Nathaniel Hawthorne was a novelist in the 19th century, who often wrote descriptive stories throughout his book The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne uses setting, allusions, metaphors, irony, diction, and varied tone to reveal the characters in the novel. The Scarlet Letter takes place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the 17th century, this is where the Puritans settled after leaving the New World because they wanted to “purify” the Church of England. The Puritans were a section of Protestant Christians influenced by Calvinism, the idealized that salvation is predestined. They believed that religious behavior was a result of salvation, with the Puritan communities invested in purity of sins and were punished harshly and removed. Hawthorne sets …show more content…
the scene of the first chapter with a dark and gloomy effect, the dark nature of the prison established in the “vicinity of Cornhill”, by early settlers.The prison described as an “ugly edifice” and “black flower of civilized society” with weeds growing in front of the shadowy structure where groups of Puritans dressed in their normal boring clothes have gathered. A rose bush stood beside the weeds, which foreshadows that brightness may be found along the track. Hawthorne brings to the table many references to the Bible and Greek mythology to better describe his characters and the theme of his novel. When he says “..like a snake gliding swiftly over them..” (Hawthorne 42), Hawthorne is referencing the Bible. This is referring to when the devil comes to Adam and Eve in the form of a snake to tempt them to betray God. This simile could be an allusion to that story, representing the presence of the devil in the crowd and the evil influence spreading among them. Hawthorne mentions on page 50 “Lethe” and in Greek mythology Lethe is the name of the Greek spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion, which is also one of the rivers in the underworld. Chillington uses this particular river to imply that even though he was gone, he never forgot like Hester. He then mentions Nepenthe also on page fifty. Nepenthe is a fictional medicine for sorrow, almost like an antidepressant, a drug of forgetfulness. By saying this Chillington doesn't know of Nepenthe, he's telling Hester that the sorrow she caused him cannot be forgotten. When he mentions the name Abel on page one hundred and eleven Hawthorne suggests the biblical story of Adam and Eve and her two sons Cain and Abel. Abel represents the righteousness of being a saint or martyr after being killed by Cain out of Jealousy. Hester is compared to Abel because of the letter she wears on her chest as a reminder of her sin. Hawthorne’s allusions were not only based the Bible and Greek mythology, but of other writers and historical figures. Hawthorne uses the term Antinomian on page thirty-four, Antinomianism is a term for going against established morals. It usually refers to Christianity and is an exaggeration of the Protestant belief that a believer can get to heaven by faith alone, not by works. Hawthorne also talks about Anne Hutchinson. She is probably the most famous antinomian; she was tried and banished from Boston to Rhode Island. The reference of antinomianism brings the history of an ignored woman and foreshadows the story of Hester Prynne. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne reveals characters through the use of metaphors. For example Chillingworth is described as a leech sucking the blood and should out of the patient, hence chapter 10 and the title “The Leech and His Patient”. It resembles a minor digging for gold (or the truth) whilst destroying what or who holds it. “He now dug into the poor clergyman's heart, like a miner searching for gold; or, rather, like a sexton delving into a grave, possibly in quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead man's bosom, but likely to find nothing save mortality and corruption” (Hawthorne 88). “... while the shadow of his figure, which the sunlight cast upon the floor” (Hawthorne 79), with the theme of light popping up from the darkness this metaphor isn't all about light. In this metaphor we notice the sunlight creating a shadow, we see how evil can come from good, or in this case the light. In chapter 8 we see a metaphor based on a common symbol, flowers, and what this represents is the idea of beauty and goodness coming from evil and darkness. “... had been plucked by her mother off the bish of wild roses, that grew by the prison-door” (Hawthorne 76). Hawthorne uses this to argue strict and unforgiving beliefs in religious societies. Hester whispers to Pearl, “We must not always talk in the marketplace about what happens to us in the forest” (Hawthorne 164). Hester's response is a metaphor showing how society forces people to hide who they really are. In the forest Dimmesdale and Hester's can talk and discuss their emotions without being judged and shamed for it, but in the marketplace displaying feelings for one another would have brought shame to them both. Irony can be used to identify point of view and mood, in The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne's point of view is on moral beliefs in a Puritanic society.
