Through the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the reader learns that the Puritan religion looks down on sinning and punishes sinners harshly. Through several examples throughout the text, the reader can conclude that Hawthorne did not agree with the Puritans’ attitude toward sin. Hawthorne uses satire throughout the novel to make fun of the Puritan views. The main character of the novel is Hester Prynne, who is found cheating on her husband. As a result, she is forced to wear a sewn scarlet “A” on her clothing.
When Abigail was talking to Proctor she says “She is telling lies to about me! She is a cold sniveling woman, and you bend to her!”(Page 15, act one) she is basically showing her jealousy towards his wife. This stirred up the witch trials because Abigail wanted to be with Proctor and she would do just about anything. The fact that John proctor realizes all of his flaws and confesses to all of his sins is another reason why he can be considered a tragic hero. When Proctor had to go to the court to get his wife out of being accused of upholding witchcraft he eventually confess to his sins he committed.
A symbol of a scarlet “A” was placed on her chest as a constant reminder of her mistake. Throughout the story Hester, along with her young daughter Pearl, live life isolated and heavy hearted. Hester’s paramour, Dimmesdale a reverend, becomes Chillingworth’s main focus. He wants to make Dimmesdale suffer for the sin he too has committed. By trying to poison Dimmesdale, Chillingworth is exposed to a symbol, something resembling the scarlet “A” on Hester’s chest, placed on
He chose this fate, for it was necessary to overcome the power of the nurse; to release her grasp on the patients of the ward. The Nurse left voiceless and now could not hide her womanhood; her power over the patients lost. McMurphy, like Christ, suffered for the patients of the ward; he suffered to overcome the evil presence of Nurse Ratched. He became a sacrificial victim for the people, allowing them to regain self-confidence and sanity. McMurphy is a man of Christ like ideals; he sins as a man would, but suffers for the people as Christ
When john takes Mary to the court so she can testify against the girls they think it’s a bit suspicious. When the girls are brought into the court they accuse Mary of bewitching them. John gets fed up and he confesses to his affair with Abigail to prove that she is not a goodly person and that she is jealous of his wife. Elizabeth is brought to the court to prove of what john is saying is true but because of her kindness and her love for her husband she lies to protect his name. Abigail and the girls pretend Mary is bewitching them again which make Mary breakdown and accuse john of being a witch.
A feeling of belonging depends on a strong relationship, developed over a period of time. To what extent do you support this viewpoint In the play the crucible the town of Salem is segregated into those who have been accused of witchcraft and those who follow the church which also acts as the legislative body. This witchcraft hysteria brought by the young girls blinds Salem and causes the execution of many. Abigails adulterous acts with proctor shows the individual potential to damage relationships and push people into a sense of not belonging. Proctors actions made him not belong to the town for he was a sinner and had gone against the church.
“In Mexico as elsewhere, hair cutting for women was a gravely insulting, visible symbol of sexual and social dishonor.” This would reflect upon her husband’s honor as well. Although chaotic, both Maria and Rita performed these deeds in order to preserve their honor. Through this story we are able to see how gossip was used to wound someone’s honor, gossip about one’s chastity wounded their honor and how violence was used to publicly humiliate and decrease one’s honor. In “Scandal at the Church” we see how the women underhandedly were able to affect each other’s honor and try to create a way to raise or lower their class rank in
Christianity was the matrix of medieval life. Everyone was affected by these ideals, but not everyone lived up to these ideals. From the documentary, Inside the Medieval Mind, the church relied on fear and shame to control people. Sex is considered filthy in the Medieval Times, where virginity was the highest virtue. Women were thought of as Satan’s bait and poison for the souls of men.
Being compared to the devil in a novel set in a heavily catholic country shows that she is evil, and the subtitle ‘The Tragedy of Paulo Giordano Ursini, Duke of Brachiano, With the Life and Death of Vittoria Corombona the famous Venetian Curtizan’ supports this. The fact that she is a ‘famous curtizan’ supports the idea that she is to blame for the events in the novel, as it is her promiscuity that causes the murders of so many, sparked by jealously in Brachiano. Vittoria is immediately at a disadvantage in the novel and entering the trial however. She is not even given the grace of being the centre of focus in the subtitle, added on at the end almost as if her presence is an afterthought by Webster. This shows how she is handicapped by the fact that she is a woman, in a society controlled by men.
As a result of Jane's tantrums, quick temper, and lack of self-control, society classifies her as an immoral person. She speaks up for her herself when she knows she is not supposed to, and her family believes that she acts more like a "rebel" than a young woman. Her spontaneous and violent actions go against conventionality and she must suffer for being so free-spirited. Miss Abbot believes: "God will punish her: He might strike her in the midst of her tantrums"; (15). Jane's tantrums are not customary or acceptable, so during those precise moments of