Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birth-Mark” is a story symbolic of society’s tendency to put pressure on an individual to conform. Georgiana is an ideal wife; she is beautiful, jubilant, and, most of all, prioritizes her husband’s happiness above her own. She is shocked to learn that her husband, Aylmer, finds her birthmark appalling, and when he proposes to experiment on it, she is willing to subject herself to the tests to please him. Eventually, though Aylmer is able to eradicate the…
that manifests him. After struggling with his sin, the governor repents his sin, causing both him and Hester to come at one with their sins. To reveal his central themes, Hawthorne utilizes multiple dualities to reveal that society has a great amount of sin that ultimately manifests an individual. Specifically, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes the paradox of light and dark, symbolizing truth and concealment respectively, to explore the state…
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne acts as a societal critique of the Puritans. Hawthorne shows them as demonic hypocrites, especially high ranking members of the town. In addition to this, he uses language that recognizes, the sin-committing, Hester Prynne as the protagonist, while Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a pious man, is viewed as weak and afraid of the society that reveres him. The communal condemnation of Hester shows the Puritans as a singular character, rather than a society or…
“The Birth-Mark” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story sets itself apart from the many others already read during this semester. Most of the short stories read in this class have had an ironic ending the reader wouldn’t expect. The use of foreshadowing and strange amount of predictability in this short story are what set it apart from others and is what grabbed my attention. Hawthorne uses symbolism that goes even deeper than what can be read in the story itself. Symbolism, foreshadowing, and…
In today’s society women have strongly been fighting for equality for quite some time. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne expresses his views about women 's issues that people can see today. Hawthorne reveals multiple issues that can be seen by the reader all throughout the novel. Carolyn Maibor expresses how she believes that Hawthorne is expressing women 's issues in her article A Woman’s Calling. Maibor’s article shows that Hester could be a leader in society…
“center”, and find clarity, peace and serenity. Even if they do, they still miss the instances of pure bliss. Human experience helps us grow and prosper, sometimes it passes on to others, like in The Scarlet Letter. The inauspicious characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter, portrays the hypocrisy of the aspects of American culture. Through the image of Hester Prynne, her daughter is the product of her sin, but also her most valuable possession. A mother is considered, in…
those moments they reveal their true characteristics. The characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth in the novel The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne are no different. Throughout the novel, the reader witnesses how sin affects these three and teaches the reader about how sin can affect our human nature. Hawthorne suggests that a person’s authentic character is proven when they find themselves in difficult situations…
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was written in a time when conformity was necessary for survival, while individuality was condemned. Those who conform to society do so because they fear being different and value being accepted. Those who choose not to conform, are often punished, whether that meaning literally or socially. Those who fear differences, humiliate and ridicule those who are different and use them to scare others to stick to the social norm. It is necessary for societies…
In The Scarlet Letter, a novel compose by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character Hester Prynne accepts the fact that she has greatly sinned and comes to the realization that she has a price to pay for her wrongdoing against God. This novel can be considered a redemptive work because the author takes the readers through Hester 's journey on how she tries to better herself and her society after her transgression. Redemption is defined as the triumph of good over evil, the atonement for one 's…
The Significance of Sin Everyone sins, it simply cannot be avoided. Nathaniel Hawthorne efficiently displays this theme throughout The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne explains that no matter how righteous or innocent one appears to be on the outside, everyone has sinned and responds to his or her sin differently. Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth are three characters whom all have committed several different sins amongst themselves and against others. Some of these…