What Is Hester Prynne's Description Of Puritan

Chapter 1-10 Discussion Questions

Chapter 1: “The Prison Door”

1. The mood in the first chapter is dark and depressed. This gloomy tone is established through imagery. For example, words like "sad-colored", "gray", "heavily", and "iron spikes" paint a dreary image of what the town of Salem is like.

2. A symbol brought up in the first chapter is the prison, which represents the harsh punishment that criminals received from the strict Puritan society. The prison also symbolizes how anyone who doesn't conform with the Puritan ideals is banished and an outsider. The cemetery represents how no matter how strict and harsh the Puritan society was, many people never confessed their sins and died with them, scared of being an outcast. The rose

The people in the crowd are described as cold and “a people amongst whom religion and law were almost identical.” (47) The description of the people portrays Puritanism as a religion of punishment and without forgiveness, no matter what the penalty. The women in this scene abhor Hester and view her as a malefactress who “has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die.” (49)

2. Hester Prynne is described as a beautiful, tall, young, elegant, graceful, brunette, and ladylike. Her most dominant characteristic is the scarlet letter embroidered on her bosom, reflecting how her sin is the only thing the Puritans see when they look at her.

3. The omniscient narrator guides the reader into Hester’s head. As she walks to the scaffold, the reader learns that Hester is tortured and suffering and feels as if “her heart had been flung into the street for them all to spurn and trample upon”. Although Hester puts on a strong and brave visage, and hides her agony through her stubbornness, this point of view clues the reader into how sensitive she really

Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale gives off the impression that he takes his job very seriously and he aims to help everyone overcome their evil. Unlike the other dark and judgemental Puritans Hawthorne describes, Mr. Dimmesdale has a sweet voice that “vibrates within all hearts, and brought the listeners into one accord of sympathy.” (65)

4. In these chapters, the scaffold symbolizes punishment and humility. It represents how the Puritans would brand someone as a criminal and make them an outcast if they did not conform to their standards.

5. A common color used to describe Salem and the Puritans is gray, which represents how judgemental and strict society was. Another common color is scarlet, like in Hester’s embroidered letter. This color symbolizes embarrassment, reflecting the color of blushing cheeks, and therefore punishment.

6. “It was whispered, by those who peered after her, that the scarlet letter threw a lurid gleam along the dark passageway of the interior.” (67) is the last sentence of chapter three. Hawthorne uses this haunting sentence to make the statement that Hester Prynne can never relieve herself of her sin, and that she will always be constantly reminded of it, even in the dark. Hawthorne is also foreshadowing that the scarlet letter is much more powerful than it seems.

Chapter 4: “The