Compare And Contrast Hester And Dimmesdale - 1771 Words

French poet Jean De La Fontaine once said, â€Å"Nothing weighs on us so heavily as a secret does.† Set in the harsh Puritan community of seventeenth-century Boston, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a tale of a woman named Hester Prynne who is involved in an affair scandal. As a result she is punished by the relentless society and is ordered to bear a scarlet â€Å"A† on her bosom for the remainder of her life which stands for adulterer. However, the mystery as to who the father is of her newborn baby, Pearl would remain a mystery for seven years. One of the town’s most renowned figures, their beloved minister Arthur Dimmesdale proves to be a true exhibit of Mr. Fontaine’s saying since he is the illicit lover of Hester and is Pearl’s†¦show more content†¦Hester’s scarlet letter is a piece of clothing, the â€Å"SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom† (Hawthorn 51). Her int erpretation of the extremity of her sins is one of self composure and calm. She views her sins solely as a violation in the natural order of the environment and therefore cannot even perceive her sin as being evil except through outside influence. Dimmesdale on the other hand, has a scarlet letter carved in his chest. This is revealed when Dimmesdale was giving his revelation, in which â€Å"he tore away the ministerial band from before his breast. It was revealed!† (Hawthorn 232). Dimmesdale s personal interpretation as to the extremity of his own sins is a violation of God s law, which is the law that he is totally dedicated to and supported by. Dimmesdale s interpretation of his sin is much more severe than Hester s, it is a violation and direct contradiction of his own self consciousness and physical existence. Therefore the appearance of his A, even though it is never directly described in the novel, must be powerful, broken, and brutally dishonest (...a ghastly rapture; Hawthorne pg.95). Since the Scarlet Letter on Hester is visible to the public, she was criticized and looked down on. â€Å"This women has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die† (Hawthorn 49) is said by a female in the marketplace talking about Hester. She becomes a stronger person through living this hard life.Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Scarlet Letter 746 Words   |  3 PagesChapter 8: What is the purpose of Hester and Mistress Hibben’s interactions? What does it say about Hester? Chapter 9: What two contrasting images does the town hold about Chillingworth? How were they brought about? Chapter 10: From the context of the chapter, what can readers infer is on Dimmesdale’s chest? Chapter 11: In what ways, can the reader infer, does Dimmesdale incorporate his suffering into his sermons? Chapter 12: Compare the internal suffering of Dimmesdale to Hester’s suffering. Who isRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne830 Words   |  4 PagesHawthorne summarizes Hester Prynne’s perspective of the forest in one phrase. Early in the book, as Hester leaves prison, Hawthorne describes the forest as â€Å"dark, inscrutable†¦ open to [Hester], where the wilderness of her nature might assimilate itself with a people whose customs and life were alien from the law that had condemned her† (75). Hawthorne explains Hester’s connection to the evil, isolated, and free forest, which serves as the location for her conversations with Pearl, Dimmesdale, and ChillingsworthRead More Greatest Sinner in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Essay1267 Words   |  6 Pagesnot take responsibility for it. In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, perhaps the greatest sinner was Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.    Many of Hawthornes works center around what is right or wrong, and the consequences of breaking the basic links between humans by committing acts of sin (Brown). In this book, Reverend Dimmesdale is Hester Prynnes secret lover, with whom he shares his sin, the sin of adultery. It is ironic that dispite Dimmesdales profession, he commits thisRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1541 Words   |  7 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter follows young adulteress Hester Prynne as she struggles with her sin and subsequent isolation from Puritan society, while Walt Whitman’s Oh Captain! My Captain! chronicles a ship’s bittersweet journey towards a port without its captain. Both texts are products of the American Romantic era, which lasted from the 1830s to 1860s, and characterized a time period of particularly emotional and contemplative literature. Hawthorne and Whitman display a sense of nostalgiaRead MoreNature And Character Of The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1424 Words   |  6 Pagesnature, to a person’s overall character and how they are to be perceived. Pearl, Hester, and Dimmesdale have their own distinct interactions with nature which therefore suggests different characteristics that can be related to their nature. Firstly, Pearl’s character is the most essential example that demonstrates different characteristics that can be exhibited by specific interactions with nature. While Dimmesdale and Hester are talking in the woods with each other, â€Å"The great black forest--stern asRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne1180 Words   |  5 Pagesclockwork of Nature does not stop for any Man. In the classic novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Dimmesdale conceals an abominable truth. Avoiding subjugation to the conservative Puritans Society rule, the reverend feigned obliviousness all the while Hester, the person he committed adultery with, fearlessly bared her shame upon her bosom. The society held Dimmesdale to a higher standard; as a result, their influences hindered his ability to take responsibility for his actions. TheRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Scarlet Letter 1917 Words   |  8 Pagesmay be unfamiliar to him. He possesses some of the qualities of another fictional character, written about over two centuries before him. Hester Prynne is marked by her scarlet letter, giving people a preconceived notion about who she is, similar to Harry’s iconic scar. She also puts others before herself, including those who had betrayed her trust (Dimmesdale), similar to Harry saving his enemy Draco from being engulfed in flame in the seventh installment of the series. These acts of selflessnessRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1397 Words   |  6 Pagesthe consequences are not as extreme as the puritans; the acceptance might as well be equivalent when looking through the eyes of our society. The work of the three literary critics display a precise interpretation of the characters Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, and Prynne as they are individually and how they are in unique peculiar with everyone around them. Literary critic Evans Smith wrote â€Å"Refiguring Revelations† a literary criticism of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Evans Smith began hisRead MoreSimilarities and Differences Between Anne Hutchinson and Hester Prynne1607 Words   |  7 Pagesand Hester Prynne While many people may feel that Anne Hutchinson has nothing in common with Hester Pyrnne they actually more alike than most people would think. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of â€Å"The Scarlet Letter,† used many references to Anne Hutchinson in his book. During his life, he wrote a sketch of Hutchinson thus portraying his interest towards her and the characteristics of her life. It could be accurate to say that Anne Hutchinson was used as a guide to make the character of Hester PrynneRead MoreHistory Notes3525 Words   |  15 Pagesis higher level reading, but I urge you to do as much as you can with the novel independently – push yourself. The reading becomes easier as you adapt to Hawthorne’s language and style. Chapter 1 1.Hawthorne establishes a contrast between the darkness of the Puritans and the beauty of the rose. Examine the descriptions of the Puritans, the prison, and the prison door. What does Hawthorne imply about the nature of human beings by his emphasis on the early establishment of