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Hester Prynne Changes In The Scarlet Letter

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Hester Prynne Changes In The Scarlet Letter
Annika Pillsbury
Mrs. Voshell
Honors English 10
3 January 2017
The Scarlet Letter Essay
In the Novel, “The Scarlet Letter”, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is a woman who was punished for committing adultery. The Novel mostly focuses on how she lived and how her life was affected and changed after spending time in prison for her sin. It also focuses on her daughter, Pearl and the man she committed her sin with, Dimmesdale, and how their lives were affected by their sin. This essay will focus on Hester Prynne and her main problem and its resolution. Also how she grows and changes throughout the Novel. Lastly, this essay will cover whether or not the reader can really empathize with Hester.
One of Hester’s main problems was dealing with …show more content…
At first Hester is scared because she has to care for her baby and she has no one else to help her. She is also scared because she is alone and is not sure how everyone will react to her sin that the townspeople know about now. One example that shows she is scared was when she first saw Chillingworth after he returned from the Indian settlement for ransom and he gave her a cup of medicine. “I have thought of death,” she said-” I have wished for it - would even have prayed for it, were it fit that such as I should pray for anything. Yet, if death be in this cup, I bid thee think again, ere thou beholdest me quaff it. See! It is even now at my lips.” “Drink then.” replied he, still with the same cold composure. “Dost thou know me so little, Hester Prynne? Are my purposes wont to be so shallow? Even if I imagine a scheme of vengeance, what could I do better for my object than to let thee live, - then to give thee medicines against all harm and peril of life - so that this burning shame may still blaze upon thy bosom?” (Hawthorne,82). She was scared that Chillingworth would try to poison her because she had cheated on him, but he did not he just wanted to help her. Later in the Novel she changes from being scared to strong and independent. She starts to think on her own and doesn’t always do exactly what the society that she lives in would want her to do. One
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