Scarlet Letter 2 Essay, Research Paper

Post a comment on this essay

Read other users’ comments

Print this essay

New Essays | Popular Essays | Request an Essay

Index: Literature: The Scarlet Letter

Punishment in The Scarlet Letter

Essay submitted by Unknown

Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter deals with many themes, the most powerful being

punishment. In this novel, Hester Prynne becomes a highly respected person in a

Puritan society by overcoming one of the harshest punishments, the scarlet letter. This

object on “her bosom”; however, does the exact opposite of that which it was meant

for.

Eventually, Hester Prynne inverts all the odds against here due to her courage, pride

and effort. Hester went beyond the letter of the law and did everything asked of here

in order to prove that she is “able.”

Hester became quite a popular seamstress, admired all over the town of Boston for her

work. Hester is modest in everything that she does. Hester herself wears only poor

clothing while she embroiders marvelous works for the rest of Boston. The only piece of

clothing forbidden to create was the wedding vail. How could a woman wearing the

scarlet letter create a dress that represents the values of marriage; having committed

sin as she did to be involved in the marital bonds of another couple. Although she does

the job willingly and rarely ever looks back to the horrid past behind. The scarlet letter

was constantly worn by Hester with pride and dignity. Hester knew that what was done

in the past was wrong and that the scarlet A was the right thing to do, therefor it is

worn with a sense of pride.

The child, Pearl, is “a blessing and as a reminder of her sin.” As if the scarlet A were not

enough punishment there “was a brat of that hellish breed” which would remind Hester

of what happened in the past. The “brat” could have been given away to Governor

Bellingham yet Hester proclaimed that Pearl “is my happiness!…Ye shall not take her! I

will die first!” Not a person in Boston, nor Hester herself thought highly of the little child

and Hester refused to let Pearl go. Hester carried the kid around only because it was a

direct reflection of her sin and to cast away here sin as freely as that to give it away

would be unjust and unfair to Hester and Pearl. From now on Hester would continually

and proudly be near Pearl. Hester would go against the grain in everything she did. Very

rarely did she ever give up hope; never did she complete a job poorly. In the city of

Boston “many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They

said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength.” By

now the people of Boston believe in Hester and accept her because Hester is an

arduous, productive worker in the puritan society. The townspeople were reconsidering

whether Hester was still worthy of wearing the scarlet letter by the time Hester was

about to leave with Dimmesdale. The people of Boston realized what a good job Hester

had done wearing it and what once was evil inside of Hester turned into good.