The Worst Sinner “... here, in the sunny day… he knows us not; nor must we know him.” In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, we are approached by three sin stricken persons, all burning , whether inwardly or outwardly, with their deeds. With whom therein lies the worst sin? The answer is disclosed within the seemingly most pure of the three, Arthur Dimmesdale, the young, heaven blessed minister of the small Puritan society. For one who is supposed to be the epitome of a perfect, cherished…
The introduction of The Scarlet Letter, titled ‘The Custom House’ is seen as somewhat irrelevant to the story of Hester Prynne by many. They usually end up feeling it was unnecessary to have it as an introduction, and skip the reading of it. In Hsiou-ling Lyu’s case, it is greatly relevant to The Scarlet Letter as it does not tell us a lot about the story itself, but about the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and his decision to write The Scarlet Letter. Lyu starts out her essay by stating that…
Chillingworth’s True Worth “Shouldst thou fail me in this, beware! His fame, his position, his life will be in my hands. Beware!”, Chillingworth promises (73). In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne described a world where Roger Chillingworth lives a life built purely on vengeance. Although, originally revered as a skilled physician, a beneficial asset to the town, and a loving husband to Hester, he slowly shed that image and transformed into somewhat of a black devil to those…
self-centered minister who is drowning in his guilt from a sin? Neither have I. Most ministers one can think of is a God-like figure who no one would think would sin like themselves because of the ministers’ devotion to their faith and God. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Puritan community thought their beloved minister could never sin, but in fact Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is a devoted minister who has done the sin of adultery with his secret lover Hester whose sin is…
The Scarlet Letter written in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne was about what happens when you commit one of the greatest sins and it starts to eat you up inside because you don’t want to confess. The book is set in seventeenth century Boston, Massachusetts. In this time period the Puritans were extremely religious and they believed if you did good deeds you would be sent to Heaven and if you committed a sin you would be condemned to Hell. When men commit a sin in the Puritan society they are less…
Seventeenth century, romance, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne enhances the meaning and importance of the letter A through the main character and protagonist, Hester Prynne, who has committed the sinful act of adultery. As her punishment she is to wear the scarlet letter A imprinted on her so all will know of her wrong doing. As Hester begins to embrace the permanent embellishment of herself, she begins to alter the meaning of the letter into a more promising and encouraging meaning…
The novel, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne tells of an adulteress named Hester Prynne in the New England Puritan society. This adulteress gives birth to a daughter, Pearl Prynne, while accompanied by her partner in adultery, Reverend Dimmesdale, and her lost husband Roger Chillingworth in this highly offensive and judgmental society. Each of these main characters changes through each of the scaffold scenes which signifies a place of hiding and releasing secrets and confessions…
write or say one statement while implying a completely separate opinion rather easily. This theory is prevalent among the great authors of our time, but none so much as Nathaniel Hawthorne. For example, throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne’s varying usage of enticing imagery and marvelous diction reflect how the Puritans feel about Hester, as a result implying how his opinions of the group. Within the novel, Hawthorne shows the Puritans as pertaining from one violent…
laughter” (Hawthorne 101). The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the article “Concerns Raised on ‘Scarlet Letter’ for Drunk Drivers,” by Toni Locy, both provided very different examples of public shaming. Both show the pros and cons of shaming by either telling a story or explaining people’s opinions. The Scarlet Letter provides a historic view on shaming during the Puritan times. A woman named Hester is forced to wear an embroidered scarlet letter to show that she has sinned. She is…
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter is set in a time when colonists were trying to create a better society than they were previously used to. Early Puritan towns set out to do just that; create a utopian society where puritan morals were followed very strictly. Hawthorne’s anti-transcendentalist views give a clear focus on the communities’ strict views that show no regard for the individuals in society, but only for the conformity needed to repress any sinful lures that may tarnish the…