PlanetPapers.com RSS Feedhttps://www.planetpapers.com/ The Lasting Effect of Sin and Guilt on Hester and Dimmesdale Without an honorable reputation a person is not worthy of respect from others in their society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the struggle to shake off the past is an underlying theme throughout the novel. Characters in this novel go through their lives struggling with trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with actions that lost them their honorable reputation. Particularly, Hawthorne shows the lasting effect that sin and guilt has on two of the main characters in the book: Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale. Hester Prynne's guilt is the result of her committing adultery, which has a significant effect on her life. Hester is publicly seen with the scarlet letter when she first emerges out of the cold dark prison. "It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself" (49). The spell that is mentioned is the scarlet letter, "so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom" (49). The scarlet letter is what isolates her from everyone else because it symbolizes sin. Hester is in her very own sphere, where her sin affects her livelihood and has completely cut her off from the world. Her entrance into the sphere marks the beginning of her guilt and it occurs when she is in the prison after her first exposure to the crowd. The prison marks the beginning of a new life for Hester, a life full of guilt and seclusion. Her problem is that her shame is slowly surfacing while she faces the crowd realizing that she has been stripped of all her pride and everything that was important to her in the past. The lasting effect of Hester's sin is the shame that she now embodies due to her committing adultery. The shame that is associated with Hester's iniquity remains with her as an everlasting reminder of her sinful actions. Guilt is a consequence of sin that Hester has to endure throughout her life and her remorse starts to have a profound effect on her life and thinking. Hester's shame does become very influential in her life making her unable to express herself freely. "Hester Prynne might have repaid them all with a bitter and disdainful smile. But under the leaden infliction which it was her doom to endure, she felt at moments as if she must needs to shriek" (52-53). 2006-10-31T20:53:19-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Lasting-Effect-of-Sin-and-Guilt-on-Hester-and-Dimmesdale-6625.aspx Pearls can be Convincing In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Pearl as a symbol of the scarlet letter "A." He also uses Pearl as a device to make Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale accept their sin of Adultery. Pearl achieves this by making Dimmesdale confess to the town that he has committed this sin and also by making her mother see that she is not as bad a sinner as she believes. When the Puritans look at Hester and Pearl, they think that Pearl is a child of the devil and think she is a black-hearted girl because she is the result of a sin, so she starts acting like she’s the devil’s child by throwing stones at other children and things of that nature. Pearl thinks Hester and Dimmesdale are evil too. She wants Hester to accept her sin and stop acting like she’s the worst person in the world. Pearl also wants Dimmesdale to act like her father all the time, not just in secret by himself. &#65279; Hester wants to keep Pearl and says that Pearl “keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a millionfold the power of retribution of my sin?”(Pg. 109). She also says that Pearl is the living part of her letter and causes her more pain than the letter itself, but Pearl is only difficult when she sees her mother trying to get away from her sin, and so she makes her mother continue to wear the letter. &#65279; Hester doesn’t think she is a good person because of her sin, but she will keep feeling that way until she accepts her sins and the fact that she made a mistake. She wants to run away from the situation and live with Dimmesdale contently as an offender with another offender and leave her transgression behind. Pearl will not let that happen because she knows that by leaving, Hester will leave her sins in the past and keep feeling as though she is a bad person, even though she isn’t if she would just accept the fact. Hester talks of leaving with Dimmesdale “Let it suffice, that the clergyman resolved to flee, and not alone…” then Dimmesdale says, “But now—since I am irrevocably doomed—wherefore should I not snatch the solace allowed to the 2004-01-27T22:40:59-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Pearls-can-be-Convincing-5423.aspx Sunlight as a Symbol in The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne uses a sizeable number of symbols in his book, The Scarlet Letter. These include rose bushes, letters, trees, scaffolds, colors, etc.. One of these many symbols is that of sunlight. However, its application throughout the book is poorly and inconsistently used, conveying different meanings and significance. Hawthorne applies sunlight as a caring, warm, and admirable source throughout the book, and the same applies in everyday life; He does, nevertheless, change the sunlight’s attitude towards Hester Prynne, the adulteress of the book. Hawthorne alters the spirit of the sun, and the order in which he does minimizes the credibility of the symbol. “The door of the jail being flung open from within, there appeared, in the first place, like a black shadow emerging into sunshine, the grim and grisly presence of the town-beadle.....When the young woman-the mother of this child–stood fully revealed before the crowd...she had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam...(and) the Scarlet Letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom.” -Chapter 2, “The Market Place”, pgs. 54-56 This passage reveals the first use of sunlight as a symbol. It also shows a major inconsistency upon close examination. Hawthorne uses the beadle’s emergence as a way to contrast the prison, Hester’s current home, and the outside. In Chapter One, Hawthorne describes the market place as dismal and dispiriting where solemn and disapproving townspeople waited to ridicule Hester. Yet the beadle’s emergence into the sunshine changes the entire attitude of the town outside, awaiting Hester. The sunlight also presents an inconsistency within two pages time. When the sunshine is thrown off Hester’s hair, it can be symbolized as warmth and happiness being thrown off someone who has been hardened and saddened. This presents the sunlight as a friendly presence, trying to cheer Hester into a lighthearted state. Yet just a few lines later, Hawthorne describes the Scarlet Letter on Hester being illuminated. The sunlight is now acting as a spotlight in the sky, directing its glare onto Hester’s shame and ignominy. The same situation can be applied on page 170– “...that not a shining lock of it ever once gushed into the sunshine.”. “The sportive sunlight–feebly sportive, at best, in the predominant pensiveness of the day and scene–withdrew itself as they came nigh, and left spots where it had danced the drearier, because they had hoped to find them 2004-01-18T18:02:03-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Sunlight-as-a-Symbol-in-The-Scarlet-Letter-5416.aspx Hawethorne's Scarlet Letter: Character Analysis - Chillingworth <h2>Chillingworth: A Symbol of Evil</h2> In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses many literary tools to accomplish the points he’s trying to make. Among these is his use of symbolism. He uses allegorical images as well as rich and figurative language to convey his messages about sin and the nature of the human self. For example, Dimmesdale represents the power of guily; Pearl, truth. One of the most efficient characters to carry his message is Roger Chillingworth. Roger Chillingworth symbolizes the self-destructive power of revenge, as well as (in his aspect as the epitome of Puritan society) the innate evil found in every person. To accomplish this, Hawthorne emphasizes the deformity of Chillingworth’s body, as well as also incorporating deformities in his mind and soul. The most obvious of Chillingworth’s deformities is the one that consumes his physical self. This is noted when Chillingworth is first introduced. While Hester is standing on the scaffold, the narrator describes her first impression of Roger Chillingworth: He was small in stature, with a furrowed visage which, as yet, could hardly be termed aged. There was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as of a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould the physical to itself, and become manifest by unmistakable tokens. Although, by a seemingly careless arrangement of his heterogeneous grab, he had endeavored to conceal or abate the peculiarity, it was sufficiently evident to Hester Prynne that one of this man’s shoulders rose higher than the other. Again, at first instant of perceiving that thin visage, and the slight deformity of the figure, she pressed her infant to her bosom with so convulsive a force that the poor babe uttered another cry of pain. But the mother did not seem to hear it (Hawthorne 56). Here, Chillingworth is presented as an unimposing, if not ugly, man. He is “thin,” “small,” and possessed of an odd “peculiarity.” This physical mutation seems to single him out from society, though he tries with his mixed and “heterogeneous” clothes to conceal it. This deformity must be one of the “unmistakable tokens,” or signs, that have been left on Chillingworth because of his cultivation of the mind; something that makes him different from those around him. This “slight deformity” is described as one of Chillingworth’s “shoulders rose higher than the other.” It seems that the physical off-balance can be seen 2002-10-18T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Hawethorne-s-Scarlet-Letter-Character-Analysis-Chillingworth-5058.aspx Scarlet Letter - Dangers of Hidden Sin Sin is something society has had to deal with since mankind has known evil. In most circumstances, the sin only becomes a problem when it is kept within and manifests into something larger than it was in the first place. Keeping secrets is a detriment to one’s life, which in a larger picture affects a whole society. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, secret sin is a predominant theme, which in this novel leads to changes in both emotional and physical being. In the early days of the Massachusetts colony, they are neither welcoming nor accepting of sin or different ideas and are wary of anything that may topple their pristine atmosphere. Evil should never be kept secret because it always leaves a mark. Hester Prynne hides a significant amount of sin inside of herself, which only adds to sins that have been made an issue of public interest. Committing adultery is Hester’s announced sin, and all her secret sins are results of this one instance. A sin, which is closely related to her sin of adultery, is who the father of Pearl is. She refuses to tell even under extreme pressure, “I will not speak! And my child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthly one (47).” We later learn that the father is Arthur Dimmesdale, and these miscommunications cause a barrier between them. Her refusal consequently denies any hope of reconciliation between the two for an extensive period. Hester also conceals that Roger Chillingworth is her husband. This pains her because she must helplessly watch his evil ways take toll on Dimmesdale. However, Chillingworth’s punishment of Dimmesdale goes against he and Hester’s agreement. Hester promised to keep both Chillingworth and Dimmesdale’s identities hidden or Chillingworth would seek out Hester’s secret lover, Dimmesdale, and kill him. Hester causes the townspeople to become forgiving people by her many good deeds; this changes the “A” symbol on her dress to become perceived as a symbol for Angel rather than Adultery. Arthur Dimmesdale lives a life of hidden sin and he changes because of it. He too has a committed adultery, but due to his position in society he does not need to suffer the wrath of society. His sin leads him to torture himself in various ways. This self-torture is something that leads from guilt of keeping secrets, these actions show that Dimmesdale is does feel 2002-05-15T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Scarlet-Letter-Dangers-of-Hidden-Sin-4764.aspx The Scarlet Letter - Various Symbols <i>This got me a 39/40 in AP English.</i> Nathaniel Hawthorne. The name strikes fear in the hearts of high school students everywhere because Hawthorne's 'wordy' novels, especially his 1849 The Scarlet Letter, have been at the top of English classes' required reading lists for years and will continue to be for years to come. In general, students have grown accustomed to superficial analyses of books, which encompasses reading and regurgitating 'literary facts' on multiple choice tests. However, when reading engaging, well-written, stylistic and ambiguous novels, such as The Scarlet Letter, one must go deeper and actually examine the novel and the elements that the author so effectively uses. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses a wide range of symbols, such as: aspects of nature, for example the forest, sunshine and water; things, like the scarlet letter itself and places like the scaffold. One of the most integral parts of the book, when Hester Prynne speaks to the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale about their predicament, takes place in the forest. When reading the novel, it becomes increasingly apparent that there is a contrast between the forest and the town, as settings. The forest symbolizes a dark and mysterious place where impulses and urges reign and also where the goings-on are to be kept a secret. The forest is described as dismal, gloomy and full of shadows with an imposing, cloudy sky that is filled with threatening storms (p. 181). When Dimmesdale and Hester first see each other, Hawthorne describes them as being "in the world beyond the grave, of two spirits who had intimately connected in their former life, but now stood coldly shuddering, in mutual dead" (p. 181). Also in the forest, Hester undid the clasp that fastened the scarlet letter, and, taking it from her bosom, threw it to a distance among the withered leaves….[and] took off the formal cap that confined her hair (p. 192). During the Puritan times, a woman letting her hair down would never happen in town--it would be blasphemous, only in the woods would it happen. At the holiday, Pearl asks about Dimmesdale, Hester hushes her because those are only things that happen in the forest and they are not to be spoken about in the town (p. 215). Also, Hawthorne uses the sunshine to signify warmth, love and acceptance. "'Mother,' said little Pearl, 'the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it 2002-02-28T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-Various-Symbols-4458.aspx Dimmesdale a weakling In Hawthorne’s classic, The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is a self-confessed coward and hypocrite. He is fully aware of the means by which he must liberate his soul from the confines of his grave sin, and make his concord with God. Yet, throughout the story his confession remains an impediment, constraining him, from then onwards, to a life of atonement. Reverend Dimmesdale’s guilt complex causes him to cultivate a crop of internal conflicts. He attempts to divest himself of his peccadillo by revealing it to his parishioners during services, but somehow never manages to accomplish the task, illuminating the reader of what he truly is, a pathetic weakling. For the most part, Dimmesdale's story is one of a lonely man who has given into temptation and desire. His carnal craving is looked upon with ignominy. The matter is further convoluted by Hester's marriage, and his unwillingness to mar his reputation among the villagers as the faithful and innocent priest. He is now stranded at a crossroad, not knowing whether to confess or carry on a life of self-punishment. The sin begins to gnaw away at his sanity. As a form of penance he partakes in late night vigils, starvation, and self-mutilation. His acts of penance were severe and drained him of much of his life force. Finally becoming fed up with his prolonged misery, he walked unsteadily to the podium to expose his secret, but his confession was ambiguous and inconclusive, and people thought he was speaking about the sins of humanity. