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The Scarlet Letter Meaning

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The Scarlet letter It is June, and a throng of drably dressed Puritans stands before a weather-beaten wooden prison. In front of the prison stands an unsightly plot of weeds, and beside it grows a wild rosebush, which seems out of place in this scene dominated by dark colors. In the scarlet letter the “A” on hester changes its meaning throughout the story. Society wanted hester to break but she didn't because she could support herself. The money she received she decided to give it to the poor. Hester liked the “A” because it made her stronger . The letter “A” changes in the story not just to hester but to everyone in the book. There are many forms of what people think it means. Many people in the book have different opinions of what …show more content…

Else it may be their miserable fortune, when some mightier touch than their own may have awakened all her sensibilities, to be reproached even for the calm content, the marble image of happiness, which they will have imposed upon her as the warm reality.” (Hawthorne) That just because pearl is her daughter born of sin does not mean that it's her fault or that she is just like her on mother and that she shouldn’t be treated like shes an outcast. To all of society who treat her wrong. Hester becomes more independent by not listening to what societys says because hester only relays on herself society isn't helping her if anything societys opinion means nothing to her. The “A” not only has changed views of others but has changed herself as a woman. She is proud of the “A” on her and wshe imbrasses it as a women it not only means adultery but ability, and angel of mercy. "She had wandered, without rule or guidance, into a moral wilderness. Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places, where she roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods. The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers - stern and wild ones - and they had made her strong, but taught her much

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Hester Prynne Shame Quotes

1140 Words | 5 Pages

Hester's divine beauty outshines others corrupt beliefs of her. While Hester walks stumbles out the prison doors and onto the dreaded scaffold, Hawthorne describes Hester as "the young woman [who] was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale" (40). Hester Prynne is being publicly shamed for the act of adultery she committed along with the minister who condemns her. She is forced to stand on the scaffold and beat the sorrow of he sins with the scarlet letter "A" on her bosom to represent her shameful acts. This mark of embarrassment serves a purpose to make her appear unrighteous, but the author chooses to focus on her beauty, which outshines this emblem.

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How Did Arthur Dimmesdale Change Throughout The Scarlet Letter

553 Words | 3 Pages

The Scarlet Letter is a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne about the weight of sin and guilt. The story begins in Massachusetts during the 1600’s. Hester Prynne, the protagonist of the story, has committed adultery with someone in the town, but no one knows who her lover is. As punishment for her sins, she must wear an embroidered scarlet “A” on her chest. Arthur Dimmesdale, the town's preacher, noticeably becomes quite ill once the scandal breaks out.

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Analysis Of Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter

896 Words | 4 Pages

By wearing the “A,” Hester was publicly humiliated, however, her development in character causes a change in the meaning of the Scarlet Letter, which leads her to taking pride in the letter as it grows a part of her. After Hester’s sin the Puritan community places a false

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Scarlet Letter Figurative Sympathy

245 Words | 1 Pages

The ability for a person to transcend from stereotypes and labels comes from the support from others. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne a respected woman and seamstress hiding in the shadows of society, is soon throw in the spot light when she is publically convicted as an adulterer. This crime comes with a loaded punishment; she is sentenced to a life of shame where she must a wear a scarlet “A” on her chest, in order to publically humiliate her and provide an example of what not to grow up to be. The story begins by introducing Hester and her beloved daughter Pearl, and how they cope with the new labels of an adulterer and a daughter of an illegitimate marriage. Overtime, Hester rises above this life of misery she has to deal with, and learns to cope with it by showing pride into who she really is and her ability to withstand this scrutiny of the judgmental peering eyes of society.

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Change In Scarlet Letter

1017 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel the letter stood for, aldress, able, and angel. But looking outside of the novel and taking a look at the bigger picture, the letter could mean almost anything. With the Puritan community, being very religious, Bayn connected it back to the bible by saying “it can stand for “apple” in a reference to the misdeed committed in the garden of Eden, and thinking of the Bible account as well as Puritan theology, we can make it Adam, everyman (and everywoman too)” (88). In the bible, Adam and Eve were told to not eat off of the tree in the middle of the garden, by God, but yet they did so and were punished for their actions/sins.

