Hester Prynne - Assignment Example

Hester Prynne Prospectus Nathaniel Hawthorne is a ic of American literature, romantic He is a part of a pleiades of writers, who have stood at the origins of a national American culture and determined its further development. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works, features of romanticism and realism are organically merged. The future writer was from the family of the Puritans, but did not become the follower, but the researcher of the impact of this religious of human exposure. Moreover, Puritanism caused his sharp rejection, with whom he linked the lack of freedom of thought and humanity, which led to unjustified cruelty of manners and laws of New England. "The Scarlet Letter" (1850) is the most famous novel of Nathaniel Hawthorne. At the time, when the novel appeared, there are the first signs of the feminist movement in America. Therefore, according to Azyze I., the appearance of woman, revolutionary character, in the novel is not accidental. (Azyze I., 2007, p.55) This novel covers one of the most interesting and exciting topics - life and destiny of individual, a woman, which was expelled from the society. It tells about the fate of Hester Prynne, which appeared at a pillory with illegitimate little daughter in her arms. Among the witnesses of public humiliation husband of Hester and her seducer, the father of the baby, appeared. Tragedy of these three people reveals the spiritual qualities of heroes of the novel, identifying the courage and generosity of some of them and the cowardice and pettiness of others. The reader can watch the tragedy that took place due to the fault of people, who assumed the role of God that is the right to punish, to determine the extent of sin. Thoughts, feelings, actions of the society are generated by a perverse understanding of the love of God. Society, which voluntarily accepted the religion as a set of rules, modifies it so that the strict observance of them leads to ugly deeds, which is the opposite of the true meaning of the code of laws, suggesting love and forgiveness. After the fall of Hester, people made her to wear a red letter "A" (Adulteress) as a symbol of her immorality. (Seabrook, A, 2008) Puritan society, so ossified in their imaginary ideals, cannot distinguish the true sanctity from the outer shell. (Ghasemi P., Abbasi P., 2009, p.2) The novel shows that such stories are relevant in todays world, though they already cause other reactions. The way the world is arranged, shows that most people see other peoples vices often, than their own. They undertake to condemn and discuss anyone who, in their opinion, does not meet the generally accepted behavior in society. This happens now, as it happened one hundred and even two hundred years ago. For my paper, I intend to explore the morals ideals and customs of that time in the Puritan society and Puritan culture in general. To understand and appreciate the power of the book "The Scarlet Letter" and the courage and strength of the protagonistis, Hester Prynne, is quite difficult for modern man, as people are accustomed to the freedom of manners, and the birth of a child out of wedlock does not send the mother to the scaffold. On the example of the main character, I would like to examine the position of woman in the Puritan culture and peoples attitude to her actions, and to compare it with the position of woman in contemporary society. I also would like to draw attention to the issue that actually behind the Puritan foundations just stupid stereotypical views are often hidden and to how a woman because of her strength of spirit won Puritan morality. (Ghasemi P., Abbasi P., 2009, p.16) Outline I. Public opinion, which can be a hindrance to human happiness and can make an individual an outcast. A. The status of woman in the Puritan culture. B. Puritan morality that restricts a womans life and infringes on her rights as a member of society. C. The increase of the feminist movement, womens rights D. Public attitudes towards a child, which was born out of wedlock. II. The role of men in the situation that occurred with Hester Prynne. A. Noble attitude of the deceived husband to his wife, his desire to help her and take her, in spite of the strict laws of the society of that time. B. Сowardice, faintheartedness and hypocrisy of the pastor  Arthur Dimmesdale, seducer of Hester, in relation to secret sin and to Hester Prynne with her daughter. III. The symbolism of the scarlet color of the symbol of sin, letter “A” and of the letter itself. A. Scarlet color acts as a symbol of suffering and pain, but at the same time as a symbol of ardent love, strength and sexuality of the woman. B. The possibility to decipher the sign of the letter “A” as the word “able”, but not the word “adulteress”, as the main character was dubbed for her deeds. IV. An unspoken confrontation of Hester Prynne to Puritan society and her victory over it. A. Hester’s confrontation by the kind attitude towards people who despised her. B. Her courage, which she expressed with the help of her talent, embroidering the scarlet letter with gold threads and thus attracting the attention. C. With constant emphasis of her sin, Hester Prynne finds harmony with the world and atones for her deed by suffering. Works Cited Azyze, I. Conservative And Antirevolutionary Ideology In The Scarlet Letter: A New Historicist Analysis. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, Volume 7(1). 2007.Web. 5 November 2015. Web. 5 November 2015 Ghasemi, P., Abbasi, P. A Thematic Analysis of Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter. Kata Petra, Vol.11, N.1. 2009. Web. 5 November 2015 Seabrook, A. Heater Prynne: Sinner, Victim, Object, Winner. NPR. 2008. Web. 5 November 2015 Read More