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale has many opportunities to confess. One of the very first moments available to Dimmesdale to confess was on the scaffolding in the beginning when Hester was publicly humiliated in front of the townspeople. Dimmesdale was preaching to her for hours without end about her sin, yet he was her co-sinner. “If thou feelest it to be for thy soul’s peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!” (59) He asked whom it was she had this adulterous affair with. Dimmesdale now has the perfect opportunity to confess and he does not because he is frightened. He could have easily admitted his sin and endured the wrath of Puritan society, but he made it linger. There was also a time during story when Dimmesdale 2002-02-15T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Dimmesdale-a-weakling-4384.aspx The Scarlet Letter: The moral corruption of the main characters The three main characters of “The Scarlet Letter”, Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale, were all morally corrupt. They all showed incredible proof of this through out the novel. The very beginning of this novel starts with Hester in a jail cell. The only reason she was in this cell is because she was an adulterer. While her husband was on his was from England, she found time to woo a mate, establish a bad reputation, and have a bastard child. The fact that she produced a child that was not her husbands, inscribes her in the book of the immoral for life. There is no way a moral person would have sexual relations with anyone while they were married. Roger Chillingworth was also a lost soul. He lived incognito, as a doctor from afar. He used this fact to gain the trust and friendship of Arthur. He went so far as to offer the Supreme evil being, Satan, a good deal of hospitality. Roger Allowed the Devil to take over his body and do evil things while in its confines. The only Reason Roger did this, was to torture Dimmesdale. He showed the most immorality by living under a friendly guise. He lived as Dimmesdale’s friend and doctor, while he used this friendship to tear Dimmesdale apart, finding his weaknesses and exploiting them. I am nearly positive that torture is one of the most immoral actions in existence. It is more of an infraction when the person being tortured is unaware of his torturers macabre goal. In addition to this, Roger had no problem with destroying Dimmesdale’s soul, when the only thing keeping Dimmesdale from doing the right thing, was Rogers “friendly” advice. Arthur Dimmesdale wasn’t the most immoral, but he deceived the most people. He, as a Preacher, acted as good person who knew and lived gods’ word, yet carried on as a bandit, who has sex with married women, and forsakes the matrimony sent by God. He committed adultery and lied about it. He refused to tell any of his congregants about this and refused Pearl when she asked him to stand on the scaffold with her. He went against god, went agents his followers, and went against good behavior. This is surely the greatest or all the sins, and worthy or eternal damnation. I have proved these characters immoral beyond all doubts. They all took part in 2001-10-09T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-The-moral-corruption-of-the-main-characters-3829.aspx Dimmesdale's changes In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many characters that transform; one of them is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale committed a great sin of the puritan society, he slept with another mans wife and Hester Prynne became pregnant. Hester was punished for her sin but Arthur Dimmesdale had not admitted to it, so he lives with this guilt and it is much worst for him because he is a puritan minister. Dimmesdale inflicts punishment upon himself because of his adulterated sin. Dimmesdale transforms throughout the novel always in the same place “The Scaffold.” The town is all out to witness the punishment of Hester Prynne some of the women are suggesting other punishments and the women are telling us about Hester and Dimmesdale. People say," said another, "that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation." (Page 49) Reverend Dimmesdale is seen as a godly man. A man who does not commit sin and in his own mind at this point he feels fine and does not have any guilt. Dimmesdale at this point in the novel is seen as godly and throughout the novel is seen as godly even at the end after the last scaffold scene. Consequently enough, Dimmesdale is trying to convince Hester to reveal the man who has sinned along with her , so the man can be relieved of his guilt, some what ironic because he is the man who has sinned along side with her. “What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him--yea, compel him, as it were--to add hypocrisy to sin? Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy, that thereby thou mayest work out an open triumph over the evil within thee and the sorrow without. Take heed how thou deniest to him--who, perchance, hath not the courage to grasp it for himself--the bitter, but wholesome, cup that is now presented to thy lips!" (Page 65) This is the first scaffold scene Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is not showing any signs of guilt at this point, he is still fairly the same and has not began to inflict punishment on himself or so it appears. Dimmesdale in the first scaffold scene seems fairly normal and has not begun to transform himself but by the next time we see him at the scaffold he is taken 2001-10-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Dimmesdale-s-changes-3814.aspx Scarlet Letter - Reading Log <b>Aug. 25 2001 Chapter 1 Pages 49-50</b> 1. Chapter one thoroughly describes the Jailhouse and the surrounding landscape. Tells of the huge wooden edifices whose threshold is timbered and iron barred. Gives the description of the peoples clothing who were congregating outside of the prison. It also describes the necessity of a new colony first building a prison and graveyard. In the last paragraph it tells of a rose bush outside of the oaken doors. The author describes the awkwardness of having such a beautiful plant surrounded by weeds and shrubs. 2. (Page 50) The rose-bush, by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness, so long after the fall of the gigantic pines and oaks that originally overshadowed it, --or whether, as there is fair authority for believing, it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Anne Hutchinson, --we shall not take upon us to determine. I believe these lines are important because they illustrate some of the mythology of the times in which this book was set. The author also goes on to describe how this rose bush could symbolize two different things depending on the readers perspective; A tale of morals blossoming; or a tale of human frailty and sorrow. 3. I think chapter one should have been more obvious to the setting and time frame in which the story takes place. By text one assumes it is set in a new colony in early American history, however it should give a precise time in my opinion. Hawthorne does an excellent job of helping the reader visualize the story and is able to present a question of opinion in the first chapter, which shows great writing skills. 4. The first chapter reminds me of Where The Red Fern Grows. The rose bush that is mentioned briefly has much to do with the story even though there is little reference to it. In WTRFG the fern is actually not so much part of the story as an idea represented through a physical inanimate object, as I believe the rose bush to be. Later in the novel Pearl says she came from the rose bush by the prison door, that shows her beauty and resilience as a comparison to an object unable to show emotion. <b>Aug. 25, 2001 Chapter 2 Pages 51 to 61</b> 1. This 2001-09-07T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Scarlet-Letter-Reading-Log-3688.aspx Guilt Without Confession Leads to Great Consequences If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound? This saying brings me to my thesis of "Guilt Without Confession leads to Great Consequences in The Scarlet Letter". If a character does something wrong but no one knows, that character can both gain and lose from what they have done. This happens multiple times in The Scaret Letter. Characters commit evil deeds, some are caught, some are not. For those that aren't caught, they have a decision to make. To turn themselves in or to live their lives as if it never happened. For those that choose to live on as if it never happened they are faced with a tough road ahead. They have to deal with the guilt of what they've done. All the while, they must watch to see if anyone is on to them or suspects them of the crime they have commited. However they are rewarded. They get to live on as a regular member of society rather than be imprisoned or even worse, put to death. These are examples of characters who have commited crimes without confessing. Arthur Dimmesdale is a minister, a father, a sinner and a man who feels incredible guilt. He commits adultery with Hester before the book begins. As the book begins it is revealed he is the true father of Hester's child Pearl. Dimmesdale, afraid of losing his status and being humiliated , does not confess his crime. For this this he is rewarded and greatly punished. He is rewarded by keeping his status in the community. He continues to preach to his flock, for which he gains great acclaim. He is able to see Hester and Pearl whenever he wants. He is also free to leave anytime he wants. He has his freedom and his reputation. However, he also has something he doesn't want, his conscience. How unfortunate it is a person can get away from being caught for a crime. A crime that is punishable by death. Yet, he can't enjoy it. Most people would leave town, sorry for that they've done, but ecstatic they got away to start a new life. Not Dimmesdale, not Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. He beats himself up over it. Usually thats an analogy, but not this time. The rest of his life is a descent into madness brought on by constant 2001-05-06T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Guilt-Without-Confession-Leads-to-Great-Consequences-3328.aspx Among Sin Sin is defined in Webster’s New World Dictionary as, “any offense, fault, or the willful breaking of religious or moral law.” Mankind is prone to some degree of sin: it is a barrier that can not be avoided. But it is a question as to what mankind can do in order to achieve redemption from sinister ways, and also how to redeem. However great a sin may seem, it can only augment itself by the perpetrator not owning up and taking responsibility for it. In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, perhaps the greatest sinner was Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Many of Hawthorne's works center around what is right or wrong, and the consequences of breaking the basic links between humans by committing acts of sin (Brown). In this book, Reverend Dimmesdale is Hester Prynne’s secret lover, with whom he shares his sin, the sin of adultery. It is ironic that dispite Dimmesdale’s profession, he commits this sin. For a great amount of time in this book, author Nathaniel Hawthorne shows how this sin is frowned upon by many of the townspeople. Arthur Dimmesdale is an eminent minister in Boston and also the father of Pearl. He is a tortured man who constantly places his hand over his heart when agitated. His health is quite bad, and it is thanks to Roger Chillingworth's potions that he is able to stay alive. Dimmesdale admits to being Pearl's father at the very end of the novel, and reveals that he has a scarlet letter branded into his flesh. He dies upon the scaffold while holding Hester's hand. For seven long years, Mr. Dimmesdale lacks the courage to admit his guilt publicly, which puts a tight clamp on his conscience and soul. His sin is prolonged inside of him, festering in every corner of his body and plaguing in his mind. While Hester is standing on the scaffold with Pearl bearing the scarlet letter on her chest letting everyone know of her sin, she refuses to let the crowd know who the father of her child is. She declares, “I will not speak! And my child must seek a heavenly father; she shall never know an earthly one!” (Hawthorne 47). In this is same scene, the author connects Hester's openly displayed shame with Dimmesdale's secret shame by having both characters touch the spot where the scarlet letter is displayed (Smith). He also feels that, “what he 2001-04-21T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Among-Sin-3232.aspx The Bearer of the Fruits of Sin The world of Puritan New England, like the world of today, was filled with many evil influences. Many people were able to withstand the temptations of this darker side of the spiritual world, but still some fell victim to the supposed Satan’s will. Such offences against God, in thought, word, deed, desire or neglect, are what we define as sin (Schuler 14). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the reader is able to observe how one sin devastates three lives. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth are all guilty of succumbing to temptation, anger, and desire, causing all to fit the definition of a sinner. Yet, Chillingworth’s iniquities raise him up above Hester and Dimmesdale on the level of diabolic acts. From the very moment Chillingworth is introduced, he is deceitful towards the Puritan society. Chillingworth appears in the novel, seeming to know nothing of the scene at the scaffold. He asks of a townsperson: “…who is this woman? – and wherefore is she here to set up to public shame?” (Hawhtorne 67). Yet, we find in the next chapter that he indeed knows who Hester is, because Chillingworth is the lawful husband of her. He decieves the people of Boston to avoid the humiliation his wife brought upon him. In this respect, Chillingworth sins against the eight commandment, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour” (Schuler 26). Now, one could state that Hester also sins against the eighth commandment. She never reveals the name of her daughter’s father. And it is stated that one must always tell the truth. Yet, it also states that one must keep a secret whenever asked to do so, and not say anything to damage another’s reputation (Schuler 27). So Hester, in fact, did not sin. She never denies that Dimmesdale was the father of Pearl. She also could not admit the truth because she would break a promise to Dimmesdale and damage his reputation. Dimmesdale also may be accused of this crime, but likewise, he never outwardly states that he was not the father of this child, he merely chooses to remain silent on the matter. While Chillingworth is guilty of breaking the eighth commandment, he also breaks the fifth commandment “You shall not kill” (Schuler 24). It fact that Chillingworth did not directly kill anyone in the novel. Nevertheless, a serious act of anger or hatred is considered a sin under this commandment 2001-04-11T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Bearer-of-the-Fruits-of-Sin-3192.aspx The Scarlet Letter - The Honest T No one is perfect and no one is exactly the same. Everyone sins, and that includes telling lies. Most everyone lies at some point, whether it be to cover something up or just make someone feel better. Or it can be both. We as people are very afraid of being judged in a bad way, so if a person does something sinful or shunned upon, they lie about it to keep their reputations protected. This opinion based on anothers life decisions is a hypocritical decision. We don't want it happening to us, however we do it when we hear gossip about others in our community. This is because people are very judgemental. This wasn't just applicable in 1650, or even 1850 when The Scarlet Letter was written, but it is still something that is going on today not only in America, but right here in North Central High School. Though most people know the difference between the truth and a lie, Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes that many people have different perceptions of truth because of denial, reaction to judgement, and differences in moralities in the epic tale of The Scarlet Letter. Many people deny their emotions, especially strict Puritans. They sell themselves to God and live for no one or thing else. They are givers, not takers, which is an admirable trait to some, but not Romanticist Hawthorne. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, there are strict Puritans like these. Hester Prynne is one example. She, like everyone in the world, commited a sin. However, it was a considerably bad sin: adultery. Even if the option, which wasn't presented to the reader, that her and Arthur Dimmesdale (her adulterer) were in love, it wouldn't have mattered because she would've felt bad anyway (Even though she didn't love her husband) the same thing would have come from it: complete and utter misery for everyone involved in the sin. This was because she denied HER emotions and went with whatever she thought God wanted her to do. Another example of denial blocking one similar definition of truth is Arthur Dimmesdale. He denied his past to have a better future. However, that didn't seem to work because he killed himself in the end to stop his melancholy. He denied himself to his congregation and community. By violating the dignity of his position as a minister, he chose to violate it further by not telling 2001-04-09T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-The-Honest-T-3177.aspx Three Scaffold scenes - Progression of Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays Arthur Dimmesdale as a troubled individual. In him lies the central conflict of the book. Dimmesdale’s soul is torn between two opposing forces: his heart, his love for freedom and his passion for Hester Prynne, and his head, his knowledge of Puritanism and its denial of fleshly love. He has committed the sin of adultery but cannot seek divine forgiveness, believing as the Puritans did that sinners received no grace. His dilemma, his struggle to cope with sin, manifests itself in the three scaffold scenes depicted in The Scarlet Letter. These scenes form a progression through which Dimmesdale at first denies, then accepts reluctantly, and finally conquers his sin. During Hester Prynne’s three-hour ignominy, Dimmesdale openly denies his sin. Hawthorne introduces Dimmesdale as “a being who felt himself quite astray and at a loss in the pathway of human existence” (64). The author made it obvious that a grim secret lies hidden in the depths of Dimmesdale’s soul. This secret, however, does not reveal itself immediately, since Dimmesdale hides it from the closely watching town. In addition, he magnifies his own denial of his sin when he charges Hester to “speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer”(65). By deliberately speaking to Hester as if the sinner were not himself, the pastor makes sure that nobody suspects him. One may also interpret Dimmesdale’s speech as a hint to Hester not to name him. He feels he must “add hypocrisy to sin” in order to keep his standing in the town. He thinks that if the town finds out about his sin, they will never forgive him, much like his belief system tells him that God will never forgive him. So great is his relief when he finds that “she will not speak” that he stands in awe of the “wondrous strength and generosity of a woman’s heart”(66). Despite an inward wish for his sin to be discovered, Dimmesdale feels better knowing that Hester will not willingly expose him. In this scene in front of the town, Dimmesdale shows his original strength of character, which will diminish along the course of the book. In the middle of the night, seven years after Hester’s punishment, Dimmesdale holds a vigil on the scaffold where he finally accepts his sin. The battle within Dimmesdale between “Remorse, which dogged him everywhere” and “Cowardice, which invariably drew him back”(144) leads 2001-03-15T13:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Three-Scaffold-scenes-Progression-of-Dimmesdale-3049.aspx Hester in a Puritan Society The Puritans, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, were a group of people who were shaped by English experience and complete involvement in religion. The Puritan society molded itself and created a government based upon the Bible and implemented it with force. The crime of adultery committed by Hester generated rage, and was qualified for serious punishment according to Puritan beliefs. Ultimately the town of Boston became intensely involved with Hester’s life and her crime of adultery, and saw to it that she be publicly punished and tortured. Based upon the religious, governmental, and social design of the Puritan society, Hester’s entire existence revolved around her sin and the Puritan perception. Therefore it is evident within The Scarlet Letter that the Puritan community to some degree has constructed Hester’s character. In the novel The Scarlet Letter it is evident that the base of their social framework was that of the Church. The Church and beliefs of Protestantism became all encompassing within the town of Boston; meaning that the Church would be directly involved in the running of the community and its regime. The Enforcing of laws were established by scripture read from the Bible, as the Puritans considered the Bible as the “true law” of God that provided guidelines for church and government. Those who disagreed or committed crimes against the government, were not only criminals but also sinners, and they were sought to be punished severely. The Puritans stressed grace, devotion, prayer, and self-examination to achieve religious virtue while including a basic knowledge of unacceptable actions of the time; this was expected to secure order and peace within the Puritan community. The Puritan culture is one that recognizes Protestantism, a sect of Christianity. Though a fundamental of Christianity is forgiveness for one’s sins, this seems to have been forgotten amongst the women of the community: “Morally, as well as materially, there was a coarser fiber in those wives and maidens of old English birth and breeding, than in their fair descendants.” As read between the lines we can notice a concern in Hester’s acceptance within the Puritan community. More so, Hester senses a lack of acceptance within the circle of woman in the community. The use of the term “coarser fiber” intertwines the relationship that she once had, and what it has become within the woman of the community. It has also come to my attention that when Hester compares 2001-03-14T13:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Hester-in-a-Puritan-Society-3040.aspx The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel that shows the Puritanical way of life. Society does not accept the fact that Hester has committed the sin of adultery so they cast her out by making her wear a scarlet letter ‘A’ across her chest. Pearl is the product of Hester’s sin, the scarlet letter is the product of society. This idea shows that Pearl is the scarlet letter and the scarlet letter is Pearl. There are many ways in which Pearl is shown to be as the scarlet letter because she is considered to be a part of nature, she is the physical connection between Dimmesdale and Hester, and Pearl is the reason that makes Dimmesdale and Hester to finally accept their sin and make their confession in front of society and the people within society. The reasons are listed in this manner because in the first one nature is a stronger force that human force, then comes her connection between Dimmesdale and Hester because she is the natural connection which is a link from the first one to the second and also her being the reason Dimmesdale and Hester accepting the sin is last because there is a stronger connection between the child and the parents here which is linked from the previous reason. Pearl is a product of a natural act done by two human beings. This is the act of sex. But society considers it to be bad because there was no social contract between the parents to have that baby. But still its natural so it makes Pearl natural and cast out by society. Even her mother notices that it is society that seems to make Pearl the “evil” girl she is, “She knew that her deed had been evil; she could have no faith, therefore, that its result would be for good. Day after day she looked fearfully into the child’s expanding nature; ever dreading to detect some dark and wild peculiarity, that could restore to the guiltiness to which she owed her being.”( The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne. 86) Here what is depicted is that Pearl’s evil is from her mother’s “guiltiness”. So if Hester has none of that guilt that came from society then she would naturally be a good girl. Also, Pearl seems to be connected to nature because there is some contact where Pearl has some kind of communication 2001-03-12T13:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-3025.aspx Pearl as a Symbol In Nathaniel Hawthorne's the Scarlet Letter, Pearl, is a symbol of sin and adultery in the sense that she leads Dimmsdale and Hester to their confession and the acceptance of their sins. A beauitful daughter of the towns 2001-03-08T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Pearl-as-a-Symbol-3011.aspx Lasting Effect of Sin The past always comes back to haunt us throughout our lives. Puritan society is highly based upon a person’s reputation. Without an honorable reputation a person is not worthy of respect from others in their society. Characters in this novel go through their lives struggling with themselves trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with their actions. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, he shows the lasting effect that sin has on Hester and Dimmesdale. Hester Prynne’s guilt is the result of her committing adultery, which has a profound effect on her life. Hester is publicly seen with the scarlet letter when she first emerges out of the cold dark prison. “It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself ” (Hawthorne 49). The spell that is mentioned is the scarlet letter, “so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom” (Hawthorne 49). The scarlet letter is what isolates her from everyone else because it symbolizes sin. Hester is in her very own sphere, a world of her own where her sin effects her livelihood and has completely isolated her from the world. Her entrance into the sphere marks the beginning of her guilt, it occurs when she is “in the prison after her first exposure to the crowd-her “moral agony” reflected in the convolutions that have seized the child; her pride, her daring” (Bloom 34). The prison marks the beginning of a new life for Hester, a life full of guilt and isolation. Her “moral agony” (Bloom 34), is her guilt that is slowly surfacing while she faces the crowd realizing that she has been stripped of her pride and everything that was important to her in the past. The lasting effect of Hester’s sin is the guilt that she now embodies due to her commiting adultery. The guilt that is associated with Hester’s sin remains with her as an everlasting reminder of her sinful actions (Bloom 34). Guilt is a consequence of sin that Hester has to endure throughout her life. Hester’s guilt begins starts to have a profound effect on her life and thinking. Hester’s guilt has become very influential in her life making her unable to express herself freely. “Hester Prynne might have repaid them all with a bitter and disdainful smile. But under the leaden infliction which it was her 2001-03-08T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Lasting-Effect-of-Sin-3012.aspx Puritan Society in Hester's Life The Godly beliefs and punishments followed by the Puritans stemmed from their English experience and complete involvement in religion. The Puritan society molded itself and created a government based upon the Bible and implemented it with force. Hester’s act of adultery was welcomed with rage and was qualified for serious punishment. Boston became more involved in Hester’s life after her crime was announced than it had ever been before—the religious based, justice system formally punished her and society collectively tortured her. Based upon the religious, governmental, and social design of the society, Hester’s entire existence revolved around her sin and the Puritan perception thereof; this association breaks way to society significantly becoming involved in her life. The importance of a social framework for the new society, where the Church would be all encompassing, developed from the teachings of such religious reformers as John Wycliffe and John Calvin. The Church would be directly involved in the running of the community and its regime. Enforcing such laws established by scripture read from the Bible, the government disciplined Hester for her committed sin. The Puritans considered the Bible as the “true law of God that provided guidelines for church and government”. They wished to shape the Church of England to meet their ideals, emphasizing Bible reading, prayer, and preaching in worship services. They simplified the ritual of the sacraments and also wanted more personal and fewer prescribed prayers. The Puritans stressed grace, devotion, prayer, and self-examination to achieve religious virtue while including a basic knowledge of unacceptable actions of the time. Obtaining virtue was expected to secure order and peace within the Puritan community. The Church officials, who played a direct role in the government, calculated the penalties for various sins. When sins arose, the government took the role as chief executive of corrective punishment and instituted castigation. Hester found herself very much a part of the local Church and government’s heavy hand. Everyone was aware of her sinful act, for she was placed on a scaffold amidst the entire people for a painful viewing. The religious morals instilled in the Puritan society caused her much pain long after the public humiliation. Permanently “symbolized as a sinner”, Hester was branded for life with a cloth letter worn on her bosom. For years after the letter was first revealed on the scaffold, Hester was associated with the sin and the scarlet letter. Because the Puritans contoured religion, 2001-03-03T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Puritan-Society-in-Hester-s-Life-2966.aspx The Effects of Sin Upon Arthur Dimmesdale Hawthorn shows sins of several different kinds in numerous people, as well as the consequences and remedies of their sins. Three main characters; Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth bare the most of these sins. Arthur Dimmesdale, however, bares the most brutal effects of such sin. This is due to several reasons. The most observable reason for his eventual breakdown is the fact that he keeps his sin a secret. Arthur Dimmesdale’s sin was the same as Hester’s, except he never confessed. “As God's servant, it is his nature to tell the truth, so the years of pretending and hypocrisy were especially hard on him.” (Bloom 28) Dimmesdale also believes that his sin has taken the meaning out of his life. His life's work has been dedicated to God, and now his sin has tainted it. He feels that he is a fraud and is not fit to lead the people of the town to salvation. His secret guilt a much heavier burden than Hester’s since he must hold it all within himself. This also reveals Dimmesdale weakness. Arthur wanted desperately to admit his sin to the world, which is shown throughout the book. The earliest incident was when he was asked to question Hester on the scaffold as to who the father of her child was: “I charge thee to speak out the name of the thy fellow-sinner and fellow sufferer! Be not silent for any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart throughout life.” (Hawthorne 67) In this speech Dimmesdale is pleading for her to tell the name of the father, and fellow sinner, not just for the other leaders sake, but for his own. He is to weak minded to do it himself, and he believes it would be better to lose his place of power in the church than to “hide his guilty heart.” Since he was not revealed, this is exactly what he does, hides his guilty heart. In view of the fact that there was no external punishment for Arthur, he creates it within himself. He still received his penalty, an internal punishment. "A well hidden secret, looking pure as a new fallen snow, while their heart is spotted with inequity 2001-02-27T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Effects-of-Sin-Upon-Arthur-Dimmesdale-2943.aspx The Scarlet Letter God does not like the sin of adultery. He does not like lying. He does not like hypocrisy. There are two roads that one can choose. In the end, what may seem like the easy way may have far greater consequences than the hard way. Arthur Dimmesdale chose the easy path and learned that the pain of guilt is far greater than the pain of shame. From the start, Dimmesdale did not want to live with the consequence of his sin. To begin with, he must of told Hester not to tell anyone about his sin, because on the scaffold, she will not tell anyone (pg. 64). Clearly, Dimmesdale was afraid of the justice and the shame that would follow. He thought that if no one knew, he could continue with his life normally. Yet, he began punishing himself secretly (pg. 133). Slowly though, the sin began to nag at him, and he had to beat himself to sooth his conscience. This shows that he has a conscience and that he is beginning to feel convicted. Late in the book, he finally confesses before the town, but then dies (pg. 231-233). As can be seen by his confession, he had the heart to change, but only then he realized that it was too late. His death marked the effect of the poisonous sin that had accumulated in him. The Bible says the wages of sin is death, just as repentance leads to salvation, a lesson Dimmesdale did not learn until it was too late. Dimmesdale is very hypocritical in how he handles the subject of his sin. For example, he says “Be not silent from any mistaken pity or tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him—yea, compel him, as it were—to add hypocrisy to sin?” (pg. 63). Here he says that it would be better for him to come down and stand on the scaffold than to keep in hiding. He even calls himself a hypocrite, but his concern for his reputation keeps him from doing the right thing. When Dimmesdale goes up on the scaffold, he must do it at night for fear of someone seeing 2001-02-27T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-2947.aspx The Scafolding VS. the Forest Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, a dark tale of sin and redemption, centers on the small Puritan community of Boston during the seventeenth century. In the center of this bustling community is the market place. With in it are all the central features of the town, the most symbolic of these is the scaffold. Many a soul is scarred upon this scaffold. It is a place of intense scrutiny and upon it, reality comes into a brutal light. In exceptional contrast to the scaffold is the forest beyond the town. Here, there is no judgement and reality waxes and wanes. Hawthorne creates this place for the characters to escape and themselves without restraint or worry. The comparison is clear: the market place, especially the scaffold, represents the harsh reality of Puritan society and the forest provides escape. The scaffold is the center of criticism. Here, any unfortunate soul to climb the stairs is subject to the superficial examination by the eyes of society. Those below the scaffold see a light of the character distorted by their own jealousies and suspicions, and clouded by gossip. Where the truth may be unacceptable to them, it is substituted by things society coerced them to believe. Those on the scaffold experience reality. The only comfort is the ability to see beyond the town from this pernicious pedestal. As Hester spends her allotted time in the spotlight, her mind escapes as she gazes off into the distance. But while some are able to escape, others such as Dimmesdale, find the probing eyes unbearable. To him, the scaffold represented guilt and shame. In the market place emotions and true feelings are suppressed and overwhelmed by the importance of conformity. With out an escape, Hawthorne’s characters would have never completely come to life. The forest is also a location where the truth is not forbidden, but embraced. After Hester's judgment on the scaffold, she and her daughter Pearl find refuge there. The trees of the forest, unlike the people in town, listen to and welcome them, sins and all. On the edge of the forest, Hester and Pearl see the town and know that they do not belong. Their knowledge of the truth is dangerous to the townspeople. Therefore, they choose to live in their own world, free from the perception of the town. Hester is weary of the town, warning Pearl "We must not always talk 2001-02-26T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scafolding-VS_-the-Forest-2932.aspx The Scarlet Letter - Literature Response Essay Nathaniel Hawthorne, a critically acclaimed American writer of the 19th century, was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. The novelist’s book, The Scarlet Letter, is supposedly his best work, and universally considered a literary classic. Concerned with sin and consequences of dealing with it, Hawthorne’s work relates to his own personal sense of shame about his ancestor’s persecuting roles in the 17th century Salem Witch Trials. By indirectly dealing with his sense of guilt through fictional circumstances, he shows his viewpoint as being highly critical of the Puritans while teaching a strong moral lesson in the process. Graduating in the middle of his class from Bowdain College in 1825, he went on to write a variety of long stories, short stories, and articles. Generally his writings contained powerful symbolic and psychological aspects of “the effects of pride, guilt, sin, and secrecy” (Encarta, 1997). Although many moral lessons are dealt with in the book, the most significant thesis Hawthorne proved was salvation can only be earned by being open about and true to what you are. Using excellent characterization, description and expression he develops his thesis by showing the consequences of hiding sin, like Arthur Dimmesdale, and of publicly acknowleding it, like Hester Prynne. Through Hester’s daily struggle with her public punishment to wear a scarlet letter A on her clothing to remind her and everyone in the Puritan community of her adultery, she learns how to cope with and triumph over her sin against humanity. On the other hand, Reverand Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester’s equally guilty partner in the crime, refuses within himself to publicly confess his sin until the end of the novel, whereas shortly after he dies. Thus, Hawthorne summarizes the delayed importance of being truthful about oneself in his quote, “Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred, (236)!” The authors overall presentation of the nov.remarkable. Organization is very clear also, becauseto the emphasis of his main point of truth setting people free. It drags the reader into the action and enables them to live with the characters, at the same time as teaching a valuable lesson in dealing with life’s obstacles. The style of his writing is very symbolic, descriptive, and detailed. He creates very vivid images of the story through elaborate adjectives. One of the most impressive instances is when Aruthur, Hester, and 2001-02-25T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-Literature-Response-Essay-2919.aspx The Scarlet Letter: Governor Bellingham and Hypocrisy Governor Bellingham is the leader of the Boston Colony. He is therefore supposed to be one of the most pious and upstanding members of the community. As he “makes the rules”, he is supposed to follow them to the letter. This is why, when Hester visits his house to deliver his gloves, she is so surprised at its state. Instead of a humble abode tastefully decorated in the muted pastels and earthtones of the Puritan lifestyle, she was slightly amused (but not particularly surprised) to find very near the opposite. Before they even enter, she is struck by the opulence of the house. It had walls which were “overspread with a kind of stucco, in which fragments of broken glass were plentifully intermixed; so that, when the sun fell aslant-wise over the front of the edifice, it glittered and sparkled as if diamonds had been flung against it by the double handful. The brilliancy might have befitted Aladdin’s palace rather than the mansion of a grave old Puritan ruler. It was further decorated with strange and seemingly cabalistic features and diagrams, suitable to the quaint taste of the age, which had been drawn in the stucco when newly laid on, and had now grown hard and durable, for the admiration of after times.” This was not in accordance of the laws of hard work, sacrifice, and the “swearing off” of earthly pleasures that the Puritans abided by. In fact, it was garish and nearly gaudy, and not fitting for a man of his rank. These descriptions in The Scarlet Letter further illustrate the hypocrisy and pretense of virtue of the Bostonians. Inside, Hester is confronted with more show and splendor. Not only is the house itself well made and well decorated, but the pair is greeted at the door by one of Bellingham’s bond-servants. For a Puritan who is taught (and teaching) that each should be compassionate to his fellow man, owning one as property is fairly misleading to the rest of the colony. The house is fashioned after those of the lords and ladies of England, and contains lofty ceilings, steepled arches, and knickknacks of all shapes, sizes, and purposes (including a tankard for the purpose of swilling ale). A leader of a community as “committed to the Lord” as Boston should be spending his time reading his Bible and praying rather than imbibing, should he not? Hawthorne uses 2001-02-14T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-Governor-Bellingham-and-Hypocrisy-2875.aspx The Scarlet Letter: Novel vs. Film Films of this era are criticized for lacking “substance” and making up for this deficit with explosions and special effects. Books command a bit more respect from the general public. Many believe that devising a script is a juvenile form of writing, a shrub to the oak of a novel. Upon reading both the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and viewing the film produced by Roland Joffe, one can immediately notice the intense work put into both., as well as the many differences and similarities between them. It takes more thought to progress past these common and uncommon factors, to think of why the filmmaker may have used a certain lighting, or how colors were used to symbolize themes from the book. Analysis answers the questions: “How did the two differ? How were they the same? Why did the filmmaker make these decisions?” The film is “freely adapted” from the novel. The word “free” describing the adaptation is well used- there are major differences in terms of time frame, characters, visual imagery and symbolism, plot, narration, and tone. Nearly an hour of information the reader received only as background was on tape. The film began when Hester arrived in the New World, not at the dreary prison door she passed through on her way to the scaffold in the novel. Many characters were added to the film, several of whom were central to the plot. Mituba, Hester’s mute slave girl, Brewster, the lewd, undisciplined rule-breaker, Goody Gotwick, the mouthpiece of the community’s “pious women,” and Minister Cheever, the powerful church leader who attempted to serve as arbiter of the community’s morals did not exist in the novel. Mistress Hibbins’ relationship to Governor Bellingham was of a citizen to ruler nature. In the book, their relationship prevented her persecution, whereas in the movie, no family ties protected mistress Hibbins from the cruel witch trials characteristic of the 1600’s. Her character progressed from minor in the book to a supporting role in the movie. She served as the only character besides Hester who behaved according to her personal beliefs, and not the conformities of the Puritans. Dimmesdale’s character was stronger in the film; less tormented. He did not appear to have heart trouble, (although it was mentioned when the film commenced that he died before Pearl reached her teens) and took a dynamic role in all occasions except for one involving 2001-02-10T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-Novel-vs_-Film-2856.aspx The Symbol of Pearl In Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, Pearl, is the human symbol of the sin of adultery in the fact that she leads her mother, Hester Prynne, and Arthur Dimmesdale to accept and admit to their sin. Pearl is the beautiful daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale. She is the living symbol of the scarlet letter and has unique traits that make her sometimes appear as a demon. Her love for nature and freedom, her spirit, her wildness, her loneliness and separation from the world, her curiosity, and her innocent but symbolic comments reveal her distinct personality. Pearl senses and knows things she should not, making her a symbol. Pearl is also the living symbol of Hester and Dimmesdale's connection, as displayed in the following passage. "In her was visible the tie that united them. She had been offered to the world, these seven years past, as the living hieroglyphic, in which was revealed the secret they so darkly sought to hide, -- all written in this symbol, -- all plainly manifest, -- had there been a prophet or magician skilled to read the character of flame! And Pearl was the oneness of their being"(Hawthorne 141). Pearl is a beautiful, misbehaved child. The first thing that Pearl ever notices is her mother's ‘A' across her chest. As a child, Pearl throws rocks at the scarlet letter, making a game out it. Growing up, Pearl is not accepted by anyone. She screams at other children, knowing that they do not accept her. Not knowing what a true friend is, she makes imaginary enemies to fight with. In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl is referred to as "one of those naughty elfs or fairies or...a little bird of scarlet plumage" (Hawthorne 97). The comparison of Pearl to an elf or fairies adds a sense of alienation and mystery to her personality. When she is compared to a red bird, the emphasis of color increases the visual sense of Pearl's character, and the comparison to a bird indicates that she is full of wild energy. (Chiquita) Initially Pearl symbolizes the shame of Hester's public punishment for adultery. Then as Pearl grew older, she symbolizes the wreck of Hester's life and mental state by harassing her mother over the scarlet ‘A' which is embroidered on her dress (Yang). Pearl is a symbol for Hester's scarlet letter. Pearl tries to make Hester accept her sin. She also makes her mother 2001-02-07T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Symbol-of-Pearl-2832.aspx The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne"s, The Scarlet Letter is a book about a woman, Hester, who moves to Boston from England during the Puritan times. She has a husband, and tells the colonists of Boston he will be arriving to be with her soon. After years go by and he doesn"t arrive, Hester finds another man whom she becomes close to. She becomes pregnant and the town finds out she has committed adultery. She is forced to wear a letter "A," meaning "adulteress," on her bosom for the rest of her life. The book focuses mainly on the sin that was committed because it effected the whole community. The scarlet letter had one basic meaning, "adultery," but to the characters of Hester and Dimmesdale it was a constant reminder of the sin; and to Pearl it was a symbol of curiosity. Obviously, the scarlet letter had the largest impact on Hester, it was a constant reminder of the sin she committed. The "A" she must wear on her bosom completely humiliates her in front of everyone she meets, she begins to even hide behind it, trying to conceal her identity. Hawthorne is referring to Hester in the quote, "The unhappy culprit sustained herself as best a woman might, under the heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes, all fastened upon her and concentrated on her bosom" (55). So many people are staring at her as if she"s the most unfaithful, awful person in the world. She knows that she will never regain the respect she had before this incident. The scarlet letter she wears will constantly remind her and the townspeople that she is a sinner. While at Governor Bellingham"s mansion, Hester can"t help but notice while looking into the shining armor how much the "A" stands out. The "A" is seen "in exaggeration and gigantic proportions, so as to be the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it" (102). Right then and there, she realizes how much the "A" has become a part of her. She believes if the "A" becomes magnified in her reflection, the people who look at her must only notice the scarlet letter. She sees herself as if her true appearance is being hidden behind the “A” and she feels that no one looks at her anymore, just the letter. The scarlet letter has ruined her reputation, as well as her appearance. 2000-11-16T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-2511.aspx Light and Darkness in The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, felt that the Puritans were people who believed that the world was a place where the battle between good and evil was a never-ending one. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the symbols of light and dark to depict this battle among the characters Hester Prynne, Pearl, and Roger Chillingworth. After Hester commits her sin, her beauty almost immediately vanishes into darkness. Her hair no longer hangs freely about her face, instead she ties it up in a bonnet. Hester is not perceived as an evil person, but her sin makes her “light” hide away. The sun is used as a descriptor of the goodness or pure nature of character. Because of her sin and the scarlet letter, Hester is no longer pure, therefore she is not seen in the sun. Hawthorne states, “It was only the darkened house that could contain her. When sunshine came again, she was not there.” While on a walk to the forest, Pearl, Hester’s daughter states, “...the sunshine does not love you. it runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom.” This is evidence that the scarlet letter itself may be the cause of Hester’s darkness. Pearl is the character most recognized for her presence in the sun. She is drawn to the sun, as the sun is drawn to her. While at the governor’s house, Pearl notices how brightly the sun shines through the windows. She requests that, “the sunshine be stripped off its front and given to her to play with.” Hester responds by saying, “No my little Pearl. Thou must gather thine own sunshine. I have none to give thee!” Pearl has been seen as a character that always persists on knowing the truth. While in the forest Pearl wants to hear a story from Hester. She asks Hester if she has ever seen the Black Man. Hester replies that she has seen the Black Man once before. This suggests that the Black Man may be her husband, Roger Chillingworth. Roger Chillingworth is a character who is almost Satan-like. Chillingworth is described as the Black Man by Pearl and his own description of himself suggests that he is a fiend of some kind. When Chillingworth discovers that Dimmesdale was the father of Pearl, he taunts him and makes him feel more guilt than he already possesses. Hester feels guilty because she has 2000-11-14T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Light-and-Darkness-in-The-Scarlet-Letter-2495.aspx Scarlet Letter: Analysis of Sins The story begins with an unfortunate marriage between Hester and Roger Prynne, wich leads to adultery and revenge. The Scarlet Letter, is the title of Nathaniel Hawthorne's book. The book is mainly focused on Hester Prynne, her sin, and the people who got caught in the midst of it. Firstly and most importantly is Hester Prynne. As stated before, she was the main character, and the one who leads others to sin. She committed the sin of adultery, the sin that back in those days was punished with death. The only reason why they speared her life was because she did not want to name the father of the baby, and her baby "the elf-child" could not live alone without a mother or a father. Therefore, in order to still practice their authority, the magistracy decided to punish her by making her wear the scarlet letter "A"on her bosom, and to stand in the scaffold for three hours every day. "But in their great mercies and tenderness of heart they doomed mistress Prynne to stand only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory, and then and thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom". ( P.42 ) On the other hand, we find Rev. Arthur Dimsdale, who was the father of the baby. It appears that he could not resist temptations of the flesh , even being a minister, he still fell into sin and adultery. Unlike Hester, Dimsdale did not have to pay consequences as far as to the outside world refers, due to the fact that Hester did not tell a soul that he was the father of the baby. Despite this, he still received his punishment, an internal punishment. "A well hidden secret , looking pure as a new fallen snow, while their heart is spoitted with inquity of wich they cannot rid themselves".