Nathaniel Branden

Everyday people sin, and the sun comes up the next day. When a sinner walks down the street, they might see a rosebush after a long day of yelling at coworkers or some other terrible deed. After causing someone else grief, they still get some beauty from the world. The rosebush in the story is used to display nature’s grace and, the sun is used for freedom when it shines down on one. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses the rosebush outside of the prison and the sun shining on characters as…

Objectification comes in many forms, like an identification card. For instance, an identification card dictates what a person is. In both “The Promised Land” and its film adaptation Black Girl, Diouana is defined by her attempt to find a voice against her objectification. Her employers’ actions dehumanize her, and she strives to show she is a human rather than an object. Her suicide is Diouana’s way of expressing her emotions and voice. It is ultimately a way to show that she is a human and…

Innocence The role of innocence in Rappaccini’s Daughter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Bartleby the Scrivener written by Herman Melville is not simply as a characteristic or state of being, rather, it is a factor that influences and concludes the tragic events that occur in both stories. While this factor does not apply to all characters from each novel, it does apply to the narrator of Bartleby the Scrivener and to Giovanni and Rappaccini respectively from Rappaccini’s Daughter. In…

The Pardoner in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales: “The Pardoner’s Tale” is a lot like many people we know today. He is that person that is quick to tell someone they are doing something wrong; whereas in return he is just as guilty. How is one supposed to obey and learn from someone who is conducted from pure evil and has no concern of their well-being? Chaucer gave the Pardoner very bad personality traits that mold the type of person he is from the very beginning. The Pardoner is…

Alluding light and darkness throughout the novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter, gives light and dark an insidious meaning. In many important events Hawthorne writes details that seem insignificant, but are not because he creates a theme through them and makes the ideas of heaven and hell, truth and secrets,virtue and sin. Hawthorne writes a novel regarding sinners in the hands of an angry God. Meaning that any sinner will feel the wrath of God by the fear and pain that he…

In “The Birthmark,” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne expresses many themes to readers that appear in the short story. The main theme that occurs throughout the story derives from a request by one of the main characters. The fact that Aylmer says, “Georgiana, has it never occurred to you that the mark upon your cheek might be removed,” (Hawthorne 333) expresses that he wants his wife to look the way he wants her to. As the process of removing a birthmark is challenging, Aylmer, being the…

Diction The novel in general is written in formal language because of its complex wording and sophisticated style. For example, Hawthorne uses imagery as well as metaphors and irony. “Thou art crushed under this seven years' weight of misery," replied Hester, fervently resolved to buoy him up with her own energy. "But thou shalt leave it all behind thee! It shall not cumber thy steps, as thou treadest along the forest-path: neither shalt thou freight the ship with it, if thou prefer to cross the…

In The Scarlet Letter by David Hawthorne and All That Heaven Allows by Douglas Sirk, society is imperfect. Hester Prynne and Cary Scott were excluded from their societies because of lust for their partner that is socially acceptable today. Hester Prynne was nearly executed for committing adultery even though the husband was assumed dead. Instead, she was forced to wear an embroidered, scarlet “A” on her bosom. Cary Scott was rejected by her friends, her family and nearly everyone in town because…

Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Dimmesdale has an affair with Hester Prynne. While Hester Prynne is subject to a lifetime of ridicule, Dimmesdale escapes punishment. His lack of punishment comes at a price. Dimmesdale’s inability to confess his sin influenced his morale, profession, and overall health. Arthur Dimmesdale’s guilt affected his morale. He became obsessed with his eternal place of rest. His guilt also influenced his conversations with…

In the Television show Southpark their is an episode called "Cartmanland", it reflects upon two characters and their fortune. Cartman is one of the young characters who is a jerk, yet somehow ends up inheriting a million dollars and buys himself an amusement park. Meanwhile, another character named Stan (who is well behaved) feels like life is cheating him because he isn't rewarded, instead is punished with a hemroid. This episode of Southpark teaches us that God has a plan for all of us, we…