The ambiguousness of The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne leaves many of the actions, events, and issues involving the characters up to the reader's own assumption. One of the issues posed by Hawthorne during the story is that of responsibility. ... Hawthorne's story begins in seventeenth-century Boston, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter "A" on her breast. ... Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter, is a means of presenting an issue on not taking responsibilit...

• Word Count: 1146
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel which portrays the message of sin and punishment, through the outcome of an adulterous relationship between Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne portrays the tension between Dimmesdale's guilt and the fact that he cannot confess to his sin. ... Hawthorne does not express a plausible ending to the progression of Dimmesdale's developing emotions, rather, he creates an ending in which Dimmesdale reverses his fundamental principles. ... His reaction, however, is not to palliate his suffering by...

• Word Count: 1174
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate