Essay on Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter

Sigmund Freud, creator of the Freudian psychoanalysis, once said about hypocrisy, â€Å"He does not believe that does not live according to his belief.† This is essentially Freud’s loose definition of hypocrisy, a term that the Oxford English Dictionary defines as â€Å"the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform.† In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, the characters’ hypocrisy represents the pervasiveness of hypocrisy in all people. Hypocrisy is evident in all of The Scarlet Letter’s main characters: Hester, Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, the town of Boston, and Pearl. One of the main characters in the novel, Hester, shows the pervasiveness of hypocrisy with her own hidden†¦show more content†¦Hawthorne uses Hester’s hypocrisy to show us that hypocrisy can be hidden even in those who it is unexpected in, and in doing so he suggests that hypocrisy may be more pervasive than we think and can see. . In addition to Hester, Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale, another of his main characters in to represent an aspect of hypocrisy. Specifically, Dimmesdale represents the difficulty of shaking off hypocrisy, and brings the conclusion that hypocrisy lingers because it is so difficult to fix. Dimmesdale’s hypocrisy arises from his position as a minister even after his adulterous act. Dimmesdale even admits to feeling morally unclean and question what his â€Å"polluted soul [can do] towards their purification,† (131). In spite of his feelings, Dimmesdale cannot force himself to confess his sins and come clean to the town. The fact that Dimmesdale cannot act against what he believes to be instinctively wrong, sinful, and potentially harmful to others shows us that hypocrisy difficult to change. Dimmesdale’s inability to face the consequences and change his hypocritical stance shows us that hypocrisy can be a nearly permanent fixture. It also raises a key question: how can hy pocrisy not be pervasive if we can’t shake it off easily? The simple answer is that hypocrisy must be pervasive because it lingers and can’t be removed. This implies anyone who has been hypocritical, which is about everyone, is stillShow MoreRelatedIn Nathaniel HawthorneS The Scarlet Letter, There Are948 Words   |  4 PagesIn Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter, there are many important scenes. But there are five scenes that stood out and pushed the plot forward. This includes Hester walking out of the prison, Chillingworth finds out about Dimmesdale’s scarlet letter, and Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl. The final two being Hester meeting Dimmesdale in the forest and the Dimmesdale confessing his sin. These scenes are the key points in his novel. The first major scene in Hawthorne’s TheRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne’s Diction of the Scarlet Letter952 Words   |  4 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne’s Diction of The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne presents the reader with the harsh, life changing conflicts of three Puritan characters during the 17th century. Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Robert Chillingworth must endure their different, yet surprisingly similar struggles as the novel progresses. Despite their similarities, Hawthorne shows these individuals deal with their conflicts differently, and in the end, only one prevails. NathanielRead MoreNathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Essays798 Words   |  4 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne was an American writer in the 1800s. He had many works of Romanticism, most being inspired by Puritan New England. One of these is The Scarlet Letter, which he wrote based on the Puritan era. Puritans had a series of beliefs including: the will of God explains all natural phenomena, God chooses who becomes one of the elect, and ministers and church members control and made up the government. Hawthorn does include examples of Romanticism as the story goes on, but this novelRead MoreA Perception of Sin: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter871 Words   |  4 Pagesof history, those who were considered sinners were often out casted from the society. This is much the case with Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. After a public trial, Hester is considered a sinner due to her birthing of a so called â€Å"devil child†. Hester is convicted to the life long bearing of a scarlet letter on her chest. The Scarlet Letter that Hester Prynne wears symbolizes the change in perception of sin through out the novel. Due to the revelations of the governorRead More Symbols and Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter1157 Words   |  5 PagesSymbols in The Scarlet Letter      Ã‚   In nearly every work of literature, readers can find symbols that represent feelings, thoughts or ideas within the text.   Such symbols can be found in The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne.   Hawthornes book about an affair between a woman named Hester and a minister named Arthur Dimmmesdale is full of feelings of sin, guilt, hate, secrecy, and honesty.   There are many symbols within the novel that can be interpreted to represent the key topicsRead MoreConflict in Nathaniel Hawthornes the Scarlet Letter Essay996 Words   |  4 PagesConflict in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter Conflict can take on many forms in one’s life, such as conflict with self, with society, with religion and with others. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, develops the theme of conflict through the moral sin of Hester Prynne. Conflict is observed through Hester’s difficulties with the townspeople, challenges with the Puritan way of life, struggles with herself and tensions with Roger Chillingworth. Committing sin in the Puritan societyRead MoreVerbal Irony In Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter741 Words   |  3 Pagesdownward upon his fearful client. Wait, a crooked toothed dentist? Ironic, isn’t it. Irony is a clever literary device that many authors use to make the audience stop and ponder what has been said, emphasize a central topic or idea, or do both. Nathaniel Hawthorne, being the exceptional author that he is,uses each of the three types of irony, verbal, dramatic, and situational, to affirm his simple truth, â€Å"Be true! Be true! Be true!† throughout his novel. This chair is as comfortable as sittingRead More Justice Explored in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter1043 Words   |  5 Pages Justice Explored in The Scarlet Letter nbsp; Nathaniel Hawthorne created themes in The Scarlet Letter just as significant as the obvious ideas pertaining to sin and Puritan society. Roger Chillingworth is a character through which one of these themes resonates, and a character that is often underplayed in analysis. His weakness and path of destruction of himself and others are summed up in one of Chillingworths last sentences in the novel, to Arthur Dimmesdale: Hadst thou sought the wholeRead More The Mysterious Forest in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter1011 Words   |  5 PagesThe Mysterious Forest in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, life is centered around a rigid Puritan society. In this society, people are not allowed to express their true thoughts and feelings. Every human being needs the opportunity to express how they truly feel; otherwise the emotions become bottled up until they begin to hurt the person. Unfortunately, the puritans were not allowed this type of expression. Luckily, at least for the fourRead MoreRomanticism And Transcendentalism In Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter956 Words   |  4 Pages The Scarlet Letter - Research Paper Nathaniel Hawthorne is 19th-century author whose works were primarily classified as romanticism and transcendentalism. His works held many controversial elements for his time including the extensive use of feminist principles. Many of Hawthornes novels depict a different viewpoint on the defiance towards misogyny and patriarchal ways. The Scarlet Letter furthermore enhances these elements. Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, portrays the many elements of feminism

How Does Steinbeck Show the Importance of Friendship in...

Of Mice and Men is a book about two men and their struggle to achieve their dream of owning a small ranch through their companionship. The two men are completely different, one being a retarded fellow (Lennie), and the other, a typical ranch hand(George) who travels with him. On the path to achieving their dream, they run into obstacles, but stick together, stressing the importance of true friendship. Steinbeck wrote this book to tell us how important it is to have a friend to share your life with. The book starts off set in Soledad, which, when translated into English means lonely. But when Lennie and George are together, they are anything but lonely. They share a friendship so great that if either person dies, or both are†¦show more content†¦We see the interview with the boss, George becomes protective toward Lennie, â€Å"I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.†(P43) and when Curley’s wife enters into the attention George is seriously apprehensive about Lennie, â€Å"Listen to me†¦ you leave her be.†(P54). Later on, when George finds Lennie in Crook’s, the stable buck’s, room, he looks disapprovingly at Lennie, â€Å"George stood framed in the door, and he looked disapprovingly.†(P115), this is very parent like. Steinbeck reinforces the contrast between them and everybody else. Slims says â€Å"Ain’t many guys travel around together†(P57) Lennie is unquestioning in his loyalty to George . We see this in George’s anecdote about the Sacramento River. â€Å"‘Jump in.’ An’ he jumps†(P66) Lennie has a childlike obedience. Steinbeck shows us this in the fight between Lennie and Curley. Earlier on, George tells Lennie to not fight with Curley, Lennie remembers this and due to his childlike obedience, his â€Å"hands remained at his sides; he was too frightened to defend himself.