John Winthrop

2 In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is introduced to the reader as a woman who has committed adultery, a very serious sin in the eyes of her Puritan community. In order to punish her, the town makes her stand upon a “scaffolding on the pillory, an infant on her arm” as they stare with judgement(41). Hester must also wear a scarlet “A”, representing her sin. It lies on her chest “fantastically embroidered with gold thread” showcasing her sins (41). The over zealous…

After being accused of adultery, Hester Prynne is given a letter A to display on her chest, representing the sinful crime she has done. Hester does not merely put up with the letter but actually accepts it and overpowers all the stigma associated with it. Hester is able to transform herself for the better. She creates a new life for herself different to what society thinks of her. Hester assigns a different identity to herself, different from what the society thinks she should have. In order to…

T h e S c a r l e t L e t t e r b y N a t h a n i e l H a w t h o r n e h a s m a n y s y m b o l s i n i t . A s y m b o l i s s o m e t h i n g used for representing something else. Three symbols used in the Scarlet Letter are the scarlet letter, Pearl, and the scaffold and all of these symbols are used differently by the Puritans and by the author. The meaning of the scarlet letter in the novel is for Hester to wear it because she has committed adultery. It is supposed to attract attention…

Flannery O’Connor was a 20th century, who was renowned for her essays, novels and short stories that often had violent, unpredictable ends. She was a very devout Roman-Catholic, and it is evident that her religious background affected, and influenced her writings. She was diagnosed with lupus, which severely shortened her life, and left her crippled, but in her short life, living only to 39 years old, she was able to write 2 novels, and 32 short stories, as well as other essays and commentaries,…

The Toll of Emotions on the Human Soul: Analyzing Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter At one point in our lives we have all experienced guilt and regret; we all understand that god-awful feeling that comes with these emotions. Though many people may not know the extremity and intensity this emotion can reach, its altitudes are endless as seen in Arthur Dimmesdale’s case in The Scarlet Letter. Guilt and regret have been figuratively said to tear one apart and practically eat one alive, but…

Writers use literary techniques to contribute to the passage’s meaning and significance of the whole work. Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates the use of literary devices to create and shape meaning in his novel, The Scarlet Letter. In chapter 16, Hester leads Pearl into the forest in order to meet with the minister privately as he returns. Wanting to escape Chillingworth’s wrath and revenge, Hester tries to run away with Dimmesdale and Pearl. People’s view on purity and sin differ for a sinner and…

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, ideas of love, guilt, sin, reputation, and alienation are shown throughout the story. One theme that is brought to my attention constantly is guilt. In The Scarlet Letter, guilt is destruction to the main characters of the story. Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale, are consistently reminded of the sins they committed and the fact that their past mistakes can only be relieved if they admit to their past. In my interpretation for “Guilt is…

“But she [Hester] had named the infant “Pearl,” as being of great price, - purchased with all she had, - her mother's only treasure!” writes Nathaniel Hawthorne in the Scarlet Letter about Pearl, the most complex character present in the novel thus far, who continues being seen as a misunderstood child due to her association with her mother and the the child of the scarlet “A”. Hester pays the greatest price in giving birth to Pearl, as she receives a lifelong, physical reminder of her faults.…

Is ignorance truly bliss? Unfortunately in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet letter an answer to this age old question is nowhere to be found. This is because Hester Prynne had a daughter out of wedlock. This living embodiment of sin made it impossible for her to save herself from the condemnation put upon her. The central part of this condemnation was a certificate of damnation. This certificate being a scarlet A. It was to be worn upon her chest at all times. The A stood for adulterer,…

Hawthorne uses the forest to symbolize a free, lawless world where no Puritan governing exists, supporting the story’s overall idea... (!!!) Throughout the story, the forest stands a place where one can go to free themselves from the views of society. Hester’s journey to meet Dimmesdale in the forest is depicted, as the road she walked on “straggled onward in the mystery of the primeval forest… [the forest] stood so black and dense on either side, and disclosed such imperfect glimpses of the sky…