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The Scarlet Letter 2 - Online Term Paper

The Scarlet Letter 2

Set in seventeenth-century Boston, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is abotu consquences of hidden and open sin. Hester Prynne commits adultery against her husband with Arthur Dimmesdale, a young clergyman. As part of her punishment, Hester is required to wear a red "A" everyday. Hawthorne uses symbolism throughout the novel to depict the Puritan views, the views of the adulterers, and the contrasting views of the people in the community. He exhibits these viewa through symbolism in the letter "A", objects, the three scaffold scenes, the forest scene, and the characters.
Hawthorne uses symbolism through the letter "A." According to one expert, the main character in The Scarlet ...

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adultery. Puritan society sees the "A" as a symbol of guilt, Hester's infraction of their moral code (HArt 95). Hester is given the punishment of wearing the letter instead of being put to death because she is young and comes from a prominent family. However, the pain and heartache that the "A" brings to her is far worse than being excuted. Children learn to detest Hester because shee wears the symbol of the moral outcast (Abel 171). The "A" is a sing of the community's ownership of Hester, and her "struggle to change the meaning of the letter is a struggle for her right to 'own' herself" (Baym 88). Although the letter is menat only to be a symbol of Hester's sin, it also takes on additional menaings.
The letter "A" might also stand for able. Despite all of the prejudices against her, Hester gives herself unselfishly to those that need her, transcending above everyone's expectations. Hawthorne reveals the transformation of Hester;s character in the following ...

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 4/1/2004 02:13:50 AM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1080
Pages: 4

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