Scarlet Letter Chapter 21-24 Analysis Essay

● After choosing so, Dimmesdale feels joy and mercy through Hester’s love, and feels much much better. ● Hester brings up the idea to not look back on the bad times, just to continue forward without the sin dragging one’s self down.

During Dimmesdale's sermon, Hester is taken from her piteous thoughts when Dimmesdale calls out for her and Pearl to join him on the scaffold. Hester knows that her worst fear is about to come true as she approaches the scaffold "slowly, as if impelled by inevitable fate, and against her strongest will" (Hawthorne 282). Hester did not want to go on to the scaffold because she never wanted to relive that nightmare again, but she knew that Dimmesdale needed her strength, yet all of Hester’s power and pride were drained. But because Hester loved Dimmesdale so, she stood at Dimmesdale's side, as he confessed his sin to the townspeople (Hawthorne 283). After confessing his sin, all was done for Dimmesdale, and he begins to sink to the floor, as

Dimmesdale has been suffering. This inspires him to deliver some sermons on sin. He wants to confess the truth from his sin, but can’t bring himself to do it. This leads him to see visions and starts to torture himself physically with a whip. One of his vision brings him to hold a vigil on the scaffold where Hester went for her sin of adultery.

Short Summary: Hester and Pearl are waiting in the forest for the minister. Hester learns that Dimmesdale is going to be returning from a trip that afternoon and she'll be able cross paths with him in the woods. On the way there, Pearl makes the observation that the sun "does not love" Hester and won't shine on her. Pearl dances around, enjoying the sun. Additionally, while they wait at the forest, Pearl asks Hester to tell her a story about the "Black Man.” since she has heard a story about witches like old Mistress Hibbins meeting with the Black Man in the woods and performing various satanic rituals. However, when Hester seeing Dimmesdale near, she asks the Pearl to

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).

In a novel that revolves almost solely around sin, the consequences of said sin, and redemption, there is no greater sin than that of revenge. No character in The Scarlet Letter is free of sin, but all gain some sort of redemption, save one Roger Chillingworth, who is arguably the greatest sinner of them all. Hester Prynne may have committed adultery, and Arthur Dimmesdale may have also committed adultery with Hester (as a priest, no less), but sins of passion are not the same as sins of vengeance and anger. These sins of revenge and madness are what Chillingworth is guilty of, ultimately making him the worst sinner in the entire book.

Once Dimmesdale’s two identities begin to clash, he decides to run away from the town and people that makes him question himself, instead of facing the problem head on. Leaving the town can be seen as Dimmesdale choosing to be the man that loved Hester instead of the man that the people wanted him to be, but in reality, leaving without revealing his secret was the easiest way for Dimmesdale to solve his confusion; he just ran away from it. In the back of his mind, Dimmesdale will believe he is pure, and that he no longer has to admit to his sin. However, the readers know from Pearl’s reaction to her father that he is, in a sense, filthy for lying. When Pearl and Dimmesdale meet, Pearl blames Dimmesdale for “changing” his mother, and when he kisses Pearl, she washes it off in a stream, and throws a

Throughout the text, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl are afflicted with guilt and shame for Hester and Dimmesdale’s offense. Hester’s husband, Chillingworth, comes

The townspeople, in shock, sympathize Hester because the unknown adulterer exposes his secret. As Dimmesdale finishes his last words to his true love, he dies in Hester’s arms. Watching Hester lose the love of her life and Pearl lose her father allows others to sympathize them because once again they are left to fend for themselves. The shared feeling between the Puritan town

From his actions and poor judgement, individuals can see how much of a coward Dimmesdale is compared to Hester. Although, both have wrongly committed sin, this demonstrates how each character was able to deal with shaming. Pearl, on the other hand, is the living sermon. She is the product of her mother’s sin. Pearl is a constant reminder of how Hester cannot avoid of what has happened.

At this point, they are now ready to start a new chapter in their life together. However, Chillingworth tries to follow them on the boat to England, which ruins their plans. So they postpone their leaving and Dimmesdale preaches a sermon. After his sermon, (which was considered the best sermon the community has ever had) Dimmesdale calls Pearl and Hester to the stage to confess his sin and relieve him of his guilt and shame. Hester is ecstatic that Dimmesdale admits his sin and that he is moving on so they can start a new life together. Sadly, the outcome of Dimmesdale’s internal conflict results in him dying in Hester’s arms. This ruins their chances of ever living

Abandoning Hester and her illegitimate daughter Pearl also augmented his problems. Forcing Hester to go and find work around town, an obviously hard task for a single parent.  He also abandons them emotionally and physically. He is rarely there when Hester and Pearl needed him.  Innocent little Pearl wonders why Dimmesdale is so afraid of public displays of affection, yet when they are alone, he takes notice of her and Hester. Talking to him, Pearl asks  "Wilt thou stand here with Mother and me, tomorrow noontide? (149),” a question whose answer is unclear for Pearl. In fact, the only way Hester and Pearl receive any kind of support from Dimmesdale is when Hester threatens to tell the truth about his sins.

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

“Women belong in the kitchen.” “All women should be barefoot and pregnant.” “Women are strictly homemakers.” These are a few of the commonly used phrases regarding the female role in society that date back to the mid-seventeenth century. However, ardent supporters of gender equality have surfaced in almost every culture where this ideology is practiced. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores this inveterate societal conflict through his story The Scarlet Letter. The main character, Hester Prynne, is punished for committing adultery by being forced to wear a scarlet letter upon her bosom; Hawthorne created a story sympathetic to the female cause and demonstrated, through Hester, qualities of early feminism that later establish themselves during his

The Scarlet Letter Critical Analysis Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, the direct descendant of John Hawthorne, and a judge at the infamous Salemwitchcraft trials. The guilt that Hawthorne felt over the actions of his ancestor had an enormous impact on his writings. In his introduction of "The Scarlet Letter", Hawthorne accepts the guilt from his forefathers and offers to repent for their crimes (Waggoner, 5). This unusual way of viewing guilt and sin is one driving factor in Hawthorne's writing. The other, which is closely related to the first, is the relationship between men, and of man to humanity as a whole.