Sin In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Improved Essays
Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays sin to its best form in the novel The Scarlet letter. All throughout this novel, the act of sin is prevalent in almost every chapter. Nathaniel Hawthorne is known for portraying one solid concept throughout his novels. He also uses symbolism to portray human condition, knowledge, and sin in a different way. The tone exhibits a type of serious feel throughout the story, which has an impact on the ways that Hawthorne describes the different symbolisms. Another way the Scarlet letter can be interpreted is through the different analysis of the characters throughout the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism and irony to show how the main characters illustrate the themes of sin, revenge, and light and dark imagery. …show more content…
The theme of sin is portrayed in different ways throughout the novel. Sin plays a huge role in the whole novel and in Hester’s life. It is the main focus of the whole book. Hester has committed one of the worst sins that Puritans can think of. She has been punished in that she has to wear the letter “A” on her chest for the rest of her life. Hawthorne shows throughout the novel that sin is the main focus on all the characters. Hester Prynne takes the harshest punishment for her sin she has committed. In Puritan life sin is a huge deal and is frowned upon. In the beginning of the novel Hawthorne states that the whole town is built around a prison. “The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of a prison” (Hawthorne). This statement alone is key to the puritan lifestyle back then. “To a nineteenth-century audience, the narrator observes, some of these offenses would seem minor, but to a group the respects authority simply because it is authority, the breaking of any law is a matter of extreme seriousness, no matter which law it is” (Baym, “Who”). The puritans take their sin very seriously. That is why Hester had such a harsh punishment. “When they [puritans] required …show more content…
Chillingworth does not find out the truth til near the end of the novel. Chillingworth tries to get revenge on Hester and Dimmesdale in many ways. He tries to sabotage them and he tries to kill Dimmesdale. Hawthorne makes these situations known to the readers for us to get a better understanding of the theme of Revenge. Nathaniel Hawthorne is a great writer and philosopher. All throughout the novel, “The Scarlet Letter” he portrays a plathera of themes such as sin, revenge, and light and darkness. “Hawthorne’s symbolic mode requires us to look at events for their larger significance. But rather than thinking that the story exists for the sake of presenting its themes, let us take the opposite approach: the themes exist for the sake of making the story more interesting” (Baym, “Themes”). Hawthorne uses symbols and irony to help the reader get a better understanding of the themes of sin, revenge, and light and

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Imagery is included in The Scarlet Letter to insert a more profound message. The application of light and dark imagery is essential to the novel in creating a lively and melancholy moods to establish variance in the characters as well as their lives. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses the societal hypocrisy of Puritans, elements of nature and the importance of the scarlet letter to exude the how sin is an entity of life. Puritans are merciless and use public humiliation as an epitome of the consequences of sin. In Boston during the seventeenth century, Puritans came to set up a paradise colony but upon arriving “[the] founders of a new colony… have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne displays how one sin can ruin the lives of many. His purpose is to show how holding in a sin and not being truthful can haunt you and lead to your end. Hawthorne uses several rhetorical device to convey this message, including: antithesis, anaphora, and metaphor. Throughout the text, antithesis is commonly used, especially comparing life and death.…

    • 733 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Arthur Dimmesdale, like Hester, is another important character who plays a significant role in the novel “The Scarlet Letter.” Also like Hester, Arthur Dimmesdale’s name can be linked back to his characteristics. The name “Arthur” is like the word “author” which is a word that can be linked to someone with intelligence (Lei). Nan Lei says the following statement about Dimmesdale “Graduated from a famous university in England, Arthur Dimmesdale is a holy clergyman with great religious accomplishment and high social status. His parishioners turn to him for guidance and direction, and in their mind, he is a perfect model and almost sinless.”…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This symbolism also reveals the theme of appearance versus reality as a way to accentuate the symbolism of the character’s names. Hawthorne also gives these names to his characters in order to develop the symbolism of other scenes in The Scarlet Letter. As a result, many interpretations of the scenes and plot are provided to illustrate the difference between the points of views present in the novel. Each major character’s name in Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter presents various ideas that contribute to the overall understanding of the symbols and…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    F. O. Matthiessen argues that Hawthorne’s use of symbolism developed differences in people’s interpretations of the symbols. Matthiessen described it as “the device of multiple choice” meaning the reader can choose, based on his interpretation, what the symbol means to them. According to Matthiessen Hawthorne does not fully explain any of the symbols in The Scarlet Letter, he only leaves vague clues which lead the reader to interpret the symbol on their own. Therefore, many theories about the actual meaning arise and “with that Hawthorne leaves the reader to choose among these theories.” Moreover, Hawthorne himself does not accept his allegory even though he still finds it valid due to its psychological exactness.…

