ipl-logo

The Sentimentality Of William Tavener By Willa Cather

205 Words1 Page

In the short story “The Sentimentality of William Tavener” by WIlla Cather, William and Hester are two distinctly different characters. William and Hester were brought up by two different backgrounds. William came from the “Back Creek Folk” and Hester came from the “Gap People”. William was brought up by a very strict father and had to work very hard. Hester grew up getting to do almost whatever she wanted. The personalities of William and Hester also differ. William is silent and reserved while Hester is strong and independent. William and Hester also differ in how they treat their sons. William sets a “wholesome example” for his sons and teaches them to respect their mother. William is also strict with them, just like his father was to him.

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Pathos In The Scarlet Letter

    315 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hawthorne 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.

    Read More

  • Essay On Hester Prynne And Abigail And The Crucible

    739 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both of these characters commit adultery and both live in the same restricted Puritan era. Yet, Hester is publically ashamed, isolated from the Puritan society, and remains a legend, while Abigail is revered, embraced by her society, and in fact is a ruthless woman; Hawthorne 's Hester is the epitome of atonement and morality, while Miller 's Abigail is an illustration of authority in the wrong hands, and the destructive impact jealousy and vengeance can have on a person. The circumstances which both of these women live in play a large role in shaping their characters. Abigail is a pariah in the society who has painful experiences with love, which are major contributing factors in making her resentful. Miller creates an atmosphere of a really restrictive society in Salem.

    Read More

  • Forgiveness In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    159 Words  | 1 Pages

    In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne pinpoints various effects of sin on individuals within a strict, Puritan society. To shed a negative light on Puritan attitudes toward sin and lack of forgiveness, Hawthorne paints vivid pictures of freedom and imprisonment, relief and regret, through the juxtaposition of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, and the characterization of the two lovers. Hester undergoes major character growth through her years bearing the scarlet “A,” "so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom," introduced in the narrator’s shifting viewpoint of the young mother. The Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale on the other hand, shoulders his guilt, in spite of the physical manifestation of his inner turmoil in his

    Read More

  • Movie Essay: The Scarlet Letter Vs. Easy A

    634 Words  | 3 Pages

    On the other hand Hester doesn’t want or try getting attention through her actions. Also she becomes an outcast of the Puritan community and she slowly finds her way back through hard work and showing she cares. Secondly the way the two characters

    Read More

  • Hester Prynne Pride Quotes

    618 Words  | 3 Pages

    My first introduction of Hester Prynne, from what the author described, showed that she wore the Scarlet Letter on her chest with pride and she showed no sense of remorse on her face. “In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbors.” (pg.46) My response would be “how could she commit an act so unholy as a mother, and display pride?” The comparison and contrast that Hawthorne makes between Hester and her baby is that her baby is a sin-born infant but never committed an act of adultery.

    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

  • Syntax In The Scarlet Letter

    1592 Words  | 7 Pages

    The syntax in The Scarlet Letter mimics the previously mentioned dark yet romantic and descriptive tone of the novel. Maintaining its seriousness and formality, Hawthorne uses additions such as imagery, personification, metaphor, and symbolism to keep the book’s underlying flowery and romantic storyline. This complex writing style required Hawthorne to utilize very long and illustrative sentence structure. His dedication to detail is seen in his use of comparison to portray both beauty and ugliness. In fact, the only time we see short and choppy sentences is character dialogue and conversation.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Hester Prynne In The Scarlet Letter

    896 Words  | 4 Pages

    The letter gave Hester a new power to sympathize with and be charitable to others. Townspeople even began to interpret the letter very differently from its original meaning. They began to believe that the symbol no longer meant adultery, however, its new significance was to mean “Able” (111). Her selfless acts of kindness attracted the attention of the community as she did needlework for the poor in her spare time. The community did not know the true reason of why Hester did this, but the act caused her true character and natural instinct to be generous to be reflected.

    Read More

  • Janie Crawford In The Scarlet Letter

    1294 Words  | 6 Pages

    Hester is accused of being unfaithful to her husband, Roger Chillingworth, despite his absence from her life for a long period of time. During one of Roger’s extended absences, Hester conceives a child born out of sin with Arthur Dimmesdale. Arthur Dimmesdale is a local holy man and is never exposed for his sin, while Hester is frequently mistreated, and eternally punished with a scarlet “A” marked on her clothing to represent Adulterer. Hester talks about wearing the “A”, and resents the fact that it may be pointed at as a sign of weakness. Hester says, “giving up her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman's frailty and sinful passion” (91 Hawthorne).

    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

  • Dimmesdale's Responsibility For Sin In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    878 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hester’s personality was “warm and rich,” while Dimmesdale was on the brink of insanity, his personality and soul twisted and

    Read More

  • Reading Response To Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'

    1146 Words  | 5 Pages

    This effects her every day life going out in public and getting ridiculed by all the towns people she is surrounded by. Hester Prynne doesn’t just have to live with a mistake right on her shirt, but people also help her remember past. She does have her daughter or her “sole treasure.” The young girls name is pearl and she is not exactly like the others. It isn't easy because her and her mother are considered different in the community so she is lonely but very

    Read More

  • Reverend Dimmesdale's Redemption In The Scarlett Letter

    389 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester not only serves punishment upon the scaffold, but she also completes charitable actions, leading the townspeople to think highly of her. They found a “. . . helpfulness. . . in her. . . [with] much power to do, and power to sympathize. . .”

    Read More

  • Hypocrisy Of The Puritan Society In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    936 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 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)

    Read More

  • Hester Prynne: A Romantic Hero

    796 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hester proves that she has a higher understanding for people and life, also a sense of honor based on her own principles not society’s. This perfectly fits the mold for a romantic hero. Towards the end of the novel, we learn that Pearl became a great women and Hester could have lived a great life with her wealthy daughter, yet she chose to return to Boston and live out her punishment. Now the book describes Hester’s final resting place, “It bore a device, a herald's wording of which might serve for a motto and brief description of our now concluded legend; so somber is it, and relieved only by one ever-glowing point of light gloomier than the shadow:—"On a field, sable, the letter A, gules”(Hawthorne 259).

    Read More

More about The Sentimentality Of William Tavener By Willa Cather

Open Document