Transcendentalism In The Scarlet Letter
How does one go on when they are alienated by society and have the constant reminder of their shame? The novel, The Scarlet Letter, tells the trials and tribulations Hester Prynne faces when just that happens to her. It is her scorching red story of transcending beyond societies expectations. The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. When Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the novel America was going through a transcendentalist era. The novel exemplifies the age America going through. American literature and mentality was entering into a different direction. Transcendentalists were thinking more in tune with nature and in tune with themselves. Nathaniel Hawthorne was a transcendentalist. In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, he created a transcendentalist, …show more content…
She leads a simple lifestyle. She does not take more than she needs Thoreau also said to simplify as much as possible; where there is room to trim down whether it be on dishes or meals do that because “an honest man has hardly need to count more than his ten fingers, or in extreme cases he may add his ten toes, and lump the rest.” Hester has done that she makes all the money they need to live and nothing more. She has simplified her income. Also her attire supports her simple lifestyle. Though she dresses her daughter is extravagant clothing, for herself she dresses in in text about what she wears. Hester undergoes a transformation in the story, that emphasized how society had impacted her, and perhaps to have the constant reminder of truth, another theme of the story. Again, she lives the simple life of a transcendentalist who does not take more than what is necessary. Hester Prynne is a transcendentalist because she demonstrates the qualities non-conformity, self-reliance, and simplicity throughout the book. Being exiled by society, she then has the opportunity to fully come into her own. She is able to reflect on her individual views vs. society’s views. She can lean on herself and successfully support herself and her daughter in her young age. Lastly she doesn’t take more than need despite that she is very able to. Hawthorne illustrated a character that was complex, and the reader can watch her transcend over obstacles put in front of her throughout the
Scarlet Letter Dbq
2184 Words | 9 PagesThe Scarlet Letter is a popular novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne which is mainly read during one's high school years. The Scarlet letter is set during the sixteenth century in Boston Massachusetts where a young woman named Hester Prynne is publicly shamed by the Puritans. When Hawthorne was writing this novel he described the puritans as a sad, bland society which had a reliance on the consequence of sin. His description of the Puritan society was not fully opinion-based since the Puritans that came over from England did dress simply. This leads the reader to wonder how much of his personal opinion made its way into the story and how much is historical fact.
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.
Examples Of Pathos In The Scarlet Letter
315 Words | 2 Pages“The scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it.” (120) Hawthorne’s description of the distorted scarlet letter illustrates the townspeople’s prejudiced view of
Nathaniel Hawthorne's Diction In Scarlet Letter
857 Words | 4 PagesSociety has had a long history of belittling both people and their individuality, and also not allowing people to reach their full potential. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne is constantly talking about society in a negative way. Hawthorne himself is a transcendentalist who views society as a terrible institution and a way to stop people from reaching their true potential. Hawthorne's view of both puritan society and society during his time plays into his view and characterization of Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne is a fictional character who committed a sin and was publicly shamed and shunned from society because of it.
How Does Nathaniel Hawthorne Use Biblical Allusions In The Scarlet Letter
1458 Words | 6 PagesHowever, he also uses these allusions to create a new side to his narrative as evident when he describes Hester’s resilience, and to create a new element in the plot as evident in his description of Dimmesdale’s penance and need for redemption. Therefore, Hawthorne demonstrates an effective use of allusions to craft a religious and detailed narrative for The Scarlet Letter by reviewing on parallels between the Bible and the novel’s main characters. There’s more to The Scarlet Letter than these allusions though, and there are many questions to answer about this book. These questions may never be answered fully, but by reading the novel itself, we might find the right places to start searching for answers and formulate our own opinions on the matter. What’s important from this novel is the realistic warning about what might happens when an individual place themselves too highly among others, a message Hawthorne writes to warn against the fervor of transcendentalism of his time.
Movie Essay: The Scarlet Letter Vs. Easy A
634 Words | 3 PagesOn 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
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
Hester Prynne: A Romantic Hero
796 Words | 4 PagesIn Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, the protagonist, Hester Prynne is a Romantic Hero. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, we see Hester Prynne’s struggle in Colonial America after she is condemned by the Puritan society. She is sent to America by her husband, but he never returns, and Hester later conceives a child with the local minister. She is convicted with the crime of adultery, but refuses to identify the father, she is then forced to wear the Scarlet Letter. The novel captures her experience as she struggles to survive the guilt, sin, and revenge.
Emotions Spill In Kate Chopin's The Scarlet Letter
1418 Words | 6 PagesLet the Emotions Spill In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess “That outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions.” In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is a character who outwardly conforms while question inwardly. Prynne is humiliated and is publicly shamed by wearing the scarlet letter upon her bosom for seven years by everyone.
How Hester Prynne Changes In Scarlet Letter
941 Words | 4 PagesWe are all sinners, no matter how hard we try to hide our faults, they always seem to come back, one way or another. Written in the 19th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows us Hester Prynne and how one sin can change her life completely. Hester Prynne changes a great deal throughout The Scarlet Letter. Through the view of the Puritans, Hester is an intense sinner; she has gone against the Puritan way of life committing the highest act of sin, adultery. For committing such a sinful act, Hester must wear the scarlet letter while also having to bear stares from those that gossip about her.
Examples Of Justice In The Scarlet Letter
1646 Words | 7 PagesImagine living in a place where one small sin could define who you are for the rest of your life. That is what happened in The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. The novel is set in a seventeenth-century Puritan community in Boston, Massachusetts. A young woman by the name of Hester Prynne commits a small act of adultery and is shamed for the rest of her life, by wearing a scarlet letter “A” on her breast. The book is centered around the theme of justice and judgement.
Hypocrisy Of The Puritan Society In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
936 Words | 4 PagesThroughout the novel, Hester is fraught by the Puritan society and her suffering is an effect of how evil society is. Hester continues to believe that the crime she committed was not wrong and she should not be punished for it. Her desire to protect and love Dimmesdale, turn her into a stronger person and become a heroine in the book. Although society still views her as a “naughty baggage” (Hawthorne 73) and is punished for her wrongdoing, Hester never thought to take revenge on them, yet she gives everything she has to the unfortunate and leaves herself with very little. She continues to stay positive no matter what society has for her.
Essay On Literary Devices In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
499 Words | 2 PagesLiterary Devices in The Scarlet Letter Literary devices are often used to capture a reader’s attention in a text. Nathaniel Hawthorne used many different types of literary devices in his book The Scarlet Letter. He uses symbolism to give hidden meaning to elements in the story, conflict to make the story interesting, and allusion to make references to historical events (ex. biblical references). While reading The Scarlet Letter, the literary devices did not jump out at me, but now as I reflect upon them they help me understand the book well. Literary devices can make a passage have a whole different meaning.
Reading Response To Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'
1146 Words | 5 PagesThis 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
Louisa May Alcott Transcendentalism
1770 Words | 8 PagesMs. Alcott’s characters were not going against what the Bible says a woman should be. They all loved their family and worked hard for them. Louisa May Alcott was a transcendentalist along with many of her famous friends like Thoreau and Emerson. She had an eventful life of taking care of her family and working towards suffrage.
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