More handpicked essays just for you.
Critical analysis of the scarlet letter
Summary of the scarlet letter
Introduction of the scarlet letter synopsis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
“Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred” (Hawthorne). As this sentence is read in the The Scarlet Letter, the reader will realize that the main theme of the book is the sentence above. Throughout the book, secret sin damages the lives, soul, and the integrity of the main characters. However, it could have easily been evaded through open confession of their sins. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s purpose in writing this novel is an attempt to influence the reader to openly confess their sins and never be ashamed of who they are. According to Levine, “even though we convey ourselves as saints, we are really sinners (Levine 64). The Scarlet Letter is a classic work of Hawthorne due to the themes it portrays and the relevancy to today’s society. By definition, “A classic is a work of art so universal that it has transcended the boundaries of time and place; it has survived the ‘test of time’” (Lazarus). In the highly symbolic novel, “The Scarlet Letter”, Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the effects of hidden sin and his characters’ ultimate release from guilt when they learn to own their sin.
It all started when Nathanial Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804. One of his ancestors was a judge in the Salem witchcraft trials, so he added the letter “w” to his last name to make any relations ambiguous. “When he was a child, he took great interest in classical literatures of Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, John Buyon, Sir Walter Scott, and endless gothic romances”(Bloom 11). “He attended Bowdoin College in Maine where he joined the Athenean Literature Society and wrote many short stories” (Bloom 11). The time spent studying at Bowdoin College, greatly influenced his future caree...
... middle of paper ...
...rcome the test of time and forever known as a classic in literary history.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York, New York: Signet Classic, 1999.
Baym, Nina. The Scarlet Letter: A Reading. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1986. Print.
Bloom, Harold. Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Broomall, PA: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Print.
James, Henry. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Ed. Harold Bloom: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Print. ]
Lazarus, Arnold, ed. A Glossary of Literature and Composition. Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English, 1984. Print.
"The Scarlet Letter." Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 306-328. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
Levin, Harry. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Ed. Harold Bloom: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Print.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Enriched Classic ed. New York City: Simon & Schuster, 2004. Print.
Brodhead, Richard H., "New and Old Tales: The Scarlet Letter," Modern Critical Views Nathaniel Hawthorne, New York, Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.
Sewall, Richard B. "The Scarlet Letter: Criticism." Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 319-27.
Sullivan, Wilson. “Nathaniel Hawthorne.” In New England Men of Letters. New York: Macmillan Co., 1972.
http://www.chuckiii.com/reports/book_reports/scarlet_letter.html. March 1, 2002. Clendenning, John. The. Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Scharnhorst, Gary. The Critical Response to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. New York: Greenwood, 1992.
Van Doren, Mark. " The Scarlet Letter" [1949]. Hawthorne: A Collection of Critical Essays. A. N. Kaul, ed. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966.
Lathrop, G. P., ed. "Hawthorne, Nathaniel." The Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature. Binghamton, New York: Vail-Ballou, 1962. 439-40. Print.
The influence of Puritan religion, culture and education along with the setting of his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, is a common topic in Nathaniel Hawthorne's works. In particular, Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" allows the writer to examine and perhaps provide commentary on not only the Salem of his own time but also the Salem of his ancestors. Growing up, Hawthorne could not escape the influence of Puritan society, not only from residing with his father's devout Puritan family as a child but also due to Hawthorne's study of his own family history. The first of his ancestors, William Hathorne, is described in Hawthorne's "The Custom House" as arriving with the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630 "with his Bible and his sword" (26). A further connection can also be seen in his more notable ancestor John Hathorne, who exemplified the level of zealousness in Puritanism with his role as persecutor in the Salem Witch Trials. The study of his own family from the establishment of the Bay Colony to the Second Gre...
One of the main themes in The Scarlet Letter is that of the secret. The plot of the book is centered on Hester Prynne’s secret sin of adultery. Nathaniel Hawthorne draws striking parallelism between secrets held and the physical and mental states of those who hold them. The Scarlet Letter demonstrates that a secret or feeling kept within slowly engulfs and destroys the soul such as Dimmesdale’s sin of hypocrisy and Chillingworth’s sin of vengeance, while a secret made public, such as Prynne’s adultery, can allow a soul to recover and even strengthen.
Among the most paramount themes in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, is that of the connection binding sin to humanness. Throughout the novel, sin is portrayed as necessary and normal to everyday life, however, the Puritan outlook of sin differs immensely. Sin is left unforgiven and the strict conditions on humanity within the Puritan community are called into question. Characters who accept their mistakes and grow from them are more prosperous in the novel’s resolution, while those who bend to the restraints of society are displayed as a detriment to themselves. From this, a more comprehensive message takes form. Hawthorne is not only attempting to connect sin to humanity but is also going as far to state that one must accept their sin in order to live a fulfilling life.
Baym, Nina. Introduction. The Scarlet Letter. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. New York City: Penguin Books USA, Inc. 1986.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Scarlet Letter”. American Literature: Volume One. Ed. William E. Cain. New York: Pearson, 2004. 809-813. Print
Hawthorne’s depictions of secret and sin are engraved throughout the book. The novel paints vivid pictures of how undiscovered in can destroy a man. He paints these pictures in the forms of two men, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, and draws a direct corollary in Hester Prynne who does the exact opposite and has her sin revealed to the public. While humiliated, when the sin is in the open, the soul heals and strengthens, while a guilty conscience resulting from an undisclosed sin, slowly corrodes the soul “The Scarlet Letter demonstrates and shows the pain that comes from keeping a secret and the consequences that comes with it.
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. 1st edition. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications Incorporated, 1994. 1-180. Print.