(p. 88) Finally, the last sinner was Roger Chilingworth, or Roger Prynne. Even though he did not commit a sin that deserved death in that time, his sin was worse than any other. Not only did he destroy Rev. Dimsdale's life, by torturing him with his analogies and indirect stories. He also destroyed his own life by making himself the one thing he hated the most, a fiend. "I have already told thee what I am , a fiend!".(ch 14) In conclusion, there are 2000-11-14T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Scarlet-Letter-Analysis-of-Sins-2483.aspx Pearl is the Scarlet Letter Pearl is the living embodiment of the scarlet letter because she forces Hester and Dimmesdale to accept their sins. The Puritan society looks at Pearl as a child of the devil, and a black hearted girl because she is the result of sin. Hester and Dimmesdale are both in the same situation in Pearl’s eyes. Pearl wants Hester to realize that she is not the worst person in the world before she removes the scarlet letter. Pearl wants Dimmesdale to accept his sin, and be part of their life publicly. Pearl is all that Hester has in her life. She says that Pearl: “keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a millionfold the Power of retribution of my sin?” (Hawthorne 100). Hawthorne shows that Pearl represents the scarlet letter not only symbolically but literally as well. Hester says that Pearl is the living scarlet letter, and causes Hester more anguish than the scarlet letter itself. Pearl is only difficult when she sees her mother trying to flee her sins the wrong way. This is why Pearl makes her mother keep the scarlet letter. Hester knows that she did a bad thing, but she does not feel that she is a good person, and will not feel that way until she accepts her sins. Hester wants to run away from the situation, leaving her sin behind her, and live content with Dimmesdale as a sinner with another sinner. Pearl will not let that happen because she knows that by leaving, Hester is escaping her sins and living life thinking that she is a bad person. Hester talks of leaving with Dimmesdale: “Let it suffice, that the clergyman resolved to flee, and not alone. ….(Dimmesdale) “But now—since I am irrevocably doomed—wherefore should I not snatch the solace allowed to the condemned culprit before his execution? Or, if this be the path to a better life, as Hester would persuade me, I surely give up no fairer prospect by pursuing it!” (Hawthorne 184). Hester desires to leave the world that she is a sinner in, and live a new life. Dimmesdale knows that he is going to die soon, so why not leave the place of his sin and go with Hester to a better life. Dimmesdale’s heart is burning from the inside because of 2000-11-13T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Pearl-is-the-Scarlet-Letter-2487.aspx Consequences and Remedies of Din in the Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter shows many types of sin. Some is only sin in the Puritan eye, some is internally blamed sin and some is sin only defined back in the time period of pre-Romanticism. Three main characters; Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth are the 'sinners' of the Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorn gives each one very different a consequence and remedy for each ones sin. Hester is publicly punished right away, Dimmesdale has to dwell on his sin for years and Chillingworth is punished abruptly when his sin comes to an end. Each punishment is different and holds its own lesson. Hester was forced into the marriage of a man she did not love, and after being separated for a long amount of time, she became attracted to another man. She then falls into a spell of passion with Reverend Dimmesdale. She then becomes pregnant with Dimmesdale's baby, obviously revealing her 'sin'. She is sent to the Scaffold to be mocked by all and is forced to reveal the father of the child. She refuses and then for her sins, received a scarlet letter, "A" which she had to wear upon her chest for the rest of her life in Boston. She wondered the streets and was given bitter looks from all. This was the Puritan way of punishing her for her then criminal action of adultery. The Scarlet Letter on her bosom does the exact opposite of that which it was meant for. Eventually, Hester upsets all the odds against here due to her courage, pride and effort. Hester goes beyond the letter of the law and does everything asked of her in order to prove that she is "able"(158). Hester, even though she was more appreciated by the Puritans, she still was not respected and her life was never the same. This eventually caused so much mental and physical anguish that she eventually questioned why she should live if it weren't for her Pearl. Pearl was a bundle of life sent from god to remind her of her wrong doing each and every moment and as a walking sermon to preach against sin for others. The symbolic Pearl helped Hester overcome her guilt. Hester becomes a highly respected person in a Puritan society by overcoming one of the harshest punishments, the scarlet letter. After Dimmesdale's passing away, she remains in the small Boston town as 2000-11-04T13:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Consequences-and-Remedies-of-Din-in-the-Scarlet-Letter-2444.aspx Changes in Hester Prynne The child, Pearl, is "a blessing and as a reminder of her sin." As if the scarlet A were not enough punishment there "was a brat of that hellish breed" which would remind Hester of what happened in the past. The "brat" could have been given away to Governor Bellingham yet Hester proclaimed that Pearl "is my happiness!...Ye shall not take her! I will die first!" Not 2000-10-21T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Changes-in-Hester-Prynne-2398.aspx Dimmesdale and chillingworth Characterization is a literary element used by the author to present qualities of characters in a literary piece, the purpose of characterization is to make characters credible and make them suitable for the role they play in the work. Authors present various characters possessing dissimilar qualities, to emphasize different aspects of the work. In the novel “The Scarlet Letter”, the author Nathaneil Hawthorn’s depiction of the two male characters, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, emphasizes the moral problems of the seventeenth century puritan society. Hence, their different characters contribute vitally to the plot of the novel. Arthur Dimmesdale, the Reverent and the protagonists’ lover, was not a very powerful character. At his first appearance in the novel, Hawthorne describes his impressive and skilful preaching and calls to the reader’s attention his physical features such as his eyes and his hair. Hawthorne also marks the power that Dimmesdale gets when he is preaching which contradicts his actual weak character. Since Dimmisdale was a very respected person, his hideous adultery crime of forbidden love was totally unexcitable, and his fear to face his society reflected his weak character. Dimmesdale was put into great pressure when he was notified by the public to persuade Hester to confess who the father of her baby was, this caused his constant wounding of heart, which also stresses on his weak character. Dimmesdale’s health was lead to rapid deterioration, so he went to visit Roger Chillingworth, the real husband of the character Hester, and one of the few doctors in town; by that time, Chillingworth had already known that Dimmesdale was the one that committed adultery with his wife. Chillingworth made Dimmesdale suffer by exaggerating his illness, and humiliating him with guilt of his sin “a bodily disease which we look upon as whole and entire within itself, may, after all, be but an ailment in the spiritual part”. the fragility and susceptibility of Dimmesdale states clearly his weakness, moreover. Dimmesdale’s love and agony towards Hester was shown in his physical and mental degeneration, furthermore, his love to Pearl, his daughter, was shown when he was trying to kiss her, but he always got her refusal, and this was the climax of his weakness and deterioration of character. yet, at the end of the novel, Dimmesdale’s health was in it’s worst stages, therefore he had nothing to lose, so he confronts his society and tells them about is adultery 2000-05-30T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Dimmesdale-and-chillingworth-2044.aspx The Scarlet Letter: The Message in the Meteor The Scarlet Letter is a classic book whose lessons have endured through many generations. It is considered by most to be the masterpiece of Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was a culmination of everything he experienced in his life. He grew up in a household that held fast to Puritan ideals. This affected him in ways he himself may not have even realized. His dislike for the Puritans can be easily observed in this novel. He created this book after struggling for several years to obtain some measure of success as a writer. This book brought exactly that to him. The observant reader can discover the many undercurrents of meaning Nathaniel Hawthorne cleverly placed in this novel. At the climax of the story, a meteor flashes through the night sky. The appearance of this meteor at this particular moment in time contributes to the plot in many ways. First, Reverend Dimsdale thinks the meteor is a message from God specifically for him. "Nothing was more common in those days than to interpret all meteoric appearances, and other natural phenomena that occurred with less regularity than the rise and set of the sun and moon, as so many revelations from a supernatural source"(149). Any person of that day would have assumed that something of that nature applied to some portion of his or her life. "Then, and there, before the judgment seat, thy mother, and thou, and I, must stand together. But the daylight of this world shall not see our meeting"(149)! Just after those words leave Reverend Dimsdale's mouth, the meteor lights up the sky as bright as day. It's as if God is proving Reverend Dimsdale's words to be false. The light of the meteor resembles the letter "A" to Reverend Dimsdale because his conscience is pricking at him. Subconsciencely he wants to punish himself for his sin since the townspeople can't punish him for a sin of which they were unaware. Therefore, his guilty feelings twist a natural part of creation into a punishment of sorts. He believed the meteor resembled the letter "A" to convict him further of his sinfulness. "…a great red letter in the sky-the letter 'A' which we interpret to stand for 'Angel.' For, as our good Governor Winthrop was made an angel this past night, it was doubtless held fit that there should be some notice thereof"(153). The fact that a member of his congregation also 2000-05-24T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-The-Message-in-the-Meteor-2013.aspx Scarlet Letter: Pearl Children are, by nature, incredibly sensitive creatures. They can sense almost any emotion an adult might feel just by observing a particular person’s body language and facial expressions. Such is the case with the youthful Pearl from the novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorn. As the daughter of the adulteress Hester Prynne, the townspeople view Pearl as a demon in an angel’s clothing; as an imp who not only knows exactly what the letter "A" signifies on the breast of her mother, but as the demon who placed it there as well. They also believe Pearl uses this information against Hester by constantly mentioning the letter in order to make Hester extremely uncomfortable. This is not true. " ‘Nay, Mother, I have told all I know,’ said Pearl more seriously than she was wont to speak…’But in good earnest now, Mother dear, what does this scarlet letter mean? -and why dost thou wear it on thy bosom? -and why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?’ She took her mother’s hand in both her own, and gazed into her eyes with an earnestness that was seldom seen in her wild and capricious character" (Hawthorne 175). This dialogue does not seem to be the words of a demon, but a child who is utterly curious about what the letter on her mother’s bosom means. One must not underestimate Pearl’s intelligence though. In fact, Pearl is not the demon many consider her to be; instead she is intelligent and sensitive towards her surroundings and can thus understand much about the scarlet letter her mother wears. "The neighboring townspeople…had given out that poor little Pearl was a demon offspring; such as, ever since old Catholic times, had occasionally been seen on earth, through the agency of their of their mother’s sin, and to promote some foul and wicked purpose" (Hawthorne 95-96). From this statement and many others similar to it throughout the novel, many readers are given the impression that Pearl is a possessed child. Before any type of statement can be made on Pearl’s intelligence or sensitivity, it is imperative for one to understand these references are an attempt on Hawthorne’s part to display to the reader a fragment of Puritanical Society. By no means is Pearl an imp. She is a curious child and, until one separates Hawthorne’s fictitious references towards Pearl’s demonic soul and Pearl’s true intelligent nature, 2000-05-19T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Scarlet-Letter-Pearl-1978.aspx The Scarlet Letter: The Use of Hester In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne makes Hester Prynne the central figure in the story much like Susanna Rowson does with Charlotte in Charlotte Temple. The plots of the books are centered on these women; the storylines occasionally move elsewhere to inform the reader of the happenings of other characters, but always returns to their respective female protagonist. The authors’ use of their leading ladies differs when providing a theme, however. Susanna Rowson uses Charlotte Temple as an example for the reader. By taking the reader on a journey through Charlotte’s life of perpetual misery, Rowson’s narrator is able to point out where Charlotte makes poor decisions. With the reader now aware of the misdirected choices of Charlotte, the narrator warns the reader that any young girl could end up in the same type of predicament. She then teaches the young female reader how she should react in a similar situation and the “sober matron” reader how to prevent such a dilemma from happening to her daughter. In summary, Charlotte Temple’s actions are used to directly teach the theme as Rowson wishes. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his main character in a completely different way. It is common for a reader of The Scarlet Letter to determine that the theme of the story is that adultery is bad, but that is not the case. Hawthorne is not promoting adultery; that is true: As Darrel Abel states in his essay, “Hawthorne’s Hester,” “Although we are expected to love and pity Hester, we are not invited to condone her fault or to construe it as a virtue.”1 Hester Prynne and her lecherous sin are Hawthorne’s means of conveying a different message; Hawthorne is more interested in uncovering the flaws of puritan society and the hypocrisy of their reactions to Hester. The character of Hester Prynne is created as to exploit these flaws indirectly. The Puritan culture is one that recognizes Protestantism, a sect of Christianity. Though a staple of Christianity is forgiveness for one’s sins, this has long been forgotten amongst the women of Boston: “Morally, as well as materially, there was a coarser fibre in those wives and maidens of old English birth and breeding, than in their fair decendants.”2 When Hester is first brought out of her prison cell, the gossiping goodwives recommend much harsher punishments, from a brand on her forehead to death. Hester, who had done little wrong prior to this sin of 2000-04-02T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-The-Use-of-Hester-1826.aspx The Scarlet Letter: Puritans vs Hester The Letter A is a mark of punishment and humiliation. However , Hester Prynne carries the symbol upon her with a very different out look than the puritans intended. Hester and the Puritans both have strong feelings for this Scarlet Letter but both will not come to terms and define a universal meaning for this strong symbol. The Puritans intend this A to be a disgrace to Hester Prynne. To make the public aware that she is nothing but 2000-04-01T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-Puritans-vs-Hester-1824.aspx The Scarlet Letter: Symbolic characters Symbolic characters are very important in most powerful novels. One classic that uses characters as symbols is The Scarlet Letter. This novel is about a woman in Puritan society, Hester, who commits adultery with her minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. She has a daughter, Pearl, and is forced to wear a scarlet letter the rest of her life. Arthur hides his sin and becomes extremely troubled. Hester’s husband, Roger, takes it upon himself to judge and punish Arthur for his sin and becomes like the devil. Many characters in the novel are symbols for something. Three characters that are symbolic are Roger Chillingworth, the young woman, and Pearl. One character in the story that is symbolic is Roger, Hester’s husband. He is the symbol of a