    • 135 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In The Scarlet Letter, there are many symbols and themes. One of these themes is good vs. evil. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses plant imagery to illustrate his theme of good vs. evil. The Scarlet Letter contains evil elements such as betrayal and deceit, but it also contains good elements such as free spirit and positivity. Hawthorne uses weeds to illustrate the betrayal and deceit found in The Scarlet Letter.…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Symbolism in literature is used to convey ideas, themes or certain qualities to the reader, by using symbols that are different from their literal meaning. Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter uses several key symbols throughout the novel to both structure and give symbolic meaning to the book. In particular, Hawthorne uses the sunshine as a symbol of happiness and freedom, the scaffold as the structure to the novel, and the letter A, the biggest symbol in the book, to represent adultery and ability. Throughout the book Hawthorne shows that all of these symbols are connected through sin and redemption, a huge theme of the novel.…

    • 1688 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I can passionately and adamantly tell you that Nathaniel Hawthorne has a God given talent of prolonging a story that could be told in five chapters or less. In reading The Scarlet Letter I have developed grey hair, a dislike for words such as ignominy and sagacious and intense abdominal pain. On the other hand, The Scarlet Letter didn’t totally set me off of literature written before the 1900’s; I’ll give it another try in 40 years or so. Yet, on a serious note Nathaniel Hawthorne was able to create a beautiful yet tragic story. When creating this famous piece of literature his attention to detail, use of foreshadowing, as well as symbolism brought the conflicts, theme and characters to life.…

    • 1026 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The three works by Nathaniel Hawthorne all have overlapping themes, characters, settings, symbols, and plots. To begin, the major theme behind the stories is sin. This is evident in The Scarlet Letter through Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne's adultery. In "The Minister's Black Veil" by the minister hiding his face to represent that the entire world in hiding behind their own black veils, or sins. In "Young Goodman Brown", does not trust anyone because of their hiding sins.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Clark Bolding Mrs. O’Neal AP English Language and Composition-4 14 November 2015 The Scarlet Letter Writing about Reading Defense of Passages Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The Scarlet Letter contains many overarching themes throughout the book. The author uses the themes to teach the reader a moral lesson.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Power of “A” The novel The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne wrote the novel in 1850, making it a part of the Romanticism era that lasted from 1750 to 1870. The Romanticism era was a literary movement that focused on the liberation from rules, relationships between humans and nature, and the use of imaginary worlds and beings. The novel became an instant best-seller and was the start of Hawthorne’s most productive period.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Scarlet Letter, a book written by the nephew of Hathorne, who goes by the name of Hawthorne is about a woman who committed adultery, but also has a main point of good vs.evil. Written in the 1800’s by a puritan author and taking place in the New World during the 1600’s. The Scarlet Letter is mainly about a town that revolves around punishment and a woman that who sinned. But it all symbolizes good and evil. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of the Wild Rosebush, Pearl, and the Forest and Sunlight to contribute to the overall theme of imperfection.…

    • 953 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Theme Of Romanticism In The Scarlet Letter

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages
    • 5 Works Cited

    They were attracted to rebellion and revolution. They mainly cared about the individualism and imagination. Some of the characteristics of American Romanticism are characters and setting set apart from society, characters that were not of our own conscious kind, formal language, supernatural foreshadowing, universe in mysterious, and gaps in causality. In addition, some of the themes American Romanticism produce are: emotional intensity, common man as hero, equality, individualism, Manifest Destiny, the nature of good or evil, abolition, and many other more. One of the author who himself or his work may sound familiar is Nathanial Hawthorne, who wrote The Scarlet…

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages
    • 5 Works Cited
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What is your impression on how puritan world view is taken up and treated by Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter? The Scarlet Letter is an indictment on the follies of the puritans featuring the rigid values and beliefs of the society. Hawthorne criticizes various aspects of the puritan confraternity through the lives of the characters and the punishsment one is made to undergo because of the sin committed. Hawthorne took the puritan view seriously in the scarlet letter by depicting the gender inequality, hypocrisy of government officials and stiff rules of the puritan society.…

    • 786 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nathaniel Hawthorne is no different. In all of his literary works, symbols can be found that show the reader deeper meanings in his text. One example of this is the scarlet letter that Hester Prynne is required to wear in The Scarlet Letter. This letter comes to express many meanings. One such meaning is adultery.…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays