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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is set during Puritan times, the main character is a female named Hester Prynne. Hester is accused of adultery, and is sentenced to a life of shame, so she is forced to wear a scarlet ‘A’ on her bosom. Through The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne demonstrates that the very condition of being human makes one vulnerable to hypocrisy. Although Puritan laws ban a show of wealth through physical items, such as fancy clothing, there are many instances of which…

Color, a powerful tool in the hands of an author, can completely alter the mood of a scene with a single hue. Run by the mindset of inescapable sin, the Puritan community of Boston in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, thrives upon the monochromatic shades that paint its corrupted principles. Hawthorne uses color strategically to create an ominous atmosphere following the experiences of Hester Prynne, a young woman guilty of committing adultery while simultaneously uncovering Boston’s…

Imagine committing a sinful crime and being publicly shamed for it until death. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel set in the area of present day Boston, Massachusetts, in the 1800s. The story surrounds the life of Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman who has committed adultery and had a child with an unknown man. This specific act of sin was frowned upon in the Puritan culture, so the punishment Hester received was public humiliation by wearing a red letter ‘A’ on her chest at all…

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s romantic novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is forced by Puritan leaders in Boston to wear the letter “A” across her chest as a punishment for her sin of adultery. Despite the isolation and humiliation she experiences in the town, Hester decides that this punishment is not enough, so she executes acts of penance. These acts add to her embarrassment, however, it is her own decision to punish herself. Hester is able to express herself in many ways, proving that the…

In The Scarlet Letter, there are three main characters that go by the names: Pearl, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Pearl is the daughter of Hester Prynne, who committed adultery with Dimmesdale, therefore, she must wear a scarlet “A” on her breast. Chillingworth is the true husband of Hester Prynne and he may have some darker secrets than anyone had thought. All three of these names have their own cases of symbolism that is carried on throughout the whole novel. To begin with, Pearl is the…

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts Puritan society's view of sin as unforgivable and in need of punishment. Although the Puritans' attitude toward sin is to take disciplinary actions, the punishments are often unfair and cruel which makes it a bad society. For the first example, the punishment for adultery is typically death with few exceptions. Hester Prynne had committed the sin of adultery, but because her husband was presumed dead she was spared and forced to wear a letter…

In Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet A to mark her shame. Her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, remains unidentified and is wracked with guilt, while her husband, Roger Chillingworth, seeks revenge. Hester Prynne is forced to suffer under the staring of the townspeople because of the scarlet letter that she wears upon her breast. Hester committed a sin, that in those times, were unforgivable and her punishment was to be known for what she did and to be…

Started From the Bottom Now We Here: The Story of Hester Prynne After reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel “The Scarlet Letter,” I have come to the conclusion that Hester Prynne had the most positive moral development of the characters in the book. In the Scarlet Letter, a Hester Prynne is sent overseas to the new colonies by her husband. However, she traveled there alone, which led to her adultery sentence, which is why she is required by law to wear the scarlet letter A for the rest of her…

Hutchinson lived in, faith was also a strict enforcer of the law. Similarities can be made between faith and the strict laws in which it enforces in the Scarlet letter. Adultery is a sin in Puritanism and in Hester Prynne’s society that sin is heavily enforced and frowned upon. Faith in this instance is strict due to the heavy enforcement of the sin. “Thus the young and pure and would be taught to look at her, with the Scarlet Letter flaming on her breast….as the figure, the reality of sin. And…

Imagine losing the respect of your entire community including friends and family, all because of letter embroidered on the bosom of your clothes. Often times in puritan society adultery was punishable by death; however, in Hester Prynn’s case, her husband was allegedly dead from travel to New England, so she was required to wear the scarlet letter ‘A’ as punishment for her sin. Not only is the scarlet letter punishment of her sin, her daughter Pearl becomes the living embodiment of the scarlet…