In the mid-1800’s Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the book The Scarlet Letter. A novel about an early American Puritan village. In the book the main character, Hester Prynne, committed a major sin, adultery. The novel focuses directly around this sin. Through writing The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne revealed his opinions of the nature of sin and the effects sin has on the sinner and those around them.
The book is about a girl in jail named Hester Prynne, she's an adulterous who is about to be let out of prison so that she can it can be pardoned through town wearing the scarlet letter “A”, she is being forced to wear the letter as proof that she has committed the crime of adultery. People find out that she's an adulterous because she has a baby, daughter named Pearl and her husband has been away for years. So it doesn’t add up. There are so many secrets in the novel “The Scarlet Letter”, and Hester is keeping one by showing loyalty to the baby father of refusing to giving up his name. Symbolism is presented throughout all of these secrets, conflicts and Irony in the novel.
First in The Scarlet Letter, we were taught by Hawthorne about overcoming the initial stereotypes and biases of specific characters in the novel including himself. The author uses slow transitions in the novel to change our The view and his portrayal of Hester. He also uses Hester’s character to compare and bring attention to himself. Hester in particular, is first described in the novel by Hawthorne as deviant
Later the article states that, “the author has made no great point of causing his figures to speak the English of their period”(28). The English the characters are using in “The Scarlet Letter” is not accurate to the time period where this novel is set. Hawthorne has the characters speaking the English of his time, which at first may not be completely obvious Henry James’ essay “Flaws in The Scarlet Letter”, elucidates symbolism, characters, and the knowledge of Hawthorne. It portrays a paramount role when interpreting “The Scarlet Letter” worth. I agree that throughout “The Scarlet Novel” did have flaws in these areas.
A Life Undone with a Letter The plot of the Scarlet Letter is based on sin and faults of the characters in this book. Due to the mistakes of Hester and Dimmesdale a child was created and the child violated the law against infidelity. However, the real evil came from Roger Chillingworth, who was altered by his desire for revenge. The Puritans believed that sinning is the nature of mankind. While others felt that mankind has good intents but those intentions can be corrupted by evil.
These women see it as a shameful act to the entire sex and criticize adulterers heavily. Men, on the other hand, offer more forgiveness toward women for adultery. In The Scarlet Letter, the Boston women reproach Hester and the men are more merciful towards her. This novel depicted seventeenth century women’s views of adulterous women as well as accurately describing how women in the twenty-first century see adulterous
Some examples include the scarlet letter Hester wears, the rose bush, and even Pearl’s extravagant, crimson dress. It’s no wonder Hawthorne specifically intertwined red symbols so closely with Hester Prynne’s life, because by doing so, he allowed readers to better see her true character and her innermost feelings. This then makes it easier to understand her motivation to love Dimmesdale and Pearl, continue surviving, and secretly wish to be free. On the surface it may appear that the Scarlet Letter is
The Impact Of the Scarlet Letter Throughout the 18th century, Transcendentalist novelists used many symbols in their works. Nathaniel Hawthorne is a prime example, using symbols like he does in The Scarlet Letter. He introduces a character named Hester Prynne, who wears a letter "A" on her chest which is called the "Scarlet Letter." She wears this letter symbolizing the sin she made by committing adultery. This scarlet letter alienates her from society because people see her as a sinner, but the interpretation that the reader has of the symbols is what Nathaniel Hawthorne was trying to convey.
The Scarlet Letter is an excellent example of how the power of a symbol can be enough for a person to change for better or for worse. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the main characters, Hester, is punished by wearing a scarlet letter “A” as a symbol for the sin of adultery she committed. This novel documents how a small, red symbol can affect someone and how that person changes as a result of it. Throughout the book, Hester visibly changes as a result of the scarlet letter not only mentally, but also physically. In The Scarlet Letter, the scarlet letter changes Hester not only internally changes Hester’s thoughts and actions, but also physically changes Hester’s appearance into a dark, gloomy character.
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. There are various examples of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter, but one of them wraps the whole story together: the meaning of the scarlet letter A. In this passage, Hester Prynne wears an embroidered letter A on her bosom as punishment. At first the A stood for “adulterer”, but the townspeople later gained respect for her and said “Such helpfulness was found in her-so much power to do and to sympathize-that many people refused to interpret the scarlet “A” by its original significance.