Scarlett

The age of Romanticism is viewed by many as a liberating time period where multitudes worldwide could explore different lifestyles contrary to Old World’s dogmatic beliefs. However, the dismissing of the absolute, the objective, and universal for their opposition, the relative, the subjective, and particular is nothing more than moral bankruptcy. Choosing the latter is a tempting lifestyle choice for many because one no longer has to answer to a Higher power; You are the higher power. If…

The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne follows the life of Hester Prynne, a woman living in Puritan America and forced to wear a scarlet letter that represents her sin of adultery. Although faced with hate, Hester manages to rise above it and help others. The novel classifies as a feminist novel because it shows a woman, alone in a world filled with discrimination, battle against society’s judgement and not giving into peer pressure. A feminist is someone who stands up for the equal…

The Rhetoric of Respect The nature of an individual’s actions often dictate one’s moral value and respectability. Although one may be burdened by unfortunate situations, the courses of actions taken in accordance with a situation often determine one’s reputation. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, although a woman of disgraceful standing in society, earns respect through her actions that embody her ethical resoluteness. Hawthorne portrays Hester’s moral behavior with literary devices that…

Babies are special creatures. The birth of a baby signifies something special, a new beginning, and with this new beginning, is an emotional bond that can never be severed, for a mother’s love for her baby is incomprehensible. In today’s standards having a child with a person you are not married to is frowned upon, but that’s it, no other punishment or penalty. However, rewind into the past and now the problem of adultery has grown tremendously. Consequently, the act of adultery is punishable by…

Like people who raised their children alone, the task can be very challenging. It's something that won't kill you but makes you stronger. Hester got stronger because of Pearl, she became more confident. She went through struggles that women in her time didn't. Hester is a good example for women (esp. for single parents) who want to change and be a better person. She overcame the punishment of her adultery (persecution). “...which, in our days, would infer a degree of mocking infamy and ridicule,…

The novel, The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was written in 1850 is is a romance novel written in the historical setting of Massachusetts Bay colony in 1642. Through an examination of the natural environment of the Scarlett Letter, one can see that it is a reflection of the situation, whether good or bad, which is important because it allows us to see and understand the emotional state of a person, such as the main characters of the story. The sun is an integral part of life on Earth…

The Psychology of Emotions in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter The Scarlett Letter is set during the seventeenth century in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The story deals with a lone mother, Hester Prynne, trying to deal with the onslaught of criticism coming from the town about her sin of adultery. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter, the psychology of emotions within the characters alters their actions. The anger within the townspeople of Boston against European royalty is…

The snake is represented as the sin of Envy which Chillingworth was modeled after, Chilling worth was the sneakiest, slyest, and foulest of all characters in Nathaniel hawthorne’s the Scarlett letter, “Small in stature, with furrowed visage… remarkable intelligence in his feature”. (Hawthorne 42) “A deformed old [man], with a face that haunted men’s memories longer than they liked… [a] gray beard almost touching the ground… quicken to…

In the Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne the primary characters either accept or reject relationships. How are the relationships structured socially? How do the relationships interfere with society? Hawthorne delves into this by using different strategies such as people worrying about how they are placed in society, they want to place themselves in a high "ranking". Decisions about relationships can effect how an individual is viewed by the community, so Hester's decision has effected her…

Take it Like a Man As people age and grow, they learn new ideas and outlooks on life that allow them to grow as a person. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale changes and grows throughout the novel. He is weighed down by the sin of adultery that he has committed, and the pain of sin that Dimmesdale faces causes him to realize that he has power to change his situation. Arthur Dimmesdale explores different ways he can handle his sin and suffering, allowing…