Nathaniel Branden

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet “A” on her clothing in order to broadcast to the community that she has sinned. Throughout the novel the letter’s meaning begins to change. While it originally stood for “Adulterer”, it has begun to stand for “Able” instead, due to Hester’s acceptance of her sin and talent in embroidery. In the beginning of the novel after Hester is convicted and forced to wear the “A”, she is entirely shunned and scorned…

Nathaniel Hawthorne and Dark Romanticism Nathaniel Hawthorne, being a Dark Romantic, writes about the darker sides of human nature. He is not afraid to expose the side not frequently seen by the public. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the human psyche of narcissism, leading to the revelation of nature's superiority over science in "The Birthmark". He also utilizes the human psyche of guilt and fear which, in The Scarlet Letter, leads to self-destruction. Vanity can cause oneself to believe they…

In Indian Horse, Wagamese uses irony to highlight the hypocritical nature of those who are part of the residential school. Some of this irony is immediately clear, but some is not evident until the later in the book when new information comes to light about the Father Leboutlier’s true character. The first use of irony that we can see revolves around the name of the solitary confinement cage used by the nuns to discipline children at the school. The cage, known as the “Iron Sister”, is located…

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s use of flowers as a symbol demonstrates different character identities throughout the story. One way Lee symbolizes character identities is through Miss Maudie's Azaleas. At the end of chapter eight Miss Maudie says, “Always wanted a smaller house, Jem Finch. Gives me more yard. Just think, I’ll have more room for my azaleas now” (73). This is Miss Maudie's response after her house burnt down which demonstrates that she sees the positive qualities…

Up to this point, readers are aware of Chillingworth’s history and his purpose for returning back to New England, but have no indication of how far Roger will go to expose Pearl’s father. From chapters four to eight, Roger is known to the public eye as an expert physician with a mysterious past who had come across the Puritan town and is now treating Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale’s illness. He is a small and thin older man with a rugged face (due to the harsh conditions while being held captive by the…

Hawthorne’s Diversified Use of the Scarlet Letter Hawthorne’s use of symbolism within “The Scarlet Letter” constitutes the use of objects, characters, settings and etc. to help unfurl an extravagantly woven tale around the ‘moral’ of the book from beginning to end. Within this though Hawthorne’s use of symbolism is one at times that takes certain signature symbols within his stories and applies a different meaning of that symbol towards the characters within his stories such as the scarlet…

As with her lover and her partner in sin, the life of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter gives key insights to idea that shame varies from individual to individual, and from society to society. Like Dimmesdale, she experiences a deep shame for her previous actions. Unlike Dimmesdale however, she is punished for her crime and is forced to wear an embroidered scarlet ‘A’, as a token of her shame, “the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart” (Hawthorne 122). From here, her…

Self Destruction in The Scarlet Letter In the book The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne the theme of self destruction is extremely prevalent. Even though, some say that punishment imposed by others is worse, guilt that is imposed on oneself is more destructive. Reverend Dimmesdale is epitome for self destruction. Dimmesdale committed a sin and was too much of a coward to admit to it so in return he was literally killing himself because he couldn't handle the immense guilt. Whereas Hester…

The Possibility of Judgement Sometimes we find it easy to judge people. In The Possibility of Evil by (don’t call me) Shirley Jackson, Miss Adela Strangeworth is a seemingly sweet socialite in a small town in Vermont. However, this simply masks her true demeanor. Miss Strangeworth’s character can be analyzed by considering what she does, what the narrator says about her, and how other characters interact with her. In the story, Miss Strangeworth is portrayed as a sweet old lady adored by…

Compare/Contrast Short Stories Both “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin and “The Interlopers” by Saki are similar in moral but different in context. Both stories show great examples of how assumption can be used in the wrong context. When two people make different assumptions about the same thing in “The Interlopers” they realize that what they assume was a wild beast in the forest behind their houses was only each other. In “The Story of an Hour” when people assume that Mrs. Mallard is…