Chillingworth In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter Tone Timed Writing

In the novel “The Scarlet Letter” Chillingworth is Hester's husband long lost at sea and thought dead. When he returns back to Boston he realises Hester, his wife, had been unfaithful to him and has a daughter which is later revealed as the minister. Chillingworth is associated with a negative tone because of his physical appearance, comparisons to "The Black Man", and his representation in the film with dark music.

Throughout the novel Hawthorne associates Chillingworth with negative words and phrases, he is called “The Black Man”, and is compared to the devil himself. His appearance as stated in the novel is ugly and deformed. Hawthorne associates his appearance to his revengeful intentions which consume his thoughts. He makes Chillingworth the antagonist of the story. In the novel it says he torments Dimmesdale and creeps into his room, puts his hand on Dimmesdale's heart and laughs. He is said to be filled with joy because the ministers soul is lost to the black man. Even Pearl calls Chillingworth the black man and is afraid of him. Hawthorne’s contemptuous and murderous tone towards Chillingworth helps the reader …show more content…
He resembled and provided a visual appearance to associate with Chillingworth. He is old and ugly with a cruel and tormenting aura that displays his motives. The director made him appear beaten down and angry, he also made him devilish with a creepy sly look. Another cinematic choice was the music played when Chillingworth got mad or made an entrance. In a movie it is very difficult to show the audience the tone of a character, where as in a book the author can jump back and forth and tell you how the author feels about that character through their word choice and narrations. The music helps show the audience that he is the antagonist with evil intentions and foreshadows his
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