Hester Pryne of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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Hester Pryne of The Scarlet Letter

Hester Pryne, after being punished for her sin, lived an important

life. In "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester was convicted

of adultery. However, after her conviction, she managed to raise a

daughter, became an important seamstress in her community, and set an

example for her close-knit community.

Pearl, the daughter of a convicted sex offender, grew up living a

different life from her peers. Growing up with Hester, Pearl never really

associated with children from her age group. This happened because

whenever Hester and Pearl went into town, they were tormented and harassed.

In retaliation, Pearl began to throw rocks back at the children. This kind

of thing only happened in the beginning of Pearl's life. Later on, the

kids stopped harassing Pearl because her mom's sin did not have as much

effect on the people of the town. The best thing that ever happened to

Pearl was her move to Europe with Hester and her father, Reverend

Dimmesdale. In Europe, Hester pretty much left Pearl alone. Pearl, then

got married and started a new life. In the book, Pearl was always the

smartest character portrayed by Hawthorne. Had Hester been put to death

because of her sin, Pearl might not have been as successful as she became.

Hester was a very admirable person. After committing her awful sin

(awful as seen by the townspeople), and losing the respect of most of the

townspeople, Hester was able to turn her life around for the better. Her

turn around, however, happened slowly. It took Hester and Pearl a while to

earn some respect in their community. Hester became a renowned seamstress.

She made clothes for herself and Pearl, she even sewed gloves for the

governor. For Pearl, she made some beautiful dresses. She made some of

these dresses a crimson color, (which was a color close to scarlet). She

did this to remind herself of her sin. Most people, if put into a

situation similar to Hester's, would let their life deteriorate. Hester,

having pulled her life together was the strongest character, (mentally), in

this book. Her life was anything but a waste.

To Her community, Hester served as an example of how one can turn

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