Character Transformation in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

1064 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How did the characters in the scarlet letter change

There are far too many instances in the world in which situations, actions, or emotions lead us to be different people than who we truly are. There are many ways that one can become stressed or upset, and there are various different ways that one can go about dealing with it - ways that can cause one to lose friends, family, or even oneself. For instance, when I was young girl, my grandfather had begun to become very stressed due to problems at work, and he was beginning to ache all over his body. He would often turn to alcohol in order to escape his troubles, but the alcohol led him down the wrong path, and he suddenly became very angry and cruel towards his family members and friends. He understood that he was treating everybody cruelly, but he still could not seem to grasp the strings that controlled his life. He felt horrendous and he loathed the man that he had become. He eventually grew exhausted of himself and he gradually stripped himself of the monster and found himself once again; he finally became the man that he and his family knew and loved. It is easy to lose oneself in the midst of a stressful drama, but it is extremely important to remain true to oneself.
Sadness for the transformation of a pure person into a completely different character portrays a similarity between the main character in “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been” and one of the main characters in The Scarlet Letter. “It is inconceivable, the agony with which this public veneration tortured him! It was his genuine impulse to adore the truth, and to reckon all things shadow-like, and utterly devoid of weight or value, that had not its divine essence as the life within their life. Then, what was he?—a substance?—or the dimmest of all shadows? He longed t...

... middle of paper ...

...ity becomes a jittery, on-edge fuse ready to explode at any moment. Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, Hester, and the main voice in the song, “Who I Am Hates Who I’ve Been”, all share this commonality in losing themselves along a rough path in their lives, and they experience dread, sorrow, shame, and loneliness in their perpetuating journeys. It seems with every waking step, humans are still attempting to learn who they are; they are constantly changing due to various different situations that they have encountered, and it is important that they stay true to who they are at heart instead of who they are pushed to be.

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “The Scarlet Letter”. 1850. New York: Signet, 2007.
Reliant K. ""Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" Lyrics." RELIENT K LYRICS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2014. .

Show More
Related

  • Deceit, Despair and Dejection in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and Anderson's Speak

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    A human being is subject to feelings that range from happiness to depression to indifferent. Whenever an author captures even some of the emotions that a person goes through, the author has made the characters realistic. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson are two perfect examples of authors who master the art of capturing feelings within the characters. Both books display instances where the characters are subject to the feelings of deceit, despair, and dejection; therefore, the characters seem as though they were alive and breathing.

    Read More

  • Free Essay: Metamorphosis of Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1307 Words  | 3 Pages

    Consequently enough, Dimmesdale is trying to convince Hester to reveal the man who has sinned along with her, so the man can be relieved of his guilt, somewhat ironic because he is the man who has sinned along side with her. "What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him--yea, compel him, as it were--to add hypocrisy to sin? Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy, that thereby thou mayest work out an open triumph over the evil within thee and the sorrow without.

    Read More

  • Changes of Character in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter involves many characters that go through several changes during the course of the story. In particular, the young minister Dimmesdale, who commits adultery with Hester, greatly changes. He is the moral blossom of the book, the character that makes the most progress for the better. It is true that Dimmesdale, being a minister, should be the role model of the townspeople. He is the last person who should commit such an awful crime and lie about it, but in the end, he confesses to the town. Besides, everybody, including ministers, sin, and the fact that he confesses illustrates his courage and morality.

    Read More

  • Metamorphosis of the Letter A in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    Six Works Cited     In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the meaning of the letter "A" changes throughout the novel.  This change is significant as it indicates the personal growth of the characters as well as the enlightenment of the townspeople. When the novel begins, the letter "A" is a symbol of sin. As the story progresses the “A” slowly transforms to a symbol of Hester’s strength and ability.  By the end of the novel, the letter “A” has undergone a complete metamorphisis and represents the respect that Hester has for herself.

    Read More

  • Transformation of Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Life is hard, but accepting that fact makes it easier." This common phrase clearly states a harsh fact that Rev. Dimmesdale, a character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, had to face. In this story of deception and adultery set in the Puritan era, Hawthorne introduces Dimmesdale as a weak and cowardly man who refuses to take responsibility for his actions.  The Rev. Dimmesdale is a transitional character in that he is, at the beginning of the novel, outwardly good but inwardly deceitful and by the end of the novel he becomes both outwardly and inwardly truthful.

    Read More

  • Two Faces in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    "No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally becoming bewildered as to which may be true”. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, this quote applies to the two main characters of the novel. It applies to Arthur Dimmesdale in a literal way; he clearly is not the man that he appears to be, and the guilt that goes along with such deception consumes his entire life. The quote also applies to Hester Prynne, but in quite a different way because it was not her choice to wear the “face” that she was forced to wear.  The mark of the scarlet letter on her bosom determined how others perceived her and, in turn, how she was expected to perceive herself. At first, Hester did not consider the sin that she committed as blasphemous and horrible as the people of Boston did, but she was forced to wear the “face” of a sinner.

    Read More

  • Character Development in The Scarlet Letter

    572 Words  | 2 Pages

    Authors use character development to show how a person can change. Through a descriptive portrayal of a charter and their development they become real to the reader. A well-developed character stirs up emotions in the reader making for a powerful story. A person can change for better or worse and Nathaniel Hawthorne shows this thru the character development of Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter.

    Read More

  • Symbols and Symbolism Essay - Changing Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne was forced to wear an "A" on her chest. Hawthorne related the villagers' changing perception of Hester Prynne to the changing symbolism of the scarlet letter from a symbol of shame, ability, to honor.

    Read More

  • Essay On The Archetypal Symbolism In The Scarlet Letter

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pearl from The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne represents the archetypal form of the loner. She is the daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale and represents the scarlet letter with her mom who was banished for committing adultery. Leonce from The Awakening by Kate Chopin represents the archetypal form of the ruler. He is the husband of Edna Pontellier and he views her more like property than an actual human being. Pearl and Leonce represent the archetypal form of the loner and the ruler in the different societies that they both live in, their relationship with other people, and how they change throughout the story.

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter Consequences

    627 Words  | 2 Pages

    Consequences in The Scarlet Letter           There are two sides of consequences for almost everything that happens in life, directly or indirectly.  In life, we could learn mostly from the consequences, rather than from the punishments of our actions.  If the consequences are good, we know that the action should be repeated, sometimes.  If bad consequences outweigh the good, we know repeating would not be wise.  Hester Prynne of Nataniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, learns from punishment and the consequences of adultery, but from which does she learn more from?           Punishment from the magistrates was

    Read More

  • Essay on the Transformation of Hester in Scarlet Letter

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester Prynne committed a crime so severe that it changed her life into coils of torment and defeat.  In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is publicly recognized as an adulteress and expelled from society.  Alongside the theme of isolation, the scarlet letter, or symbol of sin, is meant to shame Hester but instead transforms her from a woman of ordinary living into a stronger person.

    Read More

  • Portrayal of Puritan Society in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1635 Words  | 4 Pages

    Portrayal of Puritan Society in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter In the introductory sketch to Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel the "The Scarlet Letter", the reader is informed that one of the author's ancestors persecuted the Quakers harshly. The latter's son was a high judge in the Salem witch trials, put into literary form in Arthur Miller's "The Crucible" (Judge Hathorne appears there). We learn that Hawthorne feels ashamed for their deeds, and that he sees his ancestors and the Puritan society as a whole with critical eyes. Consequently, both open and subtle criticism of the Puritans' practices is applied throughout the novel.

    Read More

  • Feminism in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    550 Words  | 2 Pages

    Written in 1850, The Scarlet Letter stood as a very progressive book. With new ideas about women, main characters’ stories intertwined, and many different themes, The Scarlet Letter remains today as a extremely popular novel about 17th century Boston, Massachusetts. Not only was the 19th century a time for the abolition of slavery movement but it was also the beginning of the first wave of feminism. Women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Lucretia Mott catalyzed the women’s rights movement. These prominent women believed that a woman’s role was no longer in the house and that women should be afforded the same opportunity as men. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s sympathy for women is evident in a feminist reading of his novel The Scarlet Letter.

    Read More

  • Moral and Social Themes in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, there are many moral and social themes develped throughout the novel.  Each theme is very important to the overall effect of the novel.  In essence, The Scarlet Letter is a story of sin, punishment and the importance of truth. One theme which plays a big role in The Scarlet Letter is that of sin and its effects.  Throughout the novel there were many sins committed by various characters.  The effects of these sins are different in each character and every character was punished in a unique way.  Two characters were perfect examples of this theme in the novel.  Hester Prynne and The Reverend Dimmesdale best demonstrated the theme of the effects of sin.

    Read More

  • Lessons Learned from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered by many to be a classic novel. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne provides his audience with a real sense of the consequences of unconfessed sin, isolation from society, and the presence of evil everywhere. Through his portrayal of the main characters, his choice of setting, and his implied moral lessons, he teaches lessons that must be learned for humans to continue living in harmony with one another.

    Read More

More about Character Transformation in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Open Document