Badge of shame

is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest as a mark of shame. Hester’s scarlet letter, although at first treated by others with contempt and anger at Hester, causes Hester to become a better and more philanthropic over time, effectively increasing her reputation in society. By the end of the book, after the death of Hester, the scarlet “A” becomes a sacred legend, and the Puritans treat it with honor. The meaning of Hester’s scarlet letter is significantly altered throughout the novel; the letter is used to symbolize and identify the themes of sin and shame, strength,…

church for a period of time. Lastly Pearl is a symbol for hope. When there is talk about taking Pearl away from her mother Hester begs the governors to let her keep Pearl who then let Hester keep Pearl. After the meeting when Hester is talking to Dimmesdale she says “ Had they taken her from me, I would willingly have gone with thee into the forest, and signed my name in the Black Man’s book too, and that with mine own blood.” (Hawthorne 104). To Hester Pearl is a beacon of hope and a chance at…

A hero is one who displays actions which can be viewed as brave and courageous; something that separates one from an average person. Hester displays heroic qualities through her trials and tribulations by the town of Boston. She is shunned from the community, distances herself from the world she once knew, but by the end, has become a symbol of good deeds and charity. Her badge of shame had now taken on a new meaning, “Such helpfulness was found in her--so much power to do, and power to…

The scarlet letter is a constant reminder of the public shame she must feel and the evil deed she has committed. Her scarlet letter represents sin, her sin. Hester is affected negatively by the punishment. When she goes out in public, her letter reminds everyone of what she has done and discourages others from committing the same sin, “Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast,...as the figure, the body, the reality of sin,” and…

It is said that she is a ‘malefactress’, deserving of ‘a hot iron [to the] forehead.’(78) When she first exits the prison she was held in for her crime of adultery, we see her ‘¬¬¬¬¬clasp the infant closely to her bosom’(80) so that the symbol of her malfeasance, the scarlet letter she wears upon her chest, would be obscured and she would fit into the Puritanical paradigm of normal. However, she ceases trying to conform and wears her A as a badge of her individuality, and simultaneously…

her good deeds “it was none the less a fact, however, that, in the eyes of the very men who spoke thus, the scarlet letter had the effect of the cross on a nun’s bosom” (Hawthorne, 147), she is compared to a nun by the townspeople, who were proud to point her out and show her badge off. Dimmesdale was only righted through his death. “While the minister stood, with a flush of triumph in his face, as one who, in the crisis of acutest pain, had won a victory. Then down he sank upon the scaffold!”…

It is a question if Hester Prynne is actually sorry for the acts she committed. Hester Prynne, in the Scarlet Letter, commits the sin of adultery and is branded with a letter ‘A’ being embroidered on her dress. She accepts this punishment, as she believes she deserves the public ridicule and shame. However, Nina Baym in “Who? The Character.” The Scarlet Letter: A Reading, states she believes Hester isn’t as sorry as she seems to the townsfolk. Baym believes Hester does try to realize the choices…

Symbols are commonly used by authors in novels to represent a larger theme or notation. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the scarlet ‘A’ is used as a symbol to present the progression of Hester, the protagonist, from feeling embarrassed to embracing the scarlet letter on her chest. The symbol of the ‘A’ also shows the development of Hester’s community’s acceptance of her and her sin. In the beginning of the novel, Hester is portrayed as an abashed woman whom greatly regrets…

forest Hester tells her child that scarlet letter is the mark from the one time in her life she met the black man. By telling this to Pearl, she admits to what she did was wrong, but it is in the past. Opening up about her past, however vague is a way of reconciling her sins with herself. By addressing the fact she briefly went into the dark side and was tempted by the devil she can move on. After discussing with Dimmesdale, they both find forgiveness in each other and are able to remove their…

one involved in the sin. They all think that he is just a man involved in his church with no wrongdoing. Thus leaving Hester to face the punishment on her own until her and Dimmesdale meet up in the forest in Chapters 15 and 16. Hester was treated as if she was banished from the town. “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die.” (Hawthorne 59) The Puritan women feel that she deserves more punishment than what she has gotten already. Those women feel that Hester should be put…