novel that I personally found insightful on its critique of cultural identity/social change was Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. The book takes place in a mid-1600s Puritan Massachusetts community, where a young woman named Hester becomes demonized after accusations of her adultery leak through to the public. As a result, the community embroiders a large letter A on her chest, which Hester has to live with for the remainder of her days while she and her daughter reside in an exiled part of
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The Character Within Whether one can accept it or not, inside all of us, there is good and there is evil. In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, this idea exposes itself in three of the main characters. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the symbols of light and dark to depict good and evil among the characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Hester is an outcast, but shows her light side by remaining kind to others, while her darkness shows as the
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The Shunning Of Michael Phelps Michael Phelps, a decorated olympian, was shunned by society in a similar way to how Hester was treated in The Scarlet Letter. Hester was scorned for committing adultery and was required to wear the scarlet letter upon her bosom. Michael Phelps was ostracised by society after having been arrested for two DUIs as well as being photographed smoking marijuana. Hester and Phelps were shunned by society because of the choices they made, but both redeemed themselves by
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Chapter 22, “The Procession” of The Scarlet Letter configures all the components into place to reveal the conclusion of the novel. The entire chapter is committed to the foreshadowing of events that expose the true relationship between Dimmesdale and Hester to the entire Puritan community. Therefore, Hawthorne makes great efforts to depict the atmosphere of the procession. To present the reader with a general comprehension of the era, Hawthorne sets the scene with a thorough analysis of monarchy
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interpreted in different ways depending on the point of view. In the town Salem, those who take the religion seriously are the representation of “freedom”, but those who oppose the religion are punished and are opposed. At the 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
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In the Scarlet letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the three main characters all struggle with sin. Hester not only committed adultery against her husband Chillingworth, but also had a kid with a minister named Dimmesdale. When Chillingworth finds out that Dimmesdale is the father, and the other participant in the sin, he devotes his life to the torment and death of Dimmesdale. Hester and Dimmesdale committed a sin of love and passion, and they end up hurting themselves more than anyone else. Chillingworth
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In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays Reverend Dimmesdale as a man who cowardly strays away from the truth and, consequently, cannot manage the shame that he has brought upon himself. In a state of vulnerability, Dimmesdale has an affair with Hester Prynne, who then bores his child out of wedlock. In the eyes of this puritanical community, Hester has sinned against God. To punish her, the heads of the town force her to wear a scarlet “A” for adulteress. She must stand upon a scaffold
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In Spoon River Anthology written by Edgar Lee Masters he creates many themes on being peace through death some examples of this theme are these following epitaphs; Wendell P. Bloyd, Fiddler Jones, Washington McNeely. You might ask how do these epitaphs relate to peace through death, Bloyd examines death after life as a why of god’s punishment. Jones ended his life with happiness even though he didn’t accomplish much, just forty acres and a broken fiddle. McNeely wanted success for his children but
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In the “Scarlet Letter”, Nathaniel Hawthorne narrates his life as a surveyor in the custom house. “A Custom House is a governmental building situated near a port or a wharf. All sailors, sea captains, merchants, and sea traders are required to report directly to the Custom when they land to pay tax on their imported goods.” In his narration he uses many rhetorical strategies such as metaphor, irony, and juxtaposition, to create a vivid and clear picture of his life. The Custom House in itself is
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In a character analysis, the writer explains how a character and his or her conflict(s) helps readers understand a major theme. Whether it is a major or minor character, either one can illustrate important key themes. In a short story, novel, poem, play, etc., based on a character’s words, thoughts, and actions, one can comprehend their value, and the strengths and weaknesses of their personality. In The Crucible, Miller, Arthur. John Proctor, the play’s tragic hero and a man that lived during
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