The Scarlet Letter: Puritan America Of 1850
The Scarlet Letter
By Sarah Johnston
Nathaniel Hawthorne used his writing skills to appropriately show the strict intolerant ways of the disciplined Puritan America of 1850, with his novel The Scarlet Letter. This novel has become a classic, because of the accurate portrayal of the conservative Puritan ways. His novel is one of few to tell of the true Puritan lifestyle. Hawthorne explains the ways in which society cast out any individual for standing apart from the common crowd. The ways in which a person was punished by an entire community, only because their own ideas deviated from the common morals or values. And best of all, Hawthorne shows the way a "good Christian society" would lash out at anything they were afraid of.
The first …show more content…
She also is a sign of Hester's wrongdoing, and a constant reminder to the town of the sin. The Puritans automatically despise the child. She is the daughter of sin there fore she also is different. Society avoids both of them from fear they may too become something unknown, may be looked at differently from their peers. So the towns people continue their lives conforming to whatever society excpects from them. While at the same time Hester lives in isolation and gains a true sight of the community. She sees their lives objectively and gains a new insight into their pain and grievances. While the Scarlet letter is meant as a punishment, without it Hester would never know this detachment that lets her see the truth of the Puritan people. She could clearly see the sin each man or woman had of their own, and their fear and desperation to hide it. So while some find Hester's pride in her letter "A" unusual, the reader can understand where her pride comes from. She may not be directly proud of her sin, but she realizes she is honest about what she chose to do. Hester becomes a better person with the lessons she learns from her punishment. She knows there is no reason for her to hide her shame as all of the others do, because she is honest about her values and choices. Her lesson is: while she may not have conformed to the mold of society, she knows she is a better person because of …show more content…
This is a symbol for what the letter has come to mean to Hester. While it was meant for a punishment, society began to see the letter as something beautiful, because it seems to have set Hester free. The Puritans may see the letter gaining in beauty because they find the separation appealing, an escape from their own secrets and
By Sarah Johnston
Nathaniel Hawthorne used his writing skills to appropriately show the strict intolerant ways of the disciplined Puritan America of 1850, with his novel The Scarlet Letter. This novel has become a classic, because of the accurate portrayal of the conservative Puritan ways. His novel is one of few to tell of the true Puritan lifestyle. Hawthorne explains the ways in which society cast out any individual for standing apart from the common crowd. The ways in which a person was punished by an entire community, only because their own ideas deviated from the common morals or values. And best of all, Hawthorne shows the way a "good Christian society" would lash out at anything they were afraid of.
The first …show more content…
She also is a sign of Hester's wrongdoing, and a constant reminder to the town of the sin. The Puritans automatically despise the child. She is the daughter of sin there fore she also is different. Society avoids both of them from fear they may too become something unknown, may be looked at differently from their peers. So the towns people continue their lives conforming to whatever society excpects from them. While at the same time Hester lives in isolation and gains a true sight of the community. She sees their lives objectively and gains a new insight into their pain and grievances. While the Scarlet letter is meant as a punishment, without it Hester would never know this detachment that lets her see the truth of the Puritan people. She could clearly see the sin each man or woman had of their own, and their fear and desperation to hide it. So while some find Hester's pride in her letter "A" unusual, the reader can understand where her pride comes from. She may not be directly proud of her sin, but she realizes she is honest about what she chose to do. Hester becomes a better person with the lessons she learns from her punishment. She knows there is no reason for her to hide her shame as all of the others do, because she is honest about her values and choices. Her lesson is: while she may not have conformed to the mold of society, she knows she is a better person because of …show more content…
This is a symbol for what the letter has come to mean to Hester. While it was meant for a punishment, society began to see the letter as something beautiful, because it seems to have set Hester free. The Puritans may see the letter gaining in beauty because they find the separation appealing, an escape from their own secrets and