The use of irony is linked with the elements of sin, guilt, and judgement which proves the novel's effectiveness. “... that i should take in hand to drive Satan out of her with stripes” (Hawthorne 49), Master Brackett is explaining that is if Chillington can't make her subjective to authority than him to bring himself to whip the devil out of her. Hawthorne uses the irony to make social criticism and a religious society. Basically what seems truly good for what is good in the eyes of the church. “...his dawning light would be extinguished…”(Hawthorne 82), this phrase is ironic because it's telling unnatural features. Dawn usually brings light, but because of the minister’s unwellness the light is dying at dawn. This symbol of light is a symbol of good, this is referencing more than just the mortality of Dimmesdale. “He won it, indeed, in great part, by his sorrow” (Hawthorne 97), the irony is seen in how Dimmesdale’s internal guilt and self hatred has “won”him popularity and respect of the townspeople. This shows that people aren't always how they appear to the public.“Thou hast escaped me!” he repeated more than once. “Thou hast escaped me!”(Hawthorne 175), this is an example of dramatic irony. The commoners don't really know who Chillington is so they take this as him being frantic because his patient passed away.However, Chillingworth most likely means Dimmesdale has been relinquished of his plot of
revenge. Hawthorne's critical diction helps determine his didactic tone over the course of the novel. We see the Hawthorne believes that happiness can be harnessed through one's perseverance. Even though Hester disheartening sin of adultery constructs a beautifully crafted scarlet letter they she must wear for the remainder of the time she stays in town. The letter, as elaborate and powefuklas is it presents her apparel to her town along wither newborn fearlessly. Throughout the first couple of chapters the tone of the text is gloomy, and creates an air of anxiety (Satan). At the beginning of chapter two, they all have "...their eyes intently fastened on the iron-clamped oaken door"(Hawthorne 34). They are waiting for something, you can see by the tone that whatever it is it won’t good. The first few chapters detail Hester's public trial, public shame, and punishment, and are written with a slight tone fitting the salem trials. Throughout the book the tone varies on situation, like, whenever Pearl is described the tone is always sure to brighten the mood. In chapter six she is described as, "...that little creature, whose innocent life had sprung...a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion"(Hawthorne 62). She is the light in the darkness, the goodness from sin and a precious life in the middle of all Hester’s shame. Whenever new information is brought by Chillington’s mind the tone grows dark and looming. As his cover of being a concerned physical begins to crumble under the weight of his anger, his appearance begins to change. "Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face, which they had not previously noticed..."(Hawthorne 87). At the end of chapter nine, the narrator says, "This diabolical agent had the Divine permission, for a season, to burrow into the clergyman's intimacy, and plot against his soul"(Hawthorne 88). With intense language Chillington has turned into a disease that burrows itself into someone's soul. In conclusion, Hawthorne uses all the rhetorical devices of setting,allusions,metaphors,irony, diction, and varied tone to portray the emotions and appearances of the characters in the novel. Nowadays people are judged because of appearance, actions, sexual orientation, and many other irrelevant things. Judgement is the ability to make considered decision or some to a sensible conclusion, your suppose to take into account the actual person. Judgement now is just discrimination and hate based off societal influence and misjudgment. People now perceive others on what's on the outside not so much on what's on the inside. A lot of judgement comes from hypocrisy and narrow-mindedness we want to reject others for who they are, but insist that others love and accept us the way we are.
In The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne efficiently conveys his purpose to the audience through the use of numerous rhetorical devices in his novel. Two such rhetorical strategies Hawthorne establishes to convey his purpose of informing the audience of valuable life lessons in The Scarlet Letter are characterization and the theme of duality.
I chose this word because the tone of the first chapter seems rather dark. We hear stories of the hopes with which the Puritans arrived in the new world; however, these hopes quickly turned dark because the Purtains found that the first buildings they needed to create were a prison, which alludes to the sins they committed; and a cemetery, which contradicts the new life they hoped to create for themselves.
As the American people’s standards and principles has evolved over time, it’s easy to forget the pain we’ve caused. However, this growth doesn’t excuse the racism and violence that thrived within our young country not even a century previous. This discrimination, based solely on an ideology that one’s race is superior to another, is what put many people of color in miserable places and situations we couldn’t even imagine today. It allowed many Caucasian individuals to inflict pain, through both physical and verbal attacks, and even take away African Americans ' God given rights. In an effort to expose upcoming generations to these mass amounts of prejudice and wrongdoing, Harper Lee 's classic novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, tells the story of
The Scarlet Letter starts off by throwing Hester Prynne into drama after being convicted for adultery in a Puritan area. Traveling from Europe to America causes complications in her travel which also then separates her from her husband, Roger Chillingworth for about three years. Due to the separation, Hester has an affair with an unknown lover resulting in having a child. Ironically, her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, is a Reverend belonging to their church who also is part of the superiors punishing the adulterer. No matter how many punishments are administered to Hester, her reactions are not changed. Through various punishments, Hester Prynne embraces her sin by embroidering a scarlet letter “A” onto her breast. However, she is also traumatized deep within from everything she’s been through. Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts this story of sin by using rhetorical devices such as allusion, alliteration and symbolism.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was not a Puritan. But Hawthrone’s forefathers were Puritans, so he had an understanding of their belief system and their basis behind it. He stated that he hoped the sins of his forefathers had been forgiven. Hoping to expose those ideas which he understood, yet despised, Hawthorne purposely presented many important Puritan beliefs as import aspects to the Scarlet Letter. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne addresses three main Puritan beliefs: providence, predestination, and the strict code of ethics that the settlers of New Englanders lived by.
