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The Scarlet Letter - Punishment And Death - Online Term Paper

The Scarlet Letter - Punishment And Death

Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter deals with many themes, among those
including punishment and death. Utilizing the theme of punishment, the
central character, Hester Prynne, was forced to wear an embroidered scarlet
letter on "her bosom" for the rest of her life as a sign of her sin of
adultery. This object; however, has the opposite affect as a punishment and
as people of the community begin to forget the original significance of the
letter it comes to bear a new meaning, able. In the thirteenth chapter of
this book, Hawthorne comes out and in the third person states "the scarlet
letter had not done its office."

Hester has gone beyond the letter of the law and done everything ...

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her
work dutifully and completely.

She is emotionately worn out by all the work and penance for her sin.
Midway through the novel she no longer appears as a hidden beauty. Hester
now wears her hair in a cap, and the only effort of considerable worth is
that which she expends in her teachings to Pearl. She has earned the towns
people respect. People now regard the letter as representing the word
"able."

As the Reverend Dimmesdale refers to Pearl in his argument for
allowing the child to remain with her mother, "God gave Pearl as a blessing
and as a reminder of her sin." The girl herself is a much more considerable
punishment to Hester then the letter "A" is. Pearl is the living symbol of
her sin. All the evil and hate of this story is embodied in this little
girl. Hawthorne raises the question of how Hester actually sees Pearl by
referring to that "little, laughing image of a fiend" which appears to peep
out of Pearl; "Whether it peeped or no, her mother so imagined it." ...

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The Scarlet Letter - Punishment And Death. (2005, August 25). Retrieved January 11, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Scarlet-Letter-Punishment-And-Death/32211

"The Scarlet Letter - Punishment And Death." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 25 Aug. 2005. Web. 11 Jan. 2026. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Scarlet-Letter-Punishment-And-Death/32211>

"The Scarlet Letter - Punishment And Death." Essayworld.com. August 25, 2005. Accessed January 11, 2026. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Scarlet-Letter-Punishment-And-Death/32211.

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 8/25/2005 02:11:12 AM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 612
Pages: 3

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