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Scarlett Letter Essay

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The Scarlett Letter is a classic piece of literature by Nathaniel Hawthorne that surrounds the struggles of a woman named Hester Prynne in a Puritan society. The story follows Hester as she faces ostracism, humiliation, and inner turmoil while living with a secret sin she has committed. While every moment from the book is memorable, there are 10 specific events that can be quoted as a reminder of Hester's journey and the lessons readers can take from it. These events include Hester's walk of shame to the scaffold, her confrontation with Reverend Dimmesdale, and her ultimate decision to remain in Boston. Each of these events provides insight into the characters and their struggles, as well as the overall themes of the novel.
In the classic …show more content…

One of the themes explored in the text is the epistolary relationship between her and the late Martha Washington, the wife of President George Washington. Their relationship provides insight into the 18th century ideals of femininity and is a commentary on the lack of recognition that women have historically faced in the context of politics. Although the United States Constitution granted more rights to women than most other texts written during the same time period, the relationship between Fanny Aldridge and Martha Washington serves as an example of how the lives of women in 18th century America were still constrained (Salomon …show more content…

A highly influential work due to its poignancy and relevance, this book has maintained its popularity since it was published in 1849. Through the story of Hester Prynne, Hawthorne explored several themes such as justice, passion, and morality, that are still relevant today. In this work, there are a number of significant events that share important lessons. To name a few, there is Hester's public shaming in front of the whole town (Hawthorne, 1849), her sewing of the Scarlet A on her chest (Hawthorne, 1849), her public confession of her sin (Hawthorne, 1849), her travel to Europe (Hawthorne, 1849), her reunion with Dimmesdale at the forest (Hawthorne, 1849), and finally Dimmesdale's death and Pearl's departure (Hawthorne, 1849). Each of these powerful events reinforces Hawthorne's exploration of various themes and can help readers reflect on human nature and society. The Scarlet Letter continues to serve as an important literary source of moral

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In The Scarlett Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne creates Hester Prynne, who is affected by the sin resulting in a psychological novel. Hester’s sin of adultery affects her. The Boston community abhors Hester, including the young children who throw mud and rocks towards her. In

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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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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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Many tend to focus on either the consequences of sins, or the causes of them. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the protagonist Hester Prynne is widely considered as the most controversial character in the piece. D.H. Lawrence’s criticism “On the Scarlet Letter” displays his views of how Hester Prynne is depicted, as well as how she should have been depicted, in the novel. Lawrence utilizes the literary devices of choppy syntax, biblical allusions, and satirical tone to emphasize his opinions on the characterization of Hester Prynne.

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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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The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, describes the experiences of a woman, Hester Prynne, who is publicly shamed for adulterous actions, which resulted in a child. The book shows the progression of her life and her daughter’s in addition to the life of Arthur Dimmesdale, who is the father of Hester’s daughter, but never revealed it publicly in fear of being viewed differently by his peers. Dimmesdale and Hester, connected by the act of adultery, have both experienced stress and unforgiveness, resulting in negative changes to their mental states. Troubled by this stress and unforgiveness, both Dimmesdale and Hester reflect the negative changes through internal struggle, yet in slightly different manners. Suffering from stress

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In his essay, On The Scarlet Letter, critic D.H. Lawrence expresses his opinion about Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Because he sees her in a negative way, Lawrence focuses his essay on her sins and their effects on society. D.H. Lawrence effectively depicts Hester Prynne as an enemy to Puritan society through the use of thought-provoking biblical allusions, a choppy syntax, as well as critical diction and repetition in his essay, On The Scarlet Letter.

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The act of Hester confessing her sin of adultery became a pivotal moment in her journey towards personal growth. “...Hester Prynne - yes, at herself - who stood on the scaffold of the pillory, an infant in her arm, and the letter ‘A’ in scarlet, fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom!” (pg.52).

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Marcel Proust once said, “The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Humans see what they want to see as it is human nature to judge others before getting an opportunity to know them. As harsh as it may seem, it is the process by which we are able to quickly make sense of others and of our surroundings. The way a person sees or processes something does not change overnight, it could take days, months or even years for a change to occur. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee demonstrates the changes in Scout’s perception during her progression through childhood.

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His novel The Scarlet Letter expresses this very idea by exposing the follies of mankind and the potentially detrimental effects of sin through Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth

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The Scarlett Letter is a without a doubt a classic piece of American Literature. It looks at many different aspects of human interactions and how those outcomes can affect people. The character of Hester Prynne is a great example of these ideas in action. Based on the interactions that Hester has over the course of the novel she can be viewed as a strong female character that stood up for her rights and refused to bend no matter the personal cost or she can be viewed as weak female that refused to standup for herself and her daughter and leave a bad situation. Hester can be viewed as a strong woman if you view her through a progressive lens and see her actions as those of a rebellion instead of adherence.

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“She had not known the weight, until she felt the freedom” (Hawthorne 250). The Scarlet Letter is a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne that follows Hester Prynne after she committed adultery. Hester Prynne is first seen holding her child, Pearl, with a red scarlet “A” on her bosom during her punishment on the scaffold. Pearl is the result of adultery, so the town wants to know who the father is, but Hester refuses. During her last night in jail, Hester is visited by Roger Chillingworth, her husband, whom she had seen in the crowd.

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In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, the protagonist, Hester Prynne is a Romantic Hero. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, we see Hester Prynne’s struggle in Colonial America after she is condemned by the Puritan society. She is sent to America by her husband, but he never returns, and Hester later conceives a child with the local minister. She is convicted with the crime of adultery, but refuses to identify the father, she is then forced to wear the Scarlet Letter. The novel captures her experience as she struggles to survive the guilt, sin, and revenge.

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In “The Scarlet Letter” he depicts it as an oppressive 17th – century Puritan society. “The style of Puritanism that Hawthorne presents is drab and gloomy, preoccupied with judgment and punishment, unrelenting and dogmatic,”1 writes Deborah L. Madsen in her book, “American Exceptionalism.” Hester Prynne, the main character accused of adultery, is persecuted by Boston community. Not only adults despise her, but also children who, blinded by the decayed values and norms, humiliate her and her child, Pearl. The character of Hester symbolizes the fight against Puritan enslavement, the need to modernize the prevailing norms that cause nothing but harm to American society.

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The society’s intentions to portray themselves as pure individuals while condemning Hester for her sins even though they mask their own, highlights the hypocritical nature of the society. Ultimately, by the use of the supernatural character of Mistress Hibbins, Hawthorne is able to provide a metaphorical representation of the hypocrisy in the society while conforming to the conventions of the gothic genre. Moreover, through the presence of negative emotions that catalyze actions, Hawthorne effectively illustrates the consequences for not confessing sin while conforming to

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