The Scarlet Letter- Hawthorne

A detailed Summary of The Scarlet Letter- Hawthorne


The Scarlet Letter was the story of Hester Prynne, an adulteress who lived during the Puritan era, and the pain and shame she endured because of her sin. The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, was educated on the beliefs and practices of the Puritans during this time, as some of his ancestors resided in the Puritan city of Salem, Massachusetts. Through Hawthorne's research of the Puritans, he beccame ashamed to be related to such a people, and developed a strong dislike for their ideas and their hypocrisy. In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne used diction and certain symbols to display his disgust of the Puritan society.

Hawthorne's specific word choice helped show his feelings toward the Puritans. First, Hawthorne described the Puritans as "being the most intolerant


Hawthorne also used certain symbols to illustrate his view toward the Puritan society. For example, the scaffold, in which "the very ideal of ignominy was embodied and made manifest in this contrivance of wood and iron", was used to publicly embarrass and humble Hester as punishment for her sin. Hawthorne used this scaffold as a symbol of the hypocrisy of the Puritans, for every spectator of the scaffold scene should have been, in reality, on the scaffold themselves. Hawthorne, through this symbol, allowed the readers to realize the Puritans were punishing and humiliating Hester for something they themselves possessed in their own life: sin. Also, Hawthorne used the scarlet letter itself, the elaborate cloth "A" which Hester wore, as a symbol, for throughout the book

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Approximate Word count = 523
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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