The Purloined Letter

Symbolism is when a writer uses a real object to stand for ideas or qualities. Hawthorne uses a lot of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter, almost everything in the book has symbolism. Symbolism aren’t always easy to find. The book itself is one over all symbol and contains individual symbols. Most things in the book have more than one symbol attached to them. The main characters are Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, Pearl, and Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth is Hester’s husband who committed…

“Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” Words mentioned by the writer Jonathan Swift in his book called Gulliver’s Travels. However, this is going to be focused on his other popular handiwork called A Modest Proposal, in which we can observe how he is able to see the unseen and critiques the wealthy through it. Swift was born in Ireland in 1667, and thanks to his job as private secretary to Sir William Temple, a retired Whig diplomat, at Moor Park in southern England he…

Guiltiness of Father Flynn in Doubt Being accused of child molestation can have devastating effects on someone's life even if the accusation is false. In Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley, a priest is forced to deal with these accusations from his own co-workers. No hard evidence is given by the author and the reader is left to determine if Father Flynn is guilty or not. Based on the evidence John Patrick Shanley gives in his play, Doubt: A Parable, I conclude that Father Flynn is guilty…

Many times in writing authors will use symbolism so they can convey different aspects to the reader. Symbolic elements in writing could be anything from an object, a color, or even a person. In the short story “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich, there is a great deal of symbolism. The story is about two brothers of Native American descent who live on a reserve in North Dakota. The two brothers buy a Red Oldsmobile with the money they earned from their jobs and go on many adventures together…

Everyone messes up at some point, something that is regretted deeply. Many people try to hide this or just push it off, they simply don’t want to confront the sins they have committed. This concept is pushed deeply in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story the “Minister’s Black Veil”. Through the story the theme of everyone having secret sins that they do not want to confront is pushed through the elements of symbolism and characterization. Being as it is in the title the black veil in the story…

D.H. Lawrence’s critical essay about Nathaniel Hawthorne’s most famous heroine in The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, is nothing if not full of entertaining remarks that slander both the author and character. Lawrence believes that Hawthorne turns Hester into a farce. He does not respect Hester’s characterization because she becomes a bad example of what a woman should amount to. Lawrence proves his case through the use of allusion to help the reader relate to his claim, the use of repetition to…

The gift of emotion and the curse of making mistakes define the base of human actions. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne commits adultery with Dimmesdale while married to Chillingworth. Over the course of the story, each character shows his or her faults in different ways. Although all of the characters make mistakes and commit multiple sins, Chillingworth’s actions and unwillingness to forgive eventually make him the greatest sinner. When Chillingworth begins to…

Parallels between Biblical adulterer and Hester Prynne by Cameron Peterson In the book “The Scarlet Letter” there are many underlying themes. One theme that runs rampant and is arguably the most prominent theme in this novel is judgement for sin, specifically with adultery. A similar parallel to this can be found in the bible, John 8:1-11. The theme of judgement and punishment is incredibly prominent, however in this scripture we are shown the correct way to judge by Jesus’ example. Hester…

enforcers. We expect of others this same faux authenticity, this same conformity. And lo, civility and society has transformed man from a reasoning and thoughtful agent of his own desires to an unthinking hypocrite of the highest order. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses the central protagonist, Hester Prynne, as an example of one who has decided to shed off this second skin of societal conformity, and leads a life that is truer as a result. In this way, Hawthorne conveys the message that…

INTRODUCTION “The term 'Dalit' is derived from the Hebrew root 'Dal' meaning 'broken' or 'crushed'. In Sanskrit it means 'downtrodden', certain Hindi versions explain the term as 'oppressed' or exploited.” The meaning of the term Dalit can be explained through the example of flower petals. While the broken petals are symbolic of Dalits, the petals which are joined to the calyx signify the rest of the society. The term is used to signify a broken down and downtrodden section of the society.…