...Hell D. H. Lawrence’s On The Scarlet Letter critically analyzes Hester Prynne, the protagonist of The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. While deconstructing Prynne’s character, he uses a variety of literary techniques. In this critique, Lawrence voices his disapproval of Prynne, for he sees her as a horrible role model for women. Lawrence’s sarcastic tone, relevant allusions, and short, choppy diction are effective in evaluating Hester Prynne. Lawrence’s mocking tone reinforces his beliefs that Hester Prynne should not be regarded as a standard that anybody should live by. After calling Prynne a demon, Lawrence stated, “A man must be pure, just that you can seduce him to a fall.” Lawrence’s...
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...who haunts the forest and tempts people into signing their name in his book with their own blood as ink. The word “Black Man” is used for the first time by Hester Prynne in chapter 4 while conversing with Roger Chillingworth. She says “art thou like the Black man that haunts the forest round about us? Hast thou enticed me into a bond that will prove the ruin of my soul?” .Hester Prynne doesn’t trusts Roger Chillingworth and believes he is trying to take his revenge. Roger Chillingworth has asked Hester to keep his identity a secret. Hester Prynne knows something will be wrong because of this bond but still she makes the deal because she has no choice. This is said in chapter 14 in another conversation between Hester and Roger. The bond here is referred to the Black man’s bond where Roger Chillingworth has been compared to the Black man and has made a deal with Hester. The word Black man is used once again by Mistress Hibbins in chapter 8. Mistress Hibbins has been suspected of being a witch. She says, “There will be a merry company in forest and I well nigh promised Black man that comely Hester Prynne make one”. Here it is proved that Mistress Hibbins knows Black man well and that the Black man is not just a saying or belief. In the end of conversation, Hester says that if the magistrates had taken Pearl away from her, she would have surely come. Therefore it can be assumed that people make...
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...Hester Prynne’s character is highly debated in the Scarlet Letter. Two authors, Mark Van Doren and D.H. Lawrence, of two articles take two different perspectives of how Hester Prynne’s character is portrayed. The ideas that Van Doren expressed to portray Hester’s character are more convincing because of the supportive allusion, supportive tone, and creative diction which are used. Van Doren effectively uses supportive allusion to give his perspective on Hester Prynne and who she is as a character in the novel. Near the beginning of his article, Van Doren states that “[Hawthorne] is the Homer of that New England, and Hester is its most heroic creature…Tall, with dark and abundant hair and deep black eyes, a rich complexion that makes modern...
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...reality the people they look up to the most can be guilty of mistakes as severe as theirs. The message the story conveys is that when people are disapproving and judgmental of a person right away, they can easily influence others to join them in their criticism and they become ignorant to consider how their actions and words might affect their victim. At an early point, the neglect and feelings of shame Hester Prynne received from the town caused her to go as far as wanting to end her own life, had it not been for her baby being the only thing stopping her from doing so. For all of her life Hester is rejected and looked upon as an example of sin and temptation to evil by ministers and society for her commitment of adultery. The scarlet letter she has to wear as a part of the Puritan government’s punishment comes to be a part of her that she never removes, and even when she can remove it she continues to wear it because the guilt she holds within makes her feel that she should live that way for the rest of her life for what she did. After a while, a previous beautiful Hester Prynne becomes a sad, worn version, and her young daughter also constantly brings pain to her since even as a baby, she embraces the scarlet letter and smiles at its sight. Surprisingly, it results that the man with whom she committed adultery with is minister Dimmesdale, whom the town respect and value. Dimmesdale also shows the purpose of the novel because by refusing to announce that he was the one with whom...