†(P91). Once George tells Lennie to â€Å"Get him†(P91), Lennie immediately crushes Curley’s hand completely. Most mature people would know whether they should break the rules or not, because they wouldn’t get as badly hurt, but with Lennie, it is a different story. It is this childlike obedience that Steinbeck uses to show us how George needs to act as a parent towards Lennie. Although he frequently speaks of how much better his life wouldShow MoreRelatedTo What Extent Is Of Mice and Men More Effective Than Rainman in Giving Us Understa ndings of Loneliness and Friendship?1553 Words   |  7 PagesSteinbecks novel Of Mice and Men cannot accurately be compared in effectiveness of its themes with the movie Rainman. The importance of each theme differs in both- in Steinbecks novel, loneliness is the most dominant theme, and in Rainman the major theme is friendship. Levinson and Steinbeck both do a brilliant job at showing the major themes in both materials to the greatest of their potential, and the minor themes are somewhat overpowered because of this. One extremely clever way thatRead MoreOf Mice and Men Literary Analysis1242 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Of Mice and Men Literary Analysis Of Mice and Men is a novel about two men and their struggle to reach their dreams of owning their own ranch. George Milton and Lennie Small are best friends, who despite of all their extremely difference personalities, but still manage to work together, travel together and get rid of anything that gets in their way. The friendship between George and Lennie is prevalent throughout the book, but it is shown most explicitly in their plan to live on a farm togetherRead MoreSteinbeck’s Quest for Friendship, Dreams, and Personality in Of Mice and Men1742 Words   |  7 PagesCurly and Lennie, two men that traveled together everywhere they went. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck describes friendship, dreams, and personality to describe Lennie and Curly adventures. Steinbeck believed that friendship was important. Lennie knows that George will always have his back, although Lennie cannot protect George he feels like he can (Steinbeck 14). Even though George says, he does not want Lennie with him; he does not want to leave him by himself (Steinbeck 13). When Lennie andRead MoreOf Mice And Men By John Steinbeck Essay1595 Words   |  7 PagesIn the story Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, the two main characters of the story are George and Lennie. 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Before he’s even properly introduced, we hear from Candy that he’s a â€Å"hell of a nice fella†; this shows that Slim’s Character is very

A Critical Appreciation of Wallace Steven’s ‘ the Idea of Order at Key West’ Essay Sample free essay sample

â€Å"The Idea of Order at Key West† was written in 1934 and is considered Stevens’ most complicated verse form. It is both long ( being eight stanzas and 56 lines ) and in deepness. †The Idea †¦Ã¢â‚¬  is in a loose iambic pentameter and is written in free poetry. significance that there is no organized rime form. The stanzas are a spot confusing because the 5th one is indented a batch after the 4th one. In fact. there is no existent line between them. Equally complex as it is. the secret plan of â€Å"The Idea†¦Ã¢â‚¬  is instead simple. The talker of the verse form. a adult male. is walking down a beach with a friend and hears a adult female vocalizing. He muses on how the sounds of the ocean contrast and animate her voice. He imagines that she is every bit beautiful as both her vocal and the ocean. Though he doesn’t really see the woman’s face. the talker knows that she is lovely. As he walks behind her. the talker notices how her bright. aeriform voice compares to the dark sounding sea. To him it is about as if the ocean was a spirit whose voice they could non hear. but knew was at that place. For most of the verse form Stevens pigments a image of an ocean that is both enrapturing and cryptic at the same clip. In bend. the woman’s vocal is made mystical and tempting because of the scene. Though we. the readers. don’t see the adult female or hear her vocal. we experience the transmutation that the sea. the metropolis. and the talker go through. In the 4th stanza the tone of the verse form turns darker and the talker begins to detect things other than the adult female. her vocal. and the ocean. He claims that it was her voice that made the sky clearer and the ocean belonged to her and her vocal entirely. He and his comrade realize that the lone universe for her was the â€Å"one she sang and. vocalizing. made. † In the 7th stanza we learn the name of the speaker’s comrade: Ramon Fernandez. He ( the talker ) asks Ramon why things looked different after the enigma adult female finished her vocal ; her vocal made the metropolis visible radiations brighter and more enrapturing than they were earlier. At this point we realize that the talker has had an epiphany. Some c ritics say that the speaker’s epiphany was Stevens’ manner of demoing the importance of art. Without it. and in this instance without vocal. we would neer be able to see the universe clearly. The woman’s vocal