...Symbols in "The Scarlet Letter" A In “The Scarlet Letter,” symbols appear everywhere. Hawthorne uses several different concrete objects to represent something of deeper meaning. Among these symbols is the scarlet letter "A" itself. It is made of red cloth and beautifully embroidered. It is a literal symbol of the sin of adultery. The letter "A" appears in several places and several forms. It is the letter that appears on Hester's heart that she is condemned to wear for the remainder of her life. At Governor Bellingham's mansion it is magnified in the breastplate. It seems as though she is hidden behind it. On the night that Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl, a huge letter A appears in the sky. Later, while in the forest, Pearl arranges a letter a on her heart that is made of eel grass. One of the most dramatic of the A's that appear in the book is the A that appears on Dimmesdale's chest. Not only does the "A" symbolize adultery, but it also has several other meanings to the different characters as well. To the community, it is simply a mark of punishment. To Hester, it is a mark of embarrassment and humiliation. To Dimmesdale, the scarlet letter is a reminder of his own guilt. To Pearl, the mark is a mysterious curiosity. To Chillingworth, the "A" is his chance to get revenge on Dimmesdale. Later, the letter symbolizes "Able" when Hester wins some respect from the townspeople. The scarlet letter is meant to be a symbol of shame, but instead it becomes...
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...The Character of Pearl Pearl is a major character in the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Even though she is a young child through most of the book, she plays a very important role. Pearl asks many different questions throughout the text that make the adult characters even question themselves. She is more perceptive and more honest than anyone in the rest of the book. Without Pearl, “The Scarlet Letter” would not be as successful as it is. Pearl is supposed to be an average child, but she is also there to help us realize things we might not have seen on our own, and to symbolize sin and guilt. When we first meet Pearl, most of us realized that there was definitely something special about this little girl. She has a special insight into things in the book that I would have never noticed without Pearl. Hawthorne uses Pearl in a special way to reveal that Dimmesdale has something to do with the scarlet letter. Pearl is not used to being around a lot of people, so when she accepted Dimmesdale so openly it helped the readers realize who he truly was. It says “Pearl, that wild and unpredictable little elf, crept over to him. She took his hand in both of hers and laid her cheek against it.” (92) This is a kindness that most little girls would only share with a family member, such as their father. There is also other information that Pearl gives to reveal to us that she knows who her father truly is. When Hester and Pearl come across Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale on the...
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...Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolic imagery in the novel of The Scarlet Letter in order to demonstrate the failure of the oppressive Puritan society. Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman, moved to New England while her husband stayed behind in England. While she was alone, she had an affair with Reverend Dimmesdale and they have a daughter named Pearl. In the Puritan society, Adultery is one of the utmost sins that can be committed. When it became known that Hester was an adulteress, she was sentenced to prison and public punishment. Due to the oppressive nature of the Puritan society, Hawthorne writes of the Puritans’ forcing Hester to wear a scarlet “A” upon her chest to make her sin aware to everyone. Through his use of contrasting symbolism, Hawthorne...
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...The Scarlet Letter In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, A young woman named Hester Prynne in Boston is prosecuted for adultery. To symbolize her crime, she has an “A” imprinted on her bosom. As a result of her committing adultery, she and Reverend Dimmesdale (his identity is not identified until later in the book) have a child. She is a very curious child, and her name is Pearl. Roger Chillingworth, comes to see Hester on the scaffold and he doesn’t want his identity revealed either but it does get revealed in later chapters. In the Scarlet letter, the author uses different symbols, literary devices, and themes that help Nathaniel’s purpose of writing. Symbolism A symbol in the Scarlet Letter is literally the Scarlet Letter...
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...Many people commit wrongdoings at some point in their life. Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter are no exception. These wrongdoings contribute to an overall theme of the novel. This theme is sin. There are many symbols in the novel that draw attention to this theme, such as color and the scarlet letter. There is more symbols that are present in the novel and have high importance, however these two stand out significantly. Through instances involving Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, color and the mark of the scarlet letter drive the theme of sin within the novel. Hester’s relationship with her scarlet letter is a distinct example of how the symbol of the...
