the village prison: a heavily timbered oak door, studded with iron spikes. Why would an author associate something so harsh with something so beautiful? The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals the significance of many important symbols throughout the novel. The rose-bush by the prison door, Pearl, and Dimmesdale’s scarlet letter are three of the most concealed and essential symbols in the book. In the very beginning of the story, Hawthorne describes the prison door that Hester, the main…
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“Truth is plain, but its language is hard to interpret” (“The Scarlet Letter” 314). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the line between the “language” that is established in society and the “language” in one’s heart is blurred. The truth is plain. Hester and Dimmesdale’s truth is their sin manifested in their daughter, the living result of their adultery, Pearl. Based in Puritan Boston, The Scarlet Letter addresses the themes sin, shame, guilt, and redemption and their perception in Puritan…
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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…
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understanding in society, that human’s will make mistakes, nevertheless, these errors bring people together and can lead to bonding and sympathy. Often people hide their sins from the judgment of the world. The weight of the secret will either weigh them down, or inspire them to support others through the same trials. The Scarlet Letter, a Puritan-period novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, displays this theme through the life of protagonist Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale works as the Reverend in Boston…
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4th The Scarlet Letter “Guilt is the source of sorrows, avenging in fiends that follows us behind with whips and stings” - Nicholas Rowe. Secret sin is worse than public sin. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dimmesdale has secret sin and it tears him apart. Hester has public sin, and she learns to cope with it. Though both sinners suffer, Hawthorne illustrates that keeping secret sin is deadly. Dimmesdale punishes himself because he feels so blameworthy about his sin. When Chillingworth…
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In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses many symbols, for example the forest, sunshine and water. Symbols of things would be the scarlet letter itself and the symbols of places would be like the scaffold. Pearl is also one of the heavily symbolized characters in the book. One important part of the book is when Hester Prynne speaks to Dimmesdale about their predicament which takes place in the forest.Throughout the novel, it becomes very apparent that there is a difference between the forest and the…
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Hester and Dimmesdale The author of the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne, has left the end of the story in the reader's hands. Throughout Hester and Dimmesdale's lives they both have committed the wrongful sin of adultery, and not only the society, but also God has shown them the wrong they had done. The showing of their wrong doing has taught them many lessons, they both know why they were wrong and that they shouldn't have committed the sin. As a result of this, I believe that through…
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Spitefulness, Sin, and Self-reproach “… Your hands are full of blood. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;… though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;…” (Isaiah 1:15-18 King James Version). Throughout his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses multiple symbols to stand for the beliefs of the Puritans and their way of life. Hawthorne uses Roger Chillingworth to symbolize the degradation caused by revenge…
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as the main aspect of characters in his book The Scarlet Letter. A married woman, Hester Prynne, and an unmarried reverend, Arthur Dimmesdale, commit a sin of passion while defying their Puritan Boston society. When Hester becomes pregnant, the people in the society condemn her, make her wear a scarlet ‘A’, and throw her in the prison, where she will stay until she leaves…
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interpreted in many different ways. For example, the english alphabet is composed of many of the same letters as the alphabets of other languages, but depending on the language spoken by the person reading the letters, that hieroglyph…
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