In the Scarlet letter, the influence and characteristics of Pearl, Hester Prynne daughter is used to convey the theme of sin and hypocrisy in the novel. Hawthorne uses pearl to draw a parallel between forgiveness and punishment From the beginning of her life she is viewed as, a product of sin. The puritans shunned her, their treatments affected Pearl
Hester Prynne, who is the main character in the novel, committed adultery against her husband, Roger Chillingworth, while she believed he was lost at sea. Roger returns to town, and makes it his goal to get revenge on Arthur Dimmesdale, the father of baby Pearl. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Roger Chillingworth to express the idea that people view other and themselves in many different ways. Hawthorne uses Roger Chillingworth to show determination and forgiveness in the novel. When Chillingworth is talking to Hester about the father of her baby, he states, “I shall seek this man, as I have sought sought truth in books; as I have sought gold in alchemy”(Hawthorne 70).
By choosing to have an affair even though she was married, Hester created a life for herself that was filled with “guilt, sinkings of heart, and misfortune” because of her choice to disobey her religious morals (Hawthorne 150). Although she was extremely embarrassed of her actions, believing that she was even unworthy of death, Hester forced herself to live beyond her tragic situation and use it to grow as a person and strengthen her view on standing against the Puritan probity that the town was based upon. In order to punish her, the town forced Hester to wear a scarlet “A” upon her breast, which was meant to represent a “badge of shame” (Hawthorne 150). Through the scarlet hue of the “A”, as well as it being located above Hester’s heart, Hawthorne was able to reference the symbol of a heart that he consistently used throughout the book to describe her mentality. At this point in Hester’s life, the ignominious letter upon her breast symbolized “drops of bitterness” and guilt beginning to fill her heart.
Adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse. This is sin that Hester has committed with Dimmesdale. The punishment for her committing this sin is that Hester has to wear the letter A for the rest of her life so that everyone may know what she has done. The second meaning for the A is Angels.
The stories themselves closely relate to The Bible story entitled Jesus and the Samaritan Woman. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester commits adultery which causes her to be shunned from her community in Boston. Speak’s Melinda Sordino suffered the sexual sin of another character named Andy, which caused her to be shunned from the school she was enrolled. In the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, Jesus told the woman, “for you have had five husbands, and the on you now have is not your husband” (English Standard Version John 4.18). Similar to the characters in the novels, the Samaritan woman had also undergone adultery, in which she chose to commit herself.
She not only betrayed Ali by committing adultery, but also leaving Hassan without so much as holding him because of his cleft lip. According to the text,” Sanaubar had taken one glance…barked a bitter laughter…she had refused to even hold Hassan, and just five days later, she was gone.” (Hosseini, 9). Her actions had left Hassan without a mother figure. In reality, Hassan’s cleft lip was karma for her committing adultery with someone outside her marriage.
What if the people of today were punished for all the wrong, but small actions that they did. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne does an outstanding job of expressing the true of his characters. In the story adults are constrained by societal expectations. Hester Prynne, the main character of the The Scarlet Letter, is accused of adultery, and has to wear the scarlet “A” on her chest. Hester, even after her punishment and the town forgiving her, she still kept the scarlet letter “A” on her chest.
Matt Martin Mr. Anderson Honors English III 9 November 2017 Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel about Hester Prynne, a woman who commits adultery in a Puritan society, and how it affects her life. Hester not only scars her own life, but also Dimmesdale 's, who is one of the town 's ministers. Her husband has been gone for multiple years, so she expects he is dead and can love freely again. Her crime is discovered and she is nearly executed due to its extremity in the Puritan society.
Hawthorne writes,”... the outward guise of purity was a lie, and that if truth were everywhere to be shown, a Scarlet Letter would blaze forth on many a bosom other than Hester Prynne 's”(Hawthorn 80)? Now when other people look at Hester’s Letter they feel guilty themselves because they have also sinned, but have not been shamed in
Spill his blood!” (193-194) begins to make the chant almost vicious, primitive, and bloodthirsty. It makes the boys sound manic and mutinous. The recurring use of the phrase “blue-white scar” creates a grim mood in the setting that reverberates throughout the story and adds to the portrayal of boys degrading into savagery. The boys repeated, passionate chant about killing the beast highlights their descent into savagery.
Puritans could not make a mistake if they wanted to receive everlasting life. Puritan strived to have a great relationship with God , often though they stray away. Edwards came to direct with back to the right path with God by scaring them saying they would be condemned to Hell. Bradstreet on the other hand, took a different approach like a father taking away his little children toys. They are both well incentives to do the right thing.
He loves God and although he numerous times fails to meet the simple rules of his religion, he feels a sense of guilt and tries to correct his sins. Adultery and the problems of his multiple relationship lead to his quest for the Holy Grail. After returning from his quest, he reconnects with God and realigns himself to his personal beliefs. Touched by his reconnection to God, he works to identify his sins and defends God’s way in making things right. He recognizes his wrong-doings and doesn 't resent God for the decisions that He has made for him.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” the basic structure for the novel is also provided by the scaffold scenes because everything else revolves around what happens during these scenes. Each scaffold scene foreshadows the next and brings about a greater understanding of the story itself. In the Scarlett Letter, Hawthorne uses these scenes to bring together the major characters and bring attention to the scarlet letter "A" on Hester Prynne and the significance of both her and her relations with Dimmesdale as well as the influence of Pearl on the entire story. The first scaffold scene gives the reader insight as to what the story is going to depict and how sin and guilt play major factors in the characters' lives.
Individuals experience a system of beliefs, whether it is through an organized religion, or a personal faith. Conspiracies arise between the two organizations, with regards to organized religion taking away from the true meaning of faith. Although many argue that the two are on different ends of a spectrum, it is also believed that personal faith is crucial in being apart of an organized religion. It is argued that the systematic format of organized religion is said to take away the freedom one experiences when following a personal faith. Throughout the novel, A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving, the two protagonists, John Wheelwright and Owen Meany, discuss how organized religion masks the essence of religious faith, how it prevents an