Examples Of Justice In The Scarlet Letter
Imagine living in a place where one small sin could define who you are for the rest of your life. That is what happened in The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. The novel is set in a seventeenth-century Puritan community in Boston, Massachusetts. A young woman by the name of Hester Prynne commits a small act of adultery and is shamed for the rest of her life, by wearing a scarlet letter “A” on her breast. The book is centered around the theme of justice and judgement. According to Gloria Steinem, “Law and justice are not always the same”. This quote means that following the law may not always mean justice is being served. Laws are rules and guidelines that are set up to govern behavior. Laws set out standards, procedures …show more content…
This concept states that all individuals must be treated equally. Laws are made with the intent of establishing justice, but that is not always the case. I agree with this quote because following laws does not always mean justice is being served. Laws define what is right and what is wrong, while justice also takes into consideration the circumstances of the situation at that time. Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter supports Gloria Steinem’s quote that “Law and justice are not always the same.” Support can be seen in the punishment of Hester Prynne, the letter “A” on Hester Prynne’s grave, and the repentance of Arthur Dimmesdale. First, Steinem’s quote can be seen through the Hester’s punishment for her sin. Hester was initially married to a man whom she never loved and was thought to be dead after being lost at sea for five years. After waiting for the arrival of her husband which never came, Hester had an affair with another man and together they produced a child. When Hester had an affair with a man who was not her husband she had committed an act of adultery and had to be punished in the eyes of God and of her community. It was decided that Hester would have to serve time in jail and
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Essay About The Mistakes Hester Prynne Ever Made
599 Words | 3 PagesIn the beginning the scarlet letter represented adultery and shame, but then the A represented “able.” Hester Prynne showed people that greatness can come out of huge mistake. One bad chapter does not mean your story is over. Willingly, Hester wanted to pick herself up again and move on with her life and eventually people noticed that. They began to respect her and think of her as strong and commendable
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1939 Words | 8 PagesMoreover, when a woman becomes pregnant it is a physical sign that makes the promiscuity a known fact. Hester pays a different price from Dimmesdale, who's secret is hidden throughout the story, because she is a woman. This illustrates the inequality between the two. By committing adultery, Hester defies her moral obligations towards her husband. When he arrives in Boston, however, she affirms her submissiveness to him by promising to keep quiet about his true identity.
Hester Prynne In The Scarlett Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
1190 Words | 5 PagesThe Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne has known to become his masterwork and is thus far his most illustrious novel. A tale of sin and its gruesome consequences, one’s temptation to passionately love, revenge and guilt, and most importantly the immense repercussions of social stigmatizing and public shaming are all profoundly implicated throughout this story Over the course of twenty-four chapters, Hawthorne illustrates the life of Hester Prynne, the female protagonist who has been brutally condemned by the Puritan society to wear an “A” on her bosom as a symbol for adultery, the horrible sin she has committed. Nkechi Diallo, commonly known as Rachel Dolezal, a former civil rights activist and former president
Theme Of Nature In The Scarlet Letter
716 Words | 3 PagesScarlet Letter Analysis Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book, The Scarlet Letter, was published in 1850 and has become one of the most famous books in literature history. The Scarlet Letter starts when a young woman who committed adultery is being shamed by the town, her punishment -- to were a bright red “A” and the bosom of all of her shirts, for the rest of her life. Throughout the book Hester becomes stronger, this is due to the fact that the town as shamed her. Pathetic Fallacy reflects the idea that we need society to guide us and while nature makes us feel good, it is useless and can’t guide us to make good decisions. Nature reflects the way a person feels, but can’t give them any guidance.
Hester Prynne Punishment In Scarlet Letter
791 Words | 4 PagesPunishment of Puritans for their sins occurred harshly and frequently, and these punishments ranged from fines, branding, and severe whippings to hanging and death. Many of these penalties involved public humiliation of some kind, which made it extremely difficult for townspeople to accept by their peers after they had sinned. Because the Puritans believed religion was immensely important, the community was often reluctant to allow citizens that exhibited sinful behavior to achieve redemption (Cox). However, in the case of Hester Prynne, an adulterer in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter, the townspeople eagerly made amends with her. This novel narrates the life of Hester Prynne, who committed adultery and courageously accepted the repercussions
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719 Words | 3 PagesThe townspeople “[began] to look upon the scarlet letter as a token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since.” This quote exemplifies how sin is not a death sentence for Hester. Through hard work and charity it allowed the rigid Puritan society to see her as something different, and as someone who would not let society define who she was. Hester, thus, was not only able to change herself, but also the image in which society viewed her by working hard to benefit the public. Likewise, the scarlet letter which was supposed to represent sin was instead “fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom.”
Hypocrisy Of The Puritan Society In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
936 Words | 4 PagesIn the “Scarlet Letter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays hypocrisy of the Puritan society, where the protagonist Hester Prynne face many consequences of her actions and the how she tries to redeem herself to the society. During the seventeenth puritans believe that it is their mission to punish the ones who do not follow God’s word and it is their job to stop those from sinning. Therefore, the hypercritical puritan society punishes Hester harshly for committing adultery, but in Hester’s mind, she believes that what she did was not a sin but acts of love for her man. Eventually, she redeems herself by turning her crime into an advantage to help those in need, yet the Puritan society still view her as a “naughty bagger.” (Hawthorne 78)
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Theme Of Suffering In The Scarlet Letter
1662 Words | 7 PagesThe hardships and punishments of both Hester and Dimmesdale, while difficult to endure at the time, were eventually beneficial and allowed them to free themselves from the Puritan community and escape their pain. Hester, throughout the beginning and middle of the book, is forced to face alienation and humiliation from her town, though by the end of the book, she is able to use her punishment to set her free from her society. First, Hester reflects on the effect of her sin, and realizes, “ . . . the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul . . .” (72).
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Sin, Guilt And Redemption In The Scarlet Letter
433 Words | 2 PagesHawthorne described three things in The Scarlet Letter. Sin, guilt, and redemption. Hawthorne uses people to symbolize them. Hester Prynne was one. Hawthorne allows the reader to get a better understanding by using biblical references.
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