...North American Literature 2014-2015. Individual Freedom restricted by Puritans. Analysis of Hester, Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. [Nathaniel Hawthorne; The Scarlet Letter] ABSTRACT: The aim of this paper is to analyze how Nathaniel Hawthorne deals with the theme of freedom focusing on the major characters such as Hester, Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. I argue that, there is a sign of individual freedom due to the fact that all the characters have the right to act in the way they do it but they will be always suppressed by the decisions of the Puritans. I also argue that, there is no collective freedom in terms of society because Puritanism restricts, punishes and judges individual actions. Key words: major characters, individual freedom, suppressed, no collective freedom. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850, is constructed by the main themes of isolation and suffering. Moreover, sin and the Puritan law are narrowly connected, making the wish of freedom almost an impossible achievement. Over the course of the novel, Hester is the only one who truly manifests her right of individual freedom. However, she has been punished by the Puritan law, which considers her attitude as a threat to the Puritan community and its religion. Hester’s freedom starts since the moment she decides to carry her punishment in New England and not going back to England, where she could have lived a new life without feeling guilty. Furthermore, her self-determination...
Words: 1186 - Pages: 5
...Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolic imagery in the novel of The Scarlet Letter in order to demonstrate the failure of the oppressive Puritan society. Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman, moved to New England while her husband stayed behind in England. While she was alone, she had an affair with Reverend Dimmesdale and they have a daughter named Pearl. In the Puritan society, Adultery is one of the utmost sins that can be committed. When it became known that Hester was an adulteress, she was sentenced to prison and public punishment. Due to the oppressive nature of the Puritan society, Hawthorne writes of the Puritans’ forcing Hester to wear a scarlet “A” upon her chest to make her sin aware to everyone. Through his use of contrasting symbolism, Hawthorne...
Words: 1778 - Pages: 8
...The Scarlet Letter Essay In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne effectively conveys his message through his continual use of powerful symbolism throughout the novel. Hawthorne uses copious symbols throughout the book that represent a broader meaning, such as the scarlet letter and the meteor. For example, Pearl’s name is allegorical of her character and the price her mother paid. An actual pearl is not completely white. This demonstrates how Pearl is not entirely pure and has a tendency to be an “elfish” child. Pearl is also correlated to the rose bush near the prison. Hawthorne states, “The child finally announced that she had not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses” (Hawthorne 90). She relates to this because although Pearl is beautiful, she can have her “thorns.” In the novel, Hawthorne states, “But she named the infant “Pearl,” as being of great price,--purchased with all she had,--her mother’s only treasure” (Hawthorne 73). This...
Words: 638 - Pages: 3
...The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible are two literary classics that portray excellence in expounding the importance of life. Both written works encompass striking similarities in aspects such as the setting, plot, and major conflicts. However, The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible bare conspicuous differences such as in The Scarlet Letter solid evidence for the crime of adultery is distinctly manifested while in The Crucible the court possesses no tangible evidence for the crime of witchcraft. In addition, The Scarlet Letter is a novel while The Crucible is a play. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller have pronounced similitude, such as the common conflicts, and the setting, and also bare an impactful distinction between the resolutions of the two written works and the characters. The major conflict in...
Words: 750 - Pages: 3
...Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, tells the story of a woman who commits adultery in a puritanical society. As punishment for her sin, Hester Prynne must wear the ignominious scarlet letter ‘A’ for adulteress. As a result, she is the constant target of ridicule and persecution, which in Puritan society was a punishment almost equivalent to death.Throughout the novel, multiple Puritan beliefs are reflected, however; these tenets of Puritanism are used to reveal a further symbolic or Romantic meaning. Hawthorne himself, claimed that the novel was more indicative of Romantic ideals. Even the style in which the novel was written is reflective of the Romantic Era. Puritan writing was simple and facile to interpret, whereas The Scarlet...
Words: 645 - Pages: 3
...Jacob Bussey Professor Caskey American Literature 8 February 2016 The Real Side of Letters The Scarlet Letter was set in the 17th- century puritan Boston, Massachusetts during the years of 1642 to 1649. The people thought the church of England was to complex and wanted simpler truths and better structured forms of worship. They want to “purify” the church of England, they got the name of Puritans from that. The Scarlet letter starts off to let everyone know "all the characters are saved, and by this measure the novel is a comedy” ( Samuel Coale). The reason he is saying that is because through out the story they are not acting Christian like one bit. Dimmesale is the biggest hypocrite of them all, he will preach from the bible but does not live by it. Dimmesdale becomes the biggest sinner of them all when he declared himself from the scaffold after he finished his election sermon. “Dimmesdale is irreparably...
