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Essay / The scarlet letter. The Purpose of Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter is a romance written by Nathaniel Hawthorne set in the Puritan community of Boston, Massachusetts, in the 17th century. It tells the story of Hester Prynne, who commits the sin of adultery with the church's minister, Reverend Dimmesdale, and conceives a baby girl, Pearl. Hester's husband, Roger Chillingworth, returns and seeks revenge. As Pearl grows older, her mother learns to deal with the scarlet letter of shame and Dimmesdale feels guilty. When they decide to run away, Dimmesdale confesses his sin in public and dies. The story ends with Chillingworth's death and all his possessions going to little Pearl. Pearl grows up and probably marries and Hester becomes the mother of all women in need. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne addresses themes of sin, guilt, and how society affects the formation of an individual's character. It addresses the issue of hypocrisy and how hidden guilt can affect someone. It also describes the nature of evil in human form. Purity, honesty and joy are symbolized by little Pearl. He wrote this romance to express himself and show the oppression of the society and community in which he lived. Hester's struggle against society is similar to his own. He and Hester resist Puritan values and beliefs. The society Hawthorne lived in discouraged him and prevented him from pursuing his passion for writing, but he still continues to write. His novel shows the inner conflicts of individuals, the conflicts between them and society, and reveals the truth of the human heart. The story is about a sin, which is adultery, and how its view differs from that of society and the sinner. Society views Hester's sin as shameful and disgraceful. In the middle of the paper, information about the scarlet letter has a huge role in the reader's interpretation of its meaning. Hawthorne was a talented and knowledgeable writer, who was greatly influenced by the community in which he lived. Instead of giving in to the society that dashed his hopes of becoming a successful writer, he wrote about Hester to express himself and explain his conflicts with society and the twisted and oppressive beliefs of the time. He discusses the issues in a way that every reader can relate to and empathize with the characters. It skillfully transforms a symbol of shame and sin into a symbol of motherhood and protection. The scarlet letter is truly a symbol of belief in people's abilities. It is a symbol of resistance to society if all this causes people to reject their identity and who they really are. Works Cited The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne