Children are much like their parents, in the fact that they mimic both the personalities and actions of their parents. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the child of our protagonist serves as a window into her conscience. As do the many other town children of the early Boston Colony. The children in this novel are very different yet still hold many of the same attributes of their parents; they serve as the mouthpieces of the ‘hardened, true beliefs’ of many characters.
It is the nature of children to be brutally honest. Childish views are normally truthful and are very similar to the internal opinions of adults, however they are different compared to the external thoughts that adults tend to talk to their peers about. Children paint …show more content…
As ‘Adults’, people know that the world isn’t black and white; to stay morally sane they have to disperse some gray into the tumultuous mess that is life. However, many people’s first reaction to new things tends to be very black and white. They don’t like the ‘other’ or the ‘weird thing’; people are much like children in this regard when it comes to new situations or ideology. “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die; is there not law for it?” (Hawthorne 3). This takes place at the beginning of the book. This opinion sets the tone of the entire book and is a very good representation of the general thought of the public (while just a tad bit extreme). The “ugliest [and the] most pitiless” (Hawthorne 3) magistrate was the one who said this. She might have been jealous of Hester Prynne’s beauty. The lady whines like a child. She states “...is there not law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statute-book” (Hawthorne 3). …show more content…
Pearl insinuates (whether she knows it or not) that society hates her solely because of the mark on her chest, or rather what it symbolizes. This society rejects her because of their faith, and the lack thereof of Hester in her husband. It is also insinuated that sunshine represents purity. Hester hopes that Pearl will never have to bear the horror of wearing a mark like she has. Hester later tells Pearl, “Run away, child, and catch the sunshine. It will soon be gone” (Hawthorne 79). This illustrates Hester’s bleak frame of reality that she puts upon life. Hester knows that Pearl will break some rules in her life; she is extremely mischievous and has a rebellious spirit. Having to stay in prison for loving someone else, with a baby, has deadened her outlook on how loving or forgiving society will be to its members when they break the
It is the nature of children to be brutally honest. Childish views are normally truthful and are very similar to the internal opinions of adults, however they are different compared to the external thoughts that adults tend to talk to their peers about. Children paint …show more content…
As ‘Adults’, people know that the world isn’t black and white; to stay morally sane they have to disperse some gray into the tumultuous mess that is life. However, many people’s first reaction to new things tends to be very black and white. They don’t like the ‘other’ or the ‘weird thing’; people are much like children in this regard when it comes to new situations or ideology. “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die; is there not law for it?” (Hawthorne 3). This takes place at the beginning of the book. This opinion sets the tone of the entire book and is a very good representation of the general thought of the public (while just a tad bit extreme). The “ugliest [and the] most pitiless” (Hawthorne 3) magistrate was the one who said this. She might have been jealous of Hester Prynne’s beauty. The lady whines like a child. She states “...is there not law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statute-book” (Hawthorne 3). …show more content…
Pearl insinuates (whether she knows it or not) that society hates her solely because of the mark on her chest, or rather what it symbolizes. This society rejects her because of their faith, and the lack thereof of Hester in her husband. It is also insinuated that sunshine represents purity. Hester hopes that Pearl will never have to bear the horror of wearing a mark like she has. Hester later tells Pearl, “Run away, child, and catch the sunshine. It will soon be gone” (Hawthorne 79). This illustrates Hester’s bleak frame of reality that she puts upon life. Hester knows that Pearl will break some rules in her life; she is extremely mischievous and has a rebellious spirit. Having to stay in prison for loving someone else, with a baby, has deadened her outlook on how loving or forgiving society will be to its members when they break the