ipl-logo

Should Hester Be Able To Keep Pearl

481 Words2 Pages

Hester is a bad mother, but she should be able to keep Pearl. Hester should be able to keep Pearl because Pearl is the only thing Hester has in life, Pearl is a blessing and a retribution, and Pearl saved Hester. Therefore, Pearl should not be taken away from her mother.
Pearl is the only thing Hester has in life. “‘She is my happiness!­­she is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life.’” Pearl is the only thing that keeps Hester happy since otherwise she is all alone. Without Pearl, Hester would have no reason to live.
Pearl is a blessing and a retribution. “‘It was meant for a blessing; for the one blessing of her life! It was meant, doubtless, as the mother herself hath told us, for a retribution too; a torture, to …show more content…

Even thus early had the child saved her from Satan’s snare.” This passage further supports the previous evidence, and it suggests that Pearl will continue to save
Hester throughout the text.
Although some may say that Hester, because she is not very caring, should not be able to keep Pearl, they are mistaken. Because of her crime, Hester is learning many lessons which she can pass on to Pearl. “‘this badge hath taught be,­­it daily teaches me,­­it is teaching me at this moment,­­lessons whereof my child may be the wiser and better…”’ Others who have not sinned may not be able to teach Pearl lessons such as these. Teaching Pearl these lessons for her to be wiser and better is Hester caring for Pearl. If she was not caring, Hester would not bother passing her lessons on to Pearl.
All in all, Hester should be able to keep Pearl because Pearl is the only thing Hester has in life, Pearl is a blessing and a retribution, and Pearl saved Hester. Hester may not be the best mother, but Pearl will be able to learn from her mistakes to be wiser and better. Therefore,
Hester should be able to keep

Show More
Related

Scarlet Letter Ambiguity Quotes

907 Words | 4 Pages

She is responsible for all of the hate that is portrayed upon Hester. However, what pearl represents to Hester, is her wild side, how she can be herself and not care about what the town thinks. In chapter 14 Hester and Pearl are at the beach, “Hester bade little Pearl run down to the margin of the water,and play with the shells and tangles sea-weed, until she should have talked awhile with yonder gatherer of herbs. So the child flew away like a bird, and, making bare her small white feet, went pattering along the moist margin of the sea...the image of a little maid, whom Pearl, having no other playmate, invited to take her hand, and run a race with her. ”(154) Pearl is happy and free and influences Hester be the same way.

Read More

What Does Pearl A Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

452 Words | 2 Pages

She is the result of the sin that was committed by Hester and Dimmesdale. Throughout the story Pearl asks difficult questions to her mother. She also has a slight obsession with her mothers embroidered A on her clothes. Pearl acts as a constant reminder that she can never escape her sin as someone who has committed adultery. However, Hester loves her daughter so much.

Read More

Scarlet Letter Antagonist Quotes

765 Words | 4 Pages

She continuously mocks her, doing things that make Hester feel bad and frustrated. Pearl is Hesters silent antagonist and she might even be better at keeping Hester from getting what she wants more than Roger. Pearl has of course caused all these events to take place with her birth, she also causes Hester to wear the A like the village did, and she as stated before mocks her for the entirety of the book. Pearl has caused all of these events to take place with her birth being the catalyst. To quote Hester “To assure herself that the infant and the shame were real” (Hawthorne 56) Pearl is the living proof of the sin committed.

Read More

Pearl Symbolism In Scarlet Letter

502 Words | 3 Pages

Pearl’s estranged behavior is believed to be a result of the way she was conceived through sin, which is just another example of how Pearl is the physical representation and constant reminder of Hester’s sin. Towards the end of the book, Pearl is finally allowed to be a real human being once Dimmesdale confesses his sin. In Chapter 23, Hawthorne writes, “The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father’s cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy…” (Hawthorne 142).

Read More

Essay About The Mistakes Hester Prynne Ever Made

599 Words | 3 Pages

To Hester’s shock she discovered that Pearl was more mature and imaginative. Hester practically raised Pearl by herself and Pearl turned out to be a Godly, honest, and innovative young girl. People saw how hard it was for Hester and so things changed. Hester became known as the woman who was able to do anything.

Read More

Parent In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

727 Words | 3 Pages

She loves her because she knows Pearl is hers; she knows God gave her Pearl for a reason. A sentence to prove this is, "God gave her the child, and gave her, too, an instinctive knowledge of its nature and requirements..." (Hawthorne 104). This quote restates the fact that God gave Pearl to Hester and Hester alone. It also says how only Hester knows how to control and teach Pearl.

