The Scarlet Letter A Blessing Or A Curse - 1490 Words

Through the words, â€Å"You must unlearn what you have learned,† of the infamous, leafy, green-skinned Jedi Master, â€Å"small in size, but wise and powerful,† comes the secret to obtaining power, the secret to obtaining success, and the secret to obtaining the ruler of all other moral characteristics: knowledge. To be knowledgeable means to have more brain capacity for extensive content. More can be created, more can be interpreted and most importantly, more can be understood. Opportunities open up. However, knowledge can be both a blessing or a curse. In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl takes on the responsibility of being the Moral Compass of her mother, Dimmesdale, and herself. Because of her youthful, yet knowing character, this task comes easy to her; she only wants so much for the truth to come out. At a time of intimacy between Pearl and her mother, Hester, Pearl questions, without hesitation, about the scarlet letter on Hester’s bosom; â€Å"What does the letter mean, mother?-- and why dost thou wear it,† continuing with asking why the minister always places his â€Å"hand over his heart† as if he feels guilt (163). Hester, taken back, asserts that the questions evolved by Pearl’s â€Å"silly,† and quite obstinate, curiosity are what â€Å"a child must n ot ask about† (163). At this moment, Hester realizes the maturity in Pearl’s personality. She behaves much older than she actually is rather than being an innocent young child. It is soon revealed that Pearl is not just a child. She is their oneShow MoreRelatedThe Scarlet Letter : Pearl, A Blessing Or A Curse793 Words   |  4 PagesPearl: A Blessing or a Curse â€Å"Man had marked this woman’s sin by a scarlet letter, which had such potent and disastrous efficiency that no human sympathy could reach her, save it were sinful like herself. God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child, whose place was on that same dishonored bosom, to connect her parent forever with the race and descent of mortals, and to be finally a bless soul in heaven!† (81-82) Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet LetterRead More Innocence of Children in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Essay1062 Words   |  5 PagesInnocence of Children in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne does an admirable job of expressing the true nature of his characters. Nowhere in his story is this more obvious than in his portrayal of the children. Children, in their innocence will say or do anything, for unlike adults, they are not constrained by societal expectations. They are oblivious to most manners and politics and therefore, are less reserved than the adults when it comes to questioning thingsRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter, By Nathaniel Hawthorne991 Words   |  4 PagesHawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. All through Dimmesdale’s trials and punishments, if one care’s to look closes enough, there is evidence of a silver lining, trace as though it may be in some cases, showing the grace and goodness of the lord shining through the filth of sin. Out of all the people affected by Dimmesdale’s sin, Hester is predominant, perhaps this is because she had a hand in its conception. It is through Dimmesdale and her sin that Pearl is born. Both a blessing and a curse to Hester, theRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter869 Words   |  4 Pagesand believes that evil can overtake good. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne employs elements of Romanticism and symbolism to communicate the idea that sin and guilt have psychological effects which can turn into physical and mental manifestations. Hawthorne utilizes the romantic element of the focus on the individual to examine the effects of sin and guilt on Hester. Hester commits adultery, and is punished by being forced to wear a scarlet ‘A’, which is the symbol of the sin she committedRead MoreSummary Of The Scarlet Letter 1485 Words   |  6 Pages The Scarlet Letter Reading Journal Chapters 2-3 Hester Prynne is first introduced by an angry crowd of people calling for her death. It seems as Hester has done something terribly wrong, something unforgivable. It gave me mixed thoughts, because I had no idea what she had done that made these people so furious, she could be innocent for all I, or any of the characters, know. Hester’s babe was compared/contrasted to the Scarlet Letter on herself, showing that her babe, not the Letter, was theRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1389 Words   |  6 PagesJimmy Hawthorne Mrs. Almack AP English 4 10/1/14 Marxism is a secular method for analysis focusing on class relations and societal conflict, which can be used to analyze The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Karl Heinrich Marx was born in Prussia on May 5, 1818 to Heinrich and Henrietta Marx. He explored sociopolitical theories and became a journalist creating socialist writings causing him to be banished from Germany and France. Marx is the creator of the Communist Manifesto which was publishedRead MoreAnalysis Of Nathaniel Hawthorne s Scarlet Letter 1392 Words   |  6 PagesAP Short Form â€Å"Scarlett Letter† AP English Language and Composition Title: Scarlet Letter Author and Date of Publication: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Publication in 1850 Significance of the Title: This book was titled The Scarlet Letter because the plot of the novel is centered around the question of who, besides Hetser is the other adulteress. Main Characters: Hester Prynne - The character of Hester is labeled as an adulteress, and is condemned to wear the scarlet letter for the rest of her daysRead MoreSummary Of Hester Prynne By Nathaniel Hawthorne1219 Words   |  5 Pagesloneliness she makes up characters in her mind to play with. Pearl often plays with her mother s scarlet letter, and seems to annoy and pester her by doing so. Hester and Pearl visit the governor s hall, it’s stuffy and has family portraits and a suit of armor. Pearl’s eye is drawn to the suit of armor and points out her mother s reflection in it, Hester becomes mortified when she see the scarlet letter makes up most of the reflection. Chapter 8-9: The four men deciding Pearl’s fate were GovernorRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter : The Puritan Society And The Past Present Relationship Essay2256 Words   |  10 PagesThe Scarlet Letter envisions the Puritan society and the past-present relationship: â€Å"†¦Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter was an instant success because it handled spiritual and moral issues from a uniquely American point of view. Lewis notes that the novel was originally charged with perpetrating bad morals , even though Hawthorne could not have handled the material more carefully , reiterating the sentiment that sexual urges lead to immortality and moral decay...† (WomackRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter: An Analysis of Puritanism and Sin Essay2184 Words   |  9 PagesThe Scarlet Letter: An Analysis of Puritanism and Sin The Scarlet Letter is a modern classic of American literature written about controversy and published with controversy. The main topic of the book, adultery, is written in a dark and sad way, as Hawthorne describes injustice, fate or predetermination and conscience ( Van Doren, 1998) . No other American novel of the time has such a controversial theme as Hawthornes, The Scarlet Letter. The setting of Nathanial Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter