The Puritans were ruthless and cruel in their treatment of crimes, believing that it was their religious right to enact these punishments (Cox). Hawthorne, by choosing the Puritan time period as the background for The Scarlet Letter, provided an interesting look into that time and how different they handled sins.
Through The Scarlet Letter’s syntax and diction and the portrayal of its characters, the novelist successfully incorporates Puritanism and Romanticism into his famous book. In the story, Hester Prynne and Pearl are the emblematic of Romanticism while the male protagonist, Arthur Dimmesdale, is the representation of Puritanism.
Furthermore, the scarlet letter develops Hawthorne’s criticism as the weight of the burden on Dimmesdale’s chest grows larger, so does the weight of sin on Puritan society. Dimmesdale goes from having, “his hand upon his heart,” to being, “burdened with the black secret of his soul.” Similarly the Puritans go from having a few.
Scarlet Letter. Kristin Moseley Professor Hooks English 101 20 July 2009 The Scarlet Letter: Literary Criticism Published in 1850, The Scarlet Letter is considered Nathaniel Hawthorne's most famous work, and the first quintessentially American novel in style, theme, and language. Set in seventeenth-century Puritan Massachusetts, the novel centers around the travails of Hester Prynne, who gives.
The Scarlet Letter Essay Prompt: How does Hawthorne develop his themes of sin, hypocrisy, and corruption in the Puritan society through the occurrences of the scarlet letter, the scaffold, the Puritans, the prison, and the forest in the story? In the world today, themes and symbolisms have played a major role in the development and presentation of past and present novels.