Theme Of Guilt In The Scarlet Letter

Words: 637

Pages: 3

Open Document

Nathaniel Hawthorne lived during the 1800s and was obsessed with Puritan times. During the Puritan times in the 1600s, Hawthorne had a great great grandfather, John Hathorne, who was a relentless judge during the Salem witch trials. Hawthorne’s obsession with his great great grandfather and Puritanism drove him to write The Scarlet Letter. In this novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the symbolism of the scarlet letter, Pearl, and Dimmesdale to contribute to the overall theme of guilt.
To begin, Hawthorne uses the scarlet letter to contribute to the theme of guilt. Hester Prynne, the protagonist of the story, committed adultery and has to wear a scarlet letter on her bosom forever. This isolates her from the townspeople. The A stands for adultery while the color scarlet stands for sex and love, and the A stands for adultery. Hawthorne explains “... that Scarlet Letter… had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself.” (Hawthorne 52). This quote describes the guilt Hester feels. The guilt that her sin is constantly displayed on her bosom. As a result, she feels isolated from the townspeople. Everyone in the town sees this symbol and has a clear understanding of what it means. A young wife …show more content…
Hester’s scarlet letter embodied her sin so everyone could see it and know what it means. Pearl appeared to feed off of her mother’s guilt and make her feel more and more guilty, by calling attention to her letter. Dimmesdale would always put his hand over his heart to try to cover his guilt, but it only brought more attention to it. Some people argue that the overall theme is imperfection, and imperfections commonly lead to guilt. The more imperfections Hester and Dimmesdale were forced to confront, the more guilty they

Symbolism Of The Scaffold In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

plain, but its language is hard to interpret” (“The Scarlet Letter” 314). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the line between the “language” that is established in society and the “language” in one’s heart is blurred. The truth is plain. Hester and Dimmesdale’s truth is their sin manifested in their daughter, the living result of their adultery, Pearl. Based in Puritan Boston, The Scarlet Letter addresses the themes sin, shame, guilt, and redemption and their perception in Puritan society…

Words 1094 - Pages 5

Pride, Guilt, And Isolation In The Scarlet Letter

In “The Scarlet Letter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his three main themes, pride, guilt, and isolation. Roger Chillingworth is a great example of isolation. Chillingworth goes on the prowl for the man who he feels wronged him; the man who stole his property. His vengefulness is all-consuming. It colors every second of every day. He, much like Dimmesdale, becomes a hypocrite, pretending to be one thing-in this case, pretending to be Dimmesdale's friend and physician throughout the book-while in actuality…

Words 365 - Pages 2

Hester Prynne Punishment In Scarlet Letter

spit at them? In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne this happens to the main character Hester Prynne. Her sin sums up some of the themes in the novel such as: guilt, sin, and women and femininity. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester takes her punishment, the themes of guilt and sin, and the portrayal of women in her society. In New England Boston Hester Prynne commits a sin of adultery with Arthur Dimmesdale. Her punishment is she has to wear the letter "A" for the rest of…

Words 631 - Pages 3

Essay on The Scarlet Letter and Hester Prynne

Sin, Guilt, Dimmesdale I. Powerpoint A. Background information 1. The major points of the novel 2. Hester Prynne, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth’s individual traits and characteristics 3. Each character’s relation and connection to Hester Prynne 4. Each character’s role in Hester’s life B. Focus of the novel (T.U.L.I.P.) 1. Adultery a. Total depravity – how everyone is born with sin b. How this relates to Adam and Eve c. how Adam and Eve compare with Hester and Dimmesdale d. What the…

Words 368 - Pages 2

The Scarlet Letter was written by Natha Essay

1. The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the late 1850s. The genre of this novel is classified as a romance and a historical fiction. Hawthorne is seen as important to the world of literature because he was the most famous writer for the anti-transcendentalist which can best be described as a realist, he wrote over 46 stories and impacted America by showing the bad instead of the good in society. Unlike most fiction writers of his time, he was not primarily interested in stirring…

Words 914 - Pages 4

Theme Of Forgiveness In The Crucible

characters in the Scarlet Letter vs The crucible, they each demonstrate a big trait of forgiveness and betrayal. The main themes of each story are portrayed by the minds and actions of each individual character. Within the The Scarlet Letter, Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale portray their actions and want of forgiveness with god from the beginning to the end of the story. In the Crucible, John Proctor and Abigail Williams ask for the forgiveness. Forgiveness is used to help the main theme of each story…

Words 567 - Pages 3

Comparing The Crucible And The Scarlet Letter

books The Crucible and The Scarlet Letter are similar in many ways. Both books include many of the same themes and very alike characters. Although both books were written at different times, they follow a certain guideline about the Puritan society. These two books each include characters with issues from within. Every book also uses a little bit of magic. These two books are no exception. One common theme between these books is of guilt and redemption. This theme plays a very large role in…

Words 1887 - Pages 8

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

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

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