Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote the novel The Scarlet Letter with a certain confidence in letting the story create its own ending and not predetermining the outcome. Four critics from the anthology Harvard Classics Shelfs of Fiction view Hawthorne’s style of writing as a work of art that is created by not controlling the ending of it, but letting it take its own course. The well written novel not only demonstrates how elaborate Hawthorne is in creating a plot line, but how well written and powerful the context of the novel is (Criticisms and Interpretations II-IV). George E. Woodberry, one of the critics, sees Hawthorne’s novel as “a great and unique romance, standing apart by itself in fiction.” Woodberry regards his originality in the style of writing as “complete artistic expression” with a “decorative quality.” Because of Hawthorne’s writing technique, the words he uses seem to build onto each other, creating a fascinating tale without having a prearranged ending. In a sense, Woodberry recognizes the brilliance of the format of the novel as being not only a spectacle of the real world, but one that is “of eternal life” (Woodberry). …show more content…
To Symons, Hawthorne “had the Puritan sense of it in the blood, and the power to use it artistically in the brain” in a way that is rarely attempted or achieved. He explains how Hawthorne carefully showed the thin boundary between good and evil. Symons describes in detail how the importance of “mortal law” can only be explained in the novel by breaking it. He frequently uses the term “sin” as a way of explaining reality, drawing the boundary between what he considers to be “a great reality” and “a dream”

Hypocrisy In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

always help one become successful in their chosen career as math and science often does, but it does teach readers about shaping values and living a good life. These are often more important than making an abundance of money. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, many themes are addressed: guilt, revenge, confession (accountability) and hypocrisy. Through reading the novel, the reader often reflects on the effects these matters have on his or her own life. In this book, Roger Chillingworth…

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Neoclassicism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne was greatly influenced by situations that were happening around him at the time he was writing the scarlet letter and many social issues of the time are evident in the novel. The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of a woman by the name of Hester Prynne in 17th century Puritan Boston Massachusetts. Hester violated Puritanical law by committing adultery. To forever wear a scarlet A on her dress in public and private is her sentence. remaining unnamed…

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Symbolism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Symbolism Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of America’s most important writers. Hawthorne wrote stories that probed the undiscovered mysteries of bringing a character’s experience to life. He used the roots from his background and Americas’ in the books he wrote. He changed his name by adding a W, because of his family history. Hawthorne's contribution to the evolution of modern literature. After twelve long years Hawthorne wrote a historical ground breaker called The Scarlet Letter.The…

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Guilt In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

The author of The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, had many ancestors who were Puritans. His Grandfather William Hathorne, a judge, prosecuted a woman accused of adultery. Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter about this time period when society’s views were conservative and primarily church based. Hawthorne expressed his guilt and shame for his ancestor’s deeds throughout the novel. He used his characters to convey how guilt and its long-lasting effects are common amongst the human race…

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Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter: Response

The Scarlet Letter: Response 3 Nathaniel Hawthorne’s initial descriptions of Hester Prynne and her ex-husband provide a detailed outlook on their contrasting characters, both physical and moral. In chapter 2, titled “The Market-Place,” Hester is given a nearly divine appearance despite her infamous reputation. In contrast, her former husband, later referred to as Roger Chillingworth, appears rather deformed and is described in a devilish manner. Hawthorne’s portrayals show the strikingly different…

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Adversity In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

the person she is at the end of the story without the many circumstances that came her way. In addition, Chillingworth turned into an atrocious monster because of the misfortune that happened to him when he arrived in Massachusetts. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter illustrates how Chillingworth and Hester choose to respond to adversity through character development, symbolism, and setting. The setting has a repercussion on a character's’ views. Puritanical views shape how Hester had to…

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Sins In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Sins have been the basis of strife since the dawn of time, and it is no different in this classic novel set in the seventeenth century Puritan society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, two of the main characters, Roger Chillingworth and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale state different opinions on whether sin should be revealed or hidden, which leads to conflict; Chillingworth says that one would be better off to confess his sin, while Dimmesdale believes that you will only be able to do good…

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Feminism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter, a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, takes a stand for feminism before the word was even born. According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, feminism can be defined as “the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men” (Merriam Webster). However, it can also simply be defined as having pride in one’s own abilities and person. Throughout the novel, Hester Prynne, faces a power struggle between what society tells her to do and what her heart…

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Sin In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

moral system of right and wrong as judged by either a spirit or a higher power. The immoral acts committed by people is defined as sin, and sin affects every individual in an aspect unique to themselves based on their own moral code. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter explores the importance of the effects of sin on the human psyche. The specific sinful act is not significant alone; the significance of sin lies within the morality of the person and the ways the person deals with their own actions…

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Identity In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

What is Nathaniel Hawthorne intending to do when he states in his book, The Scarlet Letter, “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true” (367)? What he is aiming to do is make us ask ourselves who we truly are and why we may contrast around different groups. We may be mistaken for being “two-faced,” however, it is fine to be unique and carry multiple traits. It’s part of what makes you…

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