The antebellum reformation period was a time of abundant change such as the temperance movement, abolitionist movement, and school and prison reform, anymore more; this period was manifested by firm social mores, which did not allow rehabilitation into society. Not to mention society was profoundly male dominated. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter (1852) is an exceptional example of such. The Scarlett Letter primarily describes the events that take place in fictional puritan society where Hester Prynne, Hawthorne’s heroine, commits adultery and as a result has a child and is then forced to wear a large adulterous “A” across her chest. The novel includes the consequences of Hester’s sins and ultimately how the other people in her environment
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For example, Hawthorne paints Chillingworth as an image of deception or evil with a use of a forthright diction, thus pushing the audience to see how intolerable he has become. The narrator utilizes the adjective “blackness” to describe Roger Chillingworth’s shady persona to the reader while further conveying the message that there is no goodness or purity left inside of Chillingworth. The narrator employs figurative language to deliberately exaggerate the “glare of red light” in Chillingworth’s eyes to express the notion, his soul is slowly burning to death (Hawthorne 153). This is significant because it suggest to the audience that Chillingworth has sold his soul to the devil, implying to the audience that there is no way he can be saved or changed. In addition, the image of a “constant heart of torture” depicts a picture of human with a consistently negative aura, Hawthorne does this to help the reader realize Roger Chillingworth is choosing to lead a life of destruction instead of learning to becoming a better person similarly to everyone else in society (154). The narrator does this to indicate Chillingworth's secrets and his unnecessary quest for revenge has made him inhuman, unable to forgive, and most importantly miserable. The narrator noticeably suggest Roger Chillingworth is declining ethically, despite the plentiful changes that are slowly being made among the other individuals among the townspeople. Hawthorne uses this chapter to overall express that society must come together to unite as one instead of all individuals being all for
For example, Hawthorne paints Chillingworth as an image of deception or evil with a use of a forthright diction, thus pushing the audience to see how intolerable he has become. The narrator utilizes the adjective “blackness” to describe Roger Chillingworth’s shady persona to the reader while further conveying the message that there is no goodness or purity left inside of Chillingworth. The narrator employs figurative language to deliberately exaggerate the “glare of red light” in Chillingworth’s eyes to express the notion, his soul is slowly burning to death (Hawthorne 153). This is significant because it suggest to the audience that Chillingworth has sold his soul to the devil, implying to the audience that there is no way he can be saved or changed. In addition, the image of a “constant heart of torture” depicts a picture of human with a consistently negative aura, Hawthorne does this to help the reader realize Roger Chillingworth is choosing to lead a life of destruction instead of learning to becoming a better person similarly to everyone else in society (154). The narrator does this to indicate Chillingworth's secrets and his unnecessary quest for revenge has made him inhuman, unable to forgive, and most importantly miserable. The narrator noticeably suggest Roger Chillingworth is declining ethically, despite the plentiful changes that are slowly being made among the other individuals among the townspeople. Hawthorne uses this chapter to overall express that society must come together to unite as one instead of all individuals being all for