The scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne essay example. The scarlet letter presents a critical, even disdainful, view of puritanism. Hawthorne says it is the first object of which she seemed aware, and she focuses on the letter in many scenes. The scarlet letter study guide contains a biography of nathaniel hawthorne, literature essays, a complete etext, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Use the activities below to support students reading. Here are some ideas, including the scarlet letter essay topics and prompts for the best essay ever. Read a plot overview of the entire book or a chapter by chapter summary and analysis. The amount of shame and struggles that hester prynne experienced was surreal, and she has witnessed such unimaginative events. First of all, keep in mind that you need to follow the specific requirements your teacher has set. Some people begin to suggest that the a stands for able, since hester is such a capable woman. Start early as it takes a lot of time to analyze this story and plan a response. Does night bring with it a set of rules that differs from those of the daytime. Conceptualization of sin infers bringing forth knowledge about the existence of sin and the repercussions of involvements in sinful behaviors.
The scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne continues to be a compelling story of betrayal, revenge, sin, and forgiveness that still resonates with students today. The scarlet letter term papers available at, the largest free term paper community. The scarlet letter is a tragic love story set in the time of the puritan settlement around 1700 in boston, massachusetts. Get your paper organized at the very beginning, and you will surely benefit from it.
The work centers on hester prynne, a married woman who is shunned after bearing a. Instead of being hung, hesters sentence was to stand on a scaffold for three hours with her baby, the product of her sin, and a scarlet letter a on her chest to show her sin to all who gazed upon her. The themes of identity, sin, hypocrisy, and revenge in the scarlet letter are still significant in todays societyeven if were not all puritans. Host amanda knox sits down with famous women to discuss the deeply personal journey of. The work centers on hester prynne, a married woman who is shunned after bearing a child out of wedlock but displays great compassion and resiliency. For example, when the narrator describes hester prynne standing on the scaffold, he notes that had there been a papist. Book report of the scarlet letter 680 words 3 pages in june 1642, the townspeople of the massachusetts bay colony gathered together in front of the scaffold to see the the punishment that would be levied on the young women, hester prynne. The scarlet letter, novel by nathaniel hawthorne, published in 1850.
The black man is a euphemism for satan in this book. The words are hidden in all directions making this a challenging word search. The narrator depicts puritan society as drab, confining, unforgiving, and narrowminded that unfairly victimizes hester. What position does the scarlet letter seem to take on the issue of oldfashioned public shaming wearing letters, being paraded through towns and acts of punishment like imprisonment, which is the way we deal with wrongdoers today. If you need to write a book summary on the scarlet letter and you dont know how to choose a good topic. Though initially this letter a symbolizes the sin of adultery, hester prynne alters its meaning through her hard work and charity.
The scarlet letter word search puzzle worksheet activity for kids. After the narrator lost his job, he decided to develop the story told in the. Now that you have some examples and ideas, you can confidently write your analysis. A romance is a novel by american writer nathaniel hawthorne first published in boston in 1850. The scarlet letter essay examples free symbolism, analysis. An important part of pearls character is the way that she is. A symbol is something which is used to represent something broader in meaning.
It serves as a formula for the conveyance of ideas otherwise too. Authored by nathaniel hawthorne in 1850, the scarlet letter is a fascinating masterpiece featuring hester prynne as the protagonist. Several years later, hester returns to boston, resumes wearing the scarlet letter, and becomes a person to whom other women turn for solace. These free notes consist of about 52 pages 15,407 words and contain the following sections. If you have this book on your reading list and have to write a literary analysis on it, refer to the list below to decide on an aspect to tackle. The scarlet letter analysis essay example graduateway. The novel is considered a masterpiece of american literature and a classic moral study. It takes place in the 17th century boston, massachusetts.
Analysis, summary, the scarlet letter is a novel that deals with the neverending theme of sin. The character in nathaniel hawthornes book, the scarlet letter, who suffers the most is hester prynne. And thats not even to mention all the tricky ideas about fate, community, and forgiveness. In this brief overview of the 1850s novel written by nathaniel hawthorne, i will go through a summary of the piece, go into the experience i had with the book and a. In the scarlet letter, why is pearl often compared to an elf. In the novel, he considers seventeenthcentury puritan mores. Even as a baby, she instinctively reaches for the scarlet letter. Host amanda knox sits down with famous women to discuss the deeply personal journey of being sexualized, scrutinized, and demonized. The scarlet letter begins in the seventeenth century in boston. The scarlet letter chapter 10 summary and analysis. No, i dont like the book, because it takes me too long to finish the book and i dont actually understand what the story is about. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper.
