Scarlet Letter Analysis Essay - 2078 Words

â€Å"Women belong in the kitchen.† â€Å"All women should be barefoot and pregnant.† â€Å"Women are strictly homemakers.† These are a few of the commonly used phrases regarding the female role in society that date back to the mid-seventeenth century. However, ardent supporters of gender equality have surfaced in almost every culture where this ideology is practiced. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores this inveterate societal conflict through his story The Scarlet Letter. The main character, Hester Prynne, is punished for committing adultery by being forced to wear a scarlet letter upon her bosom; Hawthorne created a story sympathetic to the female cause and demonstrated, through Hester, qualities of early feminism that later establish themselves during his†¦show more content†¦These feminists aimed to defend their silenced voices. One motive for the dissent of inequality could have resulted from the strict government regulation of conformity. Everyone was tr ained to evade individualistic thinking, which in turn, led to the questioning of leaders. â€Å"It was an age in which the human intellect had taken a more active and a wider range than for many centuries before,† (149). This quote illustrates the possibility of a change in people’s mind regarding the injustice towards women. Hester represents the story’s population that thinks freely. She is not content with fulfilling the pre-determined destiny of a silent wife under Christ, and demonstrates it by challenging that role and attempting to reorganize the archaic system in which she lives. The women of the town are outraged by her actions, demonstrating that they are afraid that if women start acting out of passion, the entire structure they depend on would dilapidate. Hester made it clear that it is possible to survive outside of prejudice, which is still exemplified today. She displays that the idea of feminism and the reasons leading up to it have not changed for decades. For all of these reasons, Hester’s feminist mindset became prevalent throughout the novel. She questions the place of women and becomes heavyhearted when she realizes she does not possess the ability to make an impact. She ponders whether being alive is worth the travesty she believes is engrainedShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Scarlet Letter 972 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of The Black Man In The Scarlet Letter Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. In the novel â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, symbolism is the main feature of the story. Symbolism is used throughout the novel to describe every object in the story from the characters to the rosebush to the scarlet letter itself. One of the major symbols in â€Å"The Scarlet Letter† is the black man, who can not only beRead MorePsychoanalytic Analysis : The Scarlet Letter 1354 Words   |  6 PagesPsychoanalytical Analysis Throughout The Scarlet Letter there are many Freudian symbolisms that can be found scattered throughout this American classic. In nearly every chapter there is at least one reference to a phallic or yonic symbols to demonstrate the longing for a male figure in both Pearl and Hester’s life, and the symbolism to depict the shift from id to ego. One of the earlier metaphors to symbolize Hester’s suppression is the scaffold that she stands upon in the first chapter of theRead MoreAnalysis Of The Scarlet Letter 1310 Words   |  6 Pages The characters in the Scarlet Letter are judged greatly through how and who they are able and unable to forgive. Such as the main female lead, Hester Prynne, and her struggle for the town to forgive her, finding the will to forgive herself and having God forgive her. Although, this was hard because every day she had to live with the scarlet letter upon her chest as a reminder of her sin. Another character that had one of the roughest times in the novel was Arthur Dimmesdale. This man kept a sinRead MoreAnalysis Of The Scarlet Letter 1645 Words   |  7 PagesIn The Scarlet Letter a young woman named Hester is criticized and mocked for having a young girl from an adulterous act with a sneaky pastor. The young girl will be named Pearl (named Pearl for having cost a great price). Thr oughout the novel as the characters develop and change the plot of the story develops into a riveting climax and an end no one could have imagined. Within the novel there are five major scenes that build up to the dramatic ending of The Scarlet Letter. The scenes in order areRead MoreAnalysis Of The From The Scarlet Letter 959 Words   |  4 PagesComposition: Analysis – Chapter Nine, â€Å"The Leech† from the Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most iconic books in history; its storyline, theme and literal characters have made an impact on the world of literature for hundreds of years. What stands out the most in the book is the use of archaic diction and figurative language, which serve to paint vivid, descriptive pictures of each character, specifically, Roger Chillingworth. In chapter nine of The Scarlet Letter, ‘TheRead MoreAnalysis Of The Scarlet Letter 963 Words   |  4 Pagesare the source of them is the way to redemption. In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a Puritan woman named Hester Prynne commits the crime of adultery with the reverend of the town and bears a child from this unlawful union. Hester faces punishment in the form of a large scarlet letter â€Å"A† that she must wear upon her bosom so that all may know the sin of infidelity she has committed. In The Scarlet Letter, the evolvement and fate of the character of Hester Prynne demonstratesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Scarlet Letter 1234 Words   |  5 PagesNadia Innab Mrs. Mogilefsky English 3 AP 31 August 2015 The Scarlet Letter Questions 1. One of the author’s purposes in delivering this literary piece to the public is to expose the hypocrisy of society. For example, when Hester chooses to accept her Scarlet Letter instead of wear it with shame, society looks at her as if there was something wrong with her conscience. Hawthorne states, â€Å"This morbid meddling of conscience with an immaterial matter betokened, is to be feared, no genuine and steadfastRead MoreAnalysis Of The Scarlet Letter 1610 Words   |  7 Pagesthat the mysterious ailment afflicting the minister is connected to her mother’s sin. -The townspeople do not see the obvious connection between Dimmesdale and Hester have even though they both are affected by the same place on the body (The scarlet letter on the heart and Dimmesdale hand over his heart). -Pearl connect Dimmesdale to the â€Å"Black Man† who is the devil, to show he has sinned -The townspeople ignore the obvious connection between Dimmesdale s declining health and Hester’s sin becauseRead MoreAnalysis Of The Scarlet Letter 1233 Words   |  5 PagesKyle Cho Mr. Ertman AP Lit Per.4 2 November 2015 In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s time-honored novel, The Scarlet Letter, the relationship between Pearl and her biological father, Arthur Dimmesdale, changes from that of unfamiliarity and fear to one of love and acceptance. Throughout most of the novel, Dimmesdale is unable to face Pearl without being reminded of his sin and he becomes estranged to his own child. As a result, Pearl lacks a true connection with her father which becomes a detriment to herRead MoreAnalysis Of The Scarlet Letter 1307 Words   |  6 PagesStephanie Boltz Mrs. Voshell Honors English 10 8 January 2016 The Perception of Sins in The Scarlet Letter In The Scarlet Letter, the perception of sin deviates from person to person. The deviation occurs on the severity of the sin that was committed and who committed the sin. Focusing on Hester and Dimmesdale, it is easy to compare the consequences of coping with the perception of their sins, on a private and a public level. The outcome of dealing with their sin is extremely different. The theme