Character Foils In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

The majority of society bases their perception of an individual on wealth, appearance, name, family--an infinite number of things. What if one was told that his or her own brother, sister, best friend, or even their mom or dad was a murderer? How would he or she react? What would they do? In the classic novel, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he utilizes youth, fraud, and symbolism to immerse the reader into his story.  His more direct use of youth and symbolism reveal that a person, no matter who they may seem to be from the outside, can be the greatest sinner of all.

It is as intertwined as yin and yang. Chillingworth and Dimmesdale need each other almost. Chillingworth makes him or the alleged father of Pearl his life 's ambition. He goes as far as to change his name and pose as a friendly doctor. He uses this to get close to Dimmesdale and now he cannot think of anything else. He neglects his wife and doesnt even care for her. He just wants the man to be shamed as well. He mentally tortures the Reverend and all with glee. It is clearly made known that after he completes his deed he will have no

At first Chillingworth is portrayed through the introduction as a civil man, almost feel sorry for him for the fact that his wife cheated on him, and that she is now imprisoned, Hester even calls him, “the Black Man that haunts the forest round about [the town],”(Hawthorne 94), however, these words foreshadow the dive to insanity Chillingworth later takes after he sets his sights on revenge. Although Chillingworth’s arrival to Massachusetts is not a happy one, the reader can’t feel bad for Chillingworth because during his conversation with Hester, Chillingworth didn’t approach Hester with the intent on being a good husband, but rather as a physician. The lack of love Chillingworth displays to Hester, sheds light onto the how riddled with guilt Chillingworth really is, the mere opposition to comfort her, provides Chillingworth’s first step towards his mental downfall. Some people may argue that Chillingworth never saw a downfall into his own mental state, and that he was passing the punishment that Dimmesdale had deserved. However, the punishments that Dimmesdale was receiving was more torture than anything else, which exemplifies the civility he has lost. Upon Chillingworth’s arrival to the forest to discuss with Hester the matters of Dimmesdale, Chillingworth is already portrayed as a villainous

Hawthorne even describes him as an “unhappy man had made the very principle of his life to consist in the pursuit and systematic exercise revenge…” (Hawthorne, 254). The phrase “unhappy man” proves that Hawthorne wants the reader to see Chillingworth in a negative way. This quote also proves to the reader that Chillingworth’s main goal in life is revenge. When one wants revenge against another as badly as Chillingworth wants revenge against Dimmesdale, they are so focused on said person that they don’t bother to take a look at themselves. Therefore, Chillingworth cannot grow as a person until he gives up on his revenge plans. Since he does not do this until Dimmesdale dies at the end of the story, Hawthorne holds Chillingworth in a negative light. The only time Chillingworth is viewed somewhat positively is when he leaves money for Pearl after he dies - which, interestingly, is the only moment when Chillingworth seemed to put aside his revenge after Dimmesdale had passed

Hawthorne uses chapter twenty-two, “The Procession”, to put all the pieces of the puzzle of the conflict together. This is where the reader remotely begins to understand how the ending of the novel will come to an end. To reveal the conclusion to the reader, Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices such as, irony, simile, and diction.

Every story must contain a certain list of items in order to be even considered a story; without the list, it simply would be words on a page.The list includes a theme/moral that gives a purpose for the story, plot that gives a sense of direction in which the story is going, conflict that builds the plot, and characters. Although all the items are important, the characters are probably the most important part of the story. They allow the story to have life because they tell the story through their actions, words, and even emotions. While there is numerous types of characters such as background and symbolic, there are those basic characters in in which every story is composed of; they are called archetypal characters. Archetypal characters are

When considering the term “narcissism,” one often conjures up the image of a conceited, self-absorbed person who excessively praises their own perfection. However, narcissism as a psychological disorder is much deeper. According to licensed mental health counselor Michael Samsel, narcissism is best described as “organizing one 's life around the goal of being superior.” And yet, “superiority is not just about learning to do one or more things well, it is about hiding any evidence of imperfection in other areas” (Samsel). A narcissistic personality often causes turmoil, with the ever-present black hole of self-importance potentially manifesting into an abusive relationship. In The Scarlet Letter, a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a narcissistic personality is seen in the character of Dimmesdale, the reverend in the Puritan town of 17th century Boston, and secret lover of Hester Prynne. Hester, having given birth to a child out of wedlock, is forced to wear the letter “A” on her chest as punishment for her adultery. She is ceaselessly insulted and ostracized by the other Puritans for the rest of her time in the town. Meanwhile, Hester refuses to reveal who her lover is and thus, Dimmesdale is able to maintain his facade of a pure and holy reverend. However, Dimmesdale belittles Hester’s suffering while punishing himself out of shame, revealing his narcissistic tendencies.

