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Scarlet Letter From Heroine To Sinner

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From Heroine To Sinner In D.H. Lawrence’s essay, “On The Scarlet Letter”, he rips apart the character from the novel The Scarlet Letter. The motive of his essay is to show how Hester Prynne should not be praised for the sin she commits in the story. D.H. Lawrence expresses his dislike towards Hester by using concise syntax, biblical allusions, and a mocking tone throughout his essay. Lawrence’s brief syntax displays the disgust he has towards Hester and allows him to employ other effective literary devices. Lawrence introduces the idea that the Hester is the wrong character to be admired. Towards the middle of his essay, Lawrence states, “The human spirit, fixed in a lie, adhering to a lie, giving itself perpetually the lie” (Lawrence). He uses his brief syntax to also add in repetition that confronts the people tricked into believing Hester as a hero. Consistently, Lawrence attacks Hester using his syntax to further expose the unjust characterization done to Hester by Hawthorne. Lawrence explains how the “A” that Hester wears is …show more content…

Lawrence first explains how Hester is praised on the scaffold in which she stands. He proceeds to refer to her as “The Woman, the Magna Mater. A. Adulteress! Abel!” (Lawrence). This last word mentioned, Abel, is the name of the brother killed by his brother in the Bible. Lawrence includes Abel as one of Hester’s names to show how she was actually victimized in the story which lead to the massive liking towards herself and Hawthorne. He also references many more Bible stories, but includes one about a woman who is a prostitute and repents for her acts. Lawrence uses this story to tell Hester to “wipe off the mud with your hair, another Magdalen” which refers to the mess she made of Dimmesdale (Lawrence). He includes this allusion to display how Hester fools everyone by acting so kindly to the one she

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814 Words | 4 Pages

In D.H. Lawrence's critical essay “On the Scarlet Letter,” Hester Prynne is portrayed as Dimmesdale’s seducer. Hester Prynne is described as a “demon” and as the “greatest nemesis of woman” because she committed adultery. D.H. Lawrence focuses his essay around her sin rather than the consequences resulting from her sin. In order to display his purpose in a successful manner, he uses colloquial diction that involves repetition, terse syntax, and biblical and mythological allusions that stimulate ideas through imagery.

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511 Words | 3 Pages

In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Hester to create the theme of reputation by presenting her as a woman whose reputation was ruined by an extramarital affair. She endures being forced to stand on a scaffold while holding her newborn babe, while villagers gossip below. "You must needs be a stranger in this region, friend," answered the townsman, looking curiously at the

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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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315 Words | 2 Pages

Hawthorne uses many forms of rhetoric to portray his characters, but relies heavily on pathos in the instance of Hester Prynne. She’s a member of an inherently misogynistic society, and because she’s a woman, her every act is scrutinized. As punishment for her act of adultery, Hester is ordered to adorn her chest with a permanent scarlet letter. Although the audience is well aware of the atrocity of the sin she’s committed, Hawthorne’s writing sparks a feeling of empathy within the reader. Throughout the novel, the reader is exposed to several clear uses of pathos.

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707 Words | 3 Pages

As Hawthorne and Moore did, writers use diction to convey an important theme. Hawthorne started Hester off as a young woman standing on a scaffold with a baby and a scarlet A on her breast, as the plot went on Hester created her own second chance and began to redeem her sin and was now seen as “kind. . . helpful. . . to. .

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731 Words | 3 Pages

A memorable story, The Scarlet Letter recounts Hester’s tragedy with powerful symbols

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896 Words | 4 Pages

The letter gave Hester a new power to sympathize with and be charitable to others. Townspeople even began to interpret the letter very differently from its original meaning. They began to believe that the symbol no longer meant adultery, however, its new significance was to mean “Able” (111). Her selfless acts of kindness attracted the attention of the community as she did needlework for the poor in her spare time. The community did not know the true reason of why Hester did this, but the act caused her true character and natural instinct to be generous to be reflected.

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1244 Words | 5 Pages

More important than its meaning is the letter’s connection to the mark of the Black Man. The letter is a symbol of Hester’s sin, a mark telling society to stay away because of the awful evil she has committed. However, this letter A is also the mark of the Black Man. According to the “old dame[,] … [the] scarlet letter was the Black Man’s mark,” (277-278) , a symbol of one’s allegiance to the powers of evil. Hawthorne purposefully instills this connection, and forces the reader to more closely at the parallel.

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1213 Words | 5 Pages

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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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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782 Words | 4 Pages

The Scarlet Letter shows the church unaccepting of Hester and Pearl because of adultery. Finally, in The Scarlet Letter Hester realizes that all of her struggles are finally coming to ease. After the shamming has stopped, Hawthorne says, “Hester strong, calm, steadfast enduring spirit almost sank, at last on beholding this dark and grim countenance of inevitable doom…” (Hawthorne 241). In the end of The Scarlet Letter Hester has moved on along with the townspeople and she is finally being accepted in society.

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762 Words | 4 Pages

Introduction In the novel “The Scarlet Letter”, Hester is constantly reminded of her sin and put down for it. The Puritans look down upon her because she has committed a sin. Thesis: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel “The Scarlet Letter” can be seen as criticism of the beliefs of puritans and how symbolism is used to show Hester’s sin and how she is defined. Body Paragraph 1 Topic Sentence: When the Puritans had found out that Hester had conceived a child with another man, the Puritans saw this as a sin that deserved punishment.

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719 Words | 3 Pages

Even though the Puritans may have designated the letter as a representation of sin, Hester’s renewed sense of pride does not want society to define the A for her. Rather Hester wants to define it herself and by doing so she develops responsibility and power over her own actions. Because Hester has the power to change who she is, she also has the power to change what the Scarlet Letter represents. By letting the letter be “embroidered with gold thread” readers are able to see how for Hester sin is not something to be fearful of; furthermore, it allows one to see how Hester has developed into an independent individual who accepts who she is and the situation she is presented with. Hester’s lover unfortunately

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1142 Words | 5 Pages

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was published in 1850. It focuses on the life of the main protagonist, Hester Prynne, living in a Puritan community. Both Yamin Wang and Maria Stromberg offer insight into The Scarlet Letter and analyze multiple aspects of the story.. Both Wang and Stromberg claim that there is an underlying ideology hidden in the texts of the book. Wang approaches the story from a feminist approach and states that Hester represents the feminism in the Puritan community, and she analyzes the Puritan’s outlook on women in their society.

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936 Words | 4 Pages

The hypocritical society is blinded by how they should punish Hester that they are not showing kindness to Hester. Hawthorne creates the book to show how an individual spirit must overcome the difficult obstacles in the society cultural

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