Words: 907 - Pages: 4
...The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is related to American society in 2016 in which “sins” of adultery are still committed, and the idea of individuality are still present but the idea of a church or religion surrounding a society is not still present. Adultery is committed on a daily basis in American society, as it wasn’t too common in the nineteenth century. The Scarlet Letter's’ main theme in the story is about sin and how it was frowned upon in the Puritan society. Although, Puritan belief is set as they think that everyone is a sinner as they were born that way. The Puritans maintained strict watch over themselves and their townspeople, and sins were punishable by death. Hester Prynne had committed adultery with Dimmesdale which...
Words: 353 - Pages: 2
...Freedom is the power to act and to do as one pleases without any restraints. It is a right and privilege for every single person; no matter their age, gender, sexuality or race. Both authors wrote and published their work at different times, but they seem to share the common theme of freedom. Mark Twain and Nathaniel Hawthorne both highlight, as well as challenge this idea, as they present characters that begin the story feeling trapped and confined by social and legal systems, but later manage to find a way to escape and relieve their troubles. In “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Twain uses Huck Finn’s character to represent the challenges and actions he must take in order to escape a society that is trying to control and civilize him. While...
Words: 1241 - Pages: 5
...In the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is the protagonist. She expresses a multitude of qualities in her character that an audience could find admirable or disdainful, depending on how looked at. Within the colonial Puritan period and culture she lived in, it was normal and easy to harshly react to Hester’s situation. She may not have been a heroine in the eyes of her people, but she still embodies a beautiful, strong, and confident woman. Hester Prynne has the capability of being a heroine in The Scarlet Letter by dealing with her circumstances in a mature nature, being remorseful, and still loving the world as a whole. Hester Prynne is a woman that obviously made a mistake that resulted in a public awareness. It is easy for an individual to hide mistakes or sins committed, but it takes a very strong individual to embrace it and learn from it. Hester responsibly confronts her situation in a mature nature. Any other woman could have simply fled from such an unforgiving place. “She is my happiness!, She is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life Pearl punishes me too!” (Hawthorne 101) Hester committed the sin of adultery and in that a living product resulted. It is very admirable to see that while Pearl, Hester’s daughter, reminds her every day of what she did, Hester realizes that she must love her child and take responsibility for her actions. Another remarkable trait that Hester embodies is that she shows an utterly remorseful side to her circumstances...
Words: 719 - Pages: 3
...Watching a movie and reading the book may be seen as the same experience. However, directors are allowed to take free reign when it comes to adapting the book into a film. A fine example of the freedom directors take is the contrast between The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the movie directed by Roland Joffé. While there are some similarities between the two, Joffé created a movie that showcases the differences. The variations between the movie and the book are evident within the first few seconds of watching. While the book begins with a description of the jailhouse, the movie begins with a girl running through the woods and eventually pans over to a Native American funeral. However, the differences are not just visual. In the...
Words: 669 - Pages: 3
...The Scarlet Letter: Symbolism For symbolism we used this illustration as a way to show the connection between all the symbols and their relation to sin. The path of sin starts at the prison door. The break in the door shows that a person cannot run from their past and sins, they will come out eventually. Notice how the river expands to include more and more symbols. We chose that to show how the longer these confessions are repressed the larger and more difficult to deal with they become. The symbol closest to the prison door is the rose. The rose is a direct parallel to Pearl as they both serve as a stark contrast to the surrounding environment. The rose bush’s main function was to symbolize a moral blossom in the story as it shows that justice will eventually prevail. The rose bush also reflects the moral values in proportion to the nature. Because within the bonds of the nature everything acts in a way than what it is really like and what it should do by its nature without resisting to its essential needs. But civilized man especially puritans rejected the mostly part of human needs like enjoys and spices of the life especially sexuality. But to deny means nothing because you can change nothing by denying it or covering the truth. So the roses symbolized normally passions and desires thus we can deduce that here it symbolizes how the freedom of the human nature is imprisoned by the conventional wisdom. Under this circumstance the nature will resist to the later doctrines...
