Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter

to express that names don’t really matter. However, the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and our everyday lives show that names are the tools we use to create ideas and organize them in our world. It is human nature to attach preconceived notions to our varied experiences. Everything has to have a meaning so people can order it in their reality. Purpose and reason dictate our daily lives. With this precision, Nathaniel Hawthorne structured his novel, The Scarlet Letter. He helps us appreciate his characters’ strengths as well as their weaknesses with symbolic names. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses evocative names to portray the characters’ inner self and what they represent in the story. The most significant name belongs to the character Pearl. Hawthorne shows that this name has two meanings, but only one is used to describe the importance of Pearl’s existence. â€Å"For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned luster that would be indicated by the comparison. But she named the infant ‘Pearl’ as being of great price- purchased with all she had- her mother’s only treasure!†(79). Hawthorne uses Pearl’s name, in this sense, to express that Hester gave all she had for her child. Just as Pearl’s name serves as a doorway to an idea about her character, Hawthorne also displays Roger Chillingworth’s name to have a deeper importance in the story. As his name suggests, Chillingworth is a man deficient in human warmth hence the beginning â€Å"chilling† of his name. This character is shown as a very evil person throughout the novel. â€Å"In a word, old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of a man’s faculty of transforming himself into a devil,†(152). Hawthorne uses Chillingworth as a symbol... Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter has four main characters, Hester Prynne, the woman accused of Adultery, Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband from Amsterdam. They are still married and no one knows that they are. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, the man who Hester committed the crime with, and Pearl. The story takes place in Boston, where Hester is accused of adultery and has to wear the letter A on her chest. Hester receives her punishment on a Scaffold. The Reverend Dimmesdale asked Hester who the other person was that helped her commit the act of adultery with her. Hester doesn’t reply. As Hester is on the Scaffold, she is holding her child, Pearl. After a while they leave Hester on the Scaffold in the hot sun for more than one hour as part of her punishment. Then they took her to jail where she stayed for more than a year. While Hester and Pearl are there, Chillingworth comes into the picture and pretends that he is a doctor and goes to take care of the women and the child. There, Hester and Chillingworth talk about what happened, and asks her who is the father of this child? Hester would not tell the identity of Pearl’s father. When Hester doesn’t say, Chillingworth makes her promise that she will not tell that he is her long last husband. Hes ter says yes, ! but Chillingworth tells Hester that he will stay and he will find out the name of Pearl’s father. Then he leaves Hester and Pearl. One year later, Hester was released from jail. Hester cannot live in town because of what happened, the town people think that Hester is evil. They don’t want her there; they use Hester as an example of what happens when a person commits a sin in the Puritan life. So now Hester lives in the country where she makes cloths in order to make a living for herself. She shows off the wonderful clothing for Pearl. Pearl, at the moment, is the only friend Hester has. Later in the story, Hester... Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter is a story that shows a love that cannot be. â€Å"Mother,† said little Pearl, â€Å"the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!† This quotation is how I see the love that cannot be. The sunshine is the love of a man (Arthur Dimmesdale) and it does just what Pearl says - it runs and hides itself from the scarlet letter. This love must be hidden because of practical reasons; such as Roger Chillingworth who is her husband is still alive. He knows about his wife and Arthur and he is plotting revenge on Arthur. With Roger in Boston he would get in the way of them having an open relationship and he would destroy their true love. Arthur and Hester’s love cannot exist because of personal reasons as well. Hester wears the scarlet letter, so Arthur can’t be with her or it might destroy his reputation. Also, if he were to be with her, the people of his church could not look up to him for their spiritual guidance. The final reason to keep these lovers apart is societal. The Puritan belief in New England during the middle of the seventeenth century would not have tolerated any type of union between Arthur and Hester. The strict codes of conduct would destroy any way for them to be alone. Their only opportunities to be alone are chance encounters in the forest, but then it would seem as if they were going to see the black, mysterious man that represents evil in this book. Because of all these reasons, The Scarlet Letter is a story about a love that could not be. In a more perfect world, Arthur, Hester, and Little Pearl would have left Boston and made a new life for themselves in England. Painfully, this does not happen. However, Arthur does at least proclaim his love for Hester along with claiming Pearl as his child, allowing him to shed his bur... Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter All of Hawthorne’s work is one form or another of â€Å"handling sin†. All of his stories are those of persons whom some crime, or misunderstood virtue, or misfortune, has set by themselves, or in a worse companionship of solitude (Symons 1597). The Scarlet letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne explores sin and its consequences. The focus of attention is Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Each of these characters sin in a unique way. Hester sins by committing adultery. Dimmesdale sins by breaking his vow of chastity, and then hiding his deed. Chillingworth sins by acting upon his desire for revenge, and by torturing Dimmesdale. Hester and Dimmesdale suffer from shame and guilt throughout the novel. It was a sin for which Hester Prynne was damned by society, and for which Arthur Dimmesdale damned himself (Loring 1). Hester is made to publicly acknowledge her sin. A scarlet letter â€Å"A† is permanently placed on her dress to symbolize her adultery, and she is made to stand on the scaffold with her baby for several hours of public humiliation. This is her punishment, the heaviest that man can afflict upon her. Hester is to stand as a warning to others tempted as she was (Hawthorne 13). Hester becomes a social outcast and lives on the outskirts of town. Pearly, her lively and uncontrollable daughter is the daily living proof of her sin. Man had marked this woman’s sin by a scarlet letter, which had such potent and disastrous efficacy that no human sympathy could reach her, save it were sinful like herself. God as a direct consequence of the sin which man had thus punished, had given her a lovely child, whose place was on that same dishonored bosom, to connect her parent forever with the race and descent of mortals, and to be finally a blessed soul in heaven.(Hawthorne 14). Hester is a woman full of motherly love that she showers on Pearl. Hester dresses her daughter with pride and holds her head u... Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter â€Å"What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other word would smell as sweet.† Shakespeare penned these immortal words to express that names don’t really matter. However, the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet and our everyday lives show that names are the tools we use to create ideas and organize them in our world. It is human nature to attach preconceived notions to our varied experiences. Everything has to have a meaning so people can order it in their reality. Purpose and reason dictate our daily lives. With this precision, Nathaniel Hawthorne structured his novel, The Scarlet Letter. He helps us appreciate his characters’ strengths as well as their weaknesses with symbolic names. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses evocative names to portray the characters’ inner self and what they represent in the story. The most significant name belongs to the character Pearl. Hawthorne shows that this name has two meanings, but only one is used to describe the importance of Pearl’s existence. â€Å"For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned luster that would be indicated by the comparison. But she named the infant ‘Pearl’ as being of great price- purchased with all she had- her mother’s only treasure!†(79). Hawthorne uses Pearl’s name, in this sense, to express that Hester gave all she had for her child. Just as Pearl’s name serves as a doorway to an idea about her character, Hawthorne also displays Roger Chillingworth’s name to have a deeper importance in the story. As his name suggests, Chillingworth is a man deficient in human warmth hence the beginning â€Å"chilling† of his name. This character is shown as a very evil person throughout the novel. â€Å"In a word, old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of a man’s faculty of transforming himself into a devil,†(152). Hawthorne uses Chillingworth as a symbol... Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter Part two: Formal Literary Response 1.a. Identify and describe both the time and place of The Scarlet Letter. The time and place of The Scarlet Letter is in, â€Å"†¦the good town of Boston,† Massachusetts, in the year 1850 (105). In the 1850’s people think differently of different things such as crime and life, a simpler time with simple thoughts and people. 1.b. Discuss how the setting contributes to the believability of the novel. In The Scarlet Letter, the setting of Boston is surrounded by a, â€Å"†¦ vast and dismal forest† (68). The story could of taken place in a different place that has bodies of water, a forest, and a town, that is near a peninsula, because the setting doesn’t play a major role in the story except when Hester and Pearl go into the forest, where Hester has a life-turning talk with Mr. Dimmesdale. The forest is like a dark and mysterious place where a dark creature, the â€Å"Black Man,† lives. The time, however, cannot be changed because the story deals with the beliefs of people from the 1850’s. For example people who committed adultery were killed for sinning, even the sinner’s children were killed, but now adultery isn’t punished by death, it usually results in divorce and childcare. 2.a What is Arthur’s objective? How does he go about achieving his objective? What obstacles get in his way? How does he overcome them? In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter Arthur Dimmesdale, and old minister, deals with the pain caused by his sin and dies in the end. Throughout the story Dimmesdale wants to get reed of the pain and misery caused by his sin. He gets reed of the pain by telling everyone about how he sinned with Hester, which takes away the burden on his heart. One major obstacle that gets in Dimmesdale’s way is Roger Chillingworth. Chillinworth tell Dimmesdale that he can help him, but Chillingworth makes the pain last longer. He overcomes his obstacles with... Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter The scarlet letter, a book about a lady named Hester Prynne who lived in the New World, in Puritan Boston. She committed adultery, and gave birth to a child, which was named Pearl. Pearl’s father were not revealed to the public at the time when she was released from prison because Hester decided not to do so, she did not want her child to have an Earthly father but instead she wanted Pearl to have an heavenly father. Hester wanted pearl to be brought up in the normal way of the time of Puritanism. At this time they used strictness and used the rod frequently, but even though Hester at first tried to do her best at this. She quickly realised that Pearl was not going to adapt to her methods so she could not set any restrictions for her. Instead Pearl developed to be a wild child, to her mother and the rest of the Puritan community she seemed to be a little elf and they sometimes doubted that she was human, â€Å" Hester was constrained to rush towards the child,- to pursue the little! elf in the flight which she invariably began,- to snatch her to her bosom, with a close pressure and earnest kisses,†¦, as to assure herself that Pearl was of flesh and blood†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In the beginning Pearl does not show any sincere feelings towards her mother as she changes her mood so often, she seems to be very emotionless and does not show any sorrow, but that is a part of her wild nature. Her way of behaving were seen as an outcome of the adultery that Hester had committed, and now she had to live with a child that did not show any love and was a savage. But Pearl is not completely emotionless she did show emotion when she were walking with her mother on the peninsula, and she were sent to the beach while Hester spoke with the old physician, she stopped throwing pebbles at the seabirds, as she felt sorry: â€Å" But then the elf-child sighed, and gave up her sport; because it grieved her to have done harm to a little being that was as wild as the sea-b... Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a story about Hester Prynne, a woman who commits a sin. She is crammed with many feelings surrounding that sin such as pride. Her sin is a one of passion. Hester Prynne’s sin is adultery. She commits adultery with the Reverend Dimmesdale. This sin is regarded very seriously by the Puritans and is often punishable by death. The Reverend Dimmesdale is another character that demonstrates the effects of sin. He commits the same offense that Hester commits, adultery. The difference between Dimmesdale and Hester is that Dimmesdale was not publicly punished for his crime. This makes him feel extremely guilty. This feeling of guilt was so atrocious that it mentally and physically withers him, as he feels a very strong need to repent and cleanse his soul. Dimmesdale’s sin is unnoticed. Hester is unable to hide her wrongdoing. Their act of adultery resulted in a child. Her punishment for her crime is to spend a few hours on the scaffold to face public humiliation and wear the letter â€Å"A† on her clothes for the rest of her life. The consequences, which Hester faces, are the result of her admission of guilt. This proved to be much less harsh then the internal punishment that Dimmesdale faced. Dimmesdale’s method of repentance is much worse than Hester’s both emotionally and physically. Dimmesdale whips and beats himself as a form of repentance. Also, he stays up way into the night standing on the scaffold as he struggles to gain the nerve to admit his sin. It also hurts Dimmesdale when the townspeople speak of how righteous and holy he is. All of the internal suffering that he endures proves to be much worse then Hester’s public punishment. Roger Chillingworth is Hester’s husband. He commits a sin against her. He knew that she did not love him but yet still makes her marry him. He also sent her to America while he studies in Amsterd... Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter Hester’s Morality Morality is a term that encompasses many different meanings. Some believe that being dutiful is moral, while others think that being honest is moral. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary, Third College Edition, the definition of moral is â€Å"principles, standards, or habits with respect to right or wrong in conduct,† (â€Å"moral†). Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes characterization techniques of morality throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter. The qualities that Hester Prynne possesses shape her as a character. Hawthorne represents Hester Prynne as having moral flaws, but in the end she is a good person. (Bloom 22). As Orson Scott Card remarks in Characters and Viewpoints, â€Å"The character story emerges when some part of a character’s role in life becomes unbearable.† (53). This is apparent in The Scarlet Letter because Hester’s life becomes unbearable through her trials as a sinner in the Puritan society. Although the Puritan socie ty believes that Hester Prynne is immoral, the actions that she takes shows that she is actually very moral. Hester shows care towards Pearl, her daughter, which is a clear indication of the kindness in Hester’s heart. â€Å"When the young woman- the mother of this child- stood fully revealed before the crowd, it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom;† (Hawthorne 50). This is an act of motherly affection, showing that Hester loves her daughter. By abandoning Pearl, Hester’s life would definitely be easier; however, she does not abandon Pearl, because Hester believes that it is morally wrong. Hester’s decision regarding Pearl reveals her high moral principles as a Puritan. By upholding her morals, she keeps her daughter and moves to an isolated cottage away from society. After Hester moves away from the village, the Puritans give her the job of making fine clothing for the upper class. With any extra material that Hester has, she makes ... Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter It has once been said that â€Å"A truly memorable work will illuminate one of the great quests: for love, for truth, for honor, or for justice.† One work of literature that I feel truly does illuminate several of these great quests is The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This work is based in a small, Puritan community where a woman named Hester Prynne dwells. This woman has committed the sin of adultery and is forced to wear a scarlet A upon her bosom to constantly remind her and the rest of the community of her terrible sin. The fruit of this sin however was her little daughter Pearl; a strange, but gentle child. People in the community though, looked at her as an evil, elf-child, born from sin. In the meantime there was a priest named Arthur Dimmesdale who was secretly living in shame; for he was the father to little Pearl. His fatherhood was kept a secret for fear of jeopardizing his priesthood, so Hester took all the blame from the public. Although Hester had to face public humiliation, Mr. Dimmesdale suffered with the symbol of shame burned into his chest never to be revealed, and eating at his conscience. Little to the old priests knowledge, Roger Chillingworth, the doctor who was living at the church with him, turned out to be Hesterâ€⠄¢s ex husband who knew of his sin. The old doctor who had become one of Dimmesdale’s closest and most trusted friends was actually hurting him all along. One day Hester and Dimmesdale met in the woods and decided to run away and start a new life somewhere far away, but not until after his Electorial Sermon. The day came and he gave an incredible sermon which made everyone look at him like a saint, until he made the decision to expose his sin to the community. He called Hester and Pearl upon the platform where he delivered a delivered a dramatic final speech about the pain he went through and how the lord is very forgiving . He then stumbled upon the floor and died in Hester’s arms... Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter Scarlett Letter In the Scarlet Letter, the author uses many different types of symbols to show what he has experienced as a young man, and what he has to say about the society during his time. The different settings of the story are ways in which he describes his environment and how it has treated him as a child. One symbol he uses a lot was the scarlet letter. The scarlet letter takes on different meanings as the course of the story progresses. It also takes on various appearances and symbolism.The letter changes from meaning 3adultery2 into meaning 3able.2 Not only does the letter symbolize Hester1s punishment, but it also serves as different personal meanings to the various characters in the story such as Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, and Pearl to name a few. In the Scarlet Letter, there are many different forms of the letter A , not only that, but the letter A also acquires a variety of meanings. Hawthorne describes the prison as 3the black flower of civilized society2 (p.48) Here he uses the build ings to describe the crime and punishment of his early life. And by using the symbol of a tombstone at the end of the story, he1s probably trying to say that crime and cruel punishment could lead to your death. He also uses the grass plot, saying that it is 3much overgrown with burdock,....and such unsightly vegetation2 (p.48) which symbolizes the things that make people corrupt and why these lead to them being in prison. He also uses the wild rosebush to symbolize 3....sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow.2 (p.48). The author also gives somewhat of a dim, chill, social, unkind atmosphere to Puritanism. In Chapter 2 he describes by saying 3like a black shadow...grim and grisly...with a sword by his side, and his staff of office in his hand.2 (p.52).The letter A appears in a variety of forms and appearances. It is the elaborately gold-embroidered A on He... Free Essays on The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet letter starts off by telling of the surroundings and bad conditions of the prison. The only decent image of the prison was a rosebush. Hester Prynne was in prison for committing adultery and was to wear the letter â€Å"A† on her dress because of her sin. She was brought in front of the crowd for three hours, so that she could be disgraced for her crime. She began to have flashes of her childhood. She was too proud and beautiful to feel disgrace. Hester was married to a scholar. She came from Europe to Boston about two years ago and her husband was supposed to follow. Instead the Indians held him captive. Part of Hester’s punishment was to confess her partner in sin, but she refuses to. Hester’s husband Chillingworth was also in the crowd. Hester was with her baby who was born in sin. She was sent back to the prison and her nervousness and anxiety attacks were obvious. Her husband was finally brought in as a physician to treat her. It was obvious that their marriage relationship was unemotional and had no sign of love. Her husband wanted her to say who the father of her child was but she refused to tell. He promised he would find him and hurt him if she doesn’t say. Chillingworth made her promise not to tell of their relationship or else he would harm Pearl’s father. They both confessed they had wronged each other. The worst was his age and his derformity and marrying someone much younger. Hester was released from prison . She had a choice to stay where she pleases, but chose to stay around Boston. She lived in seclusion , almost never visiting the outside world. Hester had to wear the scarlet letter for the rest or her life, so she lived in shame and in her mind she remained in prison. She had little work sewing for people. Hester’s daughter Pearl, was very difficult to handle. She never obeyed the rules, and she lived without friends. She was interested in finding out who her ...