Badges Of Trade Essay

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet “A” on her clothing in order to broadcast to the community that she has sinned. Throughout the novel the letter’s meaning begins to change. While it originally stood for “Adulterer”, it has begun to stand for “Able” instead, due to Hester’s acceptance of her sin and talent in embroidery. In the beginning of the novel after Hester is convicted and forced to wear the “A”, she is entirely shunned and scorned…

As with her lover and her partner in sin, the life of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter gives key insights to idea that shame varies from individual to individual, and from society to society. Like Dimmesdale, she experiences a deep shame for her previous actions. Unlike Dimmesdale however, she is punished for her crime and is forced to wear an embroidered scarlet ‘A’, as a token of her shame, “the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart” (Hawthorne 122). From here, her…

sick and the letter helped everyone recognize that it was her doing so. The townspeople “had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of that one sin... but of her many good deeds since. ‘Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge’ they would say to strangers.’It is our Hester,—the town’s own Hester,—who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!”’ (Hawthorne 168-169) The Scarlet Letter secured to her breast was now seen as love and…

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne adulteress Hester Prynne must wear the scarlet ‘’A’’ to mark her shame. Her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, remains unidentified and is filled with gilt, while her husband, Roger Chillingworth seeks revenge. Even though Hester ends the story as a heroine,she plays a victim throughout via extreme societal judgement. After all, she is forced to wear the scarlet ‘’A’’ Hester wears it on her chest with her head held high on the scaffold. As she walks through the…

What is The Scarlet Letter about? The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel about a woman named Hester Prynne who committed the sin of adultery and was sent to prison for it. She was required to wear an embroidered “A”, standing for adultery, on all of her clothes so people would know what she had done. When she had the baby, it was named Pearl. She was forced into standing on a scaffold with her baby as a public humiliation. While she being publicly humiliated, her husband, Roger…

While we have moved on from the dunce hats in schools, and stock holds of puritan life, some are trying to reimplement the use of public shaming. But does it really have a place in our society today? Political figures like Jed Bush feel humiliation is the way to handle unwed mothers, and parents believe it would be an effective way to reprimand their misbehaving children. Additionally, some courts are trying to include shame as a criminal sentence. However, in the court systems, the ambiguous…

The romance, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne takes place in Boston Massachusetts during the seventeenth century. In his romance, Hawthorne discusses the turbulent life of Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman who has been convicted of adultery. Hester is sentenced to wear a scarlet “A” on her chest to publicly shame her for her sin. Hester and her daughter Pearl become outcasts of society. Hester refuses to reveal Pearl’s father’s identity, her partner in sin. Hawthorne’s romance carries the…

Imagine two societies: today’s society and Puritan society. In today’s society, people are exposed and accepting of diverse races, religions, political stances, etcetera, but in Puritan society, people weren’t approving or open to the concepts we uphold today. One facet (the way people view others decisions) of these societies can demonstrate how diverse each society is. How could these two societies have any relationship towards one another? Simply, the singular facet that differs these two…

It is a question if Hester Prynne is actually sorry for the acts she committed. Hester Prynne, in the Scarlet Letter, commits the sin of adultery and is branded with a letter ‘A’ being embroidered on her dress. She accepts this punishment, as she believes she deserves the public ridicule and shame. However, Nina Baym in “Who? The Character.” The Scarlet Letter: A Reading, states she believes Hester isn’t as sorry as she seems to the townsfolk. Baym believes Hester does try to realize the choices…

Which pain is worse, guilt from within or humiliation of public shame? In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, characters deal with different pain in consequence of the same sin. Sin does not justify the pain experienced as result. Hester and Dimmesdale strive to contain the effects of their personal guilt from their adultery. Hester’s consequences make her a better person while Dimmesdale’s only hurt himself. Hester Prynne commits sin by having a child out of wedlock with Reverend…