life consumed with revenge. When the reader first meets Roger, he is a mostly normal man. He was small in stature, with a furrowed visage, which, as yet, could hardly be termed aged. There was a remarkable intelligence in his features... (p. 56) The only unusual trait of his is a slight deformity of the shoulder. He is an intelligent man who spends most of his time reading. When Roger finds out that Hester has been unfaithful to him, he vows to take revenge on the man who sinned with her. Later he finds out that the man is Minister Arthur Dimmesdale and meticulously plots revenge. His life becomes consumed with the carrying out of his revenge. He himself sins as he tries to destroy Arthur’s soul. Roger soon comes to resemble the devil. He even notices this similarity in himself. He says, “I have already told thee what I am! A fiend!” (p. 158) Hester also says that she pities him, “...for the hatred that has transformed a wise and just man to a fiend.” (p. 159) Each of them recognize that Roger’s life centered around hatred and revenge have made him like the devil. The symbol working in Roger, living to destroy, shows that tearing down another person causes as much damage to one’s own life. Roger is the symbol of a life consumed by desire for revenge. Another symbolic character is the kind young woman. She is symbolic of hope in the story. Surrounded by people criticizing and being self-righteous the young woman alone has kind words to say to and about Hester Prynne. The first instance when she is kind is at the beginning 2000-03-21T13:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-Symbolic-characters-1786.aspx Characterization in The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. After his graduation from Bowdoin College in Maine, he quickly became a well-known author of literary tales concerning early American life. Between 1825 and 1850, he developed his talent by writing short fiction, and he gained international fame for his fictional novel The Scarlet Letter in 1850 (Clendenning 118). Rufus Wilmot Griswold stated, The frivolous costume and brisk action of the story of fashionable life are easily depicted by the practised sketcher, but a work like "The Scarlet Letter" comes slowly upon the canvas, where passions are commingled and overlaid with the masterly elaboration with which the grandest effects are produced in pictural composition and coloring. (Griswold 352) Throughout the novel, Hawthorne reveals character through the use of imagery and metaphor. In the first Chapter of The Scarlet Letter, "The Prison-Door", the reader is immediately introduced to the people of Puritan Boston. Hawthorne begins to develop the character of the common people in order to build the mood of the story. The first sentence begins, "A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes" (Hawthorne 45). Hawthorne's use of vivid visual images and his Aaccumulation of emotionally weighted details" (Baym xii) creates sympathy for the not yet introduced character, Hester Prynne, and creates an immediate understanding of the harshness of the Puritanic code in the people. The images created give the freedom to imagine whatever entails sadness and morbidity of character for the reader; Hawthorne does not, however, allow the reader to imagine lenient or cheerful people. Nathaniel Hawthorne's eloquent contrast of the jail and its captive, Hester Prynne, also creates a sympathy for the emerging prisoner. The "ugly edifice...was already marked with weather-stains and other indications of age, which gave a yet darker aspect to its beetle-browned and gloomy front" (Hawthorne 45). The depiction of the jail emphasizes its ugliness, and the mental pictures formed in the mind of the reader suggest an aspect of gloom and suffering. However, Hester Prynne's initial description brightly contrasts the jail's. Hester "was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance...she had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off sunshine with a gleam" (50). Her face was "beautiful from regularity of feature 2000-02-23T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Characterization-in-The-Scarlet-Letter-1676.aspx Pearl One of the most complex and elaborate characters in The Scarlet Letter is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic individual, as well as an extremely important symbol- one who is constantly changing. Pearl is involved in a complex history, and as a result is viewed as different and is shunned because of her mother’s sin. Pearl is a living Scarlet A to Hester, as well as the reader, acting as a constant reminder of Hester’s sin. Hawthorne uses vivid descriptions to characterize Pearl. She is first described as the infant; “…whose innocent life had sprung, by the inscrutable decree of Providence, a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion.” (81). From the beginning of her life she is viewed as the product of a sin, as a punishment. Physically, Pearl has a “beauty that became every day more brilliant, and the intelligence that threw its quivering sunshine over the tiny features of this child.” (81-82). Pearl is ravishing, with “beauty that shone with deep and vivid tints’ a bright complexion, eyes possessing intensity both of depth and glow, and hair already of a deep, glossy brown, and which, in after years, would be nearly akin to black.” Combining with her extreme beauty, are the lavish dresses that she wears. The exquisite dresses and her beauty cause her to be viewed as even stranger from the other typical Puritan children, whom are dressed in traditional clothing. As a result, she is accepted by nature and animals, and ostracized by the other Puritan children. “Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world… the whole peculiarity, in short, of her position in respect to other children.” (86). Pearl was not accepted by the children; her unavoidable seclusion was due to the sin of her mother. On the rare occasion that the children would show interest in Pearl she would “grow positively terrible in her puny wrath, snatching up stones to fling at them…” (87) As a result of Pearl’s seclusion from society nature sympathizes with Pearl, which can be seen with the role of the sunshine in the forest. “The light lingered about the lonely child, as if glad of such a playmate,” (168). The sunshine is grateful for Pearl, accepting her as an equal. Hawthorne describes another sign of acceptance as the “great black forest…became the 2000-02-07T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Pearl-1629.aspx Evil and the Second Sense In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn the society of a Puritan town of Salem excludes anyone who is in any way deviant and renders that person sinful. However, the society, the townspeople themselves, is not without fault. However they try to conceal and contain their passions and all their faults because of their fear of exclusion. All the characters in the book that are excluded from society are the most "natural" and true and possess a second-sense perception and almost magical intuition. Hester Prynne's separation from the townspeople is both physical and mental. She is expelled from the town as an adulteress, and she goes to live with her illegitimate daughter to a cottage "not in close vicinity to any other habitation." (68) They are despised by the whole town. Even children throw stones at them and chase them down the street. People do not dare to come close to Hester because of the mark as an outcast. To the townspeople, Hester's character is something different and uncertain from the values that they are used to. "Wherever Hester stood, a small, vacant area - a sort of magic circle - had formed about her, into which … none ventured, or felt disposed to intrude." (206) Hester is destined to forever wear a scarlet letter "A" on her chest - "A" for "adulteress" - a sign of her sin, shame and separation from the righteous people. However, by being separated from the Puritanical town of Salem and all its prejudices, Hester is able to look at the people objectively and see much she was not able to see before. "Walking to and fro, with those lonely footsteps, in the little world with which she was outwardly connected, it now and then appeared to Hester that [the scarlet letter] gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts. (73) The people of the town are so busy covering up their faults and hiding their human passions, that they cannot see their own or each other's faults. Hester, who wears her Cain's mark of exclusion openly, does not have to worry about the opinion of others, and gains an intuition - an insight into the hearts of the people who throw her out. Hester's mark of shame becomes a mark of being different, a mark of nonconformity. Many people interpret Hester's "A" as "Able" (141), for Hester's natural 1999-12-21T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Evil-and-the-Second-Sense-1519.aspx Dimmesdale and Puritan Society In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes imagery to convey that Dimmesdale can represent Puritan Society rather than the round character that can be seen on the surface level. This is seen through the imagery and symbolism of hypocrisy, Dimmesdale as a Christ figure, and the scarlet letter. First of all, Hawthorne parallels the hypocrisy of Dimmesdale to that of Puritan society. Hawthorne describes Dimmesdale as, "a viler companion of the vilest, the worst of sinners," even though Dimmesdale is seen as the most holy man in the Puritan community. Puritan society was supposed to be a utopian society and do away with their English traditions. Similarly, as Dimmesdale was supposed to be holy, yet they both were hypocritical. Secondly, Dimmesdale portrays the Puritan society by not initially taking his place on the scaffold, "Ye have both been here before, but I was not with you… and we will stand all three together." The Puritans modeled Dimmesdale's hypocrisy, as they were supposed to be a "city on a hill" for the world to see while they ended up mixing up English tradition with their ideals. While Dimmesdale hid his sin at the first scaffold seen, so did the Puritans when they colonized America. The Puritans faults were not initially that obvious but as time grew on they appeared on their scaffold just as Dimmesdale does. Hawthorne writes about one of Dimmesdale's sermons that is, "addressed to the multitude a discourse on sin, in all its branches." In Dimmesdale's sermons, he spoke out against sin while at the same time he commits this sin, just as the Puritans committed sins that they condemned Dimmesdale's character models Puritan society in the way they treat religious persecution. The Puritans left England to flee from religious intolerance, but when they got to the colonies, they had no religious tolerance for people with different religious beliefs. Dimmesdale speaks out against adultery and commits it, the Puritans demand religious tolerance but refuse to give it. Dimmesdale symbolically portrays Jesus Christ in certain ways. For example, Dimmesdale's death marked the beginning of a new era, just as Christ's death marked a new beginning for all of those who believe in Him. Dimmesdale's death symbolically ends the marks the beginning of American History and the end of colonial history, just as Christ's death marked the beginning of the Christian church. Also, Dimmesdale mirrored Jesus Christ, in His teaching that to 1999-12-03T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Dimmesdale-and-Puritan-Society-1407.aspx Hester Pryne In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the heroine is admired becuase of her strong will, and disregard for other's views of her. Hester Pryne displays her best qualities when she stands up to Governor Bellingham and his gang, when they confront her about her daughter Pearl. Hester is a woman that is well ahead of her time, she is vocal, proud, head-strong, and confident, in an age where women were to be seen and not heard. She was deeply admired by all the townspeople, despite her adultrous past, and public shame of wearing a scarlet "A" upon her breast. Hester is a victim of a crime which was severly punished despite the fact that she could only be accountable for half of the incident. She was forced into the marriage of a man she did not love, and after being seperated for a long amount of time, she became attracted to another man. Hester is much stronger then her partner in adultry, Dimmesdale, who bottles up his guilt inside, and eventually dies due to the suffering he endures, at keeping the event a secret. Hester 1999-11-27T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Hester-Pryne-1337.aspx Pearl: A product of Nature Pearl is one of the most interesting and mysterious characters of the novel The Scarlet Letter. One tends to wonder why Pearl is the way she is. Why does she act so strangely and so differently than all the other characters? She acts this way because of a relationship she has with the force of Nature, which Hawthorne personifies as sympathetic towards sins against the puritan way of life. Because of this trait Hester's sin causes Nature to accept Pearl. Finally, Pearl's acceptance of Nature is what causes her to act the way she does. First it is necessary to examine how nature is identified with sin against the Puritan way of life. The first example of this is found in the first chapter regarding the rosebush at the prison door. This rosebush is located "on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold"(36) of the prison. The prison naturally is the place where people that have sinned against the puritan way of life remain. Then Hawthorne suggests that the roses of the rose-bush "might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him"(36). This clearly states that Nature is kind to prisoners and criminals that pass through the prison doors. Hawthorne strengthens this point by suggesting two possible reasons for the rosebush's genesis. The first is that "it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness..."(36), while the second reason is that "there is fair authority for believing [the rose-bush] had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson..."(36). By Hawthorne's wording it appears as if he is emphasizing the second reason because he suggests there is "fair authority." Connecting the rosebush originating from Ann Hutchinson, an outcast from puritan society, shows the connection with Nature and sin against puritan way of life. This rosebush symbolizes the sympathy of Nature towards the very people Puritan society has condemned. The idea illustrated by the rosebush can therefore be applied to the specific character of Pearl. Because Pearl was expelled from Puritan society Nature sympathizes with her. Nature's sympathy and partiality with Pearl can be seen with the sunshine in the forest. Pearl attempts to "catch" the sunshine and according to Hawthorn "Pearl 1999-10-16T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Pearl-A-product-of-Nature-1059.aspx The manifestation of sin The Scarlet Letter is a book of much symbolism. One of the most complex and misunderstood symbols in the book is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne. Throughout the story Pearl develops into a prominent symbol of the "A". In this essay the example of symbolism Pearl comes to represent will be explained. In the Scarlet Letter, Hester, for her sins, received a scarlet letter, "A" which she had to wear upon her chest for the rest of her life in Boston. This was the Puritan way of punishing her for her then criminal action of adultery. She wondered the streets to be given sour looks from all. This eventually caused so much mental and physical anguish that she eventually questioned why she should live if it weren't for her Pearl. Pearl was a bundle of life sent from god to remind her of her wrong doing each and every moment and as a walking sermon to preach against sin for others. Hester's wasted life the ultimate price that Hester paid for Pearl. With Pearl, Hester's life was almost never filled with joy, but instead a constant reminder of the harsh word adultery. Pearl would also make her own "A" to wear, and sometimes she played games wither her mother's trying to hit it with rocks. When Hester would go into the town with Pearl, the other children would make fun of her and Pearl and would yell and throw dirt at them. So in this case, Pearl symbolized the decimation of Hester's life and mental state. Although Hester had so much trouble with Pearl, she still felt that Pearl was her ultimate treasure. Pearl was really the only thing that Hester had in life. Surely if Pearl wasn't in Hester's life, Hester would have taken her own life. Once and a while, Pearl would bring joy to Hester's life, and that helped her to bare the guilt, lonesomeness, and isolation that became the main theme of her life. Pearl could be compared to weather, sometimes good, sometimes bad, but always changing. It was Pearl's pounding storms that gave Hester so much grief. Pearl's exuberant personality caused Puritans to believe she was a child of witchcraft and a mischievous little elf. But basically she represented everything that was the exact opposite of Puritan belief. Pearl's taunting and malice disposition sometimes even caused Hester to make outbursts like "Thou art not my child! 