masterpiece “The Scarlet Letter”. In a time period that was unaccustomed to the questioning of religious authority, Hawthorne placed specific unspoken sentiments at the forefront of his novel. Controversial topics such as punishment versus forgiveness and sin and judgment were broached as a means of conveying the persisting contempt he held towards the Puritan way of life. Moreover, Hawthorne examined more than the overt, obvious effects sin had on an individual; He analyzed its consequences and significances
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In the story, The Birth-Mark, a man, Aylmer, is a natural philosopher (modern day ‘scientist’), specifically an alchemist who strives for perfection by manipulating nature. At the beginning, he marries a beautiful woman, Georgiana, who bears an imprint of a small red hand on her cheek. She wants to rid of the mark, so Aylmer makes a concoction to make it disappear; only, once Georgiana drinks it, she passes away. Aylmer should not be held accountable for her death because he possessed no malicious
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The contrasting philosophy anti-Transcendentalism was a small philosophical movement predominantly consisting of a small group of writers including, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville. These two were leaders of a movement that dared to go against the conventional belief, the conventional belief being that of Transcendentalism. Transcendentalism was an idealistic literary and philosophical movement of the mid-19th century. Beginning in New England in 1836, various visionaries, intellectuals,
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be one of the most effective literary works to address the hysteria surrounding the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. Hawthorne is also remembered for helping to establish the short story as a respected form of literature and as a proponent of instilling morals and lessons into his writing. Source: Short Stories for Students, ©2012 Gale Cengage. "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne chronicles the disturbing dream of a young Puritan man in Salem. In the dream, Goodman Brown comes face to face
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Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale wage a constant mental and physical battle throughout the Scarlet Letter. Chillingworth, a man of noble purpose and strong dispositions, falls further and further into his obsession of revenge. While at the same time, Dimmesdale, a respected reverend, suffers mentally and physically from his affair with Hester Prynne. As we progress through the novel, a question materializes: who deserves the blame for Hester Prynne’s affair, Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, or
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Nature of Humanity According to Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne was born 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. He descended from a Puritan family who participated in the Salem Witch Trials. His father died when Nathaniel was four, and he did not lead a very exciting or remarkable life. A rich tradition of family and local history provided much of the material for Hawthorne’s works. Nathaniel Hawthorne is mostly preoccupied with human flaws, pervasive evil, and evil in humanity. In his stories, “The
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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
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non-physical faults that will limit their ability to attain perfection. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a 19th century American writer, expressed his feelings about the attainability of perfection in his fiction. In particular, in "The Birthmark," Hawthorne uses the birthmark as a symbol, the characterization of Georgiana, and the foreshadowing of Georgiana's death to promote the unrealistic nature of perfection; Hawthorne highlights the impracticality of flawlessness so that society, in general, will stop
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The Change from Demon to Woman The thought that adultery could have both positive and negative effects is one of the major themes in The Scarlet Letter. The negative side was that the scarlet letter “A” branded Hester Prynne physically for committing the sinful act of adultery, and her daughter Pearl emotionally because she was the product of her mother’s sinful act. Many people in the Puritan community of Boston shunned this behavior even though it could ultimately produce a miracle of life.
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SCENE: 17TH CENTURY BOSTON, then a Puritan settlement. CHARACTER OVERVIEW: Hester Prynne: Heroine • passionate and strong—she endures years of shame and scorn (due to adultery) • protagonist and the wearer of the scarlet letter (a patch of fabric in the shape of an “A,” signifies that Hester is an “adulterer.”) • married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live never followed her • waiting then had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale o
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