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Characterisation in scarlet letter
Characterisation in scarlet letter
The scarlet letter character analysis essay
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D.H. Lawrence criticizes Nathaniel Hawthorne’s portrayal of Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter in his essay “On the Scarlet Letter.” By focusing on Hester’s sin itself rather than its causes and consequences, Lawrence expresses his opinion on the role of Hester in the novel. Lawrence utilizes choppy syntax, biblical allusions, and a sarcastic tone to clearly reveal his objection towards Hawthorne’s depiction of Hester as a victim of Puritan society’s condemnation. Lawrence writes his criticism with choppy syntax to convey his ideas in a pithy manner. His use of choppy syntax is evident throughout his entire argument. For instance, Lawrence achieves straightforward prose when he calls Hester, “Adulteress. Alpha. Abel. Adam. A. America” (Lawrence). …show more content…
This particular tone is evident when he accuses Hester of “seducing a man:...the greatest triumph of woman” (Lawrence). As Lawrence repeats this line several times, he illustrates Hawthorne’s foolishness for unreasonably respecting Hester even though she committed a mortal sin. It is obvious that an act of seducing someone is not something to be congratulated for, let alone to be named as the greatest triumph. By saying this in a mocking tone rather than blatantly stating Hawthorne’s false portrayal of Hester, Lawrence emphasizes the absurdity of Hawthorne’s words. Likewise, Lawrence exhibits a sarcastic tone when he suggests to “put [Hester] upon the scaffold and worship her there” (Lawrence). Here, Lawrence is not really proposing to worship Hester, but rather, is exhibiting a ridiculing tone to display how Hawthorne glorifies Hester by depicting her as a heroine with noble qualities when she is obviously a disgrace to society. Here, Lawrence purposefully makes an incongruent statement to mimic Hawthorne’s perspective; a scaffold is not a platform to worship people but is rather to publicly execute criminals. Because readers can recognize this incongruence, Lawrence effectively demonstrates that Hawthorne mischaracterizes Hester by claiming that Hester is a victim and a heroine. If Lawrence had established a forthright tone instead of a sarcastic tone, he would not have strongly revealed his disapproval of Hawthorne’s depiction of Hester as a victim. Contrary to Hawthorne’s perspective, Lawrence emphasizes that Hester is corrupt rather than the Puritan society. Although there are various portrayals of Hester, Lawrence focuses on Hester’s mortal sin rather than its consequences and therefore claims that her sin is unforgivable. He persuades his audience that Hawthorne’s portrayal
Nathaniel Hawthorne paints Hester Prynne as a person, a person that made mistakes, but who worked tirelessly to atone for them. Hawthorne’s use of of positive diction and profound imagery also set Hester’s tone as a woman scorned, but
Lawrence creates a sarcastic tone throughout his essay to exhibit Hester’s iniquitous behavior. He utilizes the biblical story of Cain and Abel to describe how “this time it is Mr. Dimmesdale who dies [while Hester] lives on and is Abel” (Lawrence). Lawrence mocks Hawthorne’s depiction of Hester by calling her Abel, which is ironic because Abel was the victim of the story. The sarcastic tone portrays Hester as a complete divergence to Abel, who was faithful to God and trustworthy. This tone also urges the readers to examine Hester and conclude that she goes not have these morally good characteristics like faithfulness and trustworthiness. Lawrence claims that placing Prynne on the scaffolding and exploiting her sins will “[become] a farce” (Lawrence). His mocking tone underscores the severity of adultery, which Hawthorne falsely describes Hester’s transgression as a “farce”. Lawrence’s use of sarcasm implies that her sins were substantial and grave. This conveys to the readers that Hester is a deplorable character and was portrayed wrongly by
A change is to make or become different. In the Scarlet Letter change is very evident in the main character Hester Prynne. Hester has undergone both physical and emotional changes that have made her more acceptable to the Puritan Society.
In Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the reader meets the character Hester Prynne who as the novel progresses, one notices the changes in her character are very dramatic. The changes are both physical and in her mannerism’s. There are many significant events which took place before the start of the novel and during the novel. Some of these events that lead to this dramatic change include the affect of wearing the scarlet letter, the secrets which she keeps, and her daughter Pearl’s evil characteristics. By these events, Hester Prynne’s image is transformed throughout the time of the story.
It seems as if Hawthorne wrote this scene for the purposes of exhibiting the harshness of Puritan society, and to allow the reader some insight into Hester's thoughts. Hawthorne places the focus onto Hester at this moment. The reader observes her before the full effect of the scarlet letter has had a chance to take hold of her. The reader is also able to see the cruel and judgmental behavior of the crowd through their language, such as when they call her a hussy. "This women has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there not law for it?"