1999-09-26T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-manifestation-of-sin-1018.aspx The Scarlet Letter - Notes <b>Author's Background:</b> Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4th, 1804. Hawthorne lived poor due to his father's death when he was four, but he was helped by relatives and enrolled in college where he displayed an interest in writing. In college, he met a friend who would prove to be an invaluable help Franklin Pierce, future President of the United States. In 1825 he graduated and lived with his uncle in Salem for 12 years, devoting his time to reading, writing, and scrapping for publication. He spewed out several stories, but few sold for over $35 each. In 1837 Hawthorne took a job in the Custom-House in Boston. He grew bored with this work and the people around him, however, up to the point where he wrote The Custom House as an introduction to The Scarlet Letter. In this introduction he showed the dull life of working in a custom house. From the Custom-House, he left for Brooke Farm. During his time at Brooke Farm, he met such thinkers as Emmerson and Thoreau. He also met and courted Sophia Peabody, and left Brooke Farm with her in 1842 to stay at "Old Manse", the Emmerson homestead. When Emmerson returned to Old Manse, Hawthorne left and went to Salem to live with Sophia. From this point, Hawthorne won a job at the Salem Custom-House due to a political appointment from his college friend Franklin Pierce. However, when the political winds changed to Zachary Taylor, he lost his job and devoted himself to writing at his wife's insistence. The result was The Scarlet Letter, which was the beginning of a successful series of books including The House of Seven Gables in 1851, The Blithedale Romance in 1852, and Tanglewood Tales for Boys and Girls in 1853. With this success and the aid of President Franklin Pierce, he was appointed as US consul to Liverpool, England. This was a reward for writing Pierce's biography. Hawthorne's final years are sketchy. On a voyage back to Plymouth, New Hampshire, he became deathly ill and died on May 19, 1864. He was buried on Concord, Massachusetts. <b>Literary Period and Setting</b> Literary Period: Romanticism and Transcendentalism Setting: Boston, Massachusetts. USA 1842-1849 <b>Characters</b> <I>Hester Prynne</I> A) Hester was a beautiful young woman who lives in Boston, Massachusetts. She is proud and strong, but commits the sin of adultery with Reverend Dimmesdale while her husband is supposedly in England finishing up some work. Pearl is 1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-Notes-901.aspx The Scarlet Letter People judge others they encounter based upon their own values. These values are acquired through experiences in the home, school, at work, and with friends. A person is taught from their parents at a very young age what is right and wrong, but they may fail to realize that the values they are taught are filtered through the minds of those who teach. Therefore one is a product of their previous generation adding our his or her judgement to the values that we will pass on. Hawthorne judges the characters in The Scarlet Letter by using his own values. These values were drastically different from other Puritans. Instead of the stern, harsh values of the Puritans, Hawthorne sees life through the eyes of a Romantic. He judges each person accordingly, characterizing each person's sin as the pardonable sin of nature or the unpardonable sin of the human soul. One can infer, by the writing style, that Hawthorne is most forgiving to Hester. He writes about Hester with a feeling of compassion that the descriptions of the other characters lack. Hawthorne approves of Hetser's feeling, vitality, and thirst to overcome the iron shackles of binding society. He shows us that although Hester is not permitted to express her feelings verbally because of social persecution, there is no one that can restrain the thoughts of the human mind. Hawthorne, being a romantic and man of nature himself, can relate to the this. - If you were to look up the human mating characteristics in a science book you may surprise yourself. The human instinct is to have more than one partner not to stay loyal to one partner- In fact Hester is often contrasted with the Puritan laws and rules, especially when Hawthorne states: "The world's law was no law for her mind." (70) Roger Chillingworth's personality is one of intelligence and knowledge but no feeling. Hawthorne considers Roger Chilingworth's sin the worst in the book. In one of his journal entrees he labels it the "unpardonable sin." Hawthorne describes him as very cold and Puritan-like, an educated man that looked very scholarly. As stated here: There was a remarkable intelligence in his features, as a person who had so cultivated his mental part that it could not fail to mould to physical to itself, and become manifest by unmistakable tokens. (67) Hawthorne frequently refers to Chillingworth's genius and diction, but purposely fails to have 1999-09-14T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-965.aspx 17th century Life/Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses the aspects of relationships, religion, community, discipline and punishment in the puritan community of 17th century Boston. Relationships between men and women were very constrained and that is what made adultery such a bad sin in the eyes of everyone in the community. Religion seemed to govern over all, people would look up to reverends and the community believed that fate was their destiny. Public discipline and punishment were used to discourage everyone else from committing the same crime or sin as the offending "criminal" did. The community was to follow the beliefs of god and to do their duties the best they could, yet were there to criticize and punish all who disobeyed the religion or laws. In 17th century Boston every thing was very strict and everyone was expected to follow the laws, which makes Hester's sin such an excellent example of the beliefs of that time period. The first scaffold scene is very important because the scene sums up the beliefs of the general public at that time, and gives a prospective of what Hester Prynne must deal with. In the beginning of chapter two the scene is described as "it could have betokened nothing short of the anticipated execution of some noted culprit,"(47) showing that the whole town was there for a ruthless public punishment. The crowd was not there for an execution though, but there for a public punishment of Hester Prynne who had committed adultery. A townsman describes Hester's punishment to a stranger as, "they have doomed Mistress Prynne to stand only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory, and then thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom."(58) This scene shows the weight of values and morals upon society in the 17th century and how public punishment was not only used as punishment but as a way to discourage others from committing the same crime. The community was key in this punishment because it helped alienate Hester and further her pain. The punishment brings forth Hester's underlying pain, "[Hester] sent forth a cry she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real."(55) This pain only breaks surface once, yet throughout the whole story Hester must 1999-09-13T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/17th-century-Life-Scarlet-Letter-880.aspx The Scarlet Letter - Analysis Adultery, betrayal, promiscuity, deception, and conspiracy, all of which would make an excellent coming attraction on the Hollywood scene and probably a rather erotic book. Add Puritan ideals and writing styles, making it long, drawn out, sleep inducing, tedious, dim-witted, and the end result is The Scarlet Letter. Despite all these unfavorable factors it is considered a classic and was a statement of the era (Letter 1). The Scarlet Letter is pervaded with profound symbolism and revolves around the idea that hidden guilt causes more suffering than open guilt. This theme along with its symbolism is demonstrated through the lives of the three main characters - Hester Pyrnne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth throughout the story. Their personalities are shown most clearly during the scaffold scenes. These scenes are the most substantial situations in the story because they illustrate the immediate, delayed, and prolonged effects that the sin of adultery has on the main characters (Analysis1). In the first scene, everyone in the town is gathered in the market place because Hester is being questioned about the identity of the father of her child - Pearl (analysis 1). Hester experiences open guilt through being publicly punished for adultery. She is being forced to stand on it for three hours straight to be ridiculed and ostracized by the community. Dimmesdale however refuses to admit that he committed adultery and thereby eventually suffers hidden guilt. His instantaneous response to the sin is to lie. He stands before Hester and the rest of the town and proceeds to give a moving speech about how it would be in her and the father's best interest for her to reveal the father's name (letter 3). Though he never actually says that he is not the other parent, he implies it by talking of the father in third person. Such as, "if thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-suffer." Chillingworth's first reaction is one of shock, but he quickly suppresses it. Since his first sight of his wife in two years is of her being punished for being unfaithful to him, he is naturally surprised. It does not last long though, because it is his nature to control his emotions. Chillingworth, subordinating his intellect to his desire for revenge, ultimately destroys himself 1999-09-05T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-Analysis-829.aspx The Guilty Party The Scarlet Letter is a wonderful and not so traditional example of the good versus evil theme. What makes this a unique instance of good versus evil is that either side could be considered either one. Hester could very easily have been deduced as evil, or the "bad guy," as she was by the townspeople. That is, she was convicted of adultery, a horrible sin of the time. As for punishment, a sentence to wear a scarlet "A" upon her chest, it would hardly be considered a burden or extreme sentence in present day. Another sin that Hester committed was the fact that she never told who the father of her child, Pear, forcing her to be without a father. Hester's silence also caused Dimmesdale to live in torture every day. Chillingsworth was also hurt by Hester's act of adultery and because of her, his life was destroyed and the only thing he could do was seek revenge against the man who had been with her. Hester's child Pearl had to be raised by only one parent and that caused the child to be less disciplined and more outrageous making the townspeople more suspicious of who the child's father was. It also caused the religious leaders to wonder about the religious stability of the child, and if there might be witchcraft involved, "The little baggage have witchcraft in her"(p112). Hester also caused numerous a sleepless night for Dimmesdale. If Hester had just announced that Dimmesdale was the father he would have never have lived through all the guilt that she forced him into. Dimmesdale was a weak and frail man because of Hester's silence. Chillengsworth was pushed into a life of revenge and anguish since Hester had betrayed their marriage and Chillengsworth's trust in her. She had turned Chillengsworth into a fiend, "I have already told thee what I am, a fiend!" (P169). Hester admitts to causing Chillengsworth into becoming the fiend as well. The guilt rests solely on Hester Prynne for destroying not just her own life from this sin but also of many other people such as the minister Dimmesdale, the physician Chillengsworth, and her own daughter Pearl. Hester manipulated and destroyed Dimmesdale's very life and caused Chillengsworth to degrade himself into living a life of revenge, she also caused Pearl to be shunned by society and to be looked down upon as if she was a demon. It 1999-08-21T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Guilty-Party-793.aspx The Scarlet Letter But (Hester) is not the protagonist; the chief actor, and the tragedy of The Scarlet Letter is not her tragedy, but Dimmesdales. He it was whom the sorrows of death encompassed..... His public confession is one of the noblest climaxes of tragic literature. This statement by Randall Stewart does not contain the same ideas that I believed were contained within The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I, on the contrary to Stewart's statement, think Dimmesdale is a coward and a hypocrite. Worse, he is a self-confessed coward and hypocrite. He knows what he has to do to still the voice of his conscience and make his peace with God. Throughout the entire story his confession remains an obstacle . While Hester is a relatively constant character, Dimmesdale is incredibly dynamic. From his fall with Hester, he moves, in steps, toward his public hint of sinning at the end of the novel. He tries to unburden himself of his sin by revealing it to his congregation, but somehow can never quite manage this. He is a typical diagnosis of a "wuss". To some extent, Dimmesdale's story is one of a single man tempted into the depths of the hormonal world. This world, however, is a place where the society treats sexuality with ill grace. But his problem is enormously complicated by the fact of Hester's marriage (for him no technicality), and by his own image of himself as a cleric devoted to higher things. Unlike other young men, Dimmesdale cannot accept his loss of innocence and go on from there. He must struggle futilely to get back to where he was. Torn between the desire to confess and atone the cowardice which holds him back, Dimmesdale goes slightly mad. He takes up some morbid forms of penance-fasts and scourgings-but he can neither whip nor starve the sin from his soul. In his agony, he staggers to the pulpit to confess, but his words come out generalized, and meaningless declarations of guilt. The reverend seems to want to reveal himself, but Chillingworth's influence and his own shame are stronger than his weak conscience. Dimmesdale cannot surrender an identity which brings him the love and admiration of his parishioners. He is far too intent on his earthly image to willingly reveal his sin. Once Hester explains Chillingworth's plans, and thus breaks Chillingworth's spell, Dimmesdale begins to overcome him. He does it, though, in a way 1999-05-19T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-693.aspx The Scarlet Letter Hyatt Waggoner, a noted Hawthorne scholar, says, "The Scarlet Letter is Hawthorne's most widely read and admired novel and is also the one that has inspired the most inconclusive debate . . ." (Waggoner 118). Much of the trouble in interpreting The Scarlet Letter stems from the fact that the story is highly symbolic. The Scarlet Letter opens with the stark image of the throng of people surrounding the prison door. Hawthorne creates a mood by using the, "sadcolored," garment and, "gray, steeplecrowned hats," to give the reader a feeling a gloom and sadness. Among these dark, sad images Hawthorne interjects the wild red rose. As Hawthorne puts it, "to symbolize some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow" (McMichael, 1033). The prison is symbolic of moral evil which would be sin and the cemetery is a symbol of natural evil which would be death. It is commonly agreed that the colors are used extensive in The Scarlet Letter as symbols. This is illustrated by the scene by the prison door, but the use and importance of the symbol grows as the book moves along. Pearl, is often identified with the color red, which Waggoner identifies as evil. Pearl is not an evil child in the true sense of the word, but she is a reflection of her parent's immorality and their love. The color red, along with images of bright glow show Pearl to be the product of a moment of passion between Hester and Dimmesdale. Just like the red rose at the start of the story, Pearl is meant to relieve the sorrow and misery. The most famous symbol is of course the scarlet letter itself. Called, "The Elaborate Sign," by Waggoner, the letter A exhibits itself a number of times and in a number of ways throughout the story. The A may appear on Dimmesdale's chest, it appears as Pearl, in the sky as a huge letter formed by a comet; in the mirror at the Governor's mansion; and on Hester's tombstone (McMichael 1150). The letter itself is red, which at first glance would seem to confirm Mr. Waggoner's theory that red in the story is a representation of evil. A case can be made, however, that even in the letter A that red is symbolic of hope and spirit. The scarlet letter 1999-05-09T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-666.aspx Evil in the Scarlet Letter One belief that people live by is that evil is the nature of mankind, yet there are others that feel man has good intentions but those intentions can be overrun by the devil. Nathaniel Hawthorne points out that the former is true of all people in the novel The Scarlet Letter. In this novel, there are three main characters who commit evil and sinful acts, but each act is at a different degree of sinfulness (i.e. the sins get worse as the story goes a-long). These three sinners, in the eyes of the Puritan community, are the beautiful Hester Prynne, the esteemed Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and the cold-hearted doctor, Roger Chillingworth. Like Hawthorne, I believe that evil is the nature of man but that there are different magnitudes of evil; some choose to fight it, like Hester, and some choose to give in, like Chillingworth. Hester Prynne, a strong willed and brave woman, in respect to the two additional people, has committed the least amount of sin in the novel. In the eyes of the Puritan community, though, she has committed one of the worst possible sins that can be imagined: adultery. They feel she is horrendously corrupt, yet it is not truly her fault. Hester is the victim of her husband, Roger Chillingworth's (formerly Roger Prynne) stupidity by sending her to New England by herself, while he remained in Europe. Chillingworth even admitted that it was his fault when he voiced, "It was my folly! I have said it. But, up to that epoch of my life, I have lived in vain."