Scarlet Letter
The English language is flawed in that it fails when trying to describe certain senses, feelings, and abstract ideas. It is difficult to reduce even the most mundane of lives and the most boring of people to a disciption of only two or three words. People are multi-faceted and their many aspects take on more than a few syllables or one general idea. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it has often been noted that the central characters symbolize types instead of realistic human beings, and Hawthorne seems to have no trouble in diminishing a person into a few well thought- out characterisitcs. While Nathanial Hawthrone is a prized writer, there may be more to his ease in describing characters than just his writing talent. Hawthorne's characters, as far as the reader can tell, appear to be one or two dimensional. While some less romantic writers tend to first create characters, get to know them, and then build from their personality in order to make the story more realistic, Hawthorne seems to have taken ideas and shoved them down his character's throats for them to relay back to the reader. Natahanial Hawthorne tells his story by having different characters represent different archetypes of human beings, and he c
Arthur Dimmesdale, a highly revered reverend in the quaint Puritan town, is the cowardly adulterer who is misperceived by his entire congregation and town. Dimesdale is the symbol of cowardice. Hawthorne explains this deep cowardice which characterizes Dimesdale's life. "He had been driven hither by the impulse of that Remorse which dogged him everywhere, and whose own sister and closely linked companion was that Cowardice which invariably drew him back, with her tremulous gripe." (136) For a large part of the plot, Dimmesdale is looked upon as a pillar of the community. It is ironic that the man who the community is looking to for guidance is a coward who hides behind anything that will obstruct others' vison. He hides behind admiration; he would be the last person to be suspected as Hester's accomplice in the sinful crime. He hides in the dark of the night. At the beginning of the novel, Hester stands on a platform as a repreentation of wrongdoings. The reason she is made to stand on the platform is so that she will be abashed by the community who will stare at her scornfully. Dimesdale only stands on this same platform when it is dark out. He is his own judge. He is afraid to tell his people of his faults. It is only in the dark that Dimesdale can stand on the platform where Hester stood to be displayed along with her bad deed. In addition, Dimesdale is only able to show his love to his lover and daughter when it is dark out. When Pearl implores her father to stand in public with her at noon the following day, the minister replies rejects her offer out of fear. Roger Chillingworth represents revenge and vengeance in The Scarlet Letter. He is the former husband of Hester Prynne. Chillingworth, because of the way in which Hawthorne represents him, appears to be more malevolent than the other characters in the story. In contrast to Hester's and Dimmesdale's sin, which was founded by love, Chillingworth's sin is founded by vengeance. He is interested in revenge, not in justice, and he seeks the deliberate destruction of others rather than a reparation of wrongs, in order to achieve his ends . Although Chillingworth was formerly a pure, kindly and upright man, the sins of Hester, and more notably the lack of confession of the adulterer, drive Chillingworth to a point where he lives his life solely for revenge. He even becomes known to the reader as "the leech," because just as a leech feeds on blood, Chillingworth comes to feed on Dimmesdale's depress
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1678
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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