After committing the sin of adultery, Hester Prynne endured her coarse punishment of standing on the scaffold and wearing an embroidered “A” on her chest. The theme of this chapter is that no sin, as heinous as adultery, will go unpunished. Unlike Dimmsdale, who hadn’t been condemned for his sin, Hester beared her punishment of being publicly humiliated given to her by the stringent puritans. Instead, Dimmsdale experienced a punishment of great suffering out of guilt. Hester Prynne, the wife of a learned, English-man, was accused of being with another man while her husband was said to soon be joining Hester in Massachusetts.
Delaram Yazdani American Literature 1 Final Exam 21 February 2013 Pearl, From Elf to Treasure The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a story of puritanical society, a kind of society which confronted Hester for having committed the sin of adultery, and expelled her from the community by making her to wear the Scarlet Letter “A”. Pearl is the outcome of the sin. She represents the Scarlet Letter, or better to say, she is the living symbol of the Scarlet letter. However, she meant treasure to her mother, a gift from the Almighty God, and brought liveliness and happiness to her life. ““God gave me the child?” cried she.
The Puritans in The Scarlet Letter ironically condemn Hester by hypocritically reacting to her sin and by foolishly praising the preacher who actually committed adultery with her. Once the puritans realize Hester was pregnant, they began to condemn her and give her harsh consequences. All together they banished her from the town and tried to take her daughter away from her. These consequences were given hypocritically since the majority of the town participated in witchcraft. The town, in order to justify it's sin, acted like they actually held standards by harshly attacking Hester's sin.
The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, both are books relating to the alienation of an individual wanting to fit into society. In the Scarlet Letter, the protagonists, Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale have committed adultery which is a sin unacceptable in the Puritan Society. Hester is married to Chillingworth, the strange doctor who is out for revenge. Pearl is born to Hester, as an outcome of their sin however Hester does not reveal who the father is.
Scarlet Letter Essay Who would you define as the worst sinner in The Scarlet Letter? The Scarlet Letter is about a young woman named Hester Prynne who came over from Europe with her husband who was supposed to follow after her. Hester Prynne had been waiting for her husband to come over but it had become prolonged. So Hester Prynne ended up committing adultery with the minister of New England named Arthur Dimmesdale. This story is about committing a sin against the Puritan culture that is all about holiness and living right before God.
Nathaniel Hawthorne goes into depth about sins that most people don’t want to hear about. During the time period of The Scarlet Letter, adultery was extremely frowned upon, and was punishable by death. Dimmesdale kept the guilt and the pain of what he had done bundled up inside; Hester`s sin was brought to light she stood on a scaffold alone as people watched; Chillingworth was letting his anger and hatred control his very being. Hester along with her baby had nothing else to do, but stand and watch as her lover stood by. As she was tried for the very thing he should be tried for.
Hester Prynne's Repression Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, is the story of a young woman, who is an obvious member of the Puritan society. We see in the beginning, that after committing adultery with a minister, Hester unintentionally bores a child into this small, oppressive Puritan society in the mid 1600's. In the beginning, Hester Prynne, is repressed by her community when she is forced to wear the letter “A” relating her commitment of adultery with Minister Dimmadale, but soon after her acceptance of the sin; she embraces the letter, and changes the meaning of her scarlet letter “A” for Adultery to an "A" for Able, and becomes an active member in the oppressive Puritan society. Although many say that Hester was repressed by her community, she stayed stong and became a rather social member of society eventhough her sin was looked down upon by many of the members of her community. Hester became a great aid to the community, by often socializing in her job of needlework.
While she is married she find out she is pregnant with some else’s child. Puritans looked down upon this greatly. For her punishment, she was convicted of adultery, and forced to wear a scarlet letter, “A” on her dress for the rest of her life. When she was let out of prison, she had to stand on the scaffold for three hours and endure the stares of the townspeople. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many ways to characterize Hester Prynne, and to show her importance in the development of the plot.
Dear Pip, How are you doing old chap? I have written this letter to discuss such things that have been troubling my mind. That wretched girl you always mumble about, I believe Estella is her name is nothing but a no-good for your heart Pip. Do you remember many years ago when you first believed you were in love, did Estella hold back anything about your hands, your boots, your common nature. You were just forced to do Miss Havisham’s bidding by having your heart broken by her man-killer as she put it.
Not only did Abigail accuse innocent people of witchcraft, but also had an affair with a married man, John Proctor. In the late 1600’s it was said to be a sin to sleep with a married man. Because of her affair with John Proctor, I think that Abigail ended up falling in love with John and wanted his wife out of the picture, hence the reason why she falsely accuses her. “I look for John Proctor that took me from my sleep and put knowledge in my heart! I never knew what pretense Salem was, I never knew the lying lessons I was taught by all these Christian women and their covenanted men!