(Ch.4, p. 68) Hester is also a victim of fate. She has no way of knowing if Chillingworth is dead or alive when the Indians capture him after he arrived in North America. She still goes against the strict Puritan rules, and breaks Commandment 7, which was often punished by death. Arthur Dimmesdale is a strong pillar of the community and a very devoted Puritan. What could he do that is worse than young Hester Prynne's appalling act of adultery? Well he goes a little further into the same sin. First of all, he commits adultery with the abandoned Hester. Then instead of admitting his sin to the public, he keeps his dark secret in his heart, knowing it will eat at him for the rest of his life until he reveals it. The only thing worse in 1999-04-08T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Evil-in-the-Scarlet-Letter-656.aspx Punishment in The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter deals with many themes, the most powerful being punishment. In this novel, Hester Prynne becomes a highly respected person in a Puritan society by overcoming one of the harshest punishments, the scarlet letter. This object on "her bosom"; however, does the exact opposite of that which it was meant for. Eventually, Hester Prynne inverts all the odds against here due to her courage, pride and effort. Hester went beyond the letter of the law and did everything asked of here in order to prove that she is "able." Hester became quite a popular seamstress, admired all over the town of Boston for her work. Hester is modest in everything that she does. Hester herself wears only poor clothing while she embroiders marvelous works for the rest of Boston. The only piece of clothing forbidden to create was the wedding vail. How could a woman wearing the scarlet letter create a dress that represents the values of marriage; having committed sin as she did to be involved in the marital bonds of another couple. Although she does the job willingly and rarely ever looks back to the horrid past behind. The scarlet letter was constantly worn by Hester with pride and dignity. Hester knew that what was done in the past was wrong and that the scarlet A was the right thing to do, therefor it is worn with a sense of pride. The child, Pearl, is "a blessing and as a reminder of her sin." As if the scarlet A were not enough punishment there "was a brat of that hellish breed" which would remind Hester of what happened in the past. The "brat" could have been given away to Governor Bellingham yet Hester proclaimed that Pearl "is my happiness!...Ye shall not take her! I will die first!" Not a person in Boston, nor Hester herself thought highly of the little child and Hester refused to let Pearl go. Hester carried the kid around only because it was a direct reflection of her sin and to cast away here sin as freely as that to give it away would be unjust and unfair to Hester and Pearl. From now on Hester would continually and proudly be near Pearl. Hester would go against the grain in everything she did. Very rarely did she ever give up hope; never did she complete a job poorly. In the city of Boston 1999-04-08T14:00:00-04:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Punishment-in-The-Scarlet-Letter-657.aspx The Scarlet Letter - Hester Pryne The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the heroine is admired becuase of her strong will, and disregard for other's views of her. Hester Pryne displays her best qualities when she stands up to Governor Bellingham and his gang, when they confront her about her daughter Pearl. Hester is a woman that is well ahead of her time, she is vocal, proud, head-strong, and confident, in an age where women were to be seen and not heard. She was deeply admired by all the townspeople, despite her adultrous past, and public shame of wearing a scarlet "A" upon her breast. Hester is a victim of a crime which was severly punished despite the fact that she could only be accountable for half of the incident. She was forced into the marriage of a man she did not love, and after being seperated for a long amount of time, she became attracted to another man. Hester ismuch stronger then her partner in adultry, Dimmesdale, who bottles up his guilt inside, and eventually dies due to the suffering he endures, at keeping the event a secret. Hester endures her punishment without 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-Hester-Pryne-156.aspx The Flamboyant Hester Prynne Hester Prynne is a very well recognized character in The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. She is a character about whom much gas been written such as, Toward Hester Prynn, by David Reynolds, and The Scarlet A, Aboriginal and Awesome, by Kristin Herzog. Reynold's essay dealt with Hester as a heroine, who is an artistic combination of disparate female types. Herzog's essay dealt with the idea that Hester is both wild and passionate, as well as, caring, conservative, and alien. Towards Hester Prynne, by David Reynolds, expressed Hester as a heroine composed of many different stereotypes of females from the time period Hawthorne was writing. Hawthorne created some of the most skeptical and politically uncommitted characters in pre-civil war history. Reynolds went on to say, His [Hawthorne's] career illustrates the success of an especially responsive author in gathering together disparate female types and recombining them artistically so that they become crucial elements of the rhetorical and artistic construct of his fiction (Reynolds 179). Hawthorne used ironies of fallen women and female criminals to achieve the perfect combination of different types of heroines. His heroines are equipped to expel wrongs against their sex bringing about an awareness of both the rights and wrongs of women. Hester is a compound of many popular stereotypes rich in the thoughts of the time ...portrayed as a fallen woman whose honest sinfulness is found preferable to the future corruption of the reverend (Reynolds 183). Hester was described by Reynolds as a feminist criminal bound in an iron link of mutual crime (Reynolds 183). According to Reynolds, Hawthorne was trying to have his culture's darkest stereotypes absorbed into the character of Hester and rescue them from noisy politics by reinterpreting them in Puritan terms and fusing them with the moral exemplar. Kristin Herzog had a somewhat different view of Hester in The Scarlet A, Aboriginal and Awesome. She described Hester as both wild and passionate, and caring, conservative, and alien. Herzog stated that The Scarlet Letter is a story set at the rough edge of civilization. Hester is as much an outcast as any Quaker in the Puritan colony and she takes the colony's abuse laid upon her with a Quaker's dignity. Herzog described Hester's Aboriginal characteristics as caring and conservative. This aspect of Hester's femininity is not the only trait, however, which separates her from the Puritan women around her. She is also ...an alien with a 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Flamboyant-Hester-Prynne-157.aspx Scarlet Letter: Reality vs Perception Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, a dark tale of sin and redemption, centers around the small Puritan community of Boston during the seventeenth century. In the middle of the town market place is a " . . .weather darkened scaffold. . . (234)" where sinners are made to face the condemning public. The people standing on the scaffold experience strange phenomena while on the scaffold. Some become braver, some meeker. And whether the people are looking at them or not, they becomes their true selves on the scaffold. In essence, everything that is real and true occurs on the scaffold, and everything that is illusion or hypocrisy occurs everywhere else. The forest is also a setting where characters find the truth about themselves. Most settlers to the forest are people who are outsiders from society. They are untainted by the views of the townspeople and can see beyond the lies and hypocrisy of the townspeople. The experiences of the people on the scaffold and in the forest lend themselves to a higher issue, reality vs. perception. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne shows how people create their own reality with what they see. The Scaffold is not only a high view point the in market place but a site where one can see beyond the restraints of town and even time. For one person, " . . . the scaffold of the pillory was the point of view that revealed to Hester Prynne the entire track which she had been treading since her happy infancy (p65)". The experience of the scaffold has a profound effect on Hester. Living on the border between the town and the forest, she learns new freedom while seeing the conformist repression of the town. Hester sees what the townspeople ignore. She soon believes that because of her punishment on the scaffold and her perpetual reminder of it, the scarlet letter, she sees the sins of the entire townspeople and the hypocrisy of keeping them secret. Thus, her time on the scaffold has made her see the truth of the town and its lies. Reverend Dimmesdale has a similar experience on the scaffold. Troubled by his sins and his failure to confess them, the reverend ascends the pillory in the dead of night to "confess" his sins to the world. Even though on one sees him, Dimmesdale feels " . . . all the dread of public exposure [that] 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/Scarlet-Letter-Reality-vs-Perception-158.aspx The Scarlet Letter Adultery, betrayal, promiscuity, subterfuge, and intrigue, all of which would make an excellent coming attraction on the Hollywood scene and probably a pretty good book. Add Puritan ideals and writing styles, making it long, drawn out, tedious, wearisome, sleep inducing, insipidly asinine, and the end result is The Scarlet Letter. Despite all these things it is considered a classic and was a statement of the era. The Scarlet Letter is a wonderful and not so traditional example of the good versus evil theme. What makes this a unique instance of good versus evil is that either side could be considered either one. Hester could very easily have been deduced as evil, or the "bad guy," as she was by the townspeople. That is, she was convicted of adultery, a horrible sin of the time, but maybe not even seen as criminal today. As for punishment, a sentence to wear a scarlet "A" upon her chest, it would hardly be considered a burden or extreme sentence in present day. Or Hester can be seen as rebelling against a society where she was forced into a loveless marriage and hence she would be the "good guy," or girl, as the case may be. Also the townspeople, the magistrates, and Chillingworth, Hester's true husband, can be seen in both lights. Either they can be perceived as just upholding the law -she committed a crime, they enforce the law. On the other hand are they going to extreme measures such as wanting to take Pearl, Hester's daughter, away just because Hester has deviated from the norm, all to enforce an unjust law that does not even apply to this situation? Although the subjects of the novel do apply to important issues in history and could have had influences on the time period, they were not great. During the times and in the Puritan community this did not have a large affect on anything. Sure, they did not want anyone committing adultery, most were killed if convicted, but it was not something that upset their way of living in any permanent manner. To an individual or group who was battling something backward in the Puritan society, as were many things, this would have been an inspirational book and possibly a revelation. In short, this book could have been exceptional; it had all the elements of a superb book. Unfortunately, Hawthorne found himself a rather large thesaurus and added a bunch of mindless prattle that mellowed out the high points of the book and expanded on the low points. In 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-159.aspx The Scarlet Letter Essay "But (Hester) is not the protagonist; the chief actor, and the tragedy of The Scarlet Letter is not her tragedy, but Dimmesdales. He it was whom the sorrows of death encompassed..... His public confession is one of the noblest climaxes of tragic literature." This statement by Randall Stewart does not contain the same ideas that I believed were contained within The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I, on the contrary to Stewart's statement, think Dimmesdale is a coward and a hypocrite. Worse, he is a self-confessed coward and hypocrite. He knows what he has to do to still the voice of his conscience and make his peace with God. Throughout the entire story his confession remains an obstacle . While Hester is a relatively constant character, Dimmesdale is incredibly dynamic. From his fall with Hester, he moves, in steps, toward his public hint of sinning at the end of the novel. He tries to unburden himself of his sin by revealing it to his congregation, but somehow can never quite manage this. He is a typical diagnosis of a "wuss". To some extent, Dimmesdale's story is one of a single man tempted into the depths of the hormonal world. This world, however, is a place where the society treats sexuality with ill grace. But his problem is enormously complicated by the fact of Hester's marriage (for him no technicality), and by his own image of himself as a cleric devoted to higher things. Unlike other young men, Dimmesdale cannot accept his loss of innocence and go on from there. He must struggle futilely to get back to where he was. Torn between the desire to confess and atone the cowardice which holds him back, Dimmesdale goes slightly mad. He takes up some morbid forms of penance-fasts and scourgings-but he can neither whip nor starve the sin from his soul. In his agony, he staggers to the pulpit to confess, but his words come out generalized, and meaningless declarations of guilt. The reverend seems to want to reveal himself, but Chillingworth's influence and his own shame are stronger than his weak conscience. Dimmesdale cannot surrender an identity which brings him the love and admiration of his parishioners. He is far too intent on his earthly image to willingly reveal his sin. Once Hester explains Chillingworth's plans, and thus breaks Chillingworth's spell, Dimmesdale begins to overcome him. He does it, though, in a 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-Essay-160.aspx The Scarlet Letter The book The Scarlet Letter is all about symbolism. People and objects are symbolic of events and thoughts. Throughout the course of the book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to signify Puritanic and Romantic philosophies. Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery. For this irrevocably harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life. However, the Romantic philosophies of Hawthorne put down the Puritanic beliefs. 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 the physical scarlet letter, a Puritanical sign of disownment, is shown through the author's tone and diction as a beautiful, gold and colorful piece. Pearl, Hester's child, is portrayed Puritanically, as a child of sin who should be treated as such, ugly, evil, and shamed. The reader more evidently notices that Hawthorne carefully, and sometimes not subtly at all, places Pearl above the rest. She wears colorful clothes, is extremely smart, pretty, and nice. More often than not, she shows her intelligence and free thought, a trait of the Romantics. One of Pearl's favorite activities is playing with flowers and trees. (The reader will recall that anything affiliated with the forest was evil to Puritans. To Hawthorne, however, the forest was beautiful and natural.) "And she was gentler here [the forest] than in the grassy- margined streets of the settlement, or in her mother's cottage. The flowers appeared to know it"(194) Pearl fit in with natural things. Also, Pearl is always effervescent and joyous, which is definitely a negative to the Puritans. Pearl is a virtual shouting match between the Puritanical views and the Romantic ways. To most, but especially the Puritans, one of the most important members of a community is the religious leader; Arthur Dimmesdale is no exception. He was held above the rest, and this is proven in one of the first scenes of the book. As Hester is above the townspeople on a scaffold, Dimmesdale, Governor Wilson, and others are still above her. But, as the reader soon discovers, Arthur Dimmesdale is his own worst enemy. He hates himself and must physically inflict pain upon himself. "He thus typified the constant introspection wherewith he tortured, but could not purify, himself" to never 1999-01-22T13:00:00-05:00 http://75.150.148.189/free-essay/The-Scarlet-Letter-161.aspx