After he has finished his confession Dimmesdale rips open his shirt to reveal the letter "A- on his chest. ... The last supernatural manifestation of the scarlet letter is when Dimmesdale goes atop the scaffold at night and gives his false confession. ... Dimmesdale sees it as a sign from God that his confession was not enough. ... " the scarlet letter has a purpose and a goal, thus, Hawthorne's meanings may be endless, but they are not open-ended.... The Scarlet Letter. ...

• Word Count: 1536
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

A letter "the letter A "but freshly green instead of scarlet.""... After he has finished his confession Dimmesdale rips open his shirt to reveal the letter "A- on his chest. ... The last supernatural manifestation of the scarlet letter is when Dimmesdale goes atop the scaffold at night and gives his false confession. ... Dimmesdale sees it as a sign from God that his confession was not enough. ... " the scarlet letter has a purpose and a goal, thus, Hawthorne's meanings may be endless, but they are not open-ended....

• Word Count: 1529
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

SETTING The Scarlet Letter is set in the seventeenth century, puritanical, New England colony of Massachusetts. ... Hester's sin of adultery has been confessed, and as its symbol, she wears the Scarlet Letter A. ... Ironically, Hester is "freed" by the confession, no longing bearing the Scarlet Letter alone. ... Hester Prynne, the bearer of the scarlet letter in public, is the central character of the book. ... She is the living symbol of the scarlet letter and has peculiar traits that make her sometimes appear as a demon. ...

• Word Count: 1929
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel that is full of symbols and imagery. ... "The scarlet letter had the effect of a cross on a nun's bosom." (179). ... Though the scarlet letter had changed its meaning, it could not change her heart. ... Hester later rips off the scarlet letter 'A' and is seen in another light. ... The scaffolding is where all confessions of sin happen. ...

• Word Count: 1185
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

As a child, Pearl throws rocks at the scarlet letter, making a game out it. ... In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl is referred to as "one of those naughty elfs or fairies or...a little bird of scarlet plumage" (Hawthorne 97). ... Pearl is a symbol for Hester's scarlet letter. ... Hester says that Pearl is the living scarlet letter, and causes Hester more anguish than the scarlet letter itself (Schwall). ... The confession finally gives him a sense of peace. ...

• Word Count: 1030
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Protagonist role in The Scarlet Letter " But (Hester) is not the protagonist, the chief actor, and the tragedy of The Scarlet Letter is not her tragedy but Arthur's. ... His public confession is one of the noblest climaxes of tragic literature." The argument over the protagonist role in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne runs undeniably deep. ... He waited with open arms and Hester, the protagonist, initiated the building of the infrastructure of The Scarlet Letter. ... All qualities of a protagonist, who initiates the action in a story and allows for forward movement, As Hest...

• Word Count: 855
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

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. ... Many believe his confession was a symbolic act, while others believe Dimmesdale's fate was an example of divine judgment. 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 alie...

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

Why I like Hawethorne; why Others Don't By Jonathan Milgrom My beliefs supplemented my enjoyment of The Scarlet Letter. ... Hawethorne's novel The Scarlet Letter was enjoyable to me because of the parallels between Hawethorne's morals and my morals. ... Hawthorne opens his book with this metaphor; he uses the "Conclusion" to bring together his themes and to make clear his moral vision. ... love, Hawthorne often refers to Hester's scarlet letter as glowing and thus figuratively lighting up the dark and cruel world around it. ... In The Scarlet Letter, the...

• Word Count: 1485
• Approx Pages: 6
• 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. ... Outline An Analysis of the Marketplace and the Forest Wilderness of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter I. ... The brief introduction of Hawthorne's the Scarlet Letter. 3. ... He began writing hi...

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

As a child, Pearl throws rocks at the scarlet letter, making a game out it. ... In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl is referred to as "one of those naughty elfs or fairies or...a little bird of scarlet plumage" (Hawthorne 97). ... Pearl is a symbol for Hester's scarlet letter. ... Hester says that Pearl is the living scarlet letter, and causes Hester more anguish than the scarlet letter itself (Schwall). ... The confession finally gives him a sense of peace. ...

• Word Count: 1029
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne similarly develops the concepts of guilt and the freedom gained by confession. ... Hester also reveals that this embrace covered her scarlet letter, but that " wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm,"with a glance that would not be abashed - (46). While she could have "hid- from the full force of this scaffold penance, her dignity holds her open to the consequences of her actions. ... According to The Scarlet Letter: A Student Casebook , however, " The Minister's Vigil&#x...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

He does this by using primary characters in the novels The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, and many short stories who have a problem, like an inner secret, or who have some kind of guilt, and shows how society looks upon these people. ... They were also very strict in their obedience to laws, which will later be addressed in reference to society's treatment of the young woman in the novel, The Scarlet Letter. ... In The Scarlet Letter, a young woman has committed adultery. ... He made them the villains in The Scarlet Letter and created in Hester a somewhat Transcenden...

• Word Count: 3188
• Approx Pages: 13
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the theme of a war between passion and responsibility throughout The Scarlet Letter. ... With Hester, Chillingworth allows the scarlet A and the public humiliation that comes with it to serve as her punishment. ... Eventually he opens the shirt of Dimmesdale to reveal an unknown item that causes him to turn around "with what a wild look of wonder, joy and horror (135)!" ... Once Dimmesdale's confession leaves his lips, Chillingworth is defeated. ... Hester Prynne, Author Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth all commit sins in The Scarlet Letter. ...

• Word Count: 1082
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's the Scarlet Letter, Pearl, is a symbol of sin and adultery in the sense that she leads Dimmsdale and Hester to their confession and the acceptance of their sins. ... She is also the only living symbol of the scarlet letter "A". ... It is commonly agreed that the colors are used extensive in The Scarlet Letter as symbols. ... The most famous symbol is of course the scarlet letter itself. ... In conclusion, one of the most important reasons that The Scarlet Letter is so well known is the way Hawthorne leaves the novel open to be interpreted several different ways b...

• Word Count: 964
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

This was surely the case in Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, a novel set in Puritan times that describes what guilt and sin truly are. ... Hester's guilt was open for all of the townspeople to see, while Dimmesdale's guilt was hidden from the public eye. ... Her prison-door was thrown open, and she came forth into the sunshine, which, falling on all alike, seemed, to her sick and morbid heart, as if meant for no other purpose than to reveal the scarlet letter on her breast (72). ... they had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of that one sin, fo...

• Word Count: 748
• Approx Pages: 3
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

The scarlet letter is a symbol which demonstrates that even when sins are committed, they can be confessed and forgiven. ... Pearl is the living scarlet letter that was created by sin and to her, the letter worn around Hester's neck, is Pearl's way of saying that what Hester did was wrong. ... The scarlet letter had taken over her appearance."... Dimsdale feels a tremendous inflow of energy from this movement toward the release of confession.... Out in the open Hester and Pearl could go on and live life without anybody bothering them anymore. ...

• Word Count: 1408
• Approx Pages: 6
• 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. ... At the beginning of the novel, Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter, A, on her dress as a sign of her guilt. ... In the novel, the public confession of her lover, Dimmesdale, the "sinful" priest seems to absolve him of his sins by making such a public confession. ... It seems as though the only aspiration open to her as a woman can never be realized because of her sin. ... As reviewed here, The Scarlet Letter only serves to sh...

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

Sin was the major topic of Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter. ... In her public and private suffering, represented by the scarlet letter in her life, she remains a pillar of strength. ... Hester's strength of character in public her way of steeling herself against her inner wounds inflicted by her reputation and plague by the scarlet letter. ... He continually places his hand over his heart, covering the scarlet letter that permanently engraved there. ... As the living scarlet letter and a constant reminder of her parents" sin, She displays signs of wildness, rebellion, and freedo...

• Word Count: 1594
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

A Burden Will be Lifted The Scarlet Letter is portrayed with profound symbolism and revolves around the idea that hidden guilt causes more suffering than open guilt. ... Hester experiences open guilt through being publicly punished for adultery. ... The Reverend seems to want to reveal himself; at times he realizes his hypocrisy and comes to the verge of confession, only to retreat into vague proclamations of guilt. ...

• Word Count: 1149
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School