Today the world now has medications, therapy, and much more to treat psychological diseases and disorders. Psychological nature is the nature of someone affecting the mind. The psychological nature is very important essentially it is not just affecting someone’s mind but there whole body and the wellbeing of that person. Something so small can alter someone’s psychological nature. During the time of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne; Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl did not have the things many people used today to treat these disorders and diseases. Pearl, Hester, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth all obtain some sort of these disorder that transforms their characters into something that causes uproar throughout the community. Hawthorne portrays the psychological nature of the novel through the development of anxiety, mood, depression and psychotic disorders in the four main characters. Pearl, Hester, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth.

Nathaniel Hawthorne surely had the option to end The Scarlet Letter happily with Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl running off into the sunset together. However, he does not which should be predictable to the audience considering the overall characterization, tone, and purpose of this novel.

Nathaniel Hawthorne, a famous American author from the antebellum period, notices the emphasis on individual freedoms in the works by Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalists during his residency in the Brook Farm’s community. In response to these ideas, Hawthorne writes The Scarlet Letter, a historical novel about Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale’s lives as they go through ignominy, penance, and deprecation from their Puritan community to express their strong love for each other. Their love, even though it is true, is not considered as holy nor pure because of Hester past marriage to Roger Chillingworth, and thus Hester gained the Scarlet Letter for being an adulterer. Hawthorne utilizes biblical allusions, such as the stories of

As humans, we live in the that are brimming with sins and evil desire. As the creator of all the creatures, God, sent his only son to save the people from the control of devil. The only thing we have to do is to acknowledge our mistake. Bible teach us that we should tell the truth to God and your neighbors, and God will forgive you. But people are worse, they not only hide the sin and their evil behaviors but also try to deny it. We are born sinners, we can not be save only based on how we act but depend on do we acknowledge our sins. In the novel Scarlet letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne compare and contract the hidden sin and the revealed sin but use the end of Dimmesdale and Hester to claim the consequence of hide sins.

Literary devices are often used to capture a reader’s attention in a text. Nathaniel Hawthorne used many different types of literary devices in his book The Scarlet Letter. He uses symbolism to give hidden meaning to elements in the story, conflict to make the story interesting, and allusion to make references to historical events (ex. biblical references). While reading The Scarlet Letter, the literary devices did not jump out at me, but now as I reflect upon them they help me understand the book well. Literary devices can make a passage have a whole different meaning.

The theme in literature can very from author to author whether taking in Hawthornes "the scarlet letter and the theme of sins and consequences taking the major role and proving their point to their audience or Rowlings "Harry Potter" series and the the theme of friendship and family taking the

In The Scarlet Letter, the author sets a mood from the beginning of the book. The setting is old and beat up in front of an aged wooden prison with judgmental Puritans ready to tear a women apart. The Puritans are hypocrites and the author portrays that in the story. Nathaniel Hawthorne did not always speak positively toward the Puritans, but he has respect for the group. The main symbol that stands out is the scarlet letter “A” that was stuck on Hester Prynne for her actions of adultery which is a theme for this book. Another symbol is the rose bush that grew right outside of the old, rusty, decaying prison

Due to Hawthorne’s ability to play with emotion, once reading The Scarlet Letter in its entirety, readers are unsure what to feel. It is difficult to explain the tone and mood of the novel mostly because that it makes readers become connected with all their different kinds of emotions. It is possible for readers to react to certain situations in their own ways, but for the most part, readers to undergo a rollercoaster of feeling. In having scenes of suffering, anger, rejoice, romance, and relief all confined into a relatively small paperback book, the tone tends to change quite constantly. Though there are individualized moods depending on what is occurring in the novel, there is an overlying tone of hope. The Scarlet Letter encompasses hope