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...The Puritan “A” Essay Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” tells the story of a woman, Hester Prynne, who conceived a child through an adulterous affair. As punishment for her sin she must wear a scarlet letter “A” on her dress. This story took place in the Puritan town of Boston; in the Puritan society “A” is a symbol of adultery or affair. Hester was forced to wear this letter as a constant reminder of her shame and so that everyone would know what she has done. The townspeople automatically began to mistreat her and her daughter so that they would leave and their society could remain pure. Although the original Puritan meaning of the letter “A” is adultery, throughout the story “A” takes on different meanings such as able and angel. Initially the Puritan society sees the “A” as a mark of punishment for sin but over time their outlook changes. In spite of all Hester endured throughout her years of being labeled as an adulterer she still remained strong. “Such helpfulness was found in her,—so much power to do, and power to sympathize,—that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength” stated a member of society (13.3). She worked to redeem herself of the wrong she had done; she was a helper to those that were in need, sick, or poor. Her actions caused many members of society to change their viewpoint and no longer view her as an adulterer but as someone...
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...Decay and ugliness are in the author's descriptions, the only thing that sticks out is a lovely wild rosebush, blooming by the prison door. I believe the rosebush links us to Hester. They are both in full bloom, the rosebush in numbers of roses, and Hester in her humiliation. They both stand out. Chapter 2 The chapter opens to townspeople talking about Hester Prynne’s sin. Hester comes out of the prison and walks to the scaffold wearing an elaborately embroidered scarlet letter A on her breast, and carrying a small infant in her arms. When she did this she was to be ashamed of her sin, and the townspeople made mockery and fun of her. One of the most ugly woman in town implied that she be killed for her sin. As Hester looks out over the crowd, she realizes that her future will be lonely, being alone. Just her daughter and herself. When she realizes this, she squeezes Pearl so hard she starts to cry. The market place is described as the punishment of Hester. She was compared to Mary. Chapter 3 While standing on the platform, Hester sees and somewhat recognizes a man in the crowd who is accompanied by an Indian. The man asks another person watching who she is and why she is being publicly shamed. The bystander tells the man that she has committed adultery. (The scarlet A is for Adultery.) Hester recognizes the man to be Roger Chillingworth. Her husband. She goes to say something, but from the crowd, he shushes her. When she...
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...other seeing as there are only one two men in the film. Romance is hardly an issue, the women mostly talk about the rights of PoC and treating others fairly. Women in this film are not only truly represented, they present the issues of their time, and it was important for me as a woman of color to see into the lives of the maids and how they handled it and who decided to jump in and help. The storyline of Easy A tells the story of a high school student named Olive and her best friend Rhiannon. Rhiannon asks Olive to go to a party, after the party Olive tells a little white lie saying that she lost her virginity. A schoolmate hears this and spreads it around the school, labeling Olive a slut as she identifies with The Scarlet Letter’s Hester Prynne. The main characters are Olive Penderghast, Melody, Woodchuck, Rhiannon, and Marianne. The women has more than two women in...
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...Merit, Marriage, and Mistresses Each day, billions of people across the world interact with each other. Many times, it’s on a professional basis in order to conduct day to day business. Other times, relationships are formed out of proclivity towards similar aspects of life in which a friendship is formed. The topic of this essay, however, is based upon the relationships that are cultivated out of feelings of love. These sorts of relationships have fascinated people for centuries. Authors, from 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...
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...“ Fear the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” - George Lucas. Hester’s sin of adultery destroyed both men- Dimmesdale by guilt and Chillingworth by revenge. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Chillingworth's vengeance was the cause of Dimmesdale's death. Chillingworth hated Dimmesdale because he took Hester from him and left her to deal with the consequences of their sin alone. What should have been a warm and loving homecoming after being apart from his wife was terrible. He was left confused and alone. "A man, elderly, travel-worn, who, just emerging from the perilous wilderness, beheld the woman, in whom he hoped to find embodied the warmth and cheerfulness of home, set up as a type of sin before the people." (Hawthorne 9). When Chillingworth arrives in the colony and learns of Hester's situation, he leaves her alone as he single-mindedly pursues Dimmesdale by intriguing him in education. Educated men were...
