The Message of The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel Hawthorne, a critically acclaimed American writer of the 19th century, was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804. The novelist's book, The Scarlet Letter, is supposedly his best work, and universally considered a literary classic. Concerned with sin and consequences of dealing with it, Hawthorne's work relates to his own personal sense of shame about his ancestor's persecuting roles in the 17th century Salem Witch Trials. By indirectly dealing with his sense of guilt through fictional circumstances, he shows his viewpoint as being highly critical of the Puritans while teaching a strong moral lesson in the process. Graduating in the middle of his class from Bowdain College in 1825, he went on to write a variety of long stories, short stories, and articles. Generally his writings contained powerful symbolic and psychological aspects of "the effects of pride, guilt, sin, and secrecy" (Encarta, 1997).
Although many moral lessons are dealt with in the book, the most significant thesis Hawthorne proved was salvation can only be earned by being open about and true to what you are. Using excellent characterization, description and expression he develops his thesis by showing the consequences of hiding sin, like Arthur Dimmesdale, and of publicly acknowleding it, like Hester Prynne. Through Hester's daily struggle with her public punishment to wear a scarlet letter A on her clothing to remind her and everyone in the Puritan community of her adultery, she learns how to cope with and triumph over her sin against humanity. On the other hand, Reverand Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester's equally guilty partner in the crime, refuses within himself to publicly confess his sin until the end of the novel, whereas shortly after he dies. Thus, Hawthorne summarizes the delayed importance of being truthful about oneself in his quote, "Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred, (236)!"
The authors overall presentation is very clear because to the emphasis of his main point of truth setting people free. It drags the reader into the action and enables them to live with the characters, at the same time as teaching a valuable lesson in dealing with life's obstacles. The style of his writing is very symbolic, descriptive, and detailed. He creates very vivid images of the story through elaborate adjectives.
Through the rhetorical device characterization, Hawthorne is able to promote his motive of exposing the audience to the life lesson: People grow stronger by recognizing their own weakness. Hester Prynne, the female protagonist in the Scarlet Letter charged with adultery, is forced to wear the embroidered letter “A” on her chest to symbolize the stigma of her sin. In the beginning of the novel,
painting with dimensions about 9 feet wide and 7 feet high. The medium of this work is oil on
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Mr. Dimmesdale’s greatest fear is that the townspeople will find out about his sin of adultery with Hester Prynne. Mr. Dimmesdale fears that his soul could not take the shame of such a disclosure, as he is an important moral figure in society. However, in not confessing his sin to the public, he suffers through the guilt of his sin, a pain which is exacerbated by the tortures of Roger Chillingworth. Though he consistently chooses guilt over shame, Mr. Dimmesdale goes through a much more painful experience than Hester, who endured the public shame of the scarlet letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s guilt is much more damaging to his soul than any shame that he might have endured.
area, and I felt it would be a good idea to gain the knowledge of the
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne attempted to expose the varying ways in which different people deal with lingering guilt from sins they have perpetrated. The contrasting characters of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale ideally exemplified the differences in thought and behavior people have for guilt. Although they were both guilty of committing the same crime, these two individuals differed in that one punished themselves with physical and mental torture and the other chose to continue on with their life, devoting it to those less fortunate than they.
He got a lot of his inspiration from his mother. She loved painting with water colors and making
In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne utilizes imagery to convey that Dimmesdale can represent Puritan Society rather than the round character that can be seen on the surface level. This is seen through the imagery and symbolism of hypocrisy, Dimmesdale as a Christ figure, and the scarlet letter.
The two focal figures are illustrated with complementary colors, the woman 's dress being orange, and the man’s pants being blue. Benton uses these colors to bring life into the painting. The background is made up mostly of earthy colors like, greens, browns, and greys and a light blue for the sky. Benton seems to add white to every color he uses, which gives the painting an opaque look. The deepest hues found in this painting are the blue one the man’s pants and the orange on the woman’s dress, everything else around them looks washed out and Benton does this to emphasize his focal points
Without an honorable reputation a person is not worthy of respect from others in their society. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the struggle to shake off the past is an underlying theme throughout the novel. Characters in this novel go through their lives struggling with trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with actions that lost them their honorable reputation. Particularly, Hawthorne shows the lasting effect that sin and guilt has on two of the main characters in the book: Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale.
The virtue of truth and the evil of secret sin are clearly illustrated in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The three main characters in this novel display their own honesty and sins.
First, Hester is one guideline that with reveal sin and also leads to many different sins. She suffered from the strange insight and had been isolated from Puritan society, however, she only suffered from outside not from inside. Different from Hester, Arthur Dimmesdale is totally opposite. He is a noble man in front of people, but behind his majestic mask, he is an ugly sinner and always without forgiveness. He suffered not from outside. He was afraid his mask would be disclosed and expose his true colors, therefore, he refused to confess his sin which leads to his wife’s suffering, his daughter’s acceptance, and his own tribulation. Hawthorne used his detailed language with romantic writing style to describe the struggle of two lovers. The red color letter “a”, as the second main guideline, is the most typical symbol. The letter, with an unlimited imaginary association, made people wandering in Hawthorne’s fiction world. Red is the color of blood and fire, also a symbol of life, strength, and passion. Fire is the source of light and heat of human life, and the fire of love is the source of human life. Hawthorne combines symbolism with romanticism and endows this letter a new life. Hawthorne also focuses on the consequence of selfishness, guilt, and sin in this book. He uses his meticulous technique to describe a
Through Hester and the symbol of the scarlet letter, Hawthorne reveals how sin can be utilized to change a person for the better, in allowing for responsibility, forgiveness, and a renewed sense of pride. In a Puritan society that strongly condemns adultery one would expect Hester to leave society and never to return again, but that does not happen. Instead, Hester says, “Here…had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment; and so, perchance, the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul, and work out another purity than that which she had lost; more saint-like, because the result of martyrdom.” Hes...
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.
Renoir, Pierre Auguste. Young Woman Sewing. 1879. Oil on canvas. The Art Institute of Chicago, Illnois.
It seems to be his style of painting, thick brush strokes. It is not simple, there is much to the painting, there is emotion in the painting. It is a stunning piece made by him.