three times within the writing; in the beginning, midway through the writing, and towards the end. In each scenario where Hester is reunited with the scaffold, Hawthorne uses distinct similarities and differences that help enhance the meaning. Through Hawthorne’s word choice, one can clearly see the bountiful embarrassment brought by Hester being shamed on the scaffold; "a penalty, which in our days, would refer a degree of mocking infamy and ridicule, might then be interested with almost as strong a dignity as the punishment of death itself" (Hawthorne 44). The scaffold directly symbolizes emotion such as persecution and confession.

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The book The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne has symbolism all throughout it. People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts. Throughout the book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to signify philosophies that are evident during this time period. Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against their ways, committing adultery. For this sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life.

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The interpretation of the letter eventually shifts to Able, after the community recognizes her endeavors. Hester acknowledges and addresses her sin which sparks a change in meaning of the scarlet letter that contributes to the themes of honesty and forgiveness. Hester most notably displays honesty when she embraces her sin and makes an attempt at salvation. In the first scaffold scene, the narrator illustrates Hester and her letter while she stands ignominiously, specifically indicating that the scarlet letter removes her from “ordinary relations with humanity” (Hawthorne 81). The citizens of Massachusetts Bay abash Hester for her wrongdoings, leading to an estrangement between the two; however, the stigma that Hester carries will not

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Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the Scarlet letter to display the sin and indecency people see Hester as. The detail represents ,the deep beauty Hester has inside although most people do not see her as a beutiful women. The deep red is a representation of adultery which shows her being an oncast from society. The symbol of the letter “A” is repetitive throughout the novel and grows with Hester and overcomes this with time as people start to see her as a person again and not just a adulterer. Hester acknowledges her sin in her puritan faith but swears to secrecy on the father of Pearl.

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Hester was initially married to a man whom she never loved and was thought to be dead after being lost at sea for five years. After waiting for the arrival of her husband which never came, Hester had an affair with another man and together they produced a child. When Hester had an affair with a man who was not her husband she had committed an act of adultery and had to be punished in the eyes of God and of her community. It was decided that Hester would have to serve time in jail and

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The Hidden Sin and The Revealed Sin As humans, we live in the that are brimming with sins and evil desire. As the creator of all the creatures, God, sent his only son to save the people from the control of devil. The only thing we have to do is to acknowledge our mistake. Bible teach us that we should tell the truth to God and your neighbors, and God will forgive you. But people are worse, they not only hide the sin and their evil behaviors but also try to deny it.

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Steinbeck 's second major legacy was the method of research that he developed in order to create his novels. Steinbeck was the first author of the twentieth century to focus on “the complexity of all life”, rather than the actions of a small group (Shillinglaw). Steinbeck 's “strong biological base for all his metaphysical conclusions” introduced the idea of scientific reasoning as a basis for philosophies, rather than the purely qualitative observations most writers of his time used (Ariki et al. 175). By doing so, Steinbeck set a precedent for humanities research that many writers of the post-World War era would follow. After Steinbeck, writers who used their work to propose various ideas concerning society, culture and life in general

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The Scarlet Letter is a symbolical novel in which Hawthorne used few major symbols as to represent the theme of sin though this novel is capable of interpretation in various ways. “The Scarlet Letter is so popular, generation after generation, because its beauty lies in the layers of meaning and the uncertainties of the symbols and characters” (Kirk, 2000: 7) The most important symbol that represent the theme of sin is the Scarlet Letter A forced on Hester Prynne by the Puritans. The whole plot of this novel is revolving around this symbol as the title of the book also suggest. This is the most outstanding and visible symbol in the whole novel that is embroidered on her bosom as a mark of shame and punishment for comitting sin in a highly religious society.

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