John Winthrop

The Scarlet Letter, a book portraying a number of unique individuals, some even with mysterious characteristics, still offers a reflection of people attempting to live their everyday lives. Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister of a Calvinist church, once a completely stable man with no worries in his life whatsoever, commits adultery, a very bad thing for the job he occupies, with a woman that has the ring of marriage around her finger, Hester Prynne, whom he loved and with whom made their own little…

Imagine a world where everywhere you turn there are judgmental eyes looking to see the wrong that you do. This essentially causes you to feel isolated and since no one wants to be around you also have to live in confinement. This is the case for Hester Prynne, the main character in the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Because of the Puritan community that she lives in, when she commits the crime of adultery Hester is thrown into the pit of isolation. She is forced to wear a…

Scarlet Letter In The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses many techniques between Hester and Roger that reveal that Roger has authority over Hester that convinces her that Roger is capable of doing vengeful and malicious acts against Hester and her child. The first time that they interact, Hester is described “as still as death.” This conveys that Roger has power over her and intimidates her. She knows that he is capable of hurting and possibly killing her or her baby when he offers a medicine and…

In The Scarlet Letter, no character more perfectly embodies the tension between the individual community than Hester Prynne. Alienated from her community, Hester must raise her child outside the reach of society. Her interactions with others are rare, and she must be practically self-sufficient. Forsaken by her community, Hester is forced to grow as a person in her abilities and her independence. In Puritan communities, punishments for sin are harsh, and Hester knew exactly what the consequences…

Committing a sin in the Puritan Society resulted in public embarrassment, jail time and a future of dislike. One of these sins would include adultery which Hester Prynne commits and has a living embodiment of this sin. The Puritan community sees Hester Prynne as a fallen woman, Dimmesdale a saint and Chillingworth a victim being the husband. The letter "A" has multiple different meanings based on what part of the story it is. Hester wears this letter as a representation of the sin and it is…

The Scarlet Letter: Chillingworth and Dimmesdale’s Interpretations of Sin In the Scarlet Letter, both men in Hester’s life, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, have complex motivations for the actions they take throughout the novel. These motivations are mostly driven by sin; an archaic and taboo subject, especially in Puritanical New England. Both Chillingworth and Dimmesdale have a tumultuous relationship with sin and have varying ideals of what sin itself is, how one…

burden of sin and guilt, enabling him to reconcile himself with Pearl. There is a marvelous Bible verse that deals with confession: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1.9). Based on this verse, Dimmesdale’s confession gives God the way to forgive him and purify him of his unrighteousness. Thus, Dimmesdale ultimately achieves redemption through his confession and dies unburdened from his…

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a world-renowned novel due to its enthralling themes and characters. The Scarlet Letter centers on the human response to sin. One of the most enrapturing developments of response can be found in the preacher Arthur Dimmesdale. Hawthorne allows his readers to develop an insight into the fate of someone who lives with repressed guilt. Dimmesdale perfectly satisfies the role of a human’s response developing as time elapses; he starts off being pure and…

him away. Hester and Pearl join him shortly, and they witness a letter “A” drawn in the sky by a meteor. This “A” can be interpreted differently by each character. The townspeople believe that the letter stands for “Angel”, symbolizing Governor Winthrop entering the heavens. Dimmesdale has a different take on the meteor. He believes it symbolizes his recurring urge to openly wear his sin just as Hester does. Keeping his sinful secret from the world is not an easy task for Dimmesdale, as he…

The Scarlet Letter is a telling a story about a young adulteress named Hester Prynne who was just shortly released from jail after having a bastard child by the name of Pearl. While she has been waiting for her husband for two years who she presumed dies in a boat accident on his way to their new home in Massachusetts. One of the conditions of her release from jail is that she will be forced to wear a Scarlett “A” is publicly shamed where she spots her presumed dead husband in the crowd. He…