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...Mankind’s desires have always been shown in a negative light. In Buddhism, it causes suffering; in Christianity, it is a deadly sin. Since the beginning of written records, religious texts have shown man’s ‘wanting’- whether it be lust or a thirst for knowledge- to be dangerous. In this way, Hawthorne uses allusions to the story of the Garden of Eden within Rappaccini’s Daughter to demonstrate why man’s desire is the reason behind its corruption and downfall. By the ending of Rappaccini’s Daughter, we see Giovanni paralleling Eve in many ways, each way being a cause of their eventual downfalls. Within the story, both Giovanni and Eve portray a desire to stay with their partners- Giovanni’s desire being lust and Eve’s desire being loyalty. Giovanni eagerly confronts his love- the poisoned...
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...In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne employs the theme of vengeance to strengthen the idea of Roger’s search for revenge. Roger becomes a symbol of the devil throughout the story because he becomes obsessed with the idea of getting back at Dimmesdale that he does not care if he hurts or even kills him. The sin that Hester and Dimmesdale committed betrayed Roger in the worst way possible. Roger begins to want to betray them the way he was. The search for revenge begins with Roger wanting to feel complete with himself and not allow Hester and Dimmesdale to feel content with each other. Roger’s search for revenge on Dimmesdale for the amount of betrayal he felt by the sin caused him to become a devil-like symbol in the novel, therefore he...
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...In the novel “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the characters Hester and pearl evolved through the obstacles in the puritan society. Hester accepted the Scarlet letter to emphasize who she is as a person. Pearl helped hester through her maturity by being born. Pearl contributed allot through hester's evolution by Hester accepting that pearl was a baby who hester sinned but was also a blessing for Hester Throughout the novel Hester and pearl had to go through many obstacles such as society not accepting pearl and controversies about Dimmesdale In the beginning of the novel the puritan society wanted pearl taken away for hester since they considered peral as a demon child and thought that Hester wouldnt set an example for peral. The...
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...intertwined. This strict form of government places an immense amount of pressure on the community, and creates an environment of shame and secrecy. This environment almost forces people to hold on to their mistakes or risk being publicly shamed or possibly killed. A minister in the novel, Arthur Dimmesdale, finds himself drowning in self hate and shame after a sin because he is afraid of how society will punish him. Arthur Dimmesdale is one of the elect, the chosen people of God, in his town. He is revered by his community and is an excellent preacher whose very name carries honor and respect. Even with all his honor and respect, the minister was still vulnerable to temptations of sin and committed adultery with a beautiful, married woman named Hester. This is not only the start of Hester’s suffering, but Dimmesdale’s as well. The author...
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...The veil in "The Minister's Black Veil" holds many symbolic meanings, the first being a symbol of how judgmental and shallow society is. The people in this story judge Mr. Hooper based on his physical appearance rather than his character; "He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face" (937). Before the veil, Mr. Hooper seemed to be well liked and respected in this community, and this changed after he covered his face. Mr. Hooper never changed who he was as a person, but was still thought of as "something awful" just for wearing the veil. The symbol is still relevant in our society today; we judge people based on being beautiful on the outside rather than on the inside. Another symbol of the veil is pride and selfishness....
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...They both take place in Boston Massachusetts during the Puritan Era. The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible both possess the idea of the combination of church and state. People who commit religious sins are punished and the crime is portrayed as a criminal crime. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester is disciplined for the misdeed of adultery by the magistrates and is forced to wear the letter “A” upon her bosom. Likewise, in The Crucible anyone who is accused of witchcraft and does not confess is severely punished by being hung. In addition, in both literary works the societies in which the main characters are surrounded with are extremely judgmental and hypocritical. For example, in The Scarlet Letter, the society looks highly upon Dimmesdale and do not change their view points when he confesses his sin. However, when Hester confessed the society looked down upon her and ostracized her from their high standards. As well as, in The Crucible Proctor commits adultery and is not punished for it while people who are wrongfully accused of adultery are hung if they refuse to...
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