Rhetorical Analysis Of The Scarlet Letter

Rhetorical Analysis: Comment briefly (3 to 5 sentences?) on the rhetorical elements below. The purpose of this section is to highlight the book’s distinctive features.

* Exigency

It is imperative to read this novel because it gives one an understanding of the Puritans’ cultural values. In addition, it forces one to question one’s ethics, specifically Prynne’s case. Without this novel, people most likely wouldn’t understand Puritan cultures, nor be able to think deeply about one’s morals.

* Audience

Hawthorne writes in order to inform the world about Puritan society. Moreover, he writes to entertain his audience while allowing them to question its themes: sin, challenging authority, justice, women, and hypocrisy. He writes to specifically

For example, the Puritan community ostracized Prynne and forced her to live on the outskirts of the city for unintentionally committing adultery. Rather than acknowledging her honest mistake, they chose to punish her further, signifying their strict views and their further actions.

* Pathos Through his characters, such as the guilt-ridden Dimmesdale and the malevolent Chillingworth, Hawthorne attempts to convey the basic human interactions to create a connection with his audience. For example, although Prynne sinned, she did so on accident. The audience would relate to how they were punished when they made an accidental mistake, eliciting empathy for Prynne.

* Ethos

Throughout his novel, Hawthorne makes biblical references and allusions in order to give himself credibility. In doing so, he acknowledges the Puritans’ values, which allows his audience to perceive him as an honest and unbiased writer. Moreover, he notes that they have had an ancestral line of these strict values that drove their basis of living.

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In doing so, the author makes several biblical allusions to emphasize their religious importance. A critical example is how Hawthorne references Matthews 13:45-46. or how a merchant gave up everything for a pearl. As well as relating that to Prynne (See Chapter 6 Summary above), he establishes how religion was essentially their life; their lives revolved around the bible and God’s teachings. Puritans left the Old World because they wanted to cleanse England’s church, which is evident in the novel’s setting. As Prynne is surrounded by Puritans, the author utilizes her situation to exhibit their hypocrisy and prohibited individualism. This is evident toward the novel’s conclusion, as he ends it with Pearl living in the New World with new aspirations for a better