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...let others judge and make their own assumptions. However, in The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the main character, Hester Prynne does the exact opposite as she openly shows her acceptance of her sin through the scarlet “A”, and Pearl. Pearl symbolizes Hester’s wrong doing. She is a constant and permanent punishment for Hester’s sin. A quote that shows Pearl’s symbolization is on page 74. “A lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion.” This quote basically is saying that Pearl is like a beautiful, eternal flower, from the foul indulgence of her mother’s guilty passion. The scarlet “A” is also a symbol of Hester’s wrong doing. Hester is forced to wear the “A” on her chest for the rest of her life to stand as a reminder to her, and the rest of the community of her sin, adultery, which is what the “A” stands for. “On the breast of her gown, its fine red cloth, surrounded with elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread” (46) describes what the “A” looks like. By wearing the scarlet letter every day, Hester has full and complete control of her sin. Removing the letter would mean society has power over her. Most people would move away after their sentence, if they were allowed so they could have a fresh start and meet new people and start a new life. However Prynne decided to stay in town and wear the scarlet “A” she made while she was in prison. The letter shows her acceptance and proves to everyone that she doesn’t care...
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...The Scarlet Letter: Symbolism For symbolism we used this illustration as a way to show the connection between all the symbols and their relation to sin. The path of sin starts at the prison door. The break in the door shows that a person cannot run from their past and sins, they will come out eventually. Notice how the river expands to include more and more symbols. We chose that to show how the longer these confessions are repressed the larger and more difficult to deal with they become. The symbol closest to the prison door is the rose. The rose is a direct parallel to Pearl as they both serve as a stark contrast to the surrounding environment. The rose bush’s main function was to symbolize a moral blossom in the story as it shows that justice will eventually prevail. The rose bush also reflects the moral values in proportion to the nature. Because within the bonds of the nature everything acts in a way than what it is really like and what it should do by its nature without resisting to its essential needs. But civilized man especially puritans rejected the mostly part of human needs like enjoys and spices of the life especially sexuality. But to deny means nothing because you can change nothing by denying it or covering the truth. So the roses symbolized normally passions and desires thus we can deduce that here it symbolizes how the freedom of the human nature is imprisoned by the conventional wisdom. Under this circumstance the nature will resist to the later doctrines...
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...beginning of “The Scarlet Letter” Hester’s status in Salem is the ideal figure of oppression but within herself she knows she has liberty. On page 61, the dames muttered, “If we stripped madam Hester…I’ll bestow a rag of mine…” This conveys how the dames are jealous of Ms. Hester’s needle skills and how instead of making it as a punishment she converts it into something beautiful and isn’t ashamed of it, it’s Hester’s way to express her emotions. Additionally, at the beginning of chapter 18, the author says, “But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity, and for so long a period not merely estranged, but outlawed, from society. She had wandered,...
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...Hester’s Dynamic Personality In the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne undergoes both physical and emotional revelations. Hester is directly affected by the consequences of breaking moral and social codes of behavior. The novel is a story of a young woman who commits adultery, and has a child. She stays strong when the community harasses her by not revealing the identity of her daughter Pearl's father. Throughout the novel the reader learns that the father is Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister in the town. He keeps his sin on the inside until the end of the novel where he reveals to the townspeople that he is an unworthy minister for committing such a sin. Hester’s secret is revealed in the beginning, but she changes many times throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Hester is portrayed as a young and elegantly beautiful mother who is being punished for a horrid sin. The townspeople think of her as a haughty and wretched woman, and that her punishment should be much harsher. When she comes out of the jailhouse, a beautiful letter "A" is embroidered onto her breast. After being in jail people expect for Hester to be in bad shape, but she somehow still looks beautiful standing up there. This is because even though she is condemned, she still stands tall and does not let this punishment consume her. She is trying to make the best of things by making the “A” She has to wear beautiful and to not give in to punishment....
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...Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter includes many profound and important symbols. This device of symbolism is portrayed well in the novel, especially through the scarlet letter "A". The "A" is the best example because of the changes in the meaning throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel, the scarlet letter "A" is viewed as a symbol of sin. The middle of the novel is a transition period, where the scarlet letter "A" is viewed differently. In the commencement of the novel, the letter is taken as a label of punishment and sin. Hester Prynne bears the label of the letter upon her chest. She stands as a label of an outcast in front of society. She is wearing this symbol to burden her with punishment throughout her life. She stands on a plank where her punishment is given, "'Thus she will be a living sermon against sin, until the ignominious letter be engraved upon her tombstone'"(59). Society places its blames upon this woman. It is because of this one letter that Hester's life is changed. The letter's meaning in Puritan society banishes her from her normal life. The Puritans view this letter as a symbol of the devil. The letter also put Hester through torture: "Of an impulse and passionate nature. She had fortified herself to encounter the stings and venomous stabs of public contumely wreaking itself in every variety of insult but there was a quality so much more terrible in the...
