Scarlet Letter And Transcendentalism Summary

Each man and woman born is expected to be as all others are. Gifts and talents are especially shunned. Equality has been taught that “it is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them” (21). To his societal disadvantage, Equality 7-2521 is gifted with a great intelligence and a burning curiosity to understand.

I learned that it is the weak who are cruel, and that gentleness is to be expected only from the strong,” said Leo Rosten, a humorist in writing. Throughout the stories of two fascinating books, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and A Child Called “It” by Dave Pelzer the main theme being portrayed is the kindness and cruelty of humans. We are all known to fear those who seem stronger than us just because we assume they have the power to harm, or even destroy us. In some cases, humankind is used to getting rid of the vulnerable ones and those are the ones that fear evil. On the other hand, there are others that are evil and their greatest fear is to be overthrown by the weak.

My vices are children of a forced solitude that I abhor; and my virtues will necessarily arise when I live in communion with and equal." (page 117). In other words, the creature 's ambition for affection forced him to commit crimes because he was

He explains his frustration and reasoning to oppose king 's views. Malcolm also explains his own view of how non-violent protest does nothing. If someone tries to hurt you, you have every right to protect yourself and fight for what you are entitled to have when the law falls

This references to the theme: society and morality as obstacles to individual desires. Society is unanimously known for constraining people from following their individual desires. Thus, the marriage that binds Ethan and Zeena together is valued and viewed as something sacred. Ethan's desire to want to commit adultery would dishonor their marriage and is viewed upon in society.

They carried the soldier's greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing. Men killed, and died because they were embarrassed not to” (O’Brien 24). Even though Kiley was a very courageous person, he still demonstrated cowardice at

His despair was inflicted upon him once he committed adultery with Hester Prynne and decided to keep it secret. “While thus suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tortured by some black trouble of the soul…”(Hawthorne 117). The pain came from deep within Dimmesdale, and he believed that one sin can destroy his whole life. Puritanism is now looked upon as one of the hardest religions because of their strictness in their ways of life. They truly believed that if they sinned they would be looked at as if they were scum in the eyes of the church, and this was exactly how Dimmesdale saw himself.

(Mason 4). John takes advantage of Abigail, even if she does consent. He was in a position of power and should have never let this happen. Taking John’s logically nature into account, it is blatant that he is aware of the obscene status of his deed. Since John is conscious to this, his constant condescending aura to Parris and the

As his whole existence is based solely in the moral perversion to hate good simply just because it is good. More than just an inhuman monster, Grendel is a symbol envy and strife which no civilization is free from. Impervious to tradition weapons of man, Grendel further solidifies the idea that that not only is Grendel a physical enemy, but also a moral one that must be dealt with by every civilization (Lawrence). Grendel serves to act as the polarizing

Scapegoating is one of the main themes of Sula. A community that feels beleaguered patrols its borders and reserves its cruelest punishment for “traitors”. It over-emphasizes centripetal belonging at the expense of centrifugal curiosity. “They were the ones who said she was guilty of the unforgivable thing – the thing for which there was no understanding, no excuse, no compassion.

He quoted Thoreau when it came to the subject of money from Civil Disobedience, “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth” (258). According to Into the Wild, this was a passage highlighted in one of the books found with McCandless’s remains. Above all else, McCandless appreciated the

“If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.” – Juan Ramon Jimenez. To me, this means rules were meant to be broken. In Fahrenheit 451 the author Ray Bradbury, gives Clarisse McClellan and Guy Montag more similarities than differences. For example, they’re both against being censored.

He was born into a family that had anti-slavery values and who were also extremely religious. The sentiment that society can only be cleansed of their wrongful thinking was through violence is something that Brown wholeheartedly agreed with. He saw the acts of slavery as violent, atrocious, and dehumanizing and the only way to remove it was through bloodshed. Similar to other terrorists that get caught, there was an apparent lack of remorse for these murders when he is being investigated in trail. In his mind he believed that what he was doing was justified because of his “higher

I wanted to give more to the heir of our ancestors’ eternal strife. I too, the heir, the destiny of my legacy, defy my world’s laws. Even as I blame my own hatred for order, I know he is the cause.

Acceptance and originality are keys to prosperity. In the novel O Pioneers! by Willa Cather, the protagonist Alexandra thrives in what seems to be a hopeless situation due to her strong beliefs. Alexandra has the beliefs of a transcendentalist. Transcendentalists rely on intuition.