But before you go, take these bonus tips and extra guidance with you. In the essay the scarlet letter the author discusses the original text of the romantic novel written by nathaniel hawthorne. Book report of the scarlet letter 680 words bartleby. The symbolism behind the scarlet letter a changes throughout this novel.
In writing the scarlet letter, hawethorne was creating a form of fiction he called the psychological romance. The scarlet letter suggests that revenge is a dish best served by god. As previously mentioned, some of the universal ideas introspected in the scarlet letter include offense, culpability and legalism. Book report on the scarlet letter though the development of these themes is also a subject of other characters such as chillingworth and dimmesdale, hester is outstandingly the central character since she makes the latter two behave in the manner they. The scarlet letter an analysis of symbolism free coursework. Hawthornes long sentences contain many clauses, or ideas, and often only communicate the main idea at the end. Throughout history, people have committed all types of sins, and whether they are major or minor, people have been punished. An important part of pearls character is the way that she is developed as being somehow.
The style of the scarlet letter is ornate and subtle, characterized by long, intricate sentences, suggesting the path to the truth is twisting and complicated. The scarlet letter begins with a prelude in which an unnamed narrator explains the novels origin. Nathaniel hawthornes the scarlet letter is an 1850 novel depicting the treatment of adulterous hester prynne in puritanera boston, after her. The story begins with a bundle of papers found in the attic of a customhouse in salem, massachusetts around 200 years later. In the scene in which hester is released from prison, the narrator describes the town police official as representing the whole dismal severity of. The dialogues were so hard to understand and i am not familiar with the uses of the words in the book. Nathaniel hawthornes classic literature novel the scarlet letter tells a tale of an illicit romance in puritan new england. The nameless narrator was the surveyor of the customhouse in salem, massachusetts. The most popular ones include adultery, sin, love, etc. It tells the story of hester prynne, a seamstress newly arrived in the new world from england, whose husband, roger chillingworth, is presumed dead.
Scarlet letter book report essay sample sample essays. The scarlet letter opens with a long preamble about how the book came to be written. The scarlet letter reflects hawthornes fascination with the idea of sin and its place in puritan ideology. Therefore, one should carry out adequate research on how scarlet letter is written, thus being in the position of writing a topnotch scarlet letter. In the customhouses attic, he discovered a number of documents, among them a manuscript that was bundled with a scarlet, goldembroidered patch of cloth in the shape of an a. The scarlet letter themes textual analysis activity the. While working at the salem custom house a tax collection agency, the narrator discovered in the attic a manuscript accompanied by a beautiful scarlet letter a. Hester prynne is being escorted out from the towns prison with her daughter, pearl. The scarlet letter chapter 7 summary and analysis enotes. Sep 20, 2017 the scarlet letter chapter summary in under five minutes. A critical analysis on the issue of remorse on the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne nathaniel hawthorne created the story of the scarlet letter.
Hawthorne is part of your syllabus, chances are that your instructor will have you write a literary analysis. Someone watching from the crowd was telling someone else that she is being punished for adultery. The scarlet letter is a story of the public shaming of a woman named hester prynne. After her affair with dimmesdale, she becomes pregnant and the community is quick to set a severe punishment. Aug 20, 2019 the scarlet letter is a seminal work of american literature written by new englander nathaniel hawthorne and published in 1850. The most obvious symbol in the novel is the actual scarlet a which both the criticism and i agree upon. 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. September, hawthorne began work on the scarlet letter and on the customhouse, which satirizes the salem customhouse and its officers, as well as the whigs who deprived him of his office. The scarlet letter has many themes that can be discussed in creative ways. Use the activities below to support students reading of the novel and help them better. As nathaniel hawthorne states in this novel, in the view of infinite purity, we are sinners all alike. While there is an abundance of suffering in nathaniel hawthornes book overall, hesters character suffers more than the others.
This novel won him much fame and a good reputation as a writer. Choose a perfect theme and study the literature to gather important information. Hawthorne originally planned to include the custom house, the scarlet letter, and other works in a collec. The scarlet letter a critical analysis of hester prynne the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne was written in 1849.
361 711 1178 563 191 1413 736 637 755 111 915 189 238 515 1016 215 188 267 606 1351 937 563 360 537 248 400 292 1163 749 1453 1358 156