Analysis Of Hester s The Scarlet Letter - 1874 Words

Throughout history, mental illness has been labeled as a defining deformity, that harnesses in its â€Å"victims,† into a box, parallel to the familiar â€Å"mime in a box† image. In a world where we glorify â€Å"normality,† a lack of illness, which by all means is a gift, the beauty of one mind takes away from the beauty of an outlier, even though, ironically people may not even recognize their differences. Hester, at a glance suffers from a literal scarlet letter, but an imprint on her brain may exist as well. Irrational actions, sudden emotional episodes, and destructive thoughts can only prevail for so long following sin; Hester’s persona has branches of self-defeating personality disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. No one of her time, however, will bring the issue to light, Hester will be left known as the mistress, a witch, or â€Å"A,† rather than to explore her â€Å"complicated† condition. As decades pass, Hester’s state will remain, as the â€Å"A,† the mark of the stigma on mental illness today. When left neglected, society rejects the possibility that under a visible coating, mental deformities may lie; those who are divergent, who require affection more, are made subordinate, marginalized with no quest for a cure. Haunted by the scarlet letter, Hester circles her life around its existence; it lights its way into her every passage, becoming a great fragment of her persona, shaping her every move, touch and†¦. sight. â€Å"A† warps a route into Hester’s life, to an extent where it’sShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Hester Prynne s The Scarlet Letter 1182 Words   |  5 PagesChapters 2-3 When Hester Prynne is first introduced in the novel, she comes off as a young woman who has lost all control of her life due to her adultery conviction. In the beginning, Hester appears as one of the stronger characters in the story, as seen by her bravery on the platform in which she is sentenced to stand on for three hours in front of the town. She is described as a woman whose beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped† (46) and throughoutRead MoreSymbols In The Scarlet Letter1023 Words   |  5 PagesKaci Peeler Ms. Ortiz, Period 4 English Language and Composition AP 06 June 2017 The Scarlet Letter Analysis In the book, â€Å"The Scarlet Letter,† by Nathaniel Hawthorne, many symbols can be found. Hawthorne uses symbols such as the scarlet letter itself, which could represent things like determination, hard work, and a punishment. Another symbol he uses is the forest and the wilderness, which represents Hester and Pearl’s freedom from society as they explore the forest. The last symbol that seemedRead MoreIs the Scarlet Letter a Proto Feminist Novel1510 Words   |  7 Pages21, 2012 Is The Scarlet Letter a Proto Feminist Novel? â€Å"Is The Scarlet Letter a Proto Feminist Novel?† The Scarlet Letter is a very well-known novel, between the scandals and lies. It starts off with a woman named Hester Prynne. Hester decides to leave her husband behind to migrate to Boston. A couple years later, Hester gives birth to a baby girl named Pearl in prison. Hester refused to reveal the father of Pearl. The town then forces Hester to wear a scarlet letter A upon her dressRead MoreSymbolism, Use Of Color, And Themes Of Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1657 Words   |  7 Pages and Themes in The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter is regarded as the first symbolic novel in American Literature for Nathaniel Hawthorne s skillful use of symbolism and allegory. The novel is also said to be the greatest accomplishment of American short story and is viewed as the first American psychological novel, which makes Hawthorne win an incomparable position in American Literature. Hawthorne’s â€Å"unique gift† for using this kind of skills taps into the roots of man s moral nature and givesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Scarlet Letter 972 Words   |  4 PagesAnalysis of The Black Man In The Scarlet Letter Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. In the novel â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, symbolism is the main feature of the story. Symbolism is used throughout the novel to describe every object in the story from the characters to the rosebush to the scarlet letter itself. One of the major symbols in â€Å"The Scarlet Letter† is the black man, who can not only beRead MoreEssay on Pearl in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne771 Words   |  4 PagesPearl in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hesters daughter, Pearl, functions primarily as a symbol. She is quite young during most of the events of this novel—when Dimmesdale dies she is only seven years old—and her real importance lies in her ability to provoke the adult characters in the book. She asks them pointed questions and draws their attention, and the readers, to the denied or overlooked truths of the adult world. In general, children in The Scarlet Letter are portrayedRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter - Character Analysis - Pearl770 Words   |  4 Pagesgeneral, children in The Scarlet Letter are portrayed as more perceptive and more honest than adults, and Pearl is the most perceptive of them all. At the first of Pearls role in the story, it appears as though someone so grounded in her beliefs, spiritual and mental, would never be dynamic in character. However, that is not the case. This character analysis will explain the life of Pearl, and what she meant to other roles of The Scarlet Letter. The setting is the early 1600s in a newly founded PuritanRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne1389 Words   |  6 PagesIf we look at the setting in The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is a 1600s puritan settlement in New England. This particular place is the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where, as depicted in The Scarlet Letter, is bound by the strict rules of the Puritans. We can see that internal struggle is planted in people’s minds because of their punishment, and specifically, Hester Prynne. We can see that Hester’s punishment, however, has helped her internally to become a better, independant personRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1397 Words   |  6 Pages John Graves Professor Connie Caskey English 251: American Literature I 8 February 2016 The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 which is based on the time frame of the Puritans, a religious group who arrived in Massachusetts in the 1630’s. The Puritans were in a religious period that was known for the strict social norms in which lead to the intolerance of different lifestyles. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the puritan’s strict lifestyles to relate to the universal issues amongRead MoreCharacterization In The Scarlet Letter1374 Words   |  6 Pagesexpressed throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Pearl is outcasted from society because of her non-conformity to rigid Puritan morals, similar to how Hawthorne alienates his own daughter Una for having a more masculine personality. These aspects all mirror Hawthorne s emotions and hardships of his early life through the literary element of characterization. The analysis of Pearl emphasizes how The Scarlet Letter is a reflection of Hawthorne s life, and how the feelings he has towards