What Are The Paradoxes In The Scarlet Letter
In the novel The Scarlet Letter, the novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about the corruption in the Puritan community during the mid 1600s. “Even though they believed they could not earn salvation by righteousness, they rigorously sought to be righteous.”(“About the Novel” 8). Appalled by their tenets he wrote The Scarlet Letter to demonstrate how there were a number of paradoxes within them and their lifestyles. In particular, Hawthorne focused on adultery, a very scandalous topic to the Puritans. Before the Scarlet Letter begins, Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale have committed adultery. Resulting in Hester having to wear a scarlet letter over her breast while Dimmesdale kept it a secret. Arthur Dimmesdale suffered more than Hester
Blindness In The Scarlet Letter
1270 Words | 6 PagesThroughout The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne exposes the blindness of the Puritan people through the treatment of Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale’s external characters. Hester Prynne is labeled as an adulteress and mistreated by society because of their unwillingness to see her true character. Chillingworth, the husband of Hester, leads the town to believe he is an honorable man and skillful doctor, when his true intents root from his vindictive nature Finally, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester’s lover and the father of her baby, acts as the perfect man therefore the town views him as an exemplar model, while he is truly a sinner. In the novel, Hawthorne portrays Hester as a strong, resilient woman, though the members of her community
Examples Of Foreshadowing In The Scarlet Letter
488 Words | 2 PagesWay back in the 17th century the Puritan religion was the leading religion in The New World. Their religious beliefs were strict especially in Salem, Massachusetts. They had extreme punishments for for laws even in the case of a minor offense. The punishments were based of the laws created by their religious beliefs. Hawthorne uses several examples of foreshadowing in “The Scarlet Letter” that reflects the strict beliefs of their society.
Rhetorical Devices Used In Scarlet Letter
1656 Words | 7 PagesSin is an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law. Despite the moral principles recognized in everyone, it is so often that individuals succumb to the instant gratification of sin. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the plot is centered around a group of Puritans living in Boston Massachusetts, where the avoidance of sin is one of their most absolute doctrines. He truly captures how sin affects individuals in a strict civilization through the use of various rhetorical devices, focusing on the symbolism of the characters, the distinct tone employed to convey specific messages, and the analogies further that emphasize and develop the effects of sin on individuals.
Diction, And Denotation In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
696 Words | 3 PagesDuring the early 1600’s, Puritan groups migrated from Europe to the Massachusetts Bay Colony to establish a settlement based around very strict religious beliefs. The Scarlet Letter is set in this time period and settlement where it was considered a horrendous sin to commit adultery. Hester Prynne engaged in sexual relations with the minister, Dimmesdale, which resulted in a child named Pearl. This novel highlights Hester’s struggle to raise her child and protect herself from the societal attacks thrown at her, while overcoming the label bestowed upon her by society. In, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses specific diction, repetition, and denotative diction in order to convey the purpose of overcoming labels and protecting one’s image.
Symbolism And Vivid Imagery In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
1931 Words | 8 PagesThe hypocrisy of 1600s Puritan society was often disguised behind a facade of moral righteousness. Puritans claimed to use public shaming as a way to better the morals of society and lead people to repent; however, it was highly hypocritical as the Puritans found pure entertainment in the downfall of others and completely neglected sinners rather than educating them. Puritan society thrived off of gossip and rumors, which goes against many biblical morals. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a 19th century transcendentalist, tells the story of how 1600s colonial Puritan society reacts to a woman who commits the sin of adultery in the 1850 The Scarlet Letter. In an excerpt from Chapter 13, the transcendentalist ideals of Nathaniel Hawthorne are reflected through
Hawthorne's Use Of Irony In Scarlet Letter
736 Words | 3 PagesWhen you think of a Puritan society, what comes to your mind? Perfect, flawless, and a religion based on following God? Well, that is what it says on paper, but is it really that perfect? Throughout the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne jabs at the Puritans in an attempt to portray just how flawed they really are. After reading the book, you want to think that Hawthorne is telling the story of sinning in a Puritan society.
Dimmesdale's Place In The Community In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
409 Words | 2 PagesOUTLINE INTRODUCTION In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, many people in this community committed a form of sin but hides it due to the consequences. Publicly shamed for committing adultery, Hester must live with a scarlet A on her chest for the rest of her life, but the other person that commits adultery with Hester cannot say a word due to his place in the community. THESIS STATEMENT: Due to his place in the Puritan community, Dimmesdale cannot say a word about committing adultery with Hester, which affects him and Hester and Pearl.
Sequelae Of Sin In The Scarlet Letter
439 Words | 2 PagesNo one felt this more than Hester and Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Both of them went through a fair amount of anguish for their act of adultery, a substantial sin in the Puritan belief. As a result, Hester and Dimmesdale wanted to find a way to get back onto God’s side, so they went on pursuit to redeem themselves. Hester deals with her sin on a day to day basis. She knows though that she can fix her sin.
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
Authority In A Puritan Society
562 Words | 3 PagesThe idea of the scarlet letter is an example of a Puritan society’s just punishment as a result of breaking the standards set by authority figures. Many Puritans viewed these topics of punishment as an everyday repeating ordeal. The few that were fully confessed to crimes were subject to all of these constant streams of torment. These ideas are reasons the average Puritan would take measures to avoid these actions at all costs; in contrast, today’s society would allow choices of a citizen with very slim or no legal
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.
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.
Hester Prynne Punishment In Scarlet Letter
791 Words | 4 PagesPunishment of Puritans for their sins occurred harshly and frequently, and these punishments ranged from fines, branding, and severe whippings to hanging and death. Many of these penalties involved public humiliation of some kind, which made it extremely difficult for townspeople to accept by their peers after they had sinned. Because the Puritans believed religion was immensely important, the community was often reluctant to allow citizens that exhibited sinful behavior to achieve redemption (Cox). However, in the case of Hester Prynne, an adulterer in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter, the townspeople eagerly made amends with her. This novel narrates the life of Hester Prynne, who committed adultery and courageously accepted the repercussions
Hawthorne's Relationship With The Puritan Society In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
739 Words | 3 Pages“The Scarlet letter burned on Hester Prynne’s bosom. Here was another ruin, the responsibility of which came partly home to her.” (Hawthorne, p.116) Later is it learned that Hester’s lover was in fact Dimmsdale the town’s minister, whom himself sins by keeping this secret and continuing to preach and teach the ways of the bible. (The Scarlet Letter Analysis) Hawthorne exploits sin by utilizing the characters mistakes and putting emphasis on the fact that during this time period sin was against everything the Puritans stood for.
Essay On The Treatment Of Men And Women In The Scarlet Letter
999 Words | 4 PagesThe Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850, functions as an evaluation of Puritan ideas, customs, and culture during the 17th century. Through this evaluation, we can get a good idea of what core values and beliefs the Puritans possessed, as well as the actions they take in cases of adversity brought about by “sinners”. Some Puritan virtues created stark divisions between groups of people, some of which led to discrimination under certain circumstances. One of the most prominent of these is the treatment and standards of men and women, a concept that surfaced during some of the major points in The Scarlet Letter. The divisions that were created by Puritan standards of men and women played a great role in shaping the plot of The Scarlet Letter, determining the fate of many of the characters.
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