Essay On Light In The Scarlet Letter

Words: 559
Pages: 3
Open Document
Scarlet Letter The book The Scarlet Letter was a book that I did enjoy, it gives more insight into the puritan lifestyle and how they acted toward being different from them. During the time of the book, the Puritans were dark, depressing, and sad looking people. They believed a sin was a crime against humanity and the Puritan lifestyle. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the symbols of light and dark to depict good and evil among the characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth.
Hester Prynne’s light side is represented by the sunshine and her dark side is represented by a brand of the letter “A”. Hawthorne stated, “All at once, as with a sudden smile of heaven, forth burst the sunshine…” (186). When she took off the letter, she was relieved of her sin and the greatness of her youth came back to her. The sunshine is representing that she has forgiven herself. “All the light and graceful foliage of her character had been withered up by this red-hot brand” (Hawthorne 149). The letter “A” acts like a leech, sucking the life and youthfulness out of her and turning her into to a dark, somber person. The “A” is representing sin and the reason it is turning her into a dark person is because Chillingworth and everyone in Boston gets to see it.
Arthur Dimmesdale is the minister of the …show more content…
Were there not the brilliant particles of a halo in the air about his head?” (228)The people cannot believe that their minister sinned, and they wonder how long it has been since he has done the sin. The light is represented by a halo. The reader reads, “”They mostly do,” said the clergyman, gripping hard at his breast as if afflicted with an importunate throb of pain.” (121) Arthur is being questioned by Roger and he is responding as best as he can with his chest hurting as bad as it does. The dark is represented by his chest pain. Dimmesdale is the character in the story, which has given Hester her
Show More

Related Documents: Essay On Light In The Scarlet Letter

Dark And Light In The Scarlet Letter Essay

Symbolism, involving elements of dark and light have been widely used in literature, due to their contrasting nature. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne employs this symbolism to progress one of the novel’s central themes. Hawthorne develops this theme, acknowledgement of sin, using dark and light symbolism to claim that confessing sin is preferable to overlooking sin. Hawthorne quickly establishes dark as having committed sin, and light as being without sin. Hawthorne does this by comparing…

Words 440 - Pages 2

Scarlett Letter Analysis Essay 1

Scarlett Letter Analysis Essay “Ah, but let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart” (Hawthorne, Scarlett letter). Inquiring the power of love, as well as flirting with human sentiments Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote “The Scarlett Letter” over the struggles of a condemned outlaw in the “Holy” Puritan society. Hester Prynne the protagonist in the story, a woman who initiated from Europe is targeted to a world of drama where she is imprisoned for adultery in the Puritan…

Words 765 - Pages 4

Hester Prynne In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'

Scarlet Letter Essay Lite Introduction Paragraph Although adultery is still considered dishonest and shameful, the stigma today is far unlike that in Puritan Massachusetts, where the town sentenced Hester Prynne to shame for life. Through Hester’s work for the community, Pearl’s kiss, and Dimmesdale and Hester’s gravestone, Hawthorne proves that forgiveness doesn’t come immediately; one must always try to earn it with effort and kindness. Hester’s work for the community, Pearl’s kiss, and Dimmesdale…

Words 1673 - Pages 7

Essay about Doctor: The Scarlet Letter and Color Symbolism

Scarlet Letter Essay The director of the 1979 version of the scarlet letter used Hawthorne’s words in many ways throughout the film and while there were lots of different ways that this was achieved but the three main ways that I noticed were with color symbolism, and the different amounts of shade and light. The color symbolism used throughout the film were really important in getting Hawthorne’s point across as it helped to portray different characters emotions and actions without them going…

Words 463 - Pages 2

SCARLET LETTER - Feminism Essay

Victoria Marchlewski English 10 H Period 5 The Scarlet Letter ­ Final Test (Essay) #6 Often in literature, women are portrayed as weak or evil. Eve caused original sin, Miss Havisham, from Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations , hated men because of heartbreak, and Cruella de Vil planned to murder dogs for their coats. However, in The Scarlet Letter , Nathaniel Hawthorne shows the role of a woman in a different light. Hester Prynne, the main character, makes her own decisions without causing her community to fall apart…

Words 1047 - Pages 5

Scarlet Letter Essay

Joana Leung 3̊ Harper The Scarlet Letter Essay 10.13.2012 Hawthorne portrays Hester’s sin of adultery as less critical to emphasize the hypocrisy of the Puritan society. For instance, the Puritans claim to put their faith into the Bible; however, they do not follow the moral codes they advocate themselves. Likewise, Hester’s sin of committing adultery is taken more severely than Chillingworth’s search for revenge. Furthermore, Dimmesdale, the most hypocritical…

Words 866 - Pages 4

Effects Of Sin In The Scarlet Letter

Effects of Sin- Essay Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter has three main characters who are all connected by sin. Hawthorne shows how sin affects all of the characters in different ways, and how sin can yield suffering, but it can also make one stronger, depending on how they handle the effects of their sin. Hester Prynne is an example of someone who makes the best of her situation, while Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth both suffer as a result of sinning and they become worse in mind…

Words 913 - Pages 4

The Great Gatsby Classic Essay

Andrew Comer 2/17/14 “Gatsby” Classic Essay Position: “The Great Gatsby” is a classic because of its still relatable content, standing the test of time, and its unceasing popularity with readers even today. Since its debut in 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s groundbreaking novel about the rigidness of time, society’s blindness to reality, and the downright satirical nature of a dream, has captivated audiences worldwide, as it has been translated into 42 languages such as “El Gran Gatsby”…

Words 1131 - Pages 5

Department of English Spring 2014 Course Descriptions Essays

Department of English Spring 2014 Course Descriptions 89S. Imagining War. Instructor M. Maiwald. WF 8:30-9:45 In this course, we will consider how the experience of war has been represented in American fiction, non-fiction, and film. We will investigate how attitudes toward war have evolved throughout American history: our timeline begins with the Civil War—the traumatic event that birthed the modern American state—and ends with the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. In particular…

Words 9501 - Pages 39

Frank: Novel Frankenstein Essay

works 8 Films, plays and television 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References 12 External links Summary[edit] A variety of different editions Frankenstein is written in the form of a frame story that starts with Captain Robert Walton writing letters to his sister. Captain Walton's introductory frame narrative[edit] The novel Frankenstein is written in epistolary form, documenting a correspondence between Captain Robert Walton and his sister, Margaret Walton Saville. Walton is a failed writer…

Words 7465 - Pages 30