The irony in this, is how the only person that can interpret his sermon, is Hester herself, because they both share the same sin. Hawthorne uses the similes in the chapter, primarily to focus on Pearl, comparing her to birds, for some odd reason. It may possibly be to represent how jittery the readers
How does it change the reader’s view of the prison? 4. Many times Pearl is portrayed as innocent and full of light. Why does Hawthorne then describe her as witch-like and how does this relate to the theme of the human tendency to transgress?
He discusses Hester's daughter, Pearl, and how the fall of Hester would also affect Pearl's livelihood. Hawthorne explains, “often impelled Hester to ask, in bitterness of heart, whether it were for ill or good that the poor little creature had been born at all.” Hesters admittance of the fact that she has contemplated whether or not Pearl deserves to be alive signifies Hawthorne's use of a complex tone. Within the statement, he shows how Hester is recognizing that the life she has brought Pearl up in is not ideal. Out of the sorrow in her heart that she has for Pearl, Hester realizes that her daughter may have been better off never being born, as Hester has lost the abilities that she once had to be a loving mother.
In The Scarlet Letter, the forest is a prominent symbol used throughout the book to represent freedom from society. The forest is where Dimmesdale and Hester chose to meet because it is secluded from the rest of the Puritan civilization. During their meeting, they discuss that they want to run away to Europe together to escape their current living situations. This is an example of how the forest is being used to represent freedom from society. It is where Hester and Dimmesdale feel they are free to speak about whatever they want, even plans of running away together, because they cannot be seen by their fellow townsmen.
Pearl, through simile, is directly compared to nature, illustrating that like a bird, Pearl is unrestrained. Furthermore, she displays her connection when the forest “ recognize[s] a kindred wilderness in the human child” (Hawthorne 160). The personification of nature shows the close relationship Pearl has with the forest, which the Puritans disapprove of. This disapproval
The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies” (Hawthorne, 352). He goes on to express her sorrow through illustrating her tears and grief. This loss clarified for young Pearl that though she might have appreciated her father before, she loved him more than
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter followed the lives of Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Their daughter Pearl represented the guilt and gifts brought upon them during their time together in Boston. Hester and Dimmesdale’s sinful actions resulted in the birth of Pearl. In the beginning of the story, the Bostonians condemned Hester for committing adultery.
Symbolism Within The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne created symbolism throughout The Scarlet Letter in order to develop the theme throughout Hester’s life. Hester is portrayed as a sheltered soul, shunned from society due to her adulterous acts. The red A and her daughter, Pearl, are symbols of Hester’s shame which she bares proudly despite society's harsh judgements. Hawthorne is able to use symbolism to develop themes, characters, and analogies in the Scarlet Letter.
Sprinkled Snickerdoodlepastasauce Scarlet Letter Essay Throughout the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne shifts from a disapproving tone in the beginning of the passage to a more hopeful tone near the end of the excerpt. During the initial parts of the text, Hawthorne utilizes Anglo-Saxon diction in order to convey a disapproving tone towards the Puritan Society. The author begins the text by immediately portraying the townsfolk as wearing “sad colored garments,” and “some [women] wearing hoods.”
Waggoner states, “Pearl is a difficult child, capricious, unintentionally cruel, unfeeling in her demand for truth, but she has both the ‘naturalness’ and the beauty of the rose, and like the rose she is a symbol of love and promise,” (Waggoner 335). Pearl is a symbol of her mother’s sin, but she Hawthorne doesn’t portray her character as a sin. She is a very beautiful young girl in their harsh Puritan community. Hawthorne proclaims, “We have spoken of Pearl’s rich and luxuriant beauty; a beauty that shone with deep and vivid tints,” (Hawthorne 69). Pearl’s beauty is natural she shows it through her imagination and spirituality.
The fragrance and beauty of the roses often instills peace and comfort into the prisoners as they enter or leave the prison, and gives some relief from their guiltiness; something that Hester is still trying to find. When Pearl was throwing wild flowers at her mother’s bosom, her innocence kept her from realizing the meaning behind her actions. The flowers symbolize Hester’s pain and suffering so throwing the flowers at the scarlet symbol, made Hester feel even more isolated and ashamed. The black weeds symbolize the guilt that is always instilled into Hester’s heart. Nature planted the black weeds to urge Hester to repent and confess her sin.
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
Hawthorne is writing about how strange and beautiful Pearl is and states, ——— the intelligence that threw its quivering sunshine over the tiny features of this child! […] Man had marked this woman’s sin by a scarlet letter, which had such potent and disastrous efficacy that no human sympathy could reach her, save it were sinful like herself. God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child, whose place was on that same dishonored bosom, to connect her parent for ever with the race and descent of mortals, and to be finally a blessed soul in heaven
In fact, Chapter 16 is practically void of any text that couldn’t be analyzed as some form of symbol. Hawthorne develops numerous images especially that of the contrasting light and darkness and their relationships with Pearl and Hester, and how it thematically separates them. “The sunshine does not love you - it runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom...let me run and catch it - I am but a child - it will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet” is a quote coming from Pearl in Chapter 16 which really shows Hawthorne’s emphasis on how “light” contrasts Pearl from her mother. Symbolically speaking, this represents the purity and innocence that separates Pearl from her sinful mother. This difference between the two is seen to be developed by Hawthorne earlier in Chapter 15 as well.
Sex and adultery created conflict in a Puritan society. Pearl is the symbolic character, created by Hawthorne, as a product of an adulterous affair that challenges these moral beliefs in the Puritan Society. Pearl’s personality shows the struggles that surround her due to the unforgivable sin that Hester Prynne and the unnamed father (Dimmesdale) committed. Pearl’s journey in The Scarlet Letter from infancy on “the pedestal of shame” to her influence for Dimmesdale’s salvation at his death allows her to grow up “amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do battle with the world, but be a women in it.” ( Hawthorne 197).
