...Symbols in the Scarlet Letter Colors can represent many things; for example it can represent the emotions someone is feeling or to describe something or to simply determine whether a food is going to be eaten. Another example would be a funeral; everyone knows that it’s appropriate to wear black because it’s a time to mourn and sorrow for a lost loved one, but if someone were to wear black to a wedding it would portray to be inappropriate because weddings are created to be a time full of joy and new beginnings. Colors are used in present day to represent things, yet they were just as useful hundreds of years ago, for instance; the 1600’s. In the 1600’s, the Puritan society represented a community that was gloomy and dark while also being full of strict rules and “perfect” people who did not sin. In The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he uses the main character, Hester Prynne, as a representation of the Puritan society by using symbolism in two ways: the scarlet letter itself and the forest. To begin with, Hester Prynne was accused of adultery while her husband was gone from Massachusetts, her home town. Because of this accusation, she was forced to pin a bright red scarlet letter on her chest. This scarlet letter stood out in front of people’s eyes whenever she was around. Now as a Puritan, it was forbidden to sin. They believed that sinners were working with the devil to finish any undone business he had left. It was a rule with the Puritans to have an...
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...Symbolism of the Black Man in "The Scarlet Letter" FINAL WORD TRACK ANALYSIS- THE BLACK MAN In The scarlet letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne has used “Black Man “to signify evil and darkness. The Scarlet letter is based on the sins of the puritan society. The word “Black Man” refers to the “Satan” who is the devil. Many religions believe it to be an incarnation of God in a human or animal. Puritans and Christians believed it to be a devil dressed in black, who haunts the forest and tempts people into signing their name in his book with their own blood as ink. The word “Black Man” is used for the first time by Hester Prynne in chapter 4 while conversing with Roger Chillingworth. She says “art thou like the Black man that haunts the forest round about us? Hast thou enticed me into a bond that will prove the ruin of my soul?” .Hester Prynne doesn’t trusts Roger Chillingworth and believes he is trying to take his revenge. Roger Chillingworth has asked Hester to keep his identity a secret. Hester Prynne knows something will be wrong because of this bond but still she makes the deal because she has no choice. This is said in chapter 14 in another conversation between Hester and Roger. The bond here is referred to the Black man’s bond where Roger Chillingworth has been compared to the Black man and has made a deal with Hester. The word Black man is used once again by Mistress Hibbins in chapter 8. Mistress Hibbins has ...
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...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...
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...The Scarlet Letter are no exception. These wrongdoings contribute to an overall theme of the novel. This theme is sin. There are many symbols in the novel that draw attention to this theme, such as color and the scarlet letter. There is more symbols that are present in the novel and have high importance, however these two stand out significantly. Through instances involving Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, color and the mark of the scarlet letter drive the theme of sin within the novel. Hester’s relationship with her scarlet letter is a distinct example of how the symbol of the...
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...Symbols in "The Scarlet Letter" A In “The Scarlet Letter,” symbols appear everywhere. Hawthorne uses several different concrete objects to represent something of deeper meaning. Among these symbols is the scarlet letter "A" itself. It is made of red cloth and beautifully embroidered. It is a literal symbol of the sin of adultery. The letter "A" appears in several places and several forms. It is the letter that appears on Hester's heart that she is condemned to wear for the remainder of her life. At Governor Bellingham's mansion it is magnified in the breastplate. It seems as though she is hidden behind it. On the night that Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl, a huge letter A appears in the sky. Later, while in the forest, Pearl arranges a letter a on her heart that is made of eel grass. One of the most dramatic of the A's that appear in the book is the A that appears on Dimmesdale's chest. Not only does the "A" symbolize adultery, but it also has several other meanings to the different characters as well. To the community, it is simply a mark of punishment. To Hester, it is a mark of embarrassment and humiliation. To Dimmesdale, the scarlet letter is a reminder of his own guilt. To Pearl, the mark is a mysterious curiosity. To Chillingworth, the "A" is his chance to get revenge on Dimmesdale. Later, the letter symbolizes "Able" when Hester wins some respect from the townspeople. The scarlet letter is meant to be a symbol of shame, but instead it becomes...
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...Although A Lesson Before Dying and The Scarlet Letter were written in different time periods, the concept of women, community (did somebody say?), hypocrisy, symbolism, and man’s dehumanization and cruelty to man are similar many ways, In our first novel, A Lesson Before Dying written by Ernest J. Gaines, we meet our main character named Grant Wiggins. Wiggins is a young black man that “ran away” from Louisiana to go to college. Although he wished to “stay away”, Wiggins was pulled back to his small religious Cajun community. Grant Wiggins is seen as a man who has a “way with words” similar to a man like Reverend Dimmesdale. Although Wiggins is not religious like the prestigious Dimmesdale, their pessimistic look on life and “finding a way out” is similar. Wiggins wonders in Chapter Eight if he is “reaching them (school children) at all.” or if he’s “doing anything at all” (Gaines 62). Reverend Dimmesdale has a predicament of his own during his time in his labyrinthine mind. In Chapter Fourteen of The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dimmesdale states, rather grimly, that “There is no path to guide us out of this dismal...
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...greater destination? The film American Beauty and the novel The Scarlet Letter both use the archetypal hero’s journey and supporting images of power to emphasize that finding individuality can lead to fulfillment and rebirth, desires we all share. As readers venture into any story, they will realize that they will find a journey is being told. In the case of American Beauty and The Scarlet Letter, both narratives share the required journey pattern of departure, fulfillment and return in their quests....
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...Alyissa Li Brown Mrs. Dick American Literature October 19, 2012 The Many Shades of Red The color red: it is beautiful, rich, and full of meaning. It represents many different things in today’s world such as love, danger, and revenge. Similarly, in the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the color red is especially prominent. Color is important in this novel because every color has symbolic meaning behind it. This device of symbolism is used well in the novel, especially through the color red. It is the most important color because it is used the most, in the title of the book, and the color of the ‘A’. The color red symbolizes passion, shame and ultimately love. In The Scarlet Letter, it begins with a detailed description of a rose bush which symbolizes Hester and her passion. Roses are obviously red so immediately, red is going to be a very important color. In the following quote, it describes the rose bush and how it represents Hester: “This rose bush by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness, so long after the fall of the gigantic pines and oaks that originally overshadowed it, - or whether, as there is fair authority for believing, it had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson, as she entered the prison-door, - we shall not take upon us to determine” (50). This is the first encounter with red. It is the description of a wild red rosebush growing outside...
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...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...
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...psychological perspectives writers such as Poe and Melville used. However, after the war, this movement began to fade and Realism increased as the choice reading of the people. This was due to multiple events and changes in culture that led to Americans looking for something better to relate to. The first event was the end of the Civil War. The Civil War showed the violent intentions men had towards each other and also showed the vulnerability of men and the nation and how ungodly man actually was. However, Realism did not begin immediately after the Civil War but rather took off in the 1880’s. So what happened in the 1880’s then? The 1880’s saw the major migration of the typical American from the country to the city due to the rise of the industrial revolution and the increase in jobs in manufacturing and more efficient distribution methods. The migration to the city led to a new culture of Americans whose hard work days with long hours left little room for the desire for imagination and symbolism as American Romanticism had...
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...* 1. The passage above is notable chiefly for c. a literary conceit 2. In The Federalist, No, X, James Madison proposed that the dangers of factions be controlled by a a. republican form of government * 3. Sky Woman, Wolverine, and Turtle are all important figures in which of the following types of literature ? * d. Native American oral tales * 4. In line 1, “offspring” most probably refers to the author’s * b. book of poem * * 5. “My rambling brat” (line 11) is an example of * d. personification * * * 6. Place the name of teach of the Colonial era figures beside the British colony with which he is most closely associated. A. John Smith- The Virginia Colony B. John Winthrop- The Massachusetts Bay Colony * C. Roger Williams- The Colony Of Rhode Island * * * 7. The passage above is an example of a. Puritanism * * 8. Thomas Pain’s Common Sense had a direct influence on which of the following Revolutionary era works? * c. Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence * 9. The passage above is from * a. William Bradford’s The History of Plimouth Plantation 10. All of the following are writers of the Colonial era EXCEPT b. Margaret Fuller 11. The passage would best be described as an example of d. Sentimentalism 12. The first paragraph of the passage provides an example of which of the following figures of speech ? c. Apostrophe 13...
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...Elizabeth Cady Stanton Biography: Where did Elizabeth Cady Stanton grow up? Elizabeth Cady was born in Johnstown, New York on November 12, 1815. She had 10 brothers and sisters, however, many of them died during childhood. Only Elizabeth and four of her sisters lived well into adulthood. Her last brother, Eleazar, died when he was 20 years old leaving her mother depressed and her father wishing that Elizabeth was a boy. Elizabeth (sitting) with Susan B. Anthony Not Fair for Women Growing up Elizabeth was exposed to the law through her father Daniel. He was a lawyer who also served as a judge and a U.S. Congressman. She learned that the law was not the same for men and women. She learned that only men could vote and that women had few rights under the law. She didn't think this was fair. She thought she was as good as any boy and should be given the same opportunities. Going to School When Elizabeth reached school age she wanted to go to school to learn. Not many women went to school in those days, but her father agreed to send her to school. At school Elizabeth was an excellent student. She won awards and proved that she could do as well or better than most of the boys. After high school, Elizabeth wanted to go to college. She quickly learned that girls were not allowed into the major universities. She ended up going to a college for girls where she was able to continue her studies. Abolitionist and Human Rights Elizabeth began to believe...
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... ie 60 marks for each question. Quality of written communication will be assessed in all questions. 3 Section A: The Study of Poetry Written after 1800 Answer one question on your chosen pairing of poets. Heaney: Opened Ground Montague: New Selected Poems 1 John Montague and Seamus Heaney both write about the Irish past. Compare and contrast the two poets’ treatment of the Irish past in two poems you have studied. Hopkins: Selected Poems Dickinson: A Choice of Emily Dickinson’s Verse 2 Gerard Manley Hopkins and Emily Dickinson both express intense anguish in their poetry. Compare and contrast how both poets express intense anguish in two poems you have studied. Duffy: Selected Poems Lochhead: The Colour of Black and White 3...
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...what American Literature is in itself and which pieces of writing we can include within this label. It is believed that when a piece is written in North America, more precisely in the USA, it would automatically be given this epithet. But it should be taken into account that this idea is quite broad and doesn’t reflect the real essence of the term. However, there is also another definition that gathers this essence: American Literature is the one that represents the Americanism, the singularity of the USA philosophy and culture. This way, instead of focusing on who the author is, it is focused on the content of the writing. In that which concerns Fiction, the following documents are the ones considered as narrative: Speeches Letters Short Stories Essays Political Documents Sermons Novels Diaries 1 FIRST LITERARY EXPRESSIONS The first documents in which the idea of Americanism is very present are the Sermons. They respond to the strict Protestantism settled in the New Continent after the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers and Puritans in the Mayflower (1620) and the Arabella (1630). They established a theocratic community whose main and only point of reference was the Bible. That is why the idea of the ‘city upon a hill’ is still very present in American mentality. As we all know, their community was also governed by the concept of Predestination. This belief was based in the idea that we are...
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...1. Literature of the 17th century. John Milton. “Paradise Lost”. John Bunyan. “Pilgrim’s Progress”. The peculiarities of the English literature of the 17th century are determined by the events of the Engl. Bourgeois Revolution, which took place in 1640-60. King Charles I was beheaded in 1649& General Oliver Cromwell became the leader of the new government. In 1660, shortly after Cro-ll’s death, the dynasty of the Stuarts was restored. The establishment of new social&eco-ic relations, the change from feudal to bourgeois ownership, escalating class-struggle, liberation movement and contradictions of the bourgeois society found their reflection in lit-re. The main representatives of this period is: John Milton: was born in London&educated at Christ’s College. He lived a pure life believing that he had a great purpose to complete. At college he was known as the The Lady of Christ’s. he Got master’s degree at Cambridge. It’s convenient to consider his works in 3 divisions. At first he wrote his short poems at Horton. (The Passion, Song on May Morning, L’Allegro). Then he wrote mainly prose. His 3 greatest poems belong to his last group. At the age of 23 he had still done little in life&he admits this in one of his sonnets. (On his 23d B-day) In his another sonnet he wrote on his own blindness. (On his Blindness) Milton wrote diff. kinds of works. His prose works were mainly concerned with church, affairs, divorce & freedom. The English civil war between Charles...
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