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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…

The Scarlet Letter is a novel highlighting the sin of a young woman named Hester and the toll it takes on her and those around her. This sin – adultery – was born from passion, and from that passion was born a child named Pearl. Pearl is a living, physical entity of the sin. Hawthorne reveals the character Pearl’s nature in the Scarlet Letter through the text by shaping her personal qualities, her symbolic value, and her function in the plot. Immediately, Pearl becomes locked into a role. Her…

and her sin. In the beginning of the novel, Hester is portrayed as an abashed woman whom greatly regrets her adulterous decisions that result in great sin. As Hawthorne progresses the plot, Hester becomes less discomfited and more embracing of her badge. As the novel comes to a close, even Hester’s community becomes accepting of the scarlet ‘A’. Through the…

A one eighty change It is ironic how one mistake can lead to the demise of the main characters in The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the novel, the reader experiences the drastic changes the main characters go through after the adultery the adulterous act of by Hester and Dimmesdale. Since Hester had committed a sin, she must endure the punishment of wearing the scarlet letter. The sin caused Dimmesdale to become sick with guilt and her ex-husband Chillingworth to be consume…

In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne the thought of sin is exhibited by the telling of a woman who has committed adultery against her missing husband and how not only her husband, but her husband and the man she loves struggle with the decisions they have made. The author shows this through the symbolic meaning of their names,their sins, and how their decisions affect them. Names have a symbolic meaning that can help the reader understand why the author chose that name. In Nan Lei’s…