opened up the talkers eyes to the visible radiation of the universe around him. and in bend the verse form itself opened up our eyes. The verse form focuses on the perceptual experience of imaginativeness and world. In this verse form. world pertains to the entirety of all things possessing actuality. being or kernel ; imaginativeness. on the other manus. gaining controls and interprets world so an person is able to make their ain significance of the given universe. and get away the facts of being through their ain sense of creativeness and inventiveness. At the beginning of the verse form the talker seeks an reply to whether the vocal exists through an external world or within his ability to explicate this into something personal. Throughout his walk the talker neer genuinely determines whether the vocal is an external world or within his ain imaginativeness. Stevens proposes that the vocal is neither. since one is non able to be without the other. Near the terminal of the verse form. the talker muses upon the woman’s vocal and determines that she is both of vocal and sea. therefore his enjoyment is derived out of a merger of his imaginativeness construing the voice along with an externa l consciousness of his environing world. Above all. Stevens gaining controls and portrays this subject through his apprehension of the human status which perceives the inhuman as homo. Throughout â€Å"The Idea of Order at Key West† the storyteller apparently attempts to separate whether the vocal he hears is the sea’s waves singing to the woman’s voice. or if the singer’s melody is his imagination’s perceptual experience of the ocean. To reply this inquiry. Stevens suggest that the storyteller must look into and acknowledge the difference between imaginativeness and world. Since the sea is an external nature which causes a meaningless â€Å"constant cry† and can non be â€Å"formed to mind or voice† . the storyteller must separate the ocean’s image and counterpart through the vocalist. Likewise. her ability to express the sound of the moving ridges â€Å"word by word† helps to transform the inhuman vocal of the sea into the wholly human vocal of the adult female. Furthermore. as the vocalist steps and interprets her vocal ; the ocean likewise analyzes and follows the Torahs of nature. As the talker begins to comprehend that the vocal is more than the sea simply singing through the woman’s voice. he begins to experience a sense of ineffability which goes beyond the mere linguistic communication of the melody and experience of his walk. Therefore in stanza 20 eight he states: â€Å"But it was more than that. more even than her voice. and ours† The storyteller begins to accept the enigma behind the song’s cloud nine and acquires the melody as the driving spirit of all the external worlds in his presence. This realisation of the song’s ineffability makes â€Å"the sky acutest at its vanishing† ( 35 ) and â€Å"measured to the hr at its solitude† . For Stevens. these Acts of the Apostless of reading are basically human Acts of the Apostless which help people come in touch with themselves and the universe around them in order to see the joys of being one with both themselves and nature. Within the concluding lines of the verse form. Stevens’ links the rubric by linking with and associating to our desire for ordered experiences and sympathizes among us since we ever try to do the cold homo. Therefore at the stoping. the woman’s vocal guides the storyteller and helps to unclutter the vision between the order which humans seek of the natural universe: â€Å"O! Blessed fury for order† . Likewise this awareness opens â€Å"fragrant portals† . The â€Å"fragrant portals† are of import because they open a new door to an enlightening new self-awareness. Furthermore. as storyteller begins to grok the message of the woman’s vocal. he realizes that the vocal allowed him to see order in the universe. Additionally. the vocal produces from within him a desire to make his ain vocal. in order to interact and match with the imaginativeness of others merely like adult female has done to his. Stevens’ apprehension of the human status serves a great intent in â€Å"The Idea of Order at Key West† . Stevens portrays the narrator’s experiences through the contemplation of his ideas. When the voice comes along he begins to alter his manner of thought because she helps him understand and go witting of the semblance of his imaginativeness. Through the linguistic communication of â€Å"The Idea of Order at Key West† Wallace Stevens expresses his perceptual experience of the universe. His ideas and linguistic communication go his instruments that craft the verse form. Through the readers of the verse form. Stevens gaining controls and engages them: â€Å"It is the witness and non life. which art truly mirrors† ( Oscar Wilde ) As the witness mirrors this signifier of art and interprets intending into the work’s allurement. they going cultivated and enlightened. As a poet. Wallace Stevens believed that poesy should be similar to a work of ar t. And like a work of art. Stevens’ poesy helps his readers discover order in a helter-skelter universe.