The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Submitted By tpalmon
Words: 1197
Pages: 5
Open Document
Alec Rothman
English III
Ms. Lukowski
14 October 2014 Hester’s Yin
In
The Scarlet Letter
, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne creates life through sinful act. Even though the act was evil, the child produced was a force of good nature. Throughout the book, Pearl grows to become a curious and special child, and she proves to the audience that she as a whole is a force of good. Nathaniel Hawthorne causes Pearl to interact with the world around her, and ultimately illustrates she is a force of good.
When Pearl is around, colors are seemingly brighter and more noticeable in the scene.
“Pearl? ­­Ruby, rather!­­or Coral!­­or Red Rose, at the very least, judging from thy hue!” (97).
Mr. Wilson describes her outer hue or coloring, and rather than being a dark scarlet, she has a bright tone to her, which infers that through color, Hawthorne tries to show the reader that she is full of good intentions and innocence. Ruby red, rose color red, and coral are brighter and more vibrant, and Pearl is the human version of those vibrant tones and feelings. Also in the novel, when Pearl and Hester go into the forest, Pearl describes the sunlight to her mom. “‘Mother,’ said little pearl, ‘the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. Now, see! There it is, playing, and let me run and catch it. I am but

a child. It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!’” (166). Pearl is curious to know and understand her mothers scarlet A, and knows from sunlight and brightness that it is a bad thing to have on her bosom. Pearl is the sunlight for her mother, bringing glee and a spark of happiness to this life Hester now possesses. Once in the forest, Pearl is seen with the sunlight.
“Hester smiled, and again called to Pearl, who was visible at some distance, as the minister had described her, like a bright­apparelled vision in a sunbeam, which fell down upon her through an arch of boughs.” (186). Again, Hawthorne shows Pearl’s outside to be beaming with bright and good intention. Color throughout this story gives a great visual on if the person being described is a force of good or evil, and because Pearl is always seen to be brighter and more majestic than
Hester or other characters, it proves to be that Pearl is essentially a force of good.
Pearl, being a child, accepts everything and everyone around her, but makes sagacious enough inferences to be curious and ask many questions. She often asks about the A, “But in good earnest now, mother dear, what does this scarlet letter mean? ­­And why dost thou wear it on thy bosom?­­And why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?” (161). She innocently tries to find the answer to all of her questions, and her innocence shows her good intentions.
Before asking about her mothers A, Pearl decides to make her own. “A letter­­the letter ‘A’­­but freshly green, instead of scarlet! The child bent her chin upon her breast, and contemplated this device with strange interest; even as if the one only thing for which she had been sent into the world was to make out it’s hidden import.” (161). This child copies her mother because she feels like if she has her own she is able to find its meaning. This A is very different than her mother’s.
It is a bright green and is made out of mere sea­weed, while her mothers is a nice fabric with gold trim as the outline. These diverse letters on eachother’s chest give an illustation to

Hawthorne’s thinking by displaying good and bad. Pearl’s A is good, pure, and innocent, while
Hester’s A is simply there to show the townspeople she has committed adultery. Pearl has this A to unlock that secret. Her A is made out of bright colors, again Hawthorne shows that Pearl gleams with good and pureness. The material of each letter also proves to show diversity, Pearl using nature which is a positive and well off thing, and Hester just
Show More

Related Documents: The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Essay on scarlet letter

The Scarlet letter essay We have all been in troubling times in our lives some worse then others. Life is like a roller coaster it has it's ups and downs and if you've said you haven't had any bad times you probably lying well, In this story there is a girl who puts up with a lot of negativity in a town having a guilt trip put on her and this story is called The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne uses the character Hester to illustrate that guilt impacts humans mentally and physically…

Words 534 - Pages 3

Scarlet Letter Essay

Joana Leung 3̊ Harper The Scarlet Letter Essay 10.13.2012 Hawthorne portrays Hester’s sin of adultery as less critical to emphasize the hypocrisy of the Puritan society. For instance, the Puritans claim to put their faith into the Bible; however, they do not follow the moral codes they advocate themselves. Likewise, Hester’s sin of committing adultery is taken more severely than Chillingworth’s search for revenge. Furthermore, Dimmesdale, the most hypocritical…

Words 866 - Pages 4

Scarlet letter essay

Izaiah Butler Mrs.Go Ap English Language and Composition 10/19/14 The Scarlet Letter Essay Is It a Feminist Novel ? A large theme in Nathanial Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter is feminism. Feminism is simply a woman’s role in society. Hawthorne’s characterization of Hester as a weak woman who obeyed the wishes of a patriarchal society illustrates his anti­feminist views. Anti­ feminist views are views is the ideology that is broadly defined as an opposition to feminism or some aspect of feminism…

Words 758 - Pages 4

Scarlet Letter Essays

The Scarlet Letter Essay Throughout the story, three main characters were analyzed. These characters were Hester, Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. The way in which Hawthorne had written The Scarlet Letter, was through using symbolic nature to personify what the character actually represented. He made sure to add intricate details throughout the story, describing every aspect of the character. From personality to looks to actions and anything that made up the character, was shown with the smallest…

Words 1053 - Pages 5

Heroes in the Scarlet Letter Essay

Jessica Gee 11/1/12 English 11 The Scarlet Letter: Essay 1 In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many heroes. Many acts of courage and loyalty were done in the novel, and there are four main people who I think are the heroes in the story. Hester Prynne is the main hero since she is so loyal and Dimmesdale is a hero for his because of his bravery. Lastly, Chillingworth is the tragic hero of the story in my opinion. The villain to me was the Puritan society as a whole. All of…

Words 806 - Pages 4

SCARLET LETTER - Feminism Essay

Victoria Marchlewski English 10 H Period 5 The Scarlet Letter ­ Final Test (Essay) #6 Often in literature, women are portrayed as weak or evil. Eve caused original sin, Miss Havisham, from Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations , hated men because of heartbreak, and Cruella de Vil planned to murder dogs for their coats. However, in The Scarlet Letter , Nathaniel Hawthorne shows the role of a woman in a different light. Hester Prynne, the main character, makes her own decisions without causing her community to fall apart…

Words 1047 - Pages 5

The Scarlet Letter Analysis Essay

Reading Essay: AP US History Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a perfect example of cruel, harsh, and unreasonable punishment for the breaking of one law based off of religious background in government. Hester, the main character, is punished for her crime of adultery and it’s discovered that religion in this colonial time highly influenced resident behavior, punishment, and daily life. Our story’s protagonist, Hester Prynne, gives the book its title by being the wearer scarlet letter, a…

Words 1145 - Pages 5

Scarlet Letter Experiment Essay

Scarlet letter experiment essay In the scarlet letter Hester has to wear an A on the front of her shirt to show that she has committed adultery. Back in her day they had a lot of different ways of punishing people for the crimes they did. Some times they would hang the people on a scaffold to embarrass them in front of the town. Some times they would even chop their head off in front of the whole town if the crime they did were super bad. I chose the letter T. I colored it and placed it on the…

Words 397 - Pages 2

Scarlet Letter Analysis Essay

in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. After the death of his father due to the Yellow Fever epidemic, he was raised with his two sisters by a single mother. As a writer, Hawthorne produced many pieces including House of Seven Gables. However, The Scarlet Letter, written near the end of his career, is thought to be his Magnum Opus. In relation to the novel, Hawthorne not only lived in the same general area as his characters, but also under many of the same circumstances. His upbringing by a single…

Words 1326 - Pages 6

Scarlet Letter Essay

"No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true." Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a fabulous book, in which he titled “The Scarlet Letter.” Many problems were told of, but the main one being the crime of adultery. The woman, Hester Prynne, who committed the crime is said to be the protagonist of the novel. Though there have been many debates on who the antagonist is of the book, there is only one…

Words 741 - Pages 3