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Transformation In The Scarlet Letter

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Scarlet Letter Essay
Daniele Young
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, exposes the pain of sin and separation and the promise of forgiveness and renewal. The scarlet letter itself becomes the method in which this transformation is revealed. Initially the scarlet letter “A” represents the sin of adultery and Hester Prynne must wear it as a form of punishment, but later people begin to attribute words like “able” and “angel” to the letter. Hester’s ultimate redemption and perseverance to build a new life and give to charity end up altering the letters meaning.
At the beginning of the novel, Hester Prynne was branded as an adulteress. The townspeople believed that Hester was evil and dangerous to anyone who befriended her. As a result, …show more content…

The puritan colonists claimed to have seen the letter A take the shape of a red flashing meteor in the sky on the night when Governor Winthrop died. They immediately interpreted the letter A as meaning angel. “But did your reverence hear of the portent that was seen last night? A great red letter in the sky,—the letter A,—which we interpret to stand for Angel.” (Chapter 12) The novel mentioned the letter A as meaning angel but did not specifically indicate Hester’s scarlet letter A. However, it was implied that Hester possessed certain angelic qualities. She was charitable and had a countenance that was radiant and reflected a heart filled with kindness and generosity. From giving her money to making clothes and food for the poor, Hester was seen constantly helping others. In chapter eighteen Hester was described as being in an angelic state in which she including her scarlet letter were glowing. Her angelic state of glowing represented her repentance “...dark and rich, with at once a shadow and a light in its abundance, and imparting the charm of softness to her features… A crimson flush was glowing on her cheek, that had been long so pale.” (Chapter 18) It was evident that the townspeople saw a change in Hester. She became a contrite person that showed tremendous humility. Hester received forgiveness of her sin and made others want to question their own

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they would say to strangers. ‘It is our Hester, the town’s own Hester, who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick…”(147) Through her benevolent deeds over the years, Hester had managed to merge herself into the society that once scorned her. They no longer speaks badly of her, but would instead brag about her kind and caring nature to strangers. The most obvious change in their perception of Hester also lies in the reinterpretation of the letter “A” on her chest, which would now signify Able, resembling the strength of her heart.

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The scarlet letter ‘A’ did not stand for “adultery” anymore. It stood for “able.” “The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her, —so much power to do, and power to sympathize, —that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength.”

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Hester has to wear a letter A on her chest for her punishment of adultery. In The Scarlet Letter, the meaning and significance of the letter A is altered as the novel goes on. Hester, the townspeople, and Pearl all have views of the letter that change. Through their views of the letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author, reveals what his view on the letter is. Hester’s view of

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Society had now begun to think that Hester had served her punishment. Although Hester was not accepted society before, she began to see the positive aspects of the community and was able continue on with her own life which eventually led to her being recognition of good character. Eventually recognizing her sin she had become a symbol of the Puritan faith, and eventually found her place in the community in a positive way. In The Scarlet Letter, the whole period of time the letter "A" was embroidered on her clothing it only represented one ideology, which was adultery. However, as time continues forward the community begins to finally start accepting her again, through her positive actions and influences, the letter "A" starts to represent a more positive ideology.

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While exploring the power of love and, manipulating people 's emotions the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was written on the battle of someone who was convicted of being a sinner living in a puritan society. The Scarlet Letter was a very influential novel because it was like a change in time, because it’s so different from what we see today. The story talks about Hester, who committed adultery and instead of giving her the punishment of death, she got the leeway of public humiliation. Throughout the novel the author uses characterization, tone and symbolism to help the readers better understand. First, there were the characters that helped to connect the theme sin, crime, and punishment.

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In The Scarlet Letter, Hester transforms into a stronger, more confident woman through the experiences she encounters because of the scarlet letter she wears. At the beginning of the novel when Hester is ordered to wear the scarlet letter, she suffers from feelings of hopelessness and despair; feelings that trigger the thought of suicide as an option to end her suffering. While newly wearing the letter, Hester feels as though it is only a burden; however, that changes as the letter soon reveals to be a gift in disguise. The scarlet letter allows Hester to sense the guilt of those who appear to be the purest and sinless, showing her the true hypocrisy of her society. By eventually learning of the hypocrisy of her society, Hester realizes that her fellow men and women should not have the power to ruin her life.

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We 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.

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By wearing the “A,” Hester was publicly humiliated, however, her development in character causes a change in the meaning of the Scarlet Letter, which leads her to taking pride in the letter as it grows a part of her. After Hester’s sin the Puritan community places a false

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In the beginning the scarlet letter represented adultery and shame, but then the A represented “able.” Hester Prynne showed people that greatness can come out of huge mistake. One bad chapter does not mean your story is over. Willingly, Hester wanted to pick herself up again and move on with her life and eventually people noticed that. They began to respect her and think of her as strong and commendable

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Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the Scarlet letter to display the sin and indecency people see Hester as. The detail represents ,the deep beauty Hester has inside although most people do not see her as a beutiful women. The deep red is a representation of adultery which shows her being an oncast from society. The symbol of the letter “A” is repetitive throughout the novel and grows with Hester and overcomes this with time as people start to see her as a person again and not just a adulterer. Hester acknowledges her sin in her puritan faith but swears to secrecy on the father of Pearl.

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The townspeople “[began] to look upon the scarlet letter as a token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since.” This quote exemplifies how sin is not a death sentence for Hester. Through hard work and charity it allowed the rigid Puritan society to see her as something different, and as someone who would not let society define who she was. Hester, thus, was not only able to change herself, but also the image in which society viewed her by working hard to benefit the public. Likewise, the scarlet letter which was supposed to represent sin was instead “fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom.”

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To me the “A” symbolizes hard work, morality, and poise. Hester came a long way in the Puritan town. In this passage we see conflict over and over again between all of the characters. Reverend Dimmesdale says

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Hester doesn´t reflect that when she wears it. At first, for Hester the scarlet letter represents the loneliness that she feels, the sense of guilt and how society is judging her for her sin. Later, however, she comes to terms with her fate and accepts it. This is when the letter “A” becomes something secondary because Hester finds the strength and confidence inside her, to a point where she refuses to take the scarlet letter off, saying that is has grown too deep in her. It has become part of

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Receiving the scarlet letter changed every aspect of Hester’s life. Especially at the start of the story, the letter symbolized the solitude and great suffering Hester faced just because of a letter placed on her bosom. The “A” also depicted how no one viewed Hester the same way as before her peccant actions. “…she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance” (Hawthorne 109). The pejorative community Hester lived in never saw Hester as the beautiful, young woman she was, but now, as a horrible fiend.

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“On the field, sable, the letter A, gules.”(261). This shows that on their tombstone that they share there is a letter “A”. The reader can infer that this “A” could mean Angel for now finally they are both free of the sin and are now a Angel in heaven. Another reason why the reader can infer that the scarlet letter now means angel is because when Hester and Dimmesdale were first standing together one the scaffold trying to make Dimmesdale 's guilt go away the townspeople said the “A” in the sky meant angel. Then at the end when they are buried next to each other everyone knows Dimmesdale 's sin and they can both live guilt free as an angel which is why there is a letter “A” on the tombstone.

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