Perspectives on New Historicism, Feminist Criticism and Deconstruction in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
Introduction
Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter has been a highly debatable topic of
numerous critical essays, written by scholars who approach the novel from various
perspectives of literary criticism. Due to the diversity of perspectives, the questions proposed by these scholars vary and hence the conclusions they arrive at by examining the same literary text may differ not only within a range, but in addition may even seem contrary to one another. The aim of this paper is to provide a comparison between three of the critical perspectives: New Historicism, Feminist Criticism and Deconstruction, each represented by an essay relating to one of the viewpoints of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel.
In order to begin my comparison of these three critical perspectives, I will first need
to provide general definitions of terms. These definitions may be considered incomplete and they will not cover every detail, as is possibly required for an encyclopedia of literary terms. My attempt is rather to provide a rough overview of keywords and ideas that relate to each perspective, and this overview will primarily be based upon the introductions to each essay provided by Russ C. Murfin.
The comparison and contrast includes an outline of similarities and differences
between the author's perspectives and literary concepts depicted in each composition. Each
fragment of literary text is evaluated according to its aims, goals and questions which are proposed. Another aspect of my discussion will incorporate selected citations taken directly from the novel, which are utilized by each scholar to support his or her c...
... middle of paper ...
...y nor that the distinctions between each perspective are absolute. The separation of the different perspectives is complex and ambiguous. Therefore the apparent relation between the different aspects partly coincide with one another.
Works cited
Benstock, Shari, "The Scarlet Letter (a) dorée or the Female Body Embrodidered", in Ross C Murfin,
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Bercovitch, Sacvan, "Hawthorne's A-Morality of Compromise", in Ross C Murfin, ed., Nathaniel
Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter. Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1991
Murfin, Ross C., ed., "Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter." Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1991
Ragussis, Micharl, "Silence, Family Discourse, and Fiction in The Scarlet Letter", in Ross C Murfin,
ed., Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Scarlet Letter. Boston: St. Martin's Press, 1991
Although WW II ended over 50 years ago there is still much discussion as to the events which ended the War in the Pacific. The primary event which historians attribute to this end are the use of atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Although the bombing of these cities did force the Japanese to surrender, many people today ask “Was the use of the atomic bomb necessary to end the war?” and more importantly “Why was the decision to use the bomb made?” Ronald Takaki examines these questions in his book Hiroshima.
Griswold, Rufus Wilmot. "The Scarlet Letter." The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors. Ed. Charles Wells Moulton. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Peter Smith Publishing, 1989. 341-371.
Upon reading “Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan” by J. Samuel Walker, a reader will have a clear understanding of both sides of the controversy surrounding Truman’s decision to drop atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. The controversy remains of whether or not atomic bombs should have been used during the war. After studying this text, it is clear that the first atomic bomb, which was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, was a necessary military tactic on ending the war. The second bomb, which was dropped on Nagasaki, however, was an unnecessary measure in ensuring a surrender from the Japanese, and was only used to seek revenge.
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Gerber, John C. "Form and Content in The Scarlet Letter." The Scarlet Letter: A Norton Critical Edition. Eds. Seymour Gross, Sculley Bradley, Richmond Croom Beatty, and E. Hudson Long. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 1988.
Abrams, M.H. and Greenblatt, Stephen eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature: Seventh Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2001.
The author Henry James called Nathaniel Hawthorne “the most valuable example of American genius”, expressing the widely held belief that he was the most significant fiction writer of the antebellum period. (The Norton Anthology of American Literature) Will we recognize an example, a certain expository shape, to Hawthorne 's representation of the puritan woman, and to his depiction of relationships to a great extent? I think the answer is, decidedly, yes it is clearly distinguished, a few years prior, by Nina Baym in her hash-settling paper "Impeded Nature: Nathaniel Hawthorne as Feminist." Baym contends that a considerable lot of the stories we most esteem and regularly instruct make a managed examination out of and an effective assault upon-male
Reid, Bethany. "Narrative of the Captivity and Redemption of Roger Prynne: Rereading The Scarlet Letter." Studies in the Novel 33.3 (Fall 2001): 247-267. Rpt. in Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism. Ed. Jessica Bomarito and Russel Whitaker. Vol. 158. Detroit: Gale, 2006. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 3 Feb. 2012.
The notion of the author has often been disputed when it comes to critical literary studies. The argument centers around one basic question: Should the author be considered when looking at a text? There are numerous reasons given as to why the author is important or why the ...
Murphy, B. & Shirley J. The Literary Encyclopedia. [nl], August 31, 2004. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2326. Access on: 22 Aug 2010.
Gross, Seymour L. “ ‘Solitude and Love, and Anguish’: The Tragic Design of The Scarlet Letter.” CLA Journal 3. (1960): 154-165). Print.
Matthiessen, F.O., Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Scarlet Letter, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Halls Inc., 1968, p. 57
Sewall, Richard B. "The Scarlet Letter: Criticism." Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 319-27.
Throughout the history of metaphysics the question, What is? has always been answered in an incomplete,unsatisfactory or complicated manner, but Spinoza tried to answer this question in an exceptional way simply by describing God and His essence. Based on Spinoza’s views, God’s qualities can be referred to as attributes and modes are merely affections of a substance. This paper will provide a detailed view of Spinoza’s key ontological definition of God as the only substance, his attributes, and their co-relations. The study goes further to explore the major scholarly argument between Spinoza and Descartes, in regard to their view of substance, and its attributes.
...ranscendence of God, and ascription of free will to human beings and to God. According to Spinoza, this features made the world unintelligible.