The Importance Of Self-Reliance In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
This paper points out what Nathaniel Hawthorn portrays in Scarlet Letter relating to Emersonian’s self-Reliance. The movement to self-reliance in which it started in the 19th century by Emerson has grasped many writers’ attentions. Hawthorn, as one of the admirers of the idea, views a great endorsement to it in Scarlet Letter. Readers observe how significantly Hawthorn devotes characters, theme, and setting of the text in serve to the idea. Scarlet Letter provides a clear depiction regarding the idea and a conflict resulting from combating two different perspectives, self—reliance and puritan tradition. In this depiction, Hawthorn clearly shows the significance of self-reliance and the effects coming into the existence for not following this trend throughout the novel. As we see, Hester Prynne—the protagonist of the novel—shares her own individual perspectives. Besides her commitment to an adultery sin, she courageously and independently acts; although she is in isolation, she becomes the example of beauty, happiness, strength, and creativity. Opposite to self-reliance, puritan tradition is on the other side. Because of following predecessors or past, this belief, for always, loses the battle against the idea of self-reliance. Throughout the novel, readers notice the ugliness of townspeople’s lives because of embracing this tradition. Furthermore, readers examine what painful moments Dimmesdale— the clergyman—goes through for holding multiple faces. Thus, Scarlet Letter
Hester Prynne Shame Quotes
1140 Words | 5 PagesHester's True Side 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
Examples Of Pathos In The Scarlet Letter
315 Words | 2 PagesHawthorne 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.
Scarlet Letter By Arthur Dimmesdale
516 Words | 3 PagesArthur Dimmesdale was the town minister in The Scarlet Letter, a story of a young woman who committed adultery and faced the consequences, such as wearing a scarlet “A” on her chest. Dimmesdale was a very interesting character because he was very religious but also committed a sin that haunted him everyday. He also happened to be the man who was involved in the young woman’s adultery. He was never convicted, however he still faced the consequences everyday. Dimmesdale was a man of God.
Character Foils In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
612 Words | 3 PagesThe novel tells a despondent tale of a woman convicted of adultery who must live out her shame condemned from society by the embroidered scarlet “A” she is commanded to wear while perpetually haunted by her estranged husband who is on a self proclaimed undertaking to find her lover. Through the text, the reader is hastened through a multitude of feelings for the few main characters they meet. Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth are a set of character foils through their opposing physical descriptions, contrasting mental states, and their driving motivations throughout the novel. Chillingworth and Dimmesdale are made clear contrasting characters early on in the novel through their blatantly conflicting physical descriptions. Dimmesdale is introduced early on in the third chapter and is described as “ A person of very striking aspect with a white, lofty, and impending brow, large, brown, melancholy eyes, and mouth… expressing both nervous sensibility and a vast power of self restraint”
How Does Hawthorne Use Cliches In The Scarlet Letter
445 Words | 2 PagesArthur Dimmesdale, the minister, a clergyman had committed the horrid sin of adultery, the same sin as Hester. Dimmesdale’s holy affiliation gave him a kind and pure disposition and this was solidified by his dimwittedness, making him seem almost childlike. By having a character with these qualities, Hawthorne contradicts the stereotype he has set up by having Dimmesdale be “unworth... [y] to [complete his] humblest mission” (71), a quality virtually unheard of among ministers. The author then has Dimmesdale confess his “sin so awfully revealed!”(211) in order for both Hester and Dimmesdale to redeem themselves of sin and restore the goodness.
Ethos Pathos Logos In The Crucible
857 Words | 4 PagesTo begin, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes pathos throughout his writing to imprint the importance of individual conscience into the reader 's mind. Hawthorne begins the book by having the reader pity the main character, Hester Prynne, as she is a young, husbandless, mother in a society that shames her for her unfortunate circumstances: “haughty as her demeanor was, she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung in the street for them all to spurn and trample upon” (Hawthorne, 53). The consistent misfortune of Prynne evokes emotion in the reader and stresses the weight of her decisions. Prynne manages her way through such a hostile society -“Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly on your bosom” (Hawthorne, 188)- in a way that is metaphorically applicable to the real world, allowing the reader to truly connect and understand the character for who they are.
