Essay On Literary Devices In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

When you think of a Puritan society, what comes to your mind? Perfect, flawless, and a religion based on following God? Well, that is what it says on paper, but is it really that perfect? Throughout the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne jabs at the Puritans in an attempt to portray just how flawed they really are. After reading the book, you want to think that Hawthorne is telling the story of sinning in a Puritan society. However, as you dig deeper, you will see Hawthorne’s true purpose for writing the novel. In the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses irony to criticize the Puritan ideals.

The Scarlet Letter, a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, contains the motif of a red letter “A” that brings the story to life. The scarlet letter is an embroidered symbol which incorporates power in the novel. The scarlet letter upon Hester's bosom evolved and developed from something negative to something positive; from Hester, the villagers, Pearl, and Hawthorne, the views of the scarlet letter changed drastically. The letter “A” was intended to punish Hester Prynne, but instead, Hester made the punishment both beautiful and elaborate.

Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the Scarlet letter to display the sin and indecency people see Hester as. The detail represents ,the deep beauty Hester has inside although most people do not see her as a beutiful women. The deep red is a representation of adultery which shows her being an oncast from society. The symbol of the letter “A” is repetitive throughout the novel and grows with Hester and overcomes this with time as people start to see her as a person again and not just a adulterer. Hester acknowledges her sin in her puritan faith but swears to secrecy on the father of Pearl.

The scarlet letter ‘A’ did not stand for “adultery” anymore. It stood for “able.” “The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her, —so much power to do, and power to sympathize, —that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength.”

First the Scarlet "A" is her punishment because she commits adultery, which is a sin, then it becomes her identity, and in the end it becomes her salvation from her sin. From the beginning Hester Prynne was brought into The Scarlet Letter as a prideful transgressor, who commits adultery and suffers an immense magnitude of public shaming, disgrace,

We are all sinners. Although one may try hard not to sin, all humans eventually succumb at some time or another to sin. While people may not able to avoid the fate which awaits them, the power of free will allows people to decide how they will respond to sin. While some may respond with guilt and regret, others may react with a sense of redemption and a renewed sense of responsibility.

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

Society had now begun to think that Hester had served her punishment. Although Hester was not accepted society before, she began to see the positive aspects of the community and was able continue on with her own life which eventually led to her being recognition of good character. Eventually recognizing her sin she had become a symbol of the Puritan faith, and eventually found her place in the community in a positive way. In The Scarlet Letter, the whole period of time the letter "A" was embroidered on her clothing it only represented one ideology, which was adultery. However, as time continues forward the community begins to finally start accepting her again, through her positive actions and influences, the letter "A" starts to represent a more positive ideology.

Character Foils In The Scarlet Letter Those who contrast each other make for engrossing storytelling. Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates this truth often in his romantic narrative, “The Scarlet Letter”.

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.

The two-century-old novel, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is about two lovers who commit a horrible sin. Only one is punished for the sin, though. The woman’s [Hester Prynne] husband—believed to be dead—comes back to town to find her being gawked at by her community. He tells her not to say anything about his identity, and instead goes to find her silent lover. Said lover is too scared to confess his part in the sin, and instead lets the guilt eat him from the inside out. Hawthorne uses real-life and still very present situations to create a feeling of sorrow and suspense within the pages. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne employs the character of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale to illustrate the themes of secret sin

Nathaniel Hawthorne's use of diction, syntax, language, and point of view in The Scarlet Letter have both strengths and weaknesses.

Amanda Vicente The Scarlet Letter Reading Response AP English Language Period J 16 August 2016 Journal Entry 1: Chapters 1-2 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.

From the beginning of The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne and her letter “A” emerged at the scaffold in public for adultery, which is a sin could not be forgive by their religion.” This is a description of the letter “A” that only belongs to Hester Prynne. Why said this is “only belongs to her”? If readers have a deep reading to The Scarlet Letter, they could easily find out the sin that is up to everyone’s inner aspect and it has a different symbolic meaning, which is mentioned at above text: “A” changes Adultery to Able and Angel. But, how does the letter “A” direct the other characters to

It was Maureen Johnson who stated that “guilt is a weight that will crush you whether you deserve it or not,” but is the weight ever really lifted? In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, young Hester Prynne is tried in court and convicted of having committed adultery. Her punishment, one of public humiliation, is to wear a scarlet red “A” on her clothes for the rest of her days. “Adulterer” is a title that eventually fades away, even in the strict Puritan community that she lives in, however the guilt she places upon herself remains. This guilt also affects the relationship she has with her daughter, Pearl, even years after. Hawthorne uses Hester’s connections with Pearl, the “A”, and Chillingworth to show how even though a person can move on from it, the feeling of guilt does not disappear.