The Struggle Of Hester Prynne

890 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How did the characters in the scarlet letter change

Konnor Smith
Mr. Seehafer
American Literature, 6th hour
6 December 2017
The Struggle of Hester Prynne

Everyone in this world has sinned in one way or another, but we learn from them which is the most important thing. During the book Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne has committed a sin that made her feel like a terrible person, but ended up making her a stronger and happier person. She was made a terrible person around town, and people hated her not for what she did, but what she became.
In the beginning of the book, Hester Prynne was very remorseful for what she had done, she felt like the worst person alive. Hester Prynne had had sexual interactions with a man that was not her husband, in which she thought that …show more content…

Hester realized that she cannot live her life behind a curtain. Hester now would walk in town with her head up high showing that she is a different person and a stronger person. She didn’t care what people had to say about her, all she knew was that she more than just a sinner. Hester was very good at sewing, which she continued to do as a job, and to gain her reputation back. Hester took her seamstress abilities and made things for the governor, also she made her own letter “A” which was a colorful and more pretty one. Knowing that she was a good seamstress, women on the streets spoke up "She hath good skill at her needle, that's certain, but did ever a woman before this brazen hussy, contrive such a way of showing it!" (Hawthorne 46). The ladies that spoke up were almost jealous that her letter did not resemble a sin, it resembled an artsy person with a great imagination. Hester started showing her great appreciation for Pearl by raising her the way that any kid should be raised. She knew that Pearl would grow up being the sinners daughter, but Hester knew that Pearl would know the truth. Hester taught Pearl that everyone sins, it's just whether they own up to their mistakes or they sweep them under the carpet. Hester is owning up to the mistake that she made and is going to make the best out of the

Show More
Related

  • Hester Prynne: Victim or Heroine?

    938 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester is a youthful, beautiful, proud woman who has committed an awful sin and a scandal that changes her life in a major way. She commits adultery with a man known as Arthur Dimmesdale, leader of the local Puritan church and Hester’s minister. The adultery committed results in a baby girl named Pearl. This child she clutches to her chest is the proof of her sin. This behavior is unacceptable. Hester is sent to prison and then punished. Hester is the only one who gets punished for this horrendous act, because no one knows who the man is that Hester has this scandalous affair with. Hester’s sin is confessed, and she lives with two constant reminders of that sin: the scarlet letter itself, and Pearl, the child conceived with Dimmesdale. Her punishment is that she must stand upon a scaffold receiving public humiliation for several hours each day, wearing the scarlet letter “A” on her chest, represe...

    Read More

  • Dealing With Guilt in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Is Hester Prynne A Hero

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester Prynne is seen by many as worthy of respect and admiration throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. She is ultimately seen as a hero in many areas of the novel. Literary critic Mark Van Doren argues that Hester Prynne is a heroic citizen who rises above the consequences of her sin. Van Doren argues that Hester Prynne should be seen as a noble hero through his use of repetition, praiseworthy diction, and admirable tone.

    Read More

  • The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    He defies the system of education by leaving the institution and starting his own school. He did this because he believed following a set system with rules would hurt his integrity. This similar act plays out in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the novel, main character Hester Prynne cares for her child despite what others think. She puts little importance to the townspeople's ridicule and judgement and continues to walk through the marketplace with her head held high. Hester keeps her integrity and continues to focus on her most important goal, which is to look after her daughter Pearl and give her all the love she deserves. Like Henry, Hester showed strength through her determination of keeping her strong moral principles and making her own decisions. Despite being judged and hated, Hester stayed sane and together because she had her integrity and knew the importance of defying against all external forces to be able to stick to what she believed

    Read More

  • Hester Prynne Sacrifice

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester Prynne is a character who gave up everything, even love, for her child. Hester Prynne sacrificed her peace, her beauty, her entire being for her child and this shows her determination and profound understanding of the world. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s piece, “The Scarlet Letter” shows the other side of the sinner’s story and not as a villain, but a victim.

    Read More

  • Free Essay on Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter - Spiritual Growth of Hester Prynne

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    The character of Hester Prynne changed significantly throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery.  For this harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life.  However, the Romantic philosophies of Hawthorne put down the Puritanic beliefs.  She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, but is forgiven.  Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity" and she can do no wrong.  Not only Hester, but the physical scarlet letter, a Puritanical sign of disownment, is shown through the author's tone and diction as a beautiful, gold and colorful piece.

