There are a few characters in this novel that support the theme of suffering, punishment, and redemption. The first character is Hester Prynne. She has committed adultery and now she must endue her punishment. Her punishment is that she must stand on the scaffold, (a place for punishment and shame) for one afternoon with her daughter, Pearl. A townsman speaks of Hester, "the woman has been a dweller here in Boston, no tid

Another character that proves this theme is Pearl. Her only punishment is being a symbol of sin. She suffers worse than any other character in this novel. She has no maternal guidance and no friends, she is isolated from the other children because she is an offspring of a sin. Hawthorne writes about Pearl on page 88, "She never created a friend, but seemed always to be sowing, broadcast the dragon's teeth, whence sprung a harvest of armed enemies, against whom she rushed to battle. It was inexpressibly sad-then what depth of sorrow to a mother, who felt her own heart the cause." Her only true friend is the environment. Pearl uses the environment as a basis of her imagination. She plays with the brook and the "ugly weeds" in the forest and the sun always seems to shine on her. Pearl gets her compensation from Roger Chillingworth, who leaves her a lot of land that he owns. Eventually, Pearl becomes a rich, attractive woman.

The third literary technique that contributes to the theme of suffering, punishment and redemption is structure. The scaffold is an example of structure, it represents shame and public humiliation. Also it means of being true in the public eye. The scaffold appears three times throughout the novel. The first time it appears is at the beginning of the book when Hester is on it for her punishment. She is holding Pearl in her arms and is wearing her scarlet letter. This is a scene of embarrassment and shame.

ings have come of this learned gentleman (Dimmesdale), Master Prynne; and his young wife, look you, being left to her own misguidance." (p. 58) Another part of the punishment is she to wear the scarlet, "A" on her chest all the time to show the town what crime she has committed. Hester stands with pride on the scaffold and is strong. Through all of this punishment comes her suffering. She is not allowed to be with the one man that she loves, in public. Hester is a beautiful woman, but you would not be able to tell because how she wears a cap that keeps her hair up and has to wear the "A". She is isolated and is always stared at by the townspeople. Hester's only redemption is at the end of the novel when she is finally with Dimmesdale and Pearl on the scaffold.

The first of the literary techniques that influence and develop the theme of suffering, punishment and redemption is symbols. The forest is a symbol in this novel. It symbolizes a place of truth and happiness. There is a book in the forest, which is signed by people who have sinned. After they have signed the book, they leave the forest feeling rejuvenated. Dimmesdale signs the book and then leaves the forest feeling so good that he did not even have to take his medicine. Also the forest is where Dimmesdale and Hester can finally be together, here they are allow to sh

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dimmesdale Hester, Pearl Dimmesdale, Pearl Hester, Pearl Hester's, Hester God, Master Prynne, Dimmesdale Pearl, Eventually Pearl, Arthur Dimmesdale, Protestant Puritan, suffering punishment, punishment redemption, theme suffering punishment, suffering punishment redemption, theme suffering, scarlet letter, literary techniques, hester dimmesdale, contributes theme, characters hester, hester pearl, dimmesdale pearl, scaffold example structure, punishment redemption characters, hester dimmesdale pearl,
Approximate Word count = 1885
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)