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Cate Blatchford October 27, 2016 Ms. Stephens Scarlet Letter Essay The Forest vs the Puritan Town It is important for people to have a right to express themselves and not feel like they are being judged in their own society. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the depiction of how the Puritan society limits the people’s thoughts and feelings is portrayed throughout the book. For Hester and Dimmesdale, the two major characters in the book, there is a place away…

In this quote, Hawthorne uses symbolism to convey the differences between Puritanism and nature. The prison, which is ugly and overgrown with weeds, represents Puritanism as cold and unforgiving. A metaphor also describes the prison as a black flower of society. Black represents sin, and the prison is a black flower because it feeds on sin. In stark contrast, the beautiful rose-bush embodies the forgiving demeanor of nature. Prisons punish sin, while nature forgives sin. This quote is an…

When you hear the word lie you automatically assign a negative connotation to it, but how often do you lie yourself? In Anton Chekhov's “The Lady with the Dog” he shows cheating and lying through the perspective of two married infidels in love. In Judith Viorst’s “The Truth About Lying” she analyzes the small white lies used by people in their daily lives. Although lying may be morally wrong, I believe small lies are necessary because they create a smoother functioning society in day to day life…

The Strong, Sinful Woman Hester Prynne was ostracized by the society around her for many years following the birth of her daughter Pearl. Since the day she walked out of the prison door people were calling her names and saying she should be put to death, but no matter how many hurtful names the townspeople came up with to throw at her, she always accepted them and said nothing in return. Hester’s crime of adultery went against the town’s religious morals because that strictly disobeyed one…

In The Kingdom of Matthias: A Story of Sex and Salvation in 19th- Century America, Johnson and Wilentz reveal the economic, social, sexual, and racial atmosphere that gave rise to cults and virile charismatic leaders. They recreate an intriguing story of a flawed prophet and the wrongly guided followers during the 1820-1830-time period. Throughout their writings the authors provide usage of stories and memoirs of Margaret Matthews, William Stone, and Gilbert Vale when constructing the life and…

The Significant Effects of Sin in The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter is a novel, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, that is mainly about sin and the consequences that come along with it. The three main characters of this novel all commit sins that change their perspective of life. Hester Prynne committing adultery with Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth feeling pleasure by torturing Dimmesdale. Throughout the novel, Heter Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth are affected significantly…

Love and hate have seemingly battled each other since the dawn of humanity. But which one prevails in the end? In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses parallelism between symbols and characters, along with fulfilling of the rosebush motif to portray that stoicism can outlast both love and hate. Hawthorne employed three different symbols throughout The Scarlet Letter: a rosebush, iron, and wood. This clever repetition acts as a double-edged blade within the story. In the first chapter,…

Hester’s Self- Made Identity, and The Identity Society Burdens Her With: In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main turmoil of the story follows a young woman who is burdened by the austere constraints of the Puritanical society she lives in. For her punishment of adultery, she is forced to wear a scarlet letter on her chest at all times representing her shame for the world to see. Throughout the novel, the letter, among other things, gains a vulgar reputation in the town to which…

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne and her young daughter, Pearl, are publicly outcasted by society as a result of Hester’s sin of adultery. Because of this, she no longer lives what can be defined as a ‘normal’ life. She lives away from the other members of her community, and wears a scarlet letter on her chest to make her stand out from the crowd. The idea of a Puritan society is established in the roots of Hester’s community, and wandering from the societal norms would…

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter”, Chillingworth is guilty of Dimmesdale’s death. For one he tries to poison Dimmesdale with some medicine, he makes him suffer mentally, and he tortures him for it all and tries to make him feel guilty for all that he’s done. Chillingworth believes that Dimmesdale was the father of Pearl, Prynne’s baby after he found out that she got pregnant from Dimmesdale. Chillingworth came to visit Hester, only to find out she was in prison for committing…