Throughout the passage, Hawthorne uses clear, distinct diction to create a sense of firmness to assert Hester’s views regarding her outlook on her own existence and that of women in general. Diction, a facet of writing comprised of mood and word choice, in a passage is very influential in sustaining a particular message or theme as it creates a framework for explanation. As a result, the author can “push” a certain message, per se, to the reader by developing a distinct mood in writing. In the case of the Scarlet Letter, as mentioned, Hawthorne developed a negative mood to assert Hester’s negative view. For example in the lines, “She discerns, it may be, such a hopeless task before her. As a first step, the whole system of society is to be torn down and
Within the novel The Scarlet Letter, the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many ways to characterize Hester Prynne, and to show her importance in the development of the plot. This essay will show some ways Hester is characterized and will also show why and how she develops the plot.
Hester Prynne is first introduced as “[a] young woman [who] was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam…”(46). Hawthorne portrays her as very beautiful making the reader see Hester as a poised and proud woman. This shows that Hawthorne likes Hester and wants the reader to feel that from him. Hawthorne gives Hester many of the Romantic traits. An example can be seen where her hair was described as “so glossy it threw off the sunshine with a gleam...”(46), the reader can see that Hester makes her own truth. The Romantics...
Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his novel, The Scarlet Letter to critique the Puritan faith. In developing his story of the adulteress Hester Prynne, he uses both religious and natural imagery to show his disdain for the Puritan religion. The Scarlet Letter is a vivid portrayal of his utter dislike for the Puritans and everything that they stand for. Hawthorne is in complete disagreement with them and makes it clear throughout the book.
Knowing of course that Hester represented everything that puritanical New England condemned, placing her actions and accomplishments on a pedestal makes an even greater statement. Using this binary opposition, strategically placing her on the winning side boosts the image of Hester while lowering the image of that society. This ultimately assisted Nathaniel Hawthorne in his purpose of reforming New England for the better.
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many literal and figurative items to illustrate the significance of various characters or themes. Coupled with the tangible evidence given, the reader can make many miscellaneous assumptions of the importance of these items to directly and indirectly contribute to the issues of the novel. One cryptic item that symbolizes more than it seems to is the appearance of one of the main characters, Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne's appearance and hair signify the levels of will and determination she possesses at the moment.
In “Hester Prynne, C'est Moi: Nathaniel Hawthorne and the Anxieties of Gender” (20 November 1990), Robert K. Martin explains that Nathaniel Hawthorne was self-conscious about writing a book from the perspective of a woman, because working as an artist was considered effeminate in his time period. Martin supports this by mentioning how Hawthorne does not portray women as powerful in his novels (with a few exceptions) and that he speaks with his own voice through Hester which allows her to have the iron-willed traits of a man. Martin’s purpose is to convey Hawthorne's views on feminism and how they affect the characters in The Scarlet Letter, and give the reader a more complete understanding of the novel. Martin establishes a very probing and
In On the Scarlet Letter, D.H. Lawrence examines one of the many different opinions on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s character from The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne. Instead of evaluating the consequences of Hester’s sin, Lawrence focuses more on the sin itself. Mocking Hester, he clearly demonstrates that he does not agree with the amount of appraisal she receives and does not think that people should use her as a model to look up to. To express his opposition towards Hester Prynne, Lawrence includes narrative allusions, demeaning diction, and repetition throughout his criticism. By examining Hester Prynne’s character through narrative allusions, Lawrence demonstrates his cynical view of her.
Often times, people create ideas of others that do not truly represent someone. Moreover, these perceptions often ignore the concept of a person having multiple levels to their substance. While standing on the scaffold, the place of judgement, Hester realizes that her life is essentially the scarlet letter and her baby, “she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real. Yes! - these were her realities - all else had vanished!” (44). Incessant scurrilous comments from others in the town worsen Hester’s misery that stem from “realities.” However, Hawthorne criticizes how people within Puritan society view Hester, lighting a path of redemption from ignominy. The stereotype of an adulteress remains with Hester for several years. This changes when the meaning of her scarlet letter A changes from Adultery to Able, “many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification” (121), emphasizing her abilities and willingness to assist others. By this, Hawthorne observes a shift in society’s perception of Hester, pointing to the issue of stereotypes having an everlasting effect on ones life. Hawthorne highlights the message that one should not be punished by a perceived label, rather extolled for their true character and
The Scarlet Letter is a fictional novel that begins with an introductory passage titled ‘The Custom-House’. This passage gives a historical background of the novel and conveys the narrator’s purpose for writing about the legend of Hester Prynne even though the narrator envisions his ancestors criticizing him and calling him a “degenerate” because his career was not “glorifying God”, which is very typical of the strict, moralistic Puritans. Also, although Hawthorne is a Romantic writer, he incorporates properties of Realism into his novel by not idealizing the characters and by representing them in a more authentic manner. He does this by using very formal dialogue common to the harsh Puritan society of the seventeenth century and reflecting their ideals through this dialogue. The Puritans held somewhat similar views as the Transcendentalists in that they believed in the unity of God and the world and saw signs and symbols in human events, such as when the citizens related the meteo...