The Scarlet Letter: Sin, Isolation, and Reunion
Nathaniel Hawthorne uses setting, plot, and the characters to develop the theme of Sin, Isolation, and Reunion in his novel, The Scarlet Letter. In this novel Hawthorne uses the scaffold along with other places in the setting to develop this theme. He develops the plot by making one character torment or act as the conscience of another to develop the climax and the resolution. The characters help develop this theme by tormenting other characters and never letting them forget about the sin they committed which then drives them further into isolation.
Hawthorne uses the setting to develop the theme of sin, isolation and reunion. One the main places in the setting that he uses this process is the scaffold. The scaffold is used in the novel for a place to show sin in the beginning of the story when Hester is displayed on it. Also during this scene it was used to isolate her from the rest of the community. Then later in the story it is used again when Arthur stands up on the platform of the scaffold giving false penance, which drives him further into isolation. Then at the end of the story it is used again to reunite Arthur with himself, the community and God before dies. It is also used in this scene to reunite Pearl with herself making her normal. He also used the cottage where Hester lived has a place of isolation for her. The cottage was just out side the sphere of the community. It was also on a sterile piece of land where nothing would grow. The forest was also a major setting that instigated sin. It was the place where the Blackman lived and if you signed his book you would wear its sign on your chest. Not only was it a place of sin but it was also a place of isolation. Isolation in the forest occurred when Hester met Arthur in forest to hopefully achieve some reunion but instead drove them selves further into isolation. The use of the settings greatly structured how the theme of sin, isolation and reunion came about.
The plot was used to develop the theme of sin, isolation, and reunion. There are five basic parts to the plot: conflict, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. This is called the plot line.
Glucose consumption in the tissues and glucose production are balanced when the body is at rest. At the start of exercising the energy the body gets quickly is from the anaerobic metabolism using mostly muscle glycogen...
O’Connor powerfully made the reader realize that having an epiphany opens up our mind to a clearer insight, and this was seen with the grandmother in “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and Mrs. Turpin in “Revelation.” Nonetheless, O’Connor also created characters that obtained a certain type of violence deep within their personality to show the importance of real life experiences within our society. These two short stories show a great amount of emotion and life lessons towards the reader, and O’Connor successfully conveyed her point while using her powerful Southern gothic writing technique.
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.
Both Lewis and Freud agreed that the question of god’s existence and our response must be asked. Though each man had drastically different worldviews and answers, they each sought to learn and understand the other’s worldview. Nicholi points out that Lewis may have had an advantage in the understanding of the unbeliever’s worldview due to the fact that until the age of 30, he claimed to be “even more certain of his atheism than was Freud” (2002, Pg. 81). In his adult life, Freud had no dramatic change of worldview from believer to unbeliever like Lewis had. This fact may give Lewis a slight upper hand in the understanding of the unbeliever’s worldview; however, Freud was still one of the greatest minds of his times and his work proves a strong (though negative) understanding of the believer’s worldview.
In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne three major events occur on the town scaffold. The scaffold serves as a place of public humiliation and shame. Hawthorne places three events that occur on the scaffold that play a major role. The first appearance of the scaffold is when Hester serves her time of public humiliation. The second appearance of the scaffold scene is throughout the middle of the novel when Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale arrive together on the scaffold. Hawthorne then brings the three back together once again in the third scaffold scene to end the tragic story of the Scarlet Letter. The three scaffold scenes play major roles throughout Hester and Dimmesdale’s life.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter introduces themes within the story that recur in several settings and serve as metaphors for the underlying conflicts. The trouble in interpreting The Scarlet Letter is the fact that the story is packed full of symbolism that can be either overlooked, or misinterpreted. From the actual letter ‘A’, down to the use of colors, Hawthorne wrote his story with the intention of making the reader work harder and read deeper into the characters and actual meaning of the story.
Guilt and shame haunt all three of the main characters in The Scarlet Letter, but how they each handle their sin will change their lives forever. Hester Prynne’s guilt is publicly exploited. She has to live with her shame for the rest of her life by wearing a scarlet letter on the breast of her gown. Arthur Dimmesdale, on the other hand, is just as guilty of adultery as Hester, but he allows his guilt to remain a secret. Instead of telling the people of his vile sin, the Reverend allows it to eat away at his rotting soul. The shame of what he has done slowly kills him. The last sinner in this guilty trio is Rodger Chillingworth. This evil man not only hides his true identity as Hester’s husband, but also mentally torments Arthur Dimmesdale. The vile physician offers his ‘help’ to the sickly Reverend, but he gives the exact opposite. Chillingworth inflicts daily, mental tortures upon Arthur Dimmesdale for seven long years, and he enjoys it. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth are all connected by their sins and shame, but what they do in regards to those sins is what sets them apart from each other.
A symbol is an object used to stand for something else. Symbolism has a hidden meaning lying within it; these meanings unite to form a more detailed theme. Symbolism is widely used in The Scarlet Letter to help the reader better understand the deep meanings Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays throughout his novel. He shows that sin, known or unknown to the community, isolates a person from their community and from God. Hawthorne also shows this by symbols in nature around the town, natural symbols in the heavens, and nature in the forest.
The texts Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare are very similar. At first the dramas appear different, one a tragedy and one a comedy. But, the brilliance of Shakespeare is evident in each, and thus they relate to each other. In metaphors, and even themes, the two texts are very alike. If you compare the acts from Romeo and Juliet and Midsummer Night’s Dream you will find similarities between the two texts. Romeo and Juliet is very similar Midsummer Night’s Dream because in act one both texts discuss daughters with prearranged marriages, in act two Romeo and Lysander jump in and out of love, and in act three both plays contain terrible misconceptions.
...to portray through Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, that without responsibility for wrongful deeds our world will eventually be destroyed just like these two individuals. However, Hawthorne, through the portrayal of Hester, shows that he has not given up on humanity. If our world is going to survive for future generations it has to model itself after Hester’s behavior. Yes, sin is inevitable but we must learn to respond to it with responsibility, forgiveness, and redemption rather than with guilt, revenge, and uncertainty. More importantly we must learn to remain honest and truthful in whatever action we carry out because in the end only God will have the power to grant us the ultimate forgiveness by saving us or damning us to Hell.
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.
Obedience is also seen by many as the path of least resistance; it isn’t as mentally demanding to follow someone’s orders. Assuming authority figures know what is best for everyone, it is simpler to do what we are told than to have to think for ourselves. But once we stop thinking for ourselves and begin following orders bli...
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the story is set in New England during the colonial times, mainly the middle of the seventeenth century. As the plot of the novel progresses, the importance of setting is further aggrandized when the main character, Hester Prynne, is isolated in a strict Puritan society. To further elucidate Hester’s situation, Hawthorne utilizes two types of settings, physical and historical setting. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the settings to expose the rigidness of the Puritan society of the time period and how its obstinate and judgmental nature impacted people within the society.
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The kidneys are a bean-shaped organ in the human body and they have different functions and are of vital importance for it. The kidneys are the pair of organs, which are able to regulate the reabsorption of ions such as potassium, sodium and calcium, which are fundamental substances for the cell. Furthermore, they are involved in the reabsorption of nutrients in the bloodstream and they can regulate the acidity of the blood. Besides the regulation of the fluids and ions, the kidneys are also responsible for the regulation of many different hormones that are involved in homeostasis and metabolism. Because of their importance in the regulation of substances in the body, when the kidneys stop working properly all the body is influenced by that creating disequilibrium in the maintenance of homeostasi...