An individual against society in the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne

Get Full Essay Get access to this section to get all help you need with your essay and educational issues. It is commonly defined as an action causing pain, suffering or destruction, but can also refer to a great force, or an injustice, a wrong.

Author, Symbols,… Nathaniel Hawthorne Believed that evil was a dominant force in the world—his work is dark, gloomy and pessimistic. Born in Salem, Mass.

One ancestor was a judge at the Salem Witch Trials, another was known for his persecution of Quakers. Married and moved to Concord, Mass. Friends with Emerson and Thoreau, but his philosophy differed dramatically from theirs.

Like them, his stories deal with the strange and the mysterious; involve symbolic imagination; turn to the past for subject matter Puritan New England.

Hawthorne focuses his attention on the problem of evil and the nature of sin. He is not a moralist, but like a psychologist he analyzes the inner world of the human mind and heart. This idea is developed by complex personal relationships between the characters and by symbolism.

This symbolic story eventually leads to a probing of the mysteries within the human mind. In The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne analyzes the effect of one sin on the four main characters who are closely intertwined because of that sin.

Hawthorne’s Style	Comments Alexis de Toqueville, a friendlier Frenchman than most we meet nowadays, was, nonetheless, concerned about the deleterious effects of American individualism. The Scarlet Letter envisages this moral and political paradox in terms of individual characters among the first generation colonists:
The Puritan Setting of The Scarlet Letter	Jane Richardson Posted date: June 14, in:

The Scarlet Letter has a unity of place. All action occurs in the center of Boston and the outskirts of this village. There are three scaffold scenes: In each of these scenes the four main characters are present, and the changes in each are shown. Hawthorne displays a formal use of language with a precise word choice; although the sentences are long and complex, they are logical and clear.

Hawthorne uses images frequently to create the mood and emphasize his ideas. The narrator tells most of the story in the form of a summary. Between the passages of explanation by the narrator are poignant, dramatic scenes.

At times Hawthorne interrupts the narration to give background information that explains ideas about the time.

On other occasions, speaking directly to the reader, Hawthorne even gives a choice of interpretations. The reader can decide what is literally true and what is a device to create a supernatural or symbolic effect.

The Seven Deadly Sins Pride: It is called the sin from which all others arise. The desire to consume more than what one requires. Inordinate craving for the pleasures of the body. Individual who spurns love and chooses fury.

Important Quotations Explained

Also known as Wrath. The desire for material wealth or gain, ignoring the realm of the spiritual. Also called Avarice or Covetousness. The avoidance of physical or spiritual work. All sin is an offense against God and a rejection of his perfect love and justice. Jesus makes a distinction between two types of sins.

The most serious and grave sins are mortal sins. Mortal sins destroy the grace of God in the heart of the sinner. By their very grave nature, a mortal sin cuts off our relationship from God and turns man away from his creator.Symbols, Society and the Individual Hester Prynne vs.

the Puritan Community. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter seems to be created around Hawthorne's obsession with the forbidding quality of the scarlet "A", the symbol from which the novel takes its title.

Forms of Violence in the Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay Sample. Violence carries several meanings. It is commonly defined as an action causing pain, suffering or destruction, but can also refer to a great force, or an injustice, a wrong. Individualism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter Often in society people are criticized, punished and despised for their individual choices and flaws.

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author uses Hester Prynne to symbolize that those who challenge social conformities can benefit society as a whole. This passage comes from the introductory section of The Scarlet Letter, in which the narrator details how he decided to write his version of Hester Prynne’s story.

Part of his interest in the story is personal—he is descended from the original Puritan settlers of Massachusetts. However, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, a woman named Hester Prynne tries to break prejudicial notions against women in a patriarchal society.

In the story, Hester commits the crime of adultery and is sentenced by the government to wear a scarlet letter as it symbolizes ignominy. Based in a New England town, The Scarlet Letter points out the way in which women are treated in the puritan world and the way in which earthly sins are severely punished.

Set in the 17 th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne presents the society as strict with Christian-like rules and principles to abide by.