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The Scarlet Letter

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* * * * * * * * * 1804 1864 Born in Salem, MA Born Hathorne but changed his name to distance himself from his relatives and ancestors William Hathorne 1620s ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: The Scarlet Letter


1
The Scarlet Letter
2
Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • 18041864
  • Born in Salem, MA
  • Born Hathorne but changed his name to distance
    himself from his relatives and ancestors

3
Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • William Hathorne
  • 1620s judge who prosecuted and terrorized Quakers
  • John Hathorne
  • 1690s judge who sentenced witches to death in
    Salem during the famous witch trials

4
Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • Very shy man
  • Graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825
  • Spent years collecting stories and historical
    information related to Puritanism
  • Worked as an inspector in the Boston Customs House

5
Nathaniel Hawthorne
  • Claims to have found evidence and papers
    concerning Hester Prynne and an actual scarlet
    letter
  • Touched the letter to his breast and felt
    burning embersas if the letter were not of red
    cloth, but red hot iron.
  • No factual basis for the documents and letter
    but this was a typical introduction for romances
    at the time

6
Hawthornes Style
  • Romantic
  • Deals with the strange and mysterious
  • Uses symbolic imagination
  • Turns to the past for subject matter
  • Focuses on the problem of evil and the nature of
    sin
  • Examines guilt
  • Uses the effect of on sin on four main characters
  • Hester, Pearl, Dimmesdale and Chillingsworth

7
Hawthornes Style
  • What is sin?
  • Is Hesters sin a crime against civil law?
  • Is Hesters sin a crime against natures law?
  • Wild rosebush growing beside the prison door
  • Does nature sympathize with those whom society
    condemned?
  • Unity of Place
  • Three scaffold scenes
  • Four main characters are present
  • Change is demonstrated in each character

8
Hawthornes Style
  • Very formal languageoften difficult for modern
    readers to decode
  • Using imagery to create mood
  • Plants, light, darkness, shadow, etc
  • Narration mixed with dramatic scenes

9
Puritanism in Massachusetts
  • Historical references to give his story credence
  • Wanted to restore the church to its pure state
  • Did not actually seek religious freedom, just
    wanted a place to worship as they chose
  • Very intolerant of other religious
    beliefspersecuted and banished individuals whose
    beliefs did not match theirs

10
Puritanism Massachusetts
  • Role of ministers and magistrates (law officials)
    to enforce the laws of God
  • Church very linked to state
  • Believed they were ordained by God to establish a
    community under His laws
  • All members of the community judged the faith and
    works of every other member

11
Puritanism in Massachusetts
  • Insisted on a lifestyle of self-discipline and
    hard work following the will of God
  • Completely intolerant of sin
  • Any sin committed in the community would incur
    Gods wrath
  • Looked for sins so they could be publically
    addressed and the community could express their
    scorn

12
Puritanism in Massachusetts
  • Lived very simple, hardworking livesidleness was
    an invitation to sin
  • Idle hands are the devils playthings.
  • Dressed in brown, gray or black somber colors
  • Avoided worldly pleasures
  • Transferred children so they werent spoiled by
    natural parents

13
Puritans and Salvation
  • Calvinists
  • Believed humans were too sinful to earn salvation
    by performing good works or avoiding sin
  • People could only go to heaven through Gods
    grace
  • Pre-destinationthose who were saved had already
    been chosen

14
Puritans and Salvation
  • One knew whether one was a member of Gods
    elect by being able to avoid sin
  • Dimmesdale and Hester are concerned that they may
    be damnednot because of their sin itselfbut
    because they sinned it indicated that they were
    already damned
  • The Scarlet Letter explores whether Hester and
    Dimmesdale are actually damned or can be redeemed

15
The Scarlet Letter
  • Set in Puritan Salem
  • The story of Hester Prynne who gives birth after
    committing adultery
  • Refuses to name the father

16
The Scarlet Letter
  • Hester is required to wear a scarlet letter A
    on her breast as a mark of her shame
  • Struggles to build a new life of repentance and
    dignity while raising her child and being shunned
    by her community

17
Characters
  • Hester Prynne
  • Pearl
  • Roger Chillingsworth
  • Reverend Dimsdale
  • Governor Bellingham
  • Mistress Hibbins
  • Reverend John Wilson
  • Narrator

18
Themes
  • Sin, knowledge and the human condition
  • The nature of evil
  • Identity and Society

19
Symbols
  • The Scarlet Letter
  • Pearl
  • The meteor
  • The prison
  • The scaffold
  • Nature
  • Sunlight
  • Color
  • Rosebush

20
Motifs
  • Motif an idea or theme that is carried and
    repeated throughout an entire literary work
  • Civilization v Wilderness
  • Night v Day
  • Naming
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