How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Biblical Allusions In The Scarlet Letter
1458 Words | 6 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne, a famous American author from the antebellum period, notices the emphasis on individual freedoms in the works by Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalists during his residency in the Brook Farm’s community. In response to these ideas, Hawthorne writes The Scarlet Letter, a historical novel about Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale’s lives as they go through ignominy, penance, and deprecation from their Puritan community to express their strong love for each other. Their love, even though it is true, is not considered as holy nor pure because of Hester past marriage to Roger Chillingworth, and thus Hester gained the Scarlet Letter for being an adulterer. Hawthorne utilizes biblical allusions, such as the stories of
The Leech Quotes
465 Words | 2 PagesWhat are Chillingworth’s intentions? Why is he determined to “nurse” Arthur Dimmesdale back to health? These are just a couple of questions the reader may have about Roger Chillingworth when they read chapter nine, “The Leech”, of The Scarlet Letter. To help reveal Roger Chillingworth’s mysterious character to the reader, Hawthorne uses literary devices such as, metaphor, irony, and similes. Hawthorne uses metaphor to emphasize the length of curiosity Chillingworth has with Dimmesdale’s inner troubles.
Juxtaposition In Scarlet Letter
140 Words | 1 PagesReverend Arthur Dimmesdale, one of the protagonists of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, stands as a highly conflicted character. The source of his divide stems from the consequences of private sins, and is prevalent within the first paragraphs of Chapter 12, “The Minister’s Vigil,” where the narration chronicles Dimmesdale’s surroundings as he dream walks through the town in a state of limbo. He is portrayed as a model citizen who lacks moral imperfections to the general public yet suffers privately from the juxtaposition of his sins to his position within the community. In this specific passage, Hawthorne uses somber diction and imagery to illustrate Dimmesdale’s strife, while portraying his internal conflict through the formation
Scarlet Letter Rhetorical Analysis Essay
838 Words | 4 PagesPuritan’s harsh beliefs represented the beginning of the Nineteenth Century in the newly colonized America. Their community ruled with an iron fist: unforgiving, pitiless, stern. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses his disagreement with puritan priorities by revealing the hypocrisy widely practiced throughout their community. Hawthorne’s utilization of dim diction aids in the establishment of his scornful tone, while inclusion of symbols and intricate juxtaposition all serve to accentuate the Puritan’s duplicity. All these factors combine to develop a critical tone which rebukes puritan society.
Rhetorical Devices In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
470 Words | 2 PagesHawthorne uses chapter twenty-two, “The Procession”, to put all the pieces of the puzzle of the conflict together. This is where the reader remotely begins to understand how the ending of the novel will come to an end. To reveal the conclusion to the reader, Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices such as, irony, simile, and diction. To expose the irony in this chapter, Hawthorne writes of Dimmesdale’s sermon. As Dimmesdale speaks, “if the auditor listened intently, and for the purpose, he could detect the same cry of pain.”
Reading Response To Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'
1146 Words | 5 PagesAmanda Vicente The Scarlet Letter Reading Response AP English Language Period J 16 August 2016 Journal Entry 1: Chapters 1-2 In The Scarlet Letter, the author sets a mood from the beginning of the book. The setting is old and beat up in front of an aged wooden prison with judgmental Puritans ready to tear a women apart. The Puritans are hypocrites and the author portrays that in the story.
Compare And Contrast Dimmesdale And Chillingworth A Sinner
480 Words | 2 PagesThe Scarlet Letter Essay Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale were two of the main sinners in The Scarlet Letter. Both characters kept their sins secrete throughout the story. These sins included adultery, revenge, and even murder. Out of the two sinners, Chillingworth was the worst, because he never felt guilt for the terrible things he was doing. Dimmesdale spent his entire life in guilt and remorse for the sins he had committed (“Who”).
Societal Pressures In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'
722 Words | 3 PagesThe exploration of societal pressures. Life can be separated into two equal parts totally independent from one another. The inner self, being the innermost thoughts and feelings of the individual, and the outer self, how the individual decides to conduct itself around the others in society. Often times one of these parts takes control of the other, suppressing its partner. The suppression is often not of equal frequency because of the obligation humans feel to be liked and to fit in causes the outermost self to be given the most thought and worry.
Hypocrisy Of The Puritan Society In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
936 Words | 4 PagesIn 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)
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