...Section #1: The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, starts off by introducing how the book was written. The anonymous narrator stumbled upon some manuscripts labeled with a red “A”, all of which happened some 200 years before his time. He decided to write a fictional story about the facts he found in the manuscripts and thus, The Scarlet Letter was born. The story begins in a Boston Puritan Settlement in the 17th century. Hester Prynne and her young daughter, Pearl, are being led from the town prison, bearing the infamous “scarlet letter”. A man in the crowd said she was being tried for adultery, after her husband left and was supposed to be “lost at sea”, and gave birth to a child. She will not, however, give the identity of her lover, and the red “A”, along with her public shame, is punishment for her sin and secrecy. The man in the crowd turns out to be Hester’s long lost husband, who is now practicing medicine and is going by the name Roger Chillingworth. Several years pass and, being banished by the town, Hester and Pearl live in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston. The town repeatedly tries to take Pearl away from Hester, but with the help of the young minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, the two manage to stay together. Chillingworth has his suspicions about Dimmesdale’s health and the fact he may be hiding a secret, so he decided to move in with him to give him constant care. One afternoon, while the minister sleeps, Chillingworth discovers a mark on the man’s chest...
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...viewed as the “weaker” gender and have been expected to behave a certain way. Women are seen as submissive and docile because of societal expectations, these expectations eventually became the societal norm. This “norm”, according to Sigmund Freud, is the repression of several archaic and primitive desires. Females have often had to repress these desires more than males. Males have been the dominating species throughout history and have expected women to repress their nature. For the most part, females kept their place in society and played their role but there were some who broke the norm. There have been serious consequences for females who have attempted to liberate themselves, especially when they attempt to do so sexually. Females have the ability to achieve their sexual liberation despite the patriarchal societies in which they live. Two females which have attempted to achieve sexual liberation are Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter and Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar named Desire. Both Hester Prynne and Blanche Dubois’s attempts to achieve sexual liberation were hindered by the patriarchal societies in which they lived in; making only one of them successful. The Scarlet Letter, written in 1850, takes place in the late 17th century in Massachusetts. At this time Massachusetts is a Puritan colony. A Puritan, according to Oxford Dictionaries, is a member of a group of English Protestants of the late 16th and 17th century who regarded the Reformation of the Church of England...
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...In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, he exploits the symbolism of colors to develop Pearl as a character. At Pearl’s birth and beginning years, she is described as “white and clear” (Hawthorne 136) due to how pure Pearl was. As the years went by, Hester’s passion caused a change within Pearl. The white for purity transformed into “deep stains of crimson and gold” (Hawthorne 136). The colors symbolic of love and compassion began to develop within Pearl, eventually creating Pearl’s desire to protect Hester. This desire can be seen when both Hester and Pearl travel to see the governor. During their journey little kids threatened to hurl mud at the both of them but Pearl bolted towards the kids and “put them all to flight” (Hawthorne...
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...English II Assigned Essay When Opposing Passions Merge In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, dualities vie for the soul of an emerging American generation. The novel proves that opposing passions, such as love and hate, paradoxically coexist in the human spirit, and they dictate the actions of Hawthorne’s multifaceted characters. Although such emotions may be similar, one transcends the other. Hawthorne’s novel, on the surface, often teems with hatred; but love is at the root, both driving and transforming destructive social interactions. Hatred is a superficial passion that develops in the character’s souls, emanating from—often perverse, confused, and hidden—love. In the novel, Roger Chillingworth’s life and spirit are dominated by his fierce desire to destroy the man who had an illicit affair with his wife. Chillingworth “digs into the poor clergyman’s heart, like a miner searching for gold” (113), scouring Dimmesdale’s psyche for hints of dishonesty. He becomes obsessed with his secret plot for revenge, and before long, his malicious intentions distort his physical appearance. The physician transforms into a walking emblem of hatred. The town realizes: “Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face, which they had not previously noticed” (112). Behind Chillingworth’s gloomy countenance, however, lies a motivation deeper than his desire for revenge: his enduring love for Hester. As he says to Hester while visiting her in prison, “I drew thee into my heart, into...
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...Within Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, there are elements such as irony and truth that present themselves through deliberate syntactic manipulation. Hawthorne expresses his truth through irony, whether that be with situational, dramatic, and/or verbal. This novel was written with the intentional purpose of analysis. It’s essential to first ascertain the simple truth mentioned in the previous paragraph, and that would be desire. The desire the “godly” Reverend Dimmesdale feels contrasts to his reverential title. Such an ascetic man had been so hypocritical regarding abstinence, yet when he “confessed” his sin, he was praised. He had had sexual intercourse with a married woman, but the people related to his sermon. “...I, your...
