Wyatt Swanson.
The Scarlet Letter Main Theme Essay
10/8/17
Hawthorne’s Scarlet letter is considered by many to be a masterpiece. His writing eloquently describes his setting and characters. And because of this eloquence he is able to progress the story beautifully with many allusions, analogies and themes. Some are bitterly obvious some you have to search for a bit more. The book first published came out about ten years before the American Civil war, meaning during a time of extreme separation and hostility. So what is Hawthorne’s purpose for writing this, what is his message and what is the main theme?
The main theme of the Scarlet letter is, sin, knowledge and how those two things come together to create a better view of humanity. This book gives us the extreme perception of humanity that the pilgrims had and shows how having sin gives you knowledge that gives you a better more sympathetic view of humanity and the mistakes that we make. In order to understand this theme that Hathore creates we must first understand the definition of humanity, as well as the pilgrims view of it, which will be carried out in the next couple of …show more content…
For Hester, the scarlet letter is a passage to a place where no one else can go and this allows her freedom to question her society and also herself. Dimmesdale, has the burden of his sin which allows him to have sympathy with those who do sin. His awe inspiring and moving sermons come because of this new found sense of empathy. The Puritan elders, see the time on earth as merely a brief stop on the way towards heaven. Thus, sin is viewed as a threat to society and should be punished as well as expelled in all circumstances. The response to Hester’s sin is to ostracize her. But Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin shows that sin, although inherently bad, allows for a more sympathetic and a whole understanding of
The Scarlet Letter Main Theme Essay
10/8/17
Hawthorne’s Scarlet letter is considered by many to be a masterpiece. His writing eloquently describes his setting and characters. And because of this eloquence he is able to progress the story beautifully with many allusions, analogies and themes. Some are bitterly obvious some you have to search for a bit more. The book first published came out about ten years before the American Civil war, meaning during a time of extreme separation and hostility. So what is Hawthorne’s purpose for writing this, what is his message and what is the main theme?
The main theme of the Scarlet letter is, sin, knowledge and how those two things come together to create a better view of humanity. This book gives us the extreme perception of humanity that the pilgrims had and shows how having sin gives you knowledge that gives you a better more sympathetic view of humanity and the mistakes that we make. In order to understand this theme that Hathore creates we must first understand the definition of humanity, as well as the pilgrims view of it, which will be carried out in the next couple of …show more content…
For Hester, the scarlet letter is a passage to a place where no one else can go and this allows her freedom to question her society and also herself. Dimmesdale, has the burden of his sin which allows him to have sympathy with those who do sin. His awe inspiring and moving sermons come because of this new found sense of empathy. The Puritan elders, see the time on earth as merely a brief stop on the way towards heaven. Thus, sin is viewed as a threat to society and should be punished as well as expelled in all circumstances. The response to Hester’s sin is to ostracize her. But Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin shows that sin, although inherently bad, allows for a more sympathetic and a whole understanding of