Hester Prynne Character Traits

From the time in which justice and order was enforced by governing figures, man has struggled with the conflict of balancing freedom and protection. Often times, those who seek answers to the disorderly find solace within religious beliefs; they find protection and answers to questions of security, where an omnipotent being took reign and watched over one’s life. However, when applied to governing forces, these laws based off religious beliefs regulating certain actions and desires restrict freedom. In The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Arthur Miller argue that conscience should supersede religion. Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter uses pathos to enforce this claim; whereas Arthur Miller argues the same claim using logos in his book The Crucible. Personally, the author 's claims are agreeable in that individual

My first introduction of Hester Prynne, from what the author described, showed that she wore the Scarlet Letter on her chest with pride and she showed no sense of remorse on her face. “In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbors.” (pg.46) My response would be “how could she commit an act so unholy as a mother, and display pride?” The comparison and contrast that Hawthorne makes between Hester and her baby is that her baby is a sin-born infant but never committed an act of adultery. The baby is forever shamed and sinned

Hawthorne uses many forms of rhetoric to portray his characters, but relies heavily on pathos in the instance of Hester Prynne. She’s a member of an inherently misogynistic society, and because she’s a woman, her every act is scrutinized. As punishment for her act of adultery, Hester is ordered to adorn her chest with a permanent scarlet letter. Although the audience is well aware of the atrocity of the sin she’s committed, Hawthorne’s writing sparks a feeling of empathy within the reader. Throughout the novel, the reader is exposed to several clear uses of pathos. The scene detailing Hester and Pearl’s time in the Governor's house is just one of Hawthorne’s many appeals to emotion. After entering the home, Pearl notices a polished suit of armor, and calls Hester over to see it.

In committing an act of adultery, Hester Prynne, the primary character in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, finds herself a victim of harsh judgement and ridicule by her Puritan community. She becomes isolated as a result of this scandalous behavior and becomes emotionally involved in a love triangle between her husband and her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, who is the town minister. As a result of her shameful history, the townspeople attempt to destroy and embarrass her by socially neglecting her and labeling her as an outcast and loner. Though the people of the community pursue several attempts to shame her, Hester Prynne's beauty, selflessness, and strength help her overcome this rejection from the townspeople and

Readers would look at the Scarlet Letter and they wouldn’t think of it as a way to describe the “American Spirit” because of all the hatred and the negativity that goes on in the novel. After reading an assortment of characters that comprise a living, breathing definition of the American identity, we gain an overview of just how vastly diverse and complicated the people of this country have always been and continue to be. Hester Prynne and Pearl are great examples of what the American experience and Spirit was and will continue to be.

Hester Prynne is a very bold and daring person. She is one that accepts her sin and doesn’t let it necessarily take over her life. She has a very wild, desperate and defiant soul and has a flightingness of her temper and her actions she is some times very capable at keeping in her emotions. She is one that tends to disobey society, she dresses pearl up on a scarlet dress with gold designs to show that she is also the scarlet letter.

Hester had worn her scarlet letter out for the public to see from the very beginning. She the subject of a lot of the town’s scrutiny. However, after many years of performing good deeds for the community the scarlet letter, and by extension Hester, was met with less hostility. Her influence is so great that many citizens start to believe the scarlet letter “...[now] meant Able…”(Hawthorne

Hester Prynne changed dramatically throughout the course of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter. Initially she was viewed as the antagonist and was a destructive character to those around her. After being confined in her cottage with Pearl, she began to develop a sense of who she needed to become in order to efficiently raise Pearl. Hester’s ability to do what was necessary for her improvement made her into a respectable role model for women to shadow. Hester chose to isolate she and Pearl to create a wave of self-improvement. Because of Hester’s mysterious, seductive, and rebellious actions, she demonstrated the characteristics of a byronic hero.

Hester Prynne is first introduced as a tall, dark haired woman with perfect elegance. Described as beautiful and ladylike, Hester appears more graceful than ever. I think Hester seems scared and apprehensive, but also willing to take responsibility for her actions and do anything necessary to protect her baby. The fact that Hester’s scarlet letter is so beautifully designed suggests that she accepts her consequences and this symbol as a part of herself and her new life moving forward. Hawthorne notes that Hester and her babe are similar due to the fact that they are both outcasts from society. In contrast, however, Hester has sinned and Pearl is pure, but now they are both paying the consequences of Hester’s adultery. Overall, the response

Out of all the emotions humans experience, guilt is one of the least pleasant. Nearly everyone has experienced it in some way or form. Often times, it is because of minor mistakes like forgetting to take out the trash. Other times it can be more serious such as seriously injuring a friend or family member. Either way, that guilt gnaws at one’s inside, chipping away at their sanity bit by bit. However, even though guilt is painful, it isn’t always a negative thing. On occasion, a guilty heart has motivated one to mend their ways and confess to whatever they have done wrong. The literary works “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Arthur Miller’s“The Crucible” are no different in this matter. Each story shows the different ways that

The book the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a book about Hester Prynne a woman living in the 17th century. Hester commits the sinable act of adultery and is punished being forced to wear the scarlet letter A on her bosom. The symbol punishes her as an adultress and marks her shame, making her an outcast in the male dominated society, as she has gone against the strict restrictions society has imposed. So due to this, in regards to John Updikeś claim about Hester, I agree that she is “a mythic version of every woman’s attempt to integrate her sexuality with societal demands” through wearing the scarlet letter.

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the nineteenth century, provides insight into the social stigma surrounding gender equality in his own community and era. Throughout the chapters, Hawthorne's uses Hester to provide a direct reflection to the lives of women in the nineteenth century. Hawthorne employs devices such as specified diction which pertains to each individual character, multiple shifts in the tone used in order to draw attention to shifts in judgment or beliefs of characters, and imagery in order to validate his overall personal belief that women deserve the autonomy and respect that men have possessed for centuries. Hawthorne uses the Scarlet Letter as a novel for social change by characterizing Hester as a woman

Enough evidence was given in the book that Hester deserves the punishment. To prove that she does, Hester was raised as a Puritan so she knew what would be the consequences she has committed adultery and is left with a baby alone to raise without a father role model. As well she is not suited to be a mother. She can’t keep Pearl.

In 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)

Hawthorne 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.