Every author looks for a way to connect the theme of his book. In Nathanial Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses the theme sin and concealment. The three scaffold scenes throughout the book are used to connect this theme. .
The first scaffold scene takes place right at the beginning of the novel in chapters 2 and 3. One of the characters that are involved in this scene is Hester. The book starts out with Hester in a prison and then they took her out to go and sentence her. They sentenced her to wear the scarlet letter and to stand on the scaffold in front of everyone. She feels that there is a heavy weight of a thousand unrelenting eyes staring at her while she was up there. Another character involved in this scene is Pearl. This scene occurs when Pearl was just a little baby . Pearl got all of Hester's turmoil, anguish, and despair from this event. Now Pearl had the same convulsion of pains and the moral agony that Hester had throughout the day. Another one of the characters is Roger Chillingworth. He is Hester's husband . Both of them don't want anyone to know that they are married. While Hester was on the scaffold she noticed Chillingworth walking in the crowd. When he was walking around he asks a townsperson who the lady on the scaffold was and what is being done to her. Chillingworth vows to the townsperson that he is talking to that the person that fathered the Hester's baby, Pearl, will be known. Rev. Dimmesdale is also in this scene. He is asked by Mr. Wilson to go and talk to Hester, go and make her confess the truth. He talks to Hester asking her to tell him who the fellow-sinner is. After Hester says she will never tell who is the father, Dimmesdale says that "She will not speak!"(p.68)When he says this he pts his hand to his heart and holds it. The first scaffold scene occurs on a Sunday morning so everyone in town can see her. .
The second scaffold scene takes place right in the middle of the novel in chapter 12.
Punishment has always revolved around the same ideas, to discipline an individual, and to set an example for the rest of society, discouraging them from following in a convict's footprints. Either way, the end result is to set a criminal apart from the rest of society. Today we publicize the effe...
Morales 8 Alex Morales Melinda Shingler Honor English 20 October 2014 A Tremendous Sinner "Never support two weaknesses at the same time. It's your combination sinners - your lecherous liars and your miserly drunkards - who dishonor the vices and bring them into bad repute." ― Thornton Wilder...
Symbolism in the Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne contains abundant symbolism, which is used to unify the novel and add deeper meaning. ... This in turn causes the Puritan view of her letter "A" to change from adultery to ability. ... In the center of the novel's action, a meteor passes across the sky in the shape of the letter "A". ... (Bloom 91-92) Pearl is also greatly affected by the scarlet letter, but in another way. ... (Novelguide) Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbols very well in his novel The Scarlet Letter. ...
She goes on to say that if her sentence to wear the scarlet letter was over, the letter would disappear naturally. ... Although the scarlet letter may not be the sentence of God, it does help Pearl redeem her soul. ... Dimmesdale says, "Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! ... I agree with the statements that Wagenknecht made about The Scarlet Letter. He says that the scarlet letter was not the punishment of God, but of the Puritan citizens; that Chillingworth and the Puritans that punished Hester stole one of the duties of God; and that by wearing t...
The Scarlet Letter To the naked eye, the story of The Scarlet Letter appears to just be a well-written love story within a puritan society full of unexpected flips and turns. Upon closer examination, The Scarlet Letter is really filled with obsession, guilt, and morals. ... Hawthorne's ultimate theme in The Scarlet Letter is vengeance amongst all of mankind. ... The breathtaking letter had now become a part of her. ... Pearl was just a smaller version of the scarlet letter. ...
The Scarlet Letter can be considered a satire of Puritan beliefs because the book is full of angry people who mock and ridicule the unfortunate one who bears the letter "A" on her chest. ... The Scarlet Letter could have been written to show others of Puritan ways and beliefs but one who reads this would go on believing the people led their lives in a completely different way. ... Such people were punished in such ways as the scarlet letter, or in The Crucible, the Salem Witch Trials. ... In conclusion, The Scarlet Letter is a satire because, although it does prove the characteristic...
In the novel, The scarlet letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne arrives at colony where she is accused of adultery due to a love affair with minister Dimmesdale. ... She is sentenced to wear a scarlet letter, which symbolizes her sin. ... Hester proves her courage when the chance to flee her sentence and remove the scarlet letter, is presented to her . If she would reveal her daughter's father, all shame would be removed, but decides to see the letter as a moment of the past. ... Unlike Dimmesdale, Hester is able to accept her sin by wearing the Scarlet Letter....
The Metamorphosis of Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many characters that transform; one of them is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. ... He also clutches his chest a lot in away that reminds Pearl of her mother, Hester's scarlet letter "A" By this point in time Hester Prynne's husband has found out about Dimmesdale's secret and has been tormenting Dimmesdale with it. ... In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Dimmesdale makes many changes - especially at the scaffold scenes. ...
