The Scarlet Letter, pearl, and sunshine are examples of symbolism. ... Pearl is the living image of the Scarlet Letter and, like the letter on Hester's bosom, causes her much pain and embarrassment by breaking nearly all moral codes of this Puritan community. ... A final example of symbolism in The Scarlet Letter is the behavior of the sunshine. ... In addition, Hawthorne uses irony a great deal in The Scarlet Letter. ... The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story about sin and punishment. ...

• Word Count: 634
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, expresses the aspects of a strict Puritan community of 17th century Boston. The values and morals of the Puritan settlement influence the social as well as moral expectations of the people. ... People now interpret the scarlet letter "A- meaning able instead of adultery. "The scarlet letter had the effect of a cross on a nun's bosom. ... Throughout the story, there is a struggle between the Puritan laws of scripture and those of a different moral authority. ...

• Word Count: 764
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Secret Sin Leads to Guilt In "The Scarlet Letter", Hawthorne depicts a way of life that no longer exists in today's society. It was a society of fear in a strict moral code. ... Hester cannot even bring herself to tell her own daughter the true reason for the scarlet letter, which seems everyone but Pearl knows. ... The puritan way of life was more heavily oriented around God. ... Many people in the puritans lived a lie. ...

• Word Count: 558
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

This is evidence that the scarlet letter is the cause of Hester's darkness. Later in the book, Hester is in the forest and she throws the scarlet letter off of her bosom. ... Hawthorne even suggests that Pearl was plucked from the rosebush, referring to her wild nature and the fact that she exists "outside" of the Puritan code. ... The forest in The Scarlet Letter brings out a different side of each character. ... The main purpose of the forest in The Scarlet Letter is to be a place where the truth can exist. ...

• Word Count: 1017
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

An Analysis of the Market Place and the Forest Wilderness of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter ABSTRACT An Analysis of the Market Place and the Forest Wilderness of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter This research paper concentrates on the meanings of the two settings of the marketplace and the forest wilderness of Nathaniel Hawthorne's the Scarlet Letter. ... The brief introduction of Hawthorne's the Scarlet Letter. 3. ... His novels and tales are penetrating explorations of moral and spiritual conflicts. ... He began writing his masterpiece in 1850, The Scarlet...

• Word Count: 2453
• Approx Pages: 10
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The Scarlet Letter is a novel that's deals with the topic of sin in Puritan society. ... The Scarlet Letter is a novel that deals with the theme of sin. ... In The Scarlet Letter, the idea of sin and punishment is the main theme of the novel and how Hester Prynne, the main character, has been punished for her sin of adultery. ... When the townspeople become aware of what Hester has done, they forced her to wear an ultimate sign of punishment, the scarlet letter. ... It is clear throughout the novel that she has strong feelings for Dimmesdale and they outweigh her respect for the Puritan&#...

• Word Count: 802
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Societies have long established in their moral codes that the price of hidden guilt is tremendous, and therefore wrongdoings should be confessed in order to receive forgiveness. ... Based upon Puritan beliefs, The Scarlet Letter is another work that promotes the confession of sin in order to achieve redemption. ... In Psalm 32:1-5, he struggles with the moral dilemma of whether to confess or to keep silent. ... In this excerpt from The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale, standing on a scaffold, reveals before the assembled town people that it was he who impregnated Hester Prynne. ...

• Word Count: 587
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

She speculates on human nature and larger moral questions. ... The shame attached to her scarlet letter is long gone. Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester is portrayed as an intelligent, capable, but not necessarily extraordinary woman. ... The Scarlet Letter defines the relationship between the individual and society through Hester's alienation from Puritan Boston caused by the sin she committed, and subsequently the scarlet A she wore on her bosom. ... However, there were instances when the Boston community simply alienated Hester out of hatred and fear of the scarlet letter that she...

• Word Count: 968
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an anti-transcendentalist and believed in the dark side of man, hence his dark romantic novel The Scarlet Letter. ... The Scarlet Letter defines the American Romanticist movement while using symbolic characters and places that give the book seemingly two different stories. ... In addition the prison represents Puritan society, with all of its strict social and moral rules of conduct, and the rose bush symbolizes the individual, standing defiantly on their own, lively and strong, in spite of the society as a whole, against them. ... She, in her decision to have a relatio...

• Word Count: 1687
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Although Hester is clearly not a Puritan, she does show respect for the Puritan code. ... He never takes a firm stance in the ever-changing meanings of the scarlet letter, yet it is related to his moral vision with the idea of "atonement." Hester and her scarlet letter never achieve simplicity. ... Another vision of Hester's letter is that of its color, scarlet. ... Hawthorne's tragic moral vision is illuminated in his beloved character and the letter she bore. ...

• Word Count: 1352
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

However, not all of these Puritans were able to follow all of the demanding moral codes and procedures all of the time. ... Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter suffered immensely for her sin as an adulteress, and her child from this sin, Pearl, suffered as well. ... In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the author uses the scaffold scenes to depict the idea of private versus public sin. ... The great scarlet letter in the sky is the other public recognition that comes forth from the second scaffold scene. ... Hester had stood courageously upon the scaffold with only Pearl, a...

• Word Count: 1460
• Approx Pages: 6

Arthur Dimmesdale: a modern man caught within the realm of the puritans. ... Throughout the novel Dimmesdale becomes increasingly hurt, as he bears his own scarlet letter within his heart. ... The puritans strong moral code, along with their strong laws and ethical beliefs have driven this reverend, a man who has taken vows and lived in poverty, into a state where he fears love. ... This sermon is like a slap on the face to the Puritans by showing their unbeknownst hypocrisy where they shuddered at Hester's scarlet letter yet, Dimmesdale's letter received no recognition. ... When the...

• Word Count: 1115
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter is based on the puritanical custom of affixing a giant red, letter "A" to anybody that committed adultery. The novel centers on the adulterous Puritan Hester Prynne. ... At the beginning of the novel, Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter, A, on her dress as a sign of her guilt. ... As reviewed here, The Scarlet Letter only serves to show that any woman, who defies convention and societal norms, is doomed for a life full of sadness and misery. Rather than celebrating the courageousness and independence of Hester Prynne, it serves as a ...

• Word Count: 1505
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The settlers in Massachusetts looked upon themselves as moral and religious people. ... They had a strict moral code and violators were handed bizarre punishments. ... But, it was more a case of the colony leader's own law rather than God's moral law. The Puritans believed that if one member of their group suffered guilt, then the whole group must suffer along with that person or persons. ... Generally adulterers were forced to wear the letter A sewed on their clothes and counterfeiters wore the letter C (Hemlines 140). ...

• Word Count: 2078
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale: Not A Hero As a main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of "The Scarlet Letter", the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is confronted with circumstances both in and out of his control, that lead to his demise. ... However, this is also the same gesture that Hester Prynne makes when remembering the scarlet letter upon her own bosom. Hawthorne brilliantly connects Hester Prynne's openly displayed shame with Reverend Dimmesdale's secret shame by having both characters touch the same spot where the scarlet letter is displayed. We see the same motion o...

• Word Count: 2932
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: High School