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What Does The Deep Red Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

940 Words | 4 Pages

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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1343 Words | 6 Pages

This, however, causes the town to change their perspective towards the scarlet letter. At one point, the town “refused to interpret the scarlet “A” by its original signification. They said that it mean[t] ‘Able’ (158).” This reveals how Hester’s enlightenment towards society not only caused her to grow but it also caused the town to progress. Hester’s enlightened knowledge and her ability to pass it on will allow Hester to become a successful judge because

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The Symbol Of Shame In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

378 Words | 2 Pages

The scarlet letter is originally a symbol of shame. Instead the scarlet letter becomes a symbol of identity to Hester. The letter’s meaning shifts as time goes on. Originally it marked Hester as an adulterer. The letter “A” eventually comes to stand for “Able.”

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Scarlet Letter Symbolism

1322 Words | 6 Pages

The scarlet letter has different meanings throughout the story and to each of the characters. The original meaning of the scarlet “A” is “Adultery”, but later in the story the townspeople and other characters begin to interpret it in different ways, each of them with their own idea and belief. Hester starts being more active in society and that makes the townspeople think differently about the scarlet “A”. The scarlet letter doesn´t keep the same meaning throughout the whole story, it changes with Hester´s actions and the Puritans beliefs. Hester starts being more active in society, she starts helping the poor and nursing the sick.

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Hester Prynne's Punishment In The 18th Century

1884 Words | 8 Pages

The Scarlet Letter is focalized on the consequences of adultery for a female in Puritan society. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is punished for adultery that resulted in her daughter Pearl. Hawthorne describes the emotional impact of the punishment and how the Puritan society treats Hester afterwards. Hester Prynne is forced to stand on a scaffold in public and wear the letter “A” on her chest as a reminder of her sin. As seen in her punishment, the Puritan justice system is vastly unique from today’s modern justice system.

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The Role Of Hester Prynne In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

199 Words | 1 Pages

The Scarlet letter is an American novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne; the novel is about Hester Prynne. A young woman who moved to Boston a Puritan’s settlement which Hester lived there for a long period of time without her husband. As she waits for her husband’s arrival she falls in love with reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, which later leads them to commit adultery. Later, Hester becomes pregnant and since she lived in strict religious Puritan’s state they punished her for her sin after discovering her pregnancy. Hester was sent to prison and she was forced to wear a Scarlet letter “A” on her chest for the rest of her life as a symbol of her sin.

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Scarlet Letter Essay: Importance Of Identity In Puritan Society

419 Words | 2 Pages

The ‘A’ is given to Hester Prynne as a remembrance and punishment of her committing the sin adultery. Hester “for the remainder of her natural life, [must] wear a mark of shame upon her bosom” to constantly remind her and everyone else of the sin (60). When the citizens of the town find out about Hester’s sin they immediately identify her as an undignified, contemptible woman, Hester however doesn’t allow it to get to her, instead she stands on the scaffold tall and proud. Hester’s act of bravery is the first sign of acceptance in identity, it doesn’t matter to her what others saw her as or categorized her as but how she acknowledges herself to

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Hester Prynne: A Radical Feminist

1190 Words | 5 Pages

In the film, Hester is a feminist icon in the village long before the A is placed on her. Before any sexual component is introduced, she exerts her independence through living by herself, well separated from the rest of the town. She also spends money on indentured servants and a slave, asking if her money “is good enough” (The Scarlet Letter). She is also well-read, having read Milton due to her husband’s library. And, when Reverend Dimmesdale asks if her tongue follows any rules, she quickly and bluntly responds with, “if it did, what purpose would it serve?”

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The Symbolism Of 'A' In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

959 Words | 4 Pages

With Hester changing her ways and helping the poor, the community changed, “They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” (Hawthorne 168). While the community originally viewed the “A” as a symbol of sin, they began to see it too as a symbol of being “Able” because all that Hester Prynne had overcome. The Scarlet Letter had many examples of symbolism, but none were more significant that the letter “A”

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Scarlet Letter: A Utopian Society

1623 Words | 7 Pages

Because of her crime against the Puritan society, Hester bears a scarlet “A” upon her bosom to eternally mark her with shame and agony. Hawthorne utilizes the scarlet letter as a sign of shame by stating, “In all the seven bygone years, Hester Prynne had never before been false to the symbol on her bosom. It may be that it was the talisman of a stern and severe, but yet a guardian spirit...” (149). The letter “A” is a sign of shame and allows all to identify as a evildoer; additionally, it identifies her acts of adultery and labels her as an outcast, burdening her conscience with loneliness and misery.

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