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...From distress born creativeness: Sin either a blessing or a wrath in the Scarlet Letter This paper aims to show the contradictions and the struggles of human beings which Hawthrone wrote about in his famous novel " The Scarlet Letter '' : challenge and continuity ; authority and weakness ; success and unsucess ; presence of mind and ignorance ; despotism and servility; natural desires and directed instincts ; the backbone to masculinity and the fragile femininity, all of these qualities and attitudes being wheeled around in the past and at the present time are personified through the characters and the symbols of the novel that is located in Boston controlled by the puritanical laws strictly. On the grounds that religious magistrates and state were inseparable; they had the supreme influence upon community. Hawthrone gives rise to a vividly distinctive and rebellious woman ' Hester" defying the extremely strict laws guided by masculine power in a social environment. Hester is against puritanism because of opposing the laws. When she committed the prohibited sin "Adultery" with her lover ' Reverend Dimmesdale' , she justified beyond the sacred love she had. In my opinion , from the beginning it was not her fault. If anyone's to blame , it's the rigidity of her puritanical religion that allowed the irrational marriage between Hester and Chillingworth because of the equality between them physically ; Hester's youth and Chillingworth's age and his appearance – and also spiritually...
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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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...1 What is the significance of the wild rose bush that grows beside the prison door? * The rosebush serves to represent beauty in a community that's so dark and awful. Chapter 2 · What is the public view of Hester’s sin as expressed by the women outside the prison? What do their comments suggest about this society? * They think that the punishment for her sin is not harsh enough. their comments suggest that this society values obedience and punishments. They can be harsh and cruel toward those they consider to be going against the Puritan ideals and moralities Chapter 3 • Why wasn’t Hester sentenced to death for her adultery? * They wanted her to live with her shame. They think that her beauty may have led her to temptation now after the “decease” of her husband. • Where has the stranger been? What motion does he make to Hester? * He was held captive by Indians in the south. (p.57) "he slowly and calmly raised his finger, made a gesture with it in the air, and laid it on his lips" Chapter 4 · What does Chillingworth ask Hester to promise? Why does she agree? * Chillingworth asks Hester to promise to not tell anyone about his identity. She agrees because she felt ashamed that he had to witness her on the scaffold and out of a great amount of fear. Chapter 5 · Give two reasons why Hester decides to remain instead of moving to a less-restrictive colony. * Hester believes that she has to live with her sin and what she...
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...film American Beauty and the novel The Scarlet Letter both use the archetypal hero’s journey and supporting images of power to emphasize that finding individuality can lead to fulfillment and rebirth, desires we all share. As readers venture into any story, they will realize that they will find a journey is being told. In the case of American Beauty and The Scarlet Letter, both narratives share the required journey pattern of departure, fulfillment and return in their quests....
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...A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH LINDA NEAL UNDERWOOD S E R I E S E D I T O R S : W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth 2 INTRODUCTION William Shakespeare developed many stories into excellent dramatizations for the Elizabethan stage. Shakespeare knew how to entertain and involve an audience with fast-paced plots, creative imagery, and multi-faceted characters. Macbeth is an action-packed, psychological thriller that has not lost its impact in nearly four hundred years. The politically ambitious character of Macbeth is as timely today as he was to Shakespeare's audience. Mary McCarthy says in her essay about Macbeth, "It is a troubling thought that Macbeth, of all Shakespeare's characters, should seem the most 'modern,' the only one you could transpose into contemporary battle dress or a sport shirt and slacks." (Signet Classic Macbeth) Audiences today quickly become interested in the plot of a blindly ambitious general with a strong-willed wife who must try to cope with the guilt engendered by their murder of an innocent king in order to further their power. The elements of superstition, ghosts, and witchcraft, though more readily a part of everyday life for the Renaissance audience, remain intriguing to modern teenagers. The action-packed...
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