The Scarlet Letter Essay Examples - Free Research Papers on PapersOwl.com

What does the a in the Scarlet Letter Signify

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Do people in the modern day world identify themselves with how they dress? Whether it is the way they dress or wear their hair, it is a way of showing your character to the public. For the leading protagonist, Hester, in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne portrays her as someone who is judged by her town for her “identify” based on a letter “A” that she wears on her clothes. Throughout the story the symbolism of the scarlet […]

Puritanism in the Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was created to display how life was during the Puritanism period in the seventeenth century. This novel has representations of the Puritan culture because it shows how the characters are expected to live by the word of God, specifically, and if anyone deterred, then they would be punished severely by an unforgiving society. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne used the main principles, hypocrisy in the Puritan culture, punishment, and predestination to display the Puritan […]

Analysis of Hidden Sin in the Scarlet Letter

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“The human body is the best picture of the human soul”(Ludwig Wittgenstein). This concept by Wittgenstein is best reflected in the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter is set in the 17 century in a British colony, with Hawthorne telling the reader how hidden sin affects the human body and soul in three different characters: Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Doctor Chillingworth, and Hester Prynne. One of the first ways Hawthorne explores the effect on hidden sin is Dimmesdale keeping […]

The Theme of Exposed Sin in the Scarlet Letter

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Discuss Nathaniel Hawthorne’s portrayal of the theme of exposed sin versus hidden sin in the novel as seen through the development of the main characters over the course of the story. For this essay, challenge yourself to develop a more sophisticated thesis statement that is a complex or a compound-complex sentence rather than the three-pronged format. Additionally, each body paragraph needs to contain three quotes. Be sure that the quotes DO NOT COME FROM THE SAME CHAPTER. I. Introduction – […]

Hester Prynne in the Scarlet Letter

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In The Scarlet Letter, Author, Nathaniel Hawthorne affiliates many different rhetorical devices in his novel in order to allow readers to understand the tone, the mood, and the setting. Hawthorne uses the Scarlet Letter, an “A”, which is shown in crimson fabric worn by Hester as a representation of the crime she committed; adultery. He uses rhetorical devices such as diction, symbolism, and similes to convey his feelings and anguish towards Hester’s life before and after she sinned. He discusses […]

About Strong Female Character Hester

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Hester is an strong female character. The Scarlet Letter is not a feminist novel, it is more of an commentary on the society rather than a feminist novel as a whole. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne represents many strong characters throughout the novel. Some of the characters like Chillingworth are much stronger than others such as Dimmesdale. The main protagonist in the novel is Hester Prynne. An feminist is someone who is for feminism that wants all women to have the […]

Theme of Hypocrisy in the Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter authored by Nathaniel Hawthorne is an American literature classic. It delves into a puritanical society and follows the life of Hester, a woman convicted of lechery. Her punishment is to permanently wear a token of her sin. The punishment, a scarlet “A”, causes her to experience humiliation wherever she travels and is a constant reminder to herself of her sin. Whilst Hester did commit lechery, the focal sin of the book mentioned by the author is hypocrisy. […]

Various Writing Techniques in the Scarlet Letter

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Throughout the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes from the viewpoint of a third person narrator. This narrator focuses is seen to have many opinions and shows an admiration toward Hester Prynne and women in general. Hawthorne’s use of certain language makes it evident that he shows a lot of admiration towards Hester and believes women are capable beings that deserve treated with value and respect. The language that Hawthorne uses to describe Hester Prynne is much different than […]

An Analysis of the Scarlett Letter

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In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne a recurring theme is fate versus free will. Fate is the development of events beyond a person’s control, determined by a supernatural force. Free will is the ability to act at one’s own discretion. In the novel, Hester Prynne is sentenced to a lifetime of judgement by wearing an A on her chest, which symbolizes adultery, one of the biggest sins in a functioning Puritan Society. From the beginning of the […]

The Scarlett Letter Report

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Sin. Everyone does it, and everyone gets punished for it in some way. Weather it be a slap on the wrist or forcing one to sew a scarlet letter onto the bosom of their clothes. But it is how you take the punishment that will define you. Hester Prynne took her punishment and wore it with golden embroidery. Even though Hester Prynne is forced to face the torment from the townspeople and from her vengeful husband, she shows women everywhere […]

About the Scarlet Letter

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The scarlet letter begins with a lengthy introduction how the book was written. The narrator was the surveyor of the customhouse located in Salem, Massachusetts. He found a variety of documents in the attic. One of them was a manuscript stuck together with a gold-embroidered scarlet patch of cloth shaped like a letter “A”. The manuscript was written by a surveyor prior to him. It included some happenings that occurred about two hundred years before the narrator’s time. He concluded […]

Religion in the Scarlet Letter

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Everyone has sinned at some point in their lives and it has ruined relationships. Sinning however can be redeemable but it takes hard work and dedication in order to achieve that goal. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne we follow Hester Prynne our female protagonist and her journey along the aftermath of sin and the change it brings in each character along the way. In seventeenth century Boston, the protagonist Hester Prynne does a horrible thing and […]

The Scarlet Letter an American Classic

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The Scarlet letter is a historical fiction work written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. The Scarlet Letter was the first mass-produced books in the United States selling 2500 copies the first few days after printing. The rapid sales of the book had a significant contribution to Hawthorne’s fame and fortune. However, the book did not receive any awards but made it to the most important book in the United States. Bercovitch posits that The Scarlet letter was an instant classic […]

The Scaffold in the Scarlet Letter

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In addition to being a symbol of sin, the scaffold represents shame and guilt. When Hester is seen on the scaffold in the opening chapters, she hides the scarlet letter “A” because the letter is viewed as a symbol of shame and guilt: “When the young women – the mother of this child – stood fully revealed before the crowd, it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom: not so much by an […]

The Scarlett Letter’ Book about a Woman

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Nathaniel Hawthorn’s ‘The Scarlett Letter’ is a book about a woman who committed adultery with another man and had a child named Pearl. She is the main character in this story. She is first described after she gets released from prison as a young woman ‘marked with natural dignity and force of character’ (Hawthorn 80). She is described to be dignified woman, beautiful but strong. She is dressed in a scarlet letter “A” on her chest made from fine red […]

An Book the Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter has been captivating readers since it was first published in 1850 by author Nathaniel Hawthorne. This historical fiction, romance, yet sinful book is about a woman named Hester Prynne who was sent to Boston by her husband, had committed adultery while waiting for her husband to arrive to Boston. She gives birth to a daughter named Pearl and they move to a small cottage near the edge of Boston where they are both shunned by the whole […]

Analysis of the Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, takes place in Boston, a puritan society. Hester Prynne, a young woman, arrived in Boston from overseas awaiting the arrival of her husband. While waiting she has an affair. Hester is sent to jail and once she serves her sentence, she is sent out with her child, Pearl, and a scarlet ‘A’ on her chest. The town wants to know who her secret lover is, but Hester will not tell. She will not tell […]

Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Scarlet Letter

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Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist known for his twisted romance novels. Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. Hawthorn lost his father at a young age which left his mother a little distant. He attended courses at Bowdoin College which inspired him to read, and had exposed him to classic literature. Hawthorne took interest in the romantic movement occurring at the time, more specifically the dark romance genre that was popular at the time. He used the popular […]

Examples of Revenge in the Scarlet Letter

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Often times we hear “What’s good for the goose is what’s good for gander,” in other words, if one person committed a crime they should both be punished the same. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he explores the sin of Hester Prynne and Author Dimmesdale. He reveals these two characters to show that staying hidden and suffering in silence is worse than being publicly humiliated. Although Hester has committed a serious crime (adultery), she wears her scarlet letter […]

Main Characters in the Scarlet Letter

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In the book “The Scarlet Letter,” the two main characters Hester and Dimmesdale had their differences but they were alike in many ways. Throughout the book, they changed and came across obstacles and contradicted on decisions. Hester and Dimmesdale were a major part in the book as they both carried the guilt of sin. They had a complicated relationship and caused troubles for each other. Their guilt affected their lives, the way they lived, and caused punishment. This guilt dragged […]

Comparing the Great Gatsby and the Scarlet Letter

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In choosing to compare and contrast the works The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, both novels feature characters who have hidden secrets which are revealed, but the societies surrounding them are in stark contrast to one another. The novel The Scarlet Letter is set in a Boston Puritan society, during the seventeenth century, with components of scandal and disguise. Meanwhile The Great Gatsby also features scandalous accounts, but set in a contrasting […]

Symbols in the Scarlet Letter

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Hawthorne presents numerous of symbols throughout The Scarlet Letter. He uses them to show the purpose of the “A” and ways it develop its significance over time. These symbols have a pessimistic and affirmative impact on a few of the characters in the novel including Hester Prynne, Pearl, and Dimmesdale. All of these characters either represent or connect to the meaning of the sin. Hawthorne causes each of the individuals have a different effect on ways society acknowledges their sin. […]

The Scarlet Letter Reading Assignment

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I agree with the assertion that Hester Prynne is a feminist, whether Hawthorne intended for her to be or not. In the beginning of the novel, when Hester is forced to stand on the scaffold to face public humiliation, many demand her to reveal the identity of the child’s father. Instead, Hester refuses to answer stating “‘I will not speak!’ answered Hester, turning pale as death, but responding to this voice,” (Hawthorne, 58). She stands her ground and denies the […]

Hester and Symbols in the Scarlet Letter

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“The Scarlet Letter” is not so much a consideration of Hester Prynne’s intuitive character as it is an exploration of the strength that shapes her, and the transformations of those strengths effect. Hester is a self-sufficient single mother in one of the bleak most forbidding moments in America’s history. Hester finds a way to support her daughter in a time when women were only presumed to support their husbands. She uses her inherent strength to mold into the meaning of […]

About the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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The Scarlet Letter begins with an introduction explaining how the book came to be. The introduction is narrated by the surveyor of the customhouse. While in the customhouse attic he found documents, and one of the documents was wrapped with a gold patch in the shape of an “A.” This document discussed specific events that happened many years prior to when the narrator was even alive. Once he lost his job at the customhouse he decided to write about the […]

Symbolism in the Scarlet Letter

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The Puritans were a group of people, who had very strong religious beliefs, judged everyone harshly and played a prominent role in the 17th century set book, The Scarlet Letter. There are a lot of different factors in the book that play a big role, sin plays a big role in developing the whole story and there are many important pieces of symbolism in the book. In chapter 23 of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s best work, The Scarlet Letter, there are numerous […]

About The Scarlet Letter
Originally published : 1850
Author : Nathaniel Hawthorne
Genre : Romantic, Historical\| Thriller\|Supernatural
Text : The Scarlet Letter at Wikisource
Characters : Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, Pearl, Natty Bumppo, Governor Richard Bellingham

The Scarlet Letter Essays