The Scarlet Letter The Puritan Society - 1421 Words

Amanda Davidson English-Mahany 10/3/14 Puritans In Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter, the Puritan society is portrayed as an inwardly and outwardly ugly group of people that followed a set of their own rules. In the very first scene, you can see how their religion and harsh attitudes start to develop. When Hester Prynne is presented in front of the whole town, the community’s reactions and comments towards her gives us a sense of what kind of people they are. Hester’s first reaction to the taunting and yelling of the crowd is the immediate instinct to hide the scarlet letter. Considering she hides the â€Å"A† by holding her â€Å"sin borne child† to her chest and covering it up, she does not do a very good job. The crowd continues to yell and taunt by telling her that they all know what she did, and she cannot hide from it. When Hester realizes that she cannot hide her sin with another sin, she turns a new direction and, instead, stands proud. Later in the punishment, the crowd begins to try and convi nce her to say who the father is. She is very reluctant to do so, and will clearly not give up the name, but the crowd keeps trying. The women are even more brutal than the men. They shout things like â€Å"this is not enough...put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne s forehead...she should be put to death!† The endless shaming by the townspeople is an example of the Puritans’ seeming lack of empathy, or sympathy, towards someone who sins. Hester is not the only one who is beingShow MoreRelatedPuritan Society In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1127 Words   |  5 PagesIn the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne harshly criticizes Puritan society. From hypocrisy to forgiveness, Hawthorne uses hidden messages and motifs to express his criticism of society and to spread his messages. A social judgement explored by Hawthorne is that a majority perspective stifles individuality. Dimmesdale best exemplifies the social judgement presented in the novel. Puritanical society’s ideals suppress Dimmesdale’s desire to come out as a sinner because he has a status he isn’t willingRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter : The Puritan Society And The Past Present Relationship Essay2256 Words   |  10 PagesThe Scarlet Letter envisions the Puritan society and the past-present relationship: â€Å"†¦Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter was an instant success because it handled spiritual and moral issues from a uniquely American point of view. Lewis notes that the novel was originally charged with perpetrating bad morals , even though Hawthorne could not have handled the material more carefully , reiterating the sentiment that sexual urges lead to immortality and moral decay...† (WomackRead More Hawthorne Critiques Puritan Society in His Works, Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter1773 Words   |  8 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne Critiques Puritan Society in His Works, Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter Many American writers have scrutinized religion through their works of literature, however none had the enthusiasm of Nathaniel Hawthorne. A handful of Hawthornes works are clear critiques of seventeenth century Puritan society in New England. Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown and The Scarlet Letter illustrate his assessment by showing internal battles within characters, hypocrisy in religiousRead MoreSin and Corruption of Puritan Society Illustrated in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, Millers The Crucible, and Bradstreets To My Dear and Loving Hus951 Words   |  4 PagesPuritans may have tried to give themselves the appearance of a perfect society, but it was really just as corrupt and full of sinners as any society today. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Crucible by Arthur Miller and â€Å"To My Dear and Loving Husband† by Anne Bradstreet, there is evidence for this. In Puritan literature, although they try to hide it, sin is very common, in that Puritans do th e opposite of what they preach, but still harshly punish those who sin. Affairs are a commonRead MoreWhat Is the Moral of the Scarlet Letter? Essay952 Words   |  4 Pages Nathaniel Hawthorne is famous for his long fictional work the scarlet letter in 1850, which is still considered as the most important work of him. The scarlet letter involves the presence of facts and figures to support the text and also includes the fictional work in the text. Hawthorne was actually inspired from the manuscripts he got in the custom house in Salem while he was working as an executive officer or the surveyor in custom house where the taxes are paid, their he foundRead MoreWhat Is the Moral of the Scarlet Letter Essay1116 Words   |  5 Pages The scarlet letter is a text written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 a fictional work which tells about the history of England during the puritan age and the story of women named Hester Prynne. The author feels this text as a romantic work because the text includes about love and the adulteress. The text involves facts and fiction of the author such as the â€Å"Custom-House is a fact and real, while the author was working as a surveyor in the Salem custom house inRead MoreHow Does the Scarlet Letter Comment on Religion in America? Essay754 Words   |  4 Pagesreligion of the United States throughout its history. Although Puritan practices was accepted under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, both James I and Charles I believed that their authority had full power to enforce religious standards among their subjects and so they authorized the persecution of Puritans, who were challenging many of the most important rules of the English church. As a result, in the 1620s and 1630s a number of English Puritans decided to move to America, where they hoped to put theirRead MoreSimilarities And Differences Between The Crucible And The Scarlet Letter1111 Words   |  5 Pagestheir beliefs are challenged? Most societies have a code of conduct, which sets certain b ehaviors meant to keep harmony. Those that question authority are perceived as dangerous and most often, end up being silenced. Opinions and ideas can cause doubts in a government, resulting in the loss of control and power over the people. The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller depict those same societal issues. The Scarlet Letter explains the consequences, that aRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter : Wilderness Vs. Society1259 Words   |  6 PagesWilderness vs. society In the novel Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne presenting the idea for humans to endure the laws of nature and conscience, rather than following the laws of man, to fulfill happiness. The novel consists of a young woman named Hester Prynne carrying her infant daughter named Pearl. The golden letter A embroidered on Hester’s bosom symbolizes adultery, a vile sin which is looked down upon in her community. She encounters Dimmesdale, an influential Puritan priest whoRead MoreA Perception of Sin: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter871 Words   |  4 PagesThrough out the course of history, those who were considered sinners were often out casted from the society. This is much the case with Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. After a public trial, Hester is considered a sinner due to her birthing of a so called â€Å"devil child†. Hester is convicted to the life long bearing of a scarlet letter on her chest. The Scarlet Letter that Hester Prynne wears symbolizes the change in perception of sin through out the novel. Due to the revelations