In The Scarlet Letter a young woman named Hester is criticized and mocked for having a young girl from an adulterous act with a sneaky pastor. The young girl will be named Pearl (named Pearl for having cost a great price). Throughout the novel as the characters develop and change the plot of the story develops into a riveting climax and an end no one could have imagined. Within the novel there are five major scenes that build up to the dramatic ending of The Scarlet Letter. The scenes in order are the first time Heaster showed her face and stood on the scafell after she was released from prison, when Heaster and Pearl met with the main men of the village to discuss Pearls fate, when Dimmesdale (the young pastor) stands on the scaffold at …show more content…
While standing on the scaffold she sees her husband sho has been gone for years, no one recognizes Chillingworth but her and she feel ashamed for the betrayal she did to him. This scene is one of the most important of the book because of the introduction of characters and the setting of the story. It also shows the way Heaster feels towards the whole idea and gives small hints for what is to come in the future of the book. In the second major scene of the book Heaster and now 7 year old Pearl go to visit a couple of the top men in the village such as the governor, Wilson, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. “ The first half of the story has covered a space of seven years; the second half of will cover no more than fifteen days” claims Malcolm Cowley (15). Heaster brought Pearl to them so they could ask her a couple of questions about where she is from. They wanted to make sure she was getting a proper education. Now Pearl was extremely smart and witty so she knew all of the answers to their questions but decided to answer them incorrectly. Wilson was convinced and wanted to take the child from Hester, dimmesdale protects her and says about how no one else but Heaster could take care of such a smart and interesting child, Pearl then holds his hand and Dimmsdale kissed her forehead. Heaster also states how Pearl is her everything and would rather die before giving her up. This scene is important because it shows the love Heaster has for Pearl and
The five most important scenes of The Scarlet Letter were first, Hester holding baby Pearl being shamed on the scaffold right in the beginning. Second, when Chillingworth found out that Dimmesdale was the man who committed adultery with Hester. Third, when Hester and Dimmesdale were in the forest talking about fleeing and living with only each other and Pearl. Fourth, in which Dimmesdale finally reveals his sin to the public as he is on death’s bed. Finally, the last most important scene of the novel, is the “happy ending” when everything gets wrapped up.
In chapters 9-15 of The Scarlet Letter, the author decides to dedicate an entire chapter to each character. For example, on chapter 9, the chapter is dedicated to what happens with Roger. Roger becomes friends with Arthur Dimmesdale in chapter 9. Dimmesdale is sick, and he thinks Roger is kind and suspects nothing. But Roger, who is Arthur's personal physician, begins to suspect that Dimmesdale is hiding something from him. At this part of the book, we don't know what the author plans for Dimmesdale to hide, if he even is hiding anything at all.
Another important scene in the book is when the governor makes the threat of removing Pearl from Hester. One reason that convinces the governor to take Pearl away is she says in the novel, “I had not been made at all, but had been plucked from the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison-door” (Hawthorne 123). This makes the governor even more suspicious of Hester being able to care well for Pearl as a mother. Although Hester responds to the governor’s reaction by saying she’ll die before she gives up Pearl. This response from Hester is important, because it shows how much she cares about Pearl and her well-being. Also, Dimmesdale speaks in Hester’s behalf “God gave her the child, and gave her, too, an instinctive knowledge of its nature and requirements…” (Hawthorne 125).
1. As the story opens a throng is gathered. Who are these people? Where and why are they gathered?
The book The Scarlet Letter is broken up into three main sections called the 'Scaffold Scenes' and each, although have the same title, show significant differences in characters and situations. Each of these scenes brings together the major characters and forces of the story and each scene, rivets our attention to the scarlet letter ‘A’ on Hester
She touches the scarlet letter, but little does she know that she is the reason for the punishment. They are social outcasts, so they don’t leave their house much. Pearl plays alone and has best friends that are imaginary. She distrusts her own imaginary friends for the same reason that she distrusts all the Puritans in the colony. People treat Hester and Pearl differently than everyone else is treated. She only loves Hester, because Hester spends time with her and is a good mother. She plays with her and teaches her Bible stories. Pearl knows the whole catechism at the age of three, but refuses to say it to anyone. She is smarter than everyone thinks she is. Chillingworth speaks to Pearl about the scarlet letter. He asked her if she knew the reason why her mother must wear the scarlet letter all the time. She replies, “Yes, that is the same reason why the preacher holds his hand over his heart.” Pearl asks her mom all the time the reason why she wears the scarlet letter and why the preacher holds his hand over his heart. She knows that they both do, but she doesn’t know why. Hester tells her that she wears it because of the pretty gold thread, but she doesn’t know the minister’s reason. Later in the story, Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl meet in the forest, and Hester rips the scarlet letter off. Pearl gets mad then, because she knows that her mother is supposed to wear it. Dimmesdale kisses Pearl, but she washes the kiss off with
The Scarlet Letter is set in modern day Boston, during the 1630s. The protagonist, Hester Prynne, is in a lot of trouble for committing adultery. She is put on the scaffold in front of the whole town and was publically humiliated. Not only was she publically humiliated, but she has to wear a letter A on her chest for the rest of her life. Many thought this punishment was not enough, for example they wanted her to be killed for this sin. The reason for Hester committing adultery is because her husband has been missing for two years. And she has lost her ‘love’ for Chillingworth, Hester’s husband. Pearl, Hester’s daughter, is the symbol of Hester’s sin in the
In his book, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells of a story where a young woman has had an adulterous relationship with a respected priest in a Puritan community. Typical of Hawthorne's writings is the use of imagery and symbolism. In Chapter 12, The Minister's Vigil, there are several uses of imagery when Dimmesdale, the priest, is battling with confessing his sin, which has plagued him for seven years. Three evident techniques used to personify symbolism in this chapter are the use of darkness versus light, the use of inner guilt versus confession, and lastly the use of colors (black versus white).