    Read More

  • Hester Prynne And Arthur Dimmesdale In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    541 Words  | 2 Pages

    The letter ‘A’ that she wore on her bosom plastered Hester’s scandal all over the community. Pearl, the daughter of the sinner’s, was being parented by Hester, which constantly reminded her of the sin everyday. The community looked down upon Hester and Pearl, but instead of letting it get to them, Hester accepted the consequences therefore she tried to move on. Although the family dealt with a lot of criticism from fellow Puritans, they did not let those thoughts get into their heads. Hester was a popular seamstress in her time, even though she was unable to make wedding veils because of the sin she committed. “Why, look you, she may cover it with a brooch, or suchlike heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever!” (Hawthorne 49). The sin made Hester determined because she came to self-realization and broke free.

    Read More

  • Hester Prynne Character Analysis

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hester Prynne. The face of beauty, sin, and inner-strength. She wears an “A” upon her bosom and embraces another symbol of her sin in her arms. Hester Prynne made one mistake that got the townspeople ranting. The townspeople make rude comments about Hester and the beautifully embroidered “A”. She stood upon a scaffold, Pearl in hand, and allows her peers to judge her. She didn’t react to any of the mean comments or glares. Her husband and lover keep their identities concealed from society while she takes the blame for the crime. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, he illustrates to readers how strong Hester 's character is, revealed through her public humiliation, and her lover’s actions towards her.

    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

  • The Character Of Hester Prynne

    1511 Words  | 4 Pages

    When Hawthorne introduces Hester Prynne in the story, she is passionate. Examples of this characteristic are towards her baby, Pearl, and when the old Puritans wanted to take Pearl away from Prynne in chapter 8 Hester Prynne felt extremely “alone in the world, cast off by it, and with this sole treasure to keep her heart alive, she felt that she possessed indefeasible rights against the world, and was ready to defend them to the

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter: The Response to Sin

    1857 Words  | 4 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Sin in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    768 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Scarlet Letter, the idea of sin and punishment is the main theme of the novel and how Hester Prynne, the main character, has been punished for her sin of adultery. As Nathaniel Hawthorne states in this novel, "In the view of Infinite Purity, we are sinners all alike." This statement puts a big question mark on the true lives of the Puritans. If we all have once committed a moral wrongdoing, why is this young woman so harshly punished for her sin?

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne is labeled as the “bad guy”. The townspeople demand the other adulterer’s name, but Hester denies this revelation. She does not reveal it because she knows that the information will crumble the foundation of the Puritan religion and the town itself. “‘But, Hester, the man lives who has wronged us both! Who is he?’ ‘Ask me not!’ replied Hester Prynne, looking firmly into his face. ‘That thou shalt never know!’(Hawthorne 52). Hester knows that finding out that the father of the child, the Minister that is leading the town, will diminish credibility for the church and for Dimmesdale, the Minister. During her punishment, Hester decides to move out near the woods and make a living as a seamstress. Hester is regarded as an outcast from Boston, but she still gives back to the society that shuns her. ‘“Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?’ they would say to strangers. ‘It is our Hester, —the town's own Hester, —who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!’”(Hawthorne 111). Her acts of kindness, helping the sick and comforting the afflicted, toward the society that makes her an outcast shows the inner goodness of a person. Throu...

    Read More

  • Hester Prynne Character Analysis Essay

    705 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout all the sinful things Hester Prynne has done, she still managed to obtain good qualities. Hester was an adulterer from the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester was looked down upon by the citizens of Boston because of the sin she and another person committed, but no one knew who her partner in crime was because she refused to release his name. Towards the very end of the story Hester’s accomplice confessed and left Hester and Pearl feeling joyous, because now they didn’t have to keep in a secret. Hester is a trustworthy, helpful, and brave woman throughout The Scarlet Letter.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter: An Analysis Of Hester Prynne

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    The portrayal of Hester Prynne in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, has led to many different opinionated views. Many debate whether or not Hester Prynne should be portrayed in an angelic or sinful light. The author and critic, D.H. Lawrence, focuses on Hester’s sin itself, and focuses on having the reader view an alternate perspective of Hester, seeing her not as the victim, but as the criminal, as she should be viewed based on traditional Puritan values. Lawrence achieves the perspective that Hester should be viewed in a sinful light through his rhythmic and fluid syntax, negative and hateful diction, as well as his sarcastic and critical tone.

    Read More

More about The Struggle Of Hester Prynne

Open Document