Read More

The Symbolic Pearl In The Scarlet Letter

748 Words | 3 Pages

This child is not meant to be a realistic character but rather a symbol of Hester’s sin, blessing and scarlet letter. Pearl is the scarlet letter, a blessing and curse, and the love and passion of a dangerous relationship. More than a child Pearl is a symbol of the love and passion between Hester and the minister. Pearl is a symbol that connect her parents forever even if they couldn’t be together. The narrator says, “God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child, whose place was on that same dishonoured bosom, to connect her parent forever with the race and descent of mortals, and to be finally a blessed soul in heaven!”(86)

Read More

Scarlet Letter Argumentative Essay

445 Words | 2 Pages

Hester has proven to the judge that she’s not suited to be a mother. Pearl should be taken away from Hester. Hester has put herself and the baby through so much, the baby shouldn’t suffer along with the mother. “Do well discharge our consciences by trusting an immortal soul, such as there is in yonder child, to the guidance of one who hath stumbled and fallen amid the pitfalls of this world. Speak thou, the child’s own mother,” (Hawthorne

Read More

The Madonna/Whore Complex In The Scarlet Letter

1266 Words | 6 Pages

She cannot be defined by just one label, but both. She is a mother to Pearl, who is a child born from adultery. She is a caregiver, seamstress, a lover, and a counselor, but the Puritanical society Hester lives in constantly reminds her that she is just a whore. By subscribing to this label, Hester loses her identity in a way. The effect of being an outsider due to the letter causes her to become a shell of her former self.

Read More

Juxtaposition In The Scarlet Letter

426 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the passage from The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Hester’s baby, Pearl, to illuminate the theme of beauty in a dark place. Once released from prison, Hester, an adulterer, becomes a public spectacle. Through this hard time, Hester has her daughter Pearl to soothe her and to bring her strength and hope for a better future. By using vivid imagery and juxtaposition, Hawthorne depicts Pearl as Hester’s happiness, light, and beauty during a sad and lonely time. While in Prison, Hester is all alone and depressed.

Read More

Janie Crawford In The Scarlet Letter

1294 Words | 6 Pages

Hester dislikes the fact that the “scarlet letter” may be perceived as a sign of weakness, and instead learns to be empowered by the “A”. Ultimately, Hester actively made a positive impact on the community and proceeds to raise pearl, her child, without any assistance from Roger or Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester exemplifies her independence through her ability to maintain financial stability while raising her daughter and working. Hester eventually morphs the public's view of the scarlet letter into something positive. The narrator says, “many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification.

Read More

How Hester Prynne Changes In Scarlet Letter

941 Words | 4 Pages

Nonetheless, it will be hard; Hester is steadfast to make her daughter Pearl, have a life, just like any other ordinary child. Hester is a remarkable, but peculiar character,

Read More

Perfection In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

1581 Words | 7 Pages

The society sees Hester as corrupt, but does not call Pearl the same. Pearl’s name even represents purity, something she definitely was not born of. However, Pearl is able to grow up as normal as possible, though not a lot is said about her life and she does act a bit

Read More

Theme Of Isolation In Scarlet Letter

893 Words | 4 Pages

Right from the start, Hester knew that Pearl was going to be different from the other kids because she was born a sin. Pearl acted differently from the normal kids, which may be because she wasn’t around other kids to see how they acted and learn from them. “The truth seems to be, however, that the mother- forest, and these wild things which it nourished, all recognized a kindred wildness in the human child” (Hawthorne 140). Pearl was connected more with the forest than she was with people. She spent more time in the forest, playing with flowers and moss, and she didn’t play with other kids because they didn’t want to be around her.

Read More

Symbolism Of Pearl In Scarlet Letter

744 Words | 3 Pages

As stated in chapter six, "Her [Hester] only real comfort was when the child lay in the placidity of sleep. Then she was sure of her, and tasted hours of quiet, sad, delicious happiness; until—perhaps with that perverse expression glimmering from beneath her opening lids—little Pearl awoke!" (Hawthorne X) Pearl is Hester 's greatest treasure, but she cost Hester everything. Because of Pearl, Hester has no chance at a happy life, but Pearl brings her happiness. Pearl is almost like a paradox.

Read More

More about Should Hester Be Able To Keep Pearl

Related Topics

Open Document