Theme:
The theme in The Scarlet Letter is the way that society looks at people and what is right. In this novel the society looks at Hester Prynne as a whore in her time because of her choice to have sex before marriage. Not only does she have sex but she gets pregnant and has a baby. The society made her wear a red A on her to show the fact that she had committed the crime of adultery This all represents the way that society creates people and makes an image that everyone must follow if they don't want to be misinterpreted. Society is still like this today but has been more open to difference. Hester Prynne has a hard to going through society as she is alone but becomes strong and different from the rest of society.
Motifs/symbols:
A symbol in this novel is Pearl he daughter. She is an important figure to represent honesty and purity. She may have been a bad mistake on her mothers part, but she is a great example of truth. The fact that children are honest, from birth until taught other wise, shows how as a young child she shows only honesty and asks the questions of the people that make them think twice about their beliefs.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Important Characters
Hester Prynne- She is married in the book to Chillingworth but has an affair with Dimmesdale and becomes pregnant. Because of what she has done, she has to wear a red "A" on her clothing to show that she is an adulterer. Her exclusion from society, because of her actions, makes her the person she becomes as she is more free-spirited and open minded. Everyone treats her badly and its all because of the feminist nature during this time. Her character is just an ordinary person that just has big problems in their life. She is a very strong character that has to learn to be on her own and grow to except what she has done.
Roger Chillingworth- Roger He is every representation of evil and sin. He was a horrible husband to Hester, expecting so much but giving so little. Chillingworth was one to seek revenge and bring harm to people based on actions and his selfishness.
Arthur Dimmersdale- This is the man that Hester had the affair with. He is a scholar and lets Hester take all the blame for the actions they both did. This just makes his conscious feel bad, so he tries to become an inspirational person in the world and reach out to people.
Pearl- She is Hester's daughter and she is a symbolic character. She is honest and brings some hope to the story. Although she was a looked down upon mistake, she has a big impact on the thoughts of the reader when she questions the honest speaking of adults.
Roger Chillingworth- Roger He is every representation of evil and sin. He was a horrible husband to Hester, expecting so much but giving so little. Chillingworth was one to seek revenge and bring harm to people based on actions and his selfishness.
Arthur Dimmersdale- This is the man that Hester had the affair with. He is a scholar and lets Hester take all the blame for the actions they both did. This just makes his conscious feel bad, so he tries to become an inspirational person in the world and reach out to people.
Pearl- She is Hester's daughter and she is a symbolic character. She is honest and brings some hope to the story. Although she was a looked down upon mistake, she has a big impact on the thoughts of the reader when she questions the honest speaking of adults.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Background information
The Scarlet Letter was written about the time of the Salem Witch trials and that creates the theme to the novel. This Novel was released to the U.S. in 1850. During the Salem Witch trials people were convicted of being witches all the time. This usually lead to jail and/or death. Massachusetts had a lot of suspicion all the time and this lead to a lot of issues within the people and who was convicted. When anyone did anything wrong, they would immediately be convicted of witchcraft. Many people were convicted and there were no ways to prove they were not really a witch, which cause problems.
About the author
About Nathaniel Hawthorne:
Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts. He had the original last name of Hathorne, but because of the well known judge - John Hathorne - in the Salem witch trials, he added the 'w'. He based most of his literature on the Hathorne legacy and incorporated witch trials in his work. For example, in The Scarlet Letter.When Hawthorne was only four years old his father died. His uncle helped pay for college and yet Hawthorne rejected all jobs except being an author. He went to Bowdoin college from 1821 to 1825 when he graduated taking basic courses and not getting too into it. He married a woman named Sophie in 1842. Then in 1864, he started getting weak and sick and finally passed away.
Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts. He had the original last name of Hathorne, but because of the well known judge - John Hathorne - in the Salem witch trials, he added the 'w'. He based most of his literature on the Hathorne legacy and incorporated witch trials in his work. For example, in The Scarlet Letter.When Hawthorne was only four years old his father died. His uncle helped pay for college and yet Hawthorne rejected all jobs except being an author. He went to Bowdoin college from 1821 to 1825 when he graduated taking basic courses and not getting too into it. He married a woman named Sophie in 1842. Then in 1864, he started getting weak and sick and finally passed away.
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