Essay about The Scarlet Letter and Character Pearl

Submitted By thenomad04
Words: 946
Pages: 4
Open Document
Skylar Levens-Thompson Thompson 1
AP English 11-Period 5
Ms. Dooley
Sept 24, 2014
4. What do you make of Hawthorne’s character Pearl? Although she at first appears to be a secondary character in the novel, Pearl figures significantly into many of the novel’s key narrative events. How do Pearl’s actions represent her distinct identity? What is Pearl’s significance in the novel as a whole (and do not forget to consider what happens to Pearl at the conclusion of the narrative)? Hawthorne’s character Pearl is very unique; Pearl has ideals that people now in modern-day share. She has a strong sense of righteousness when it comes to anything related to her mother. Pearl’s actions represent her distinct identity by her unusual behavior around her mother, nature, and her perception of the scarlet letter. Pearl’s significance in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, is both the consequence and the solution to the sin of adultery that her mother, Hester Prynne, and as we find out, her father, Minister Dimmesdale committed. Her significance changes completely during the novel, but her role also changed the importance of the other characters like her mother. Pearl has the same behavioral reactions that children nowadays have, meaning she is straight-forward and honest about her thoughts and beliefs. Though her mother tries to teach her daughter that her “normal” behavior is not actually normal in their Puritan society, Pearl continues to believe that the scarlet letter on her mother’s bosom is nothing to be embarrassed about and that the way the village children pick on her mother is upsetting. Her reaction to the
Thompson 2 village children picking on her mother was often to “…[snatch] up stones to fling at them, [and]…shrill, incoherent exclamations that made her mother tremble, because they [her shrilling] had so much the sound of a witch’s anathemas in some unknown tongue” (Hawthorne, 64). And because of Pearl’s unique mindset and her mother’s status in the village, she was, in a way, out-casted from interacting with the other children in the village. The village children differ very distinctly from Pearl simply because her actions seem blessed by God; there was always sunlight shown upon Pearl, whether she, be with just herself and her mother or when she’s out around the other villagers. This leads us to her significance throughout the novel. Pearl’s significance had a major turnabout because in the beginning of the novel, Pearl is seen as the product of a sin, but as the story progresses, Pearl becomes the daily torture of the sin her mother made and in the end, Pearl evidently was also the release of that sin. On page 77 of The Scarlet Letter, Hester declares to the old Governor that “…She [Pearl] is her happiness!- [and that] she is my [Hester’s] torture, none the less!” Her significance affected the importance of other characters, too. Her role influenced Minister Dimmesdale’s character by her curiosity and Dimmesdale’s sudden guilt for not taking responsibility of Hester and Pearl as he took part in the sin that led to all Hester’s grief and pain. As Pearl’s significance grew, Dimmesdale’s guilt ate away at him and he became more and more involved with Hester and Pearl. In turn, Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, began enacting his revenge upon Dimmesdale. Though Chillingworth’s plan for revenge on Dimmesdale was unsuccessful, he also was affected by the growth of Pearl’s character significance. Pearl’s character brought together her mother, Hester, and her father, Minister Dimmesdale, which brought them to lean upon each other for strength to
Show More

Related Documents: Essay about The Scarlet Letter and Character Pearl

The Color Red In The Scarlet Letter

Allison Beranek Mrs. Moeller English 11 18 March 2016 Color and name symbolism In The Scarlet Letter, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes many colors and names to symbolize moods. In The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne uses the color black to symbolize evil and sin. Hawthorne uses black to show the pain that Arthur Dimmesdale endured because of the sin that he had committed. Hawthorne also uses the color black to show a similarity between the black man and sin. The black man in the forest represents…

Words 682 - Pages 3

scarlet letter Essay

The Scarlet Letter LIT 331 Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a true American novel that dove into the complexities of Puritan and early American society; it was called The Scarlet Letter. In this novel it discussed the hard times of Hester Prynne, the main character as well as her secret lover Reverend Dimmesdale. The novel addresses their trials and tribulations of their love affair, their child Pearl and multiple symbols used to discuss identity of one’s self, along with the…

Words 1403 - Pages 6

Scarlet Letter Forest Symbolism

In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses many symbols, for example the forest, sunshine and water. Symbols of things would be the scarlet letter itself and the symbols of places would be like the scaffold. Pearl is also one of the heavily symbolized characters in the book. One important part of the book is when Hester Prynne speaks to Dimmesdale about their predicament which takes place in the forest.Throughout the novel, it becomes very apparent that there is a difference between the forest and the…

Words 924 - Pages 4

Symbolism In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Symbolism Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of America’s most important writers. Hawthorne wrote stories that probed the undiscovered mysteries of bringing a character’s experience to life. He used the roots from his background and Americas’ in the books he wrote. He changed his name by adding a W, because of his family history. Hawthorne's contribution to the evolution of modern literature. After twelve long years Hawthorne wrote a historical ground breaker called The Scarlet Letter.The…

Words 1857 - Pages 8

Scarlett Letter Analysis Essay 1

Scarlett Letter Analysis Essay “Ah, but let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart” (Hawthorne, Scarlett letter). Inquiring the power of love, as well as flirting with human sentiments Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote “The Scarlett Letter” over the struggles of a condemned outlaw in the “Holy” Puritan society. Hester Prynne the protagonist in the story, a woman who initiated from Europe is targeted to a world of drama where she is imprisoned for adultery in the Puritan…

Words 765 - Pages 4

The Symbolism Of Pearl In The Scarlet Letter

Pearl A symbol is an object that represents something else and means the same thing. Symbols are used in a literary piece to make it more meaningful. In the book The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism to show the importance of the meaning of things. Although The Scarlet Letter has many symbols, one symbol that stands out is Pearl because she is the human symbol of adultery, she is the reminder of Hester’s sin, and she knows things she should not; which makes her a symbol of pantomath…

Words 585 - Pages 3

What Does The Rosebush Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

time fairly uncommon. One of the very first authors to utilize extensive literary symbolism was Nathaniel Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne uses many instances of symbolism including that of the scarlet letter, Pearl, and the rose bush. The scarlet letter is perhaps the largest symbol, and the namesake, of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel; throughout the book, the letter has multiple…

Words 881 - Pages 4

Sympathy In The Scarlet Letter

Date The Scarlet Letter This essay will take a defensive position on the assertion that people are not actually “humanized” or capable of sympathy until grief deeply touches them. Evidence will point out that people reactions to sympathy for others have to be emotionally induced, mostly by pain or unusual happenings and acts. Pearl is the daughter of Hester, and the book uses her as a symbol. She becomes an important character in the book through her ability to provoke the elder character in the book…

Words 1134 - Pages 5

Essay on Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter 1 Hawthorne uses the setting in Chapter one to set the mood for the story in two ways. The first is that the prison embodies the unyielding severity of puritan law: old, rusted, yet strong with an "iron-clamped oaken door." Puritan law is coated, in this account, in the rust of tradition and obsolete purpose. But despite the evolution of its modern society, the laws have not kept up. As a result, the door remains tightly shut and iron-clamped presenting a judgmental and condemning…

Words 3876 - Pages 16

Book Report Essay

Michaela Williams Mr. Juhasz English IV AP 23 Feb. 2014 The Scarlet Letter Book Report Plot Summary The book, The Scarlet Letter, starts with a 34 page introduction to the origin of how the novel came to be. The narrator, who stays anonymous, was an examiner of the Custom House in Salem, Massachusetts, the city in which the story is set. The narrator states, “But one idle and rainy day, it was my fortune to make a discovery of some little interest.” He had started to go through many of the many collected…

Words 1782 - Pages 8