Words: 1212 - Pages: 5
...A heroine is a woman who is admired or idealized for her courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne centers on the story of a heroine by the name of Hester Prynne. The novel is set in New England, where Hester resides in a strict Puritan community. From the beginning one learns that Hester is condemned to public humiliation for her crime of adultery. All through the novel Hester deals with the pressures from her community, from motherhood and from the men in her life as she attempts to redeem her freedom. Hester Prynne accepts the consequences of her actions by transcending the harsh criticism and shame from the Puritan community; therefore, she proves to be a pertinent heroine...
Words: 960 - Pages: 4
...Megan Naylor Dr. DiCicco English 3664 March 29, 2011 Gender Roles in The Scarlet Letter and The Awakening During the Victorian era, the life a woman was immensely difficult. They were considered the property of their husband, and treated as such. Women were forbidden from owning their own property, even if they were given the property from their father. In such a case, the land would be transferred in ownership to her husband. A woman’s place was in the home, to dutifully care for her husband and children. Her job was to cook, clean, and bear children. Interestingly, a wife was treated similarly to her children. Obedience toward the man of the home was necessary from both the children and the mother. In contradiction to all of the restriction and repression, the nineteenth century produced two of literatures strongest women. Nathaniel Hawthorne and Kate Chopin gave American society two women who actively defied their husbands and who possessed their own strong moral codes. With The Scarlet Letter published in 1850 and set in the seventeenth century, Nathaniel Hawthorne was taking a large risk in creating a novel detailing a woman’s adultery with the town’s minister and producing an illegitimate child in the process. Despite the treatment she receives, Hester does not waver in her promise to keep her lover secret, proving that she is a strong willful woman. As the century is coming to a close, Kate Chopin produced a work that sent shock waves through American society. The...
Words: 2680 - Pages: 11
...Hawthorne’s Judgment of Sin and Punishment Based on the Puritan Belief As Seen in “Scarlet Letter” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Puritan background and his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts strongly influenced his stories and writing style. Many of Hawthorne’s stories hold ties to the past and characterize the Puritan society, including Scarlet Letter. Puritans followed “their own rigorous moral and religious strictures…” , which led many Puritans to believe most people are inherently evil and deserve punishment (Hunt 26). Puritans believed sin’s “penalty thereof is death” (Hawthorne 59). In Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne characterized the Puritan view of sin, the punishment of sin, and how the punishment of sin revealed Hester’s courage, but led to Dimmesdale’s demise. Hester and Dimmesdale committed the same sin and “while Hester’s sin is noticeable to all, Dimmesdale’s sin is hidden”(Londhe 2). The sin itself does not alter Hester and Dimmesdale as much as it altered how the individual copes with sin and the punishment that follows the sin. The Puritan belief system influenced Hawthorne’s writing even though he “took Puritan doctrine and psychologized it”(Barna 3). Hawthorne felt the Puritan belief lacked a tolerance for sin, and “he dwelt on the cruelty of Puritans in his works” (Barna 2). Puritan’s believed everyone sinned and Hawthorne’s Puritan background led him to address sin in his writing. The common belief of the time states that “man is born into his world basically...
Words: 2200 - Pages: 9
...in The Scarlet Letter and the House of The Seven Gables, on the other; though we should hardly have understood the promise had not the fulfillment explained it. The shorter pieces have a lyrical quality, but the longer romances express more than a mere combination of lyrics; they have a rich, multifarious life of their own. The material is so wrought as to become incidental to something loftier and greater, for which our previous analysis of the contents of the egg had not prepared us. The Scarlet Letter was the first, and the tendency of criticism is to pronounce it the most impressive, also, of these ampler productions. It has the charm of unconsciousness; the author did not realize while he worked, that this "most prolix among tales" was alive with the miraculous vitality of genius. It combines the strength and substance of an oak with the subtle organization of a rose, and is great, not of malice aforethought, but inevitably. It goes to the root of the matter, and reaches some unconventional conclusions, which, however, would scarce be apprehended by one reader in twenty. For the external or literal significance of the story, though in strict correspondence with the spirit, conceals that spirit from the literal eye. The reader may choose his depth according to his inches but only a tall man will touch the bottom. The punishment of the scarlet letter is a historical fact; and, apart from the symbol thus ready provided to the author's hand, such a book as The Scarlet Letter...
Words: 9242 - Pages: 37