"To be fully human is to balance the heart, the mind, and the spirit.'; One could suggest the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, that one should not violate the sanctity of the human heart. Hester was well ahead of her time, and believed that love was more important than living in a lie. Dimmesdale’s theology and his inclinations render him almost incapable of action; Chillingsworth dammed himself, along with Dimmesdale. Hester was “frank with [Chillingsworth].';
A rhetoric analysis can be defined as the breakdown of components used to make a persuasive argument or judgment on a particular subject or topic. The ability to make a conclusion or decision on a given thought or idea in a moment of seconds is a result of rhetorical analysis. “Because media rhetoric surrounds us, it is important to understand how rhetoric works. If we refuse to stop and think about how and why it persuades us, we can become mindless consumers who buy into arguments about what makes us value ourselves and what makes us happy”. In Carroll’s essay “Backpacks Vs. Briefcases: Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis”, she discusses the nature of rhetorical analysis, how it affects our everyday lives and explains the role context plays.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, focuses on the Puritan society. The Puritan society molded itself and created a government based upon the Bible and implemented it with force. The crime of adultery committed by Hester generated rage, and was qualified for serious punishment according to Puritan beliefs. Ultimately the town of Boston became intensely involved with Hester's life and her crime of adultery, and saw to it that she be publicly punished and tortured. Based upon the religious, governmental, and social design of the Puritan society, Hester's entire existence revolved around her sin and the Puritan perception. Therefore it is evident within The Scarlet Letter that the Puritan community to some degree has constructed Hester's character.
Nathaniel Hawthorne's knowledge of Puritanism and his close relationship with the religion has impacted his views on those in the society. Hawthorne is critical of the Puritans and he thinks that they are hypocrites for having rules and morals that they do not follow. He sees the underlying sin that others may not. Through his many writings he makes known to his readers that everyone is guilty of sin. The Puritan's main goal was to save themselves from the sin in the world, but Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays their morals and society as troublesome through his works, "Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil," and The Scarlet Letter.
The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in the sixteen hundreds. Hester Prynne is accused of committing adultery in her small puritan settlement but little does the town know that the father is in fact Reverend Dismmesdale. Having sent his wife ahead of him two years before hand, Hester stops her husband in the crowd as she is standing accused on the scaffolding. Hester is given a punishment in the hopes of making her ashamed; however, she turns the mockery into amazement by making the scarlet A into a beautiful piece of patch work. Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, is on the hunt from at that point to find out the child’s father but not even Pearl herself knows. The Scarlet Letter showed how early Americans concentrated their beliefs of church and home in their daily lives. Nathaniel Hawthorne words reflect the flaws in American society during the Puritan settlement. This was also the era of the Salam Witch Trials which Hawthorne’s father played a part in. The central idea reflects that suffering comes from sinning. The Scarlet Letter was the stepping stones that paved future American novels to become so successful.
Director Steven Spielberg and auther Markus Zusak, in their intriguing production, movie Saving Private Ryan and book The Book Thief, both taking place during World War II. However , in Saving Private Ryan Spielberg focus on a lot of complications that occur during war , but guilt was one difficulty that stood out to me. Zusak, on the other hand , showas that having courage during war can be a advantage and also an disadvantage depending on the situation. Both director and author grabed the audience attention with emotional and logical appeal.
Though it is shown throughout The Scarlet Letter that Nathaniel Hawthorne is completely against the Puritan faith, his views, other than those shown in the book, happen to be quite similar as well. He feels that the Puritans are but whole-hearted hypocrites in that the standards necessary to be a Puritan, are met by absolutely none of them. Part of being a Puritan is to be without sin. Being of sound mind, Hawthorne knows that everyone at some point in their life has sinned and therefore sees their hypocritical mentality. Nathaniel also feels that the Puritan faith conventions are unrealistic and are not at all what it means to be a Puritan. One of the Puritan faith conventions states that the Bible is an indispensable guide to life. Assuming that the Puritans followed their own faith conventions you would think that they read the Bible and based their life upon it. Hawthorne feels that this is not the case unless gossiping, lying, and putting yourself above others is part of the Bible. In addition he feels the Puritans are the complete opposite of what he considers as an acceptable religion and he wants nothing to do with them. The puritans gossip and exploit others sins, which just does not cut it for Hawthorne.
D.H. Lawrence, writer of the essay, The Scarlet Letter, expresses his perspective on Hester Prynne by emphasizing her pretentious behavior and analyzing her sin. Lawrence incorporates literary techniques to degrade Hester with his use of strong diction to promote her sin, an assertive tone, and including an organized syntax to clearly explain his argument.
The story setting is the impetus in The Scarlet Letter because New England during the mid- 17th century had unique customs and values that impelled conflicts and character transformations. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne accentuates certain settings within New England to portray the strictness and hardships in the town, while he counters with the forest and the isolated cottage settings. Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter portrays a strict, rigid Puritan town through utilizing both the physical and historical settings of the time period.
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...