Hester’s relationship with Pearl has many up and downs throughout the story. Sometimes all Hester wants is to have Pearl by her side and to protect her but other times she becomes very scared of Pearl. When Hester was first accused of adultery, Pearl was all she had, “But she named the infant ‘Pearl,’ as being of great price- purchased with all she had- her mother’s only treasure!”(51). Pearl was Hester’s greatest treasure but was also her biggest sin, Pearl represented everything that had
The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel that takes place in the town of Boston, Massachusetts in 1642. Hester Prynne, the main character of the story, commits the sin of adultery. Because of this sin, she is "blessed" with a child named Pearl. Her punishment is to wear a scarlet letter “A" on her chest for the rest of her life, which affects the way the townspeople look and act around her. Also, she must stand on the scaffold in the town for three hours for the whole town to recognize her grave sins. The man who should be standing upon the scaffold along with her and Pearl is the town minister, Dimmesdale. He is presented as a weak character because of his fear of losing his beloved reputation as such a holy
In 1999, the group released their first audio recording, titled Audio. Despite containing some music of their production level, it is less than the soundtrack and more a collection of full-length instrumental featuring a new instrument. Next, in 2002, the group participated in Moby's Area2 tour, giving a more rock-oriented performance than in the theatrical shows. Songs developed during this tour appeared on 2003's album The Complex. Unlike Audio, The Complex featured a variety of vocalists and guests including Tracy Bonham, Dave Matthews, Gavin Rosedale and Venus Hum. The record spawned its own 2003 tour, the first headlined by Blue Man Group. The tour deconstructed the traditional rock concert experience into it’s often clichéd parts and was chronicled in a 2004 DVD release. The tour featured Tracy Bonham and Venus Hum as supporting acts. The DVD included a surround sound mix of some of the studio recordings.
In the stories of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, the antagonist characters display parallel story lines through their searches for the enemy. Roger Chillingworth, the former husband of Hester Prynne and the antagonist of The Scarlet Letter, works against his wife in order to find her untold second lover. Frankenstein is a contrasting story in which an unnamed monster is the antagonist towards his human creator, Dr. Frankenstein. Yet despite quite different story lines, the two characters possess traits that exibit parallels between them. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Roger Chillingworth displays the startling passionate characteristics of an unwavering drive to seek out his foe, madness as his focus on his search takes over his entire being, and terrible anguish when his task is unexpectedly over, all of which are reflected in the daemon created at the hand of Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Mary Shelley 's novel Frankenstein.
From the beginning, we see that Hester Prynne is a young and beautiful woman who has brought a child into the world with an unknown father. She is punished by Puritan society by wearing the scarlet letter A on the bosom of her dress and standing on the scaffold for three hours. The scaffold is a painful task to bear; the townspeople gathered around to gossip and stare at Hester and her
In Nathaniel Hawethorne’s The Scarlet Letter, five scenes stand above the rest in the entirety of the book. Each of these scenes focusing on one of the main characters, Hester Prynne and her daughter, Pearl, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth, who’s real name has never been revealed. In order of occurrence, the scenes which have been deemed most important include, Hester on the scaffold holding Pearl as an infant, and Roger Chillingworth visiting Hester while she is still in the prison being two examples. Another being what many would consider the climax of story is when Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl in the darkness. The final two being Dimmesdale and Hester’s meeting in the forest, and the day upon which Arthur confesses his sins and passes on. Though these are all strictly opinion, they are key points in the novel.
“Human nature will not flourish, any more than a potato, if it be planted and replanted for too long a series of generations in the same worn-out soil. My children have had other birthplaces, and, so far as their fortunes may be within my control, shall strike their roots into unaccustomed earth.” (23)-Nameless narrator’s narration