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...Megan Naylor Dr. DiCicco English 3664 March 29, 2011 Gender Roles in The Scarlet Letter and The Awakening During the Victorian era, the life a woman was immensely difficult. They were considered the property of their husband, and treated as such. Women were forbidden from owning their own property, even if they were given the property from their father. In such a case, the land would be transferred in ownership to her husband. A woman’s place was in the home, to dutifully care for her husband and children. Her job was to cook, clean, and bear children. Interestingly, a wife was treated similarly to her children. Obedience toward the man of the home was necessary from both the children and the mother. In contradiction to all of the restriction and repression, the nineteenth century produced two of literatures strongest women. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Kate Chopin gave American society two women who actively defied their husbands and who possessed their own strong moral codes. With The Scarlet Letter published in 1850 and set in the seventeenth century, Nathaniel Hawthorne was taking a large risk in creating a novel detailing a woman’s adultery with the town’s minister and producing an illegitimate child in the process. Despite the treatment she receives, Hester does not waver in her promise to keep her lover secret, proving that she is a strong willful woman. As the century is coming to a close, Kate Chopin produced a work that sent shock waves through American society. The...
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...The Scarlet Letter “He had been driven hither by the impulse of that Remorse which dogged him everywhere, and whose own sister and closely linked companion was that Cowardice which invariably drew him back, with her tremulous gripe, just when the other impulse had hurried him to the verge of a disclosure” (Hawthorne 134). Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale constantly battles between these two emotions throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. In the story, Dimmesdale struggles to manage the sin of adultery in his life, as the evil Roger Chillingworth, husband of Hester Prynne, impresses upon him. Hester must also deal with this sin, through the exhibition of a scarlet “A” on her bosom, as she struggles to raise Pearl, the child that she conceived through her sin with Dimmesdale. Both Dimmesdale and Hester struggle to be rid of the darkness that plagues their worlds, and their inmost beings. Hawthorne skillfully develops the theme of light versus dark in The Scarlet Letter. In each of the scaffold scenes, Hawthorne uses either light or darkness, not only to expose truth, but also to conceal it. In the first scaffold scene, which takes place in the daytime, “[Hester] took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the...
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...with guilt and sins are human creations. Guilt, the result of shameful mistakes, is associated with infirmity, cowardice, and self-centeredness due to the fear of exposure. These three mesmerizing works, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Pie” by Gary Soto and, “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller, address the theme of guilt and the consequences of concealing one’s guilt. The Scarlet Letter considered one of the most famous of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, is set in the1850s in Boston, Massachusetts. The plot revolves around a Puritan community and a woman named Hester. “The Pie”, written in Fresno, California in 1991, is an autobiographical narrative that illustrates Soto’s sin when he steals a pie from the grocery store and experiences the feeling of guilt along with a few other consequences. “The Crucible” was written in 1953 and exposes the truths about the Salem Witchcraft trials, in Massachusetts. Ultimately, through their respective protagonists’ acts of aggression and violations of boundaries, authors Hawthorne, Soto, and Miller illustrate that the guilt derived from sin itself, especially if concealed from society, can cause emotional and mental torture, leading to everlasting internal punishment, and an increase in remorseful feelings. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne depicts the consequences of concealing transgression through Hester by showing the internal punishment she faces and overcomes. Hawthorne opens this novel with a depiction of Hester’s punishment...
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...The Scarlet Letter Study Guide Published in 1850, The Scarlet Letter is considered Nathaniel Hawthorne's most famous novel--and the first quintessentially American novel in style, theme, and language. Set in seventeenth-century Puritan Massachusetts, the novel centers around the travails of Hester Prynne, who gives birth to a daughter Pearl after an adulterous affair. Hawthorne's novel is concerned with the effects of the affair rather than the affair itself, using Hester's public shaming as a springboard to explore the lingering taboos of Puritan New England in contemporary society. The Scarlet Letter was an immediate success for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the United States was still a relatively new society, less than one hundred years old at the time of the novel’s publication. Indeed, still tied to Britain in its cultural formation, Hawthorne's novel offered a uniquely American style, language, set of characters, and--most importantly--a uniquely American central dilemma. Besides entertainment, then, Hawthorne's novel had the possibility of goading change, since it addressed a topic that was still relatively controversial, even taboo. Certainly Puritan values had eased somewhat by 1850, but not enough to make the novel completely welcome. It was to some degree a career-threatening decision to center his novel around an adulterous affair (but compare the plot of Fielding's Tom Jones). But Hawthorne was not concerned with a prurient affair here, though the novel’s...
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...around me that God is near, but the silence of God is not proof that He is not close. The Scarlet Letter by: Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an example of the way a Puritan would live an everyday life. The novel depicts a story of the imperfections of humans and the terrible feeling of guilt. The Scarlet Letter is one of Hawthorne’s most famous books for a theme that he develops throughout his book; the nature man or the redeemed man. Arthur Dimmesdale is a character that exemplifies this theme by struggling with an internal situation that requires him to make one of two choices. Keeping his sin hidden away and not owning up to what he has done is one of his choices, while the other choice is to admit his sin and accept responsibility. While Arthur Dimmesdale takes his time to figure out which decision he will make, he ultimately chooses to contain his guilt and not confess to what he has done. The guiltiness he now feels from committing adultery against his wife is overwhelming and he does nothing to make his situation better. The child, Pearl, that had been conceived during adultery was a constant reminder to him of his sin. Also a sinner, Hester Prynne feels reborn when her child is born. With the birth of Pearl, Hester feels as if she has been given a second chance at life and begins a new journey to earn the townspeople’s trust. The scarlet letter on her chest that once drew the harsh rejection and judgment of the townspeople, now represented...
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...What happens when passion is conflicted with responsibility? In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, the antagonist is faced with an obstacle between revenge for the protagonist and his duties for the town, as a doctor. Hawthorne uses Roger Chillingworth’s deceptive relationships to illustrate how sin conquers and corrupts an individual. In addition Chillingworth’s vengeful passion overcomes his responsibilities for Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale throughout the novel. When Roger Chillingworth comes to Puritan Boston, he discovers his wife on an ignominious scaffold for the punishment for her sin, adultery. Although they recognize each other they do not disclose each other's identities. Instead of an intense, passionate marriage, Hester Prynne, and Chillingworth have a weak love that is easily broken by the sin of Hester and Dimmesdale. Chillingworth lacks...
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...to share the common theme of freedom. Mark Twain and Nathaniel Hawthorne both highlight, as well as challenge this idea, as they present characters that begin the story feeling trapped and confined by social and legal systems, but later manage to find a way to escape and relieve their troubles. In “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Twain uses Huck Finn’s character to represent the challenges and actions he must take in order to escape a society that is trying to control and civilize him. While...
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...centuries ago, have written entire plays based upon the respectable and illicit relationships between men and women. Infidelity alone is talked about in over one-hundred and sixty six verses in the Bible while marriage is mentioned one-hundred and seventy seven times. The fact of the matter is that the bonds between men and women are interesting, complex, and scandalous many times. It’s for this very reason we have entire magazines dedicated to following the social lives and relationships of famous people. Three works of literature in particular shed light upon the development and consequences of these illicit relationships. These three works are Fortunata and Jacinta by Benito Perez Galdós, Adolphe by Benjamin Constant, and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Each of these books contains similar and distinct, relationship development, main characters, characterization of classes, environment depiction, and resolutions. Fortunata and Jacinta was written by Benito Galdós in 1887. Galdós, born on the Canary Islands and living in Madrid during the time he wrote this book, was a member of the middle class. The book was criticized by political and religious leaders for its critique of the middle class and revealing sexuality. It was, however, venerated by his peers for its realistic depiction of life among all classes during the time period. This story,...
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...He has proposed to Cora multiple times, but, though everyone around her agrees with the match, she continues to rebuff his efforts. It is hard for one to imagine that her father would allow this slight, however; parents during this time usually arranged the marriages of their daughters, and Duncan Heyward would have been an ideal choice to Colonel Munro for his daughter. In addition to Duncan, there is also Cora’s unbelievable love affair with Hawkeye, or Nathaniel Poe, the white man that was adopted by the Mohicans. From the moment she sees Hawkeye, she is infatuated with him, and it escalates from there. Their love develops at impractical pace, and viewers of the movie do not get to see the love affair develop in a real way, if it even...
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...the viewers as the virginal and feminine high school student who dresses like the average high school student, mostly in pants, and turns out to be transformed into the sex object/pin-up girl to resemble her counterparts in the movie. One being her best friend Rhi and the other Marianne, both whom which throughout the entire movie are always in very short skirts and/or extremely revealing tops, especially Rhiannon. Nonetheless, the one normal, dressing female in the movie, Olive, is then in turn forced and presented as a skank, a whore, and a home wrecker. Although one of the central themes of the movie is the loss of virginity, there are no sex scenes and it does displays a witty, contemporary, modern day spin on Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel, The Scarlet Letter. Moreover, the message depicted throughout the movie is that an innocent, little white lie can get blown out of proportion and that teenagers in general are concerned of how others perceive them in their day to day lives. The movie starts off with Olive being portrayed as a virginal, down to earth, average high school student with no cares in the world but is hastily transformed into the slutty female character very commonly used throughout Hollywood films to depict females nowadays. When a little white lie about losing her virginity meant for her best friends ears only gets out of hand and spreads across campus like wild fire, Olive's persona is transformed into the school whore and is labeled as "easy". With...
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