Scarlet Letter

A detailed Summary of Scarlet Letter

Hester and the Scarlet Letter: Unobtainable Simplicity

The achievement of simplicity in life never occurs because things are not simple, but manifold, being viewed differently, and speaking more than one purpose. Nathaniel Hawthorne journeys to seventeenth century Boston and introduces Hester Prynne as he makes his awareness of this idea evident. Through The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne presents the complexity of life’s components whether they appear as simple as an embroidered letter or as intricate as a life changing circumstance. The focus on sin and the consequences and atonement that follow exemplify Hawthorne’s tragic moral vision. A moral vision dealing directly with human nature through Hawthorne's own creation of Hester Prynne provokes this idea, this problematic truth. A woman publicly acknowledged for what her society held as a grave sin stands before them. She begins her journey, a journey that will forever change the views of not only her fellow characters, but also those to whom Hawthorne tries to reach through his writing. In this journey, meet a woman who’s weakness became her strength, who was looked upon in ways as changing as the seasons. Hester Prynne and the scarlet letter, standing n

Hester and her scarlet letter never achieved simplicity. Perhaps because austerity is not obtainable through the human character. When dealing with human nature, the intricacy of life is accented and the variety of interpretation is strengthened. Beautifully illustrating that statement, Hawthorne challenges his readers to gain this truth through his work and development of Hester and the intricacy of the A. Hawthorne does not see things as black and white, yet encourages all to live in the gray area. He realizes that everyone is vulnerable, and everyone wears his or her own scarlet letter. Each person’s letter is unique, different from all others; different because of what their own letter has originated from, and different because of the way it is viewed by various subjects. Hester and her scarlet letter are a perfect example; a result of passion looked upon from three perspectives. Hawthorne’s tragic moral vision is illuminated in his beloved character and the letter she bore. The universal idea that there is more than one way to view things is not only a truth, but also a complexity in itself.

The citizens of Boston deem two manifest opinions of Hester and the letter: that notion from the opening scene, which differs greatly that by mid-novel. As Hester walks out into the marketplace for the satisfaction of the townspeople, they immediately evince their cold and unsparing attitude toward this woman. The letter A was to be worn as a punishment, to be worn in shame, to be worn as “adulteress.” The Puritan community was a dark, strict society, feeling indifferent to the humanness of the woman standing before them on the scaffold, with her infant daughter against her chest. The beautifully sewn letter does not glow in the eyes of the peopl

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Approximate Word count = 1205
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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