Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most respected and recognized early American authors. His written stories are filled with both exciting events and disheartening scenarios. The unwritten story of his life, however, is just as interesting as his novels and short stories. Hawthorne was born on July fourth, eighteen hundred and four in Salem, Massachusetts. His birth name was actually Nathaniel Hathorne; he would later add the “w” to his name to distance himself from his ancestor, John Hathorne.…
considered to be born sinful, but God only saved those he wishes. In this era, some sinners served severe punishments like execution or embarrassment in front of public like it is portrayed in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Although some readers might believe that Hawthorne foreshadows some "sweet moral blossom" in the Scarlet Letter because Hester accepts her sin and child as a part of herself, her decision to keep her child’s father's identity confidential, the gossiping women in…
In The Scarlet Letter, light appears as either a positive or a negative symbol depending on the personal integrity of the character on which it shines, and Nathaniel Hawthorne uses this symbol to convey the importance of personal integrity. Sunlight shines on Hester Prynne as soon as she steps out of the prison cell in the opening chapters of the novel, and beams down on her once again towards the end after she discards her scarlet letter in the forest. Yet, when Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale…
male counterparts for all their tasks outside the domestic sphere. Women were generally considered intelligent and an educated women was nearly unheard of. Women were generally suppressed in early societies. Nineteenth century Romantic writer Nathaniel Hawthorne saw these stereotypical gender roles beginning to shift in his time. Although set in the seventeenth century, he used his novel, The Scarlet Letter, to portray his idea of changing gender roles. The female protagonist of the novel,…
Scarlet Letter Theme Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American Novelist in the 1800s. He wrote the book The Scarlet Letter, a story about secret sin that takes place in a small puritan town in Boston Massachusetts in the 1600s. In the book Hester Prynne, the main character is pregnant with a child although her husband has been missing for years. She is accused of adultery and is forced to wear a embroidered scarlet letter “A” on her chest. The father of pearl their child is reverend Dimmsdale. As the…
In Tthe Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne paints a descriptive picture of sin and its consequences particularly through the character Pearl. After becoming pregnant, Hester Prynne is ostracized from her Puritan community and forced to wear a scarlet letter for her sin. She gives birth to her child of infidelity, and names her Pearl “as being of great price—purchased with all she had—her mother’s only treasure!“ (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 61). The community sees Pearl as a child of sin; therefore, she must…
In chapter nine Hawthorne uses diction to engrave the outcome of Hester's actions which is inflicted to Pearl. Before the narrator's description of who Pearl is, the narrator describes Pearl to be, "the infant; that little creature, whose innocent life had sprung, by inscrutable decree of Providence, a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion." (Hawthorne 74). “creature”, “inscrutable”, and “guilty” are words that Hawthorne writes to highlight that even as a…
“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles” (Christopher Reeve). In the book, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester, an average woman, overcomes many barriers and therefore becomes the definition of a hero. Hester commits the sin of adultery in a Puritan society, but still keeps a positive attitude toward life. Although Hester sins in the beginning of the novel, her character embodies the qualities of…
Construction workers wear neon vests. Doctors wear long, white coats. While a man wearing jeans in a grocery store could be a doctor, he is not directly associated with that profession based simply on his appearance. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the clothing worn by groups of people influence the work as a whole because of the strong stereotypes attached to them specifically…
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is set during Puritan times, the main character is a female named Hester Prynne. Hester is accused of adultery, and is sentenced to a life of shame, so she is forced to wear a scarlet ‘A’ on her bosom. Through The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne demonstrates that the very condition of being human makes one vulnerable to hypocrisy. Although Puritan laws ban a show of wealth through physical items, such as fancy clothing, there are many instances of which…