Nathaniel Hawthorne is a well known American author who lived during the 1800’s. He was an anti-transcendentalist, meaning he believes humans are naturally evil and society balances out the bad. Hawthorne's great uncle, John Hathorne, was the judge for the Salem witch trials infamously known for killing many. This left Hawthorne with a bad name, causing him to change his last name so he had no ties with the evil man. Also as a result of who his great uncle was Hawthorne was very fascinated with Puritanism, the time his great uncle lived in. Puritanism was a very bland style of living mostly practiced in the 1600’s. Hawthorne's most famous story “ The Scarlet Letter” is set up in a Puritan society. The story's theme being Sin, Revenge, Imperfection, and Guilt. In the novel Hawthorne uses the Scaffold, Dimmesdale, and Pearl to contribute to the overall theme of sin.
First of all, Hawthorne uses the Scaffold to contribute to the theme of sin. The Scaffold is in the center of the town, a place for public punishment. The Scaffold being in the center of the town represents how the town revolves around punishment . In the story, Hawthorne explains, “The Scaffold of the pillory was a point of view that revealed to Hester Prynne the …show more content…
Although each have different roles, the roles all play off of each other. The Scaffold is in the center of the town as the story continues we start to see more and more how important punishment is to the Puritans. Dimmesdale feels guilt of his sin the whole story, putting him through different types of pain and dimming his life and health light day by day. Pearl reminds us page by page how important she is to the theme of sin. Being born into sin makes her a very scary child and it’s not until the sin is admitted she is finally a nice little girl. The three play off of each other to continuously remind us of Hawthornes overall theme of
First of all, Hawthorne uses the Scaffold to contribute to the theme of sin. The Scaffold is in the center of the town, a place for public punishment. The Scaffold being in the center of the town represents how the town revolves around punishment . In the story, Hawthorne explains, “The Scaffold of the pillory was a point of view that revealed to Hester Prynne the …show more content…
Although each have different roles, the roles all play off of each other. The Scaffold is in the center of the town as the story continues we start to see more and more how important punishment is to the Puritans. Dimmesdale feels guilt of his sin the whole story, putting him through different types of pain and dimming his life and health light day by day. Pearl reminds us page by page how important she is to the theme of sin. Being born into sin makes her a very scary child and it’s not until the sin is admitted she is finally a nice little girl. The three play off of each other to continuously remind us of Hawthornes overall theme of