The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne

Puritans Puritans believed nothing could save their souls but the grace of God, and he decides everything ahead of time. Puritans lived by a strict code of ethics and literally interpreted the Bible. They did contribute many positive things to America: the first American college, printing press, elections, and public schools. Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter two hundred years after his ancestors arrived in Salem. He acknowledges his “ancestral guilt” as a descendant of one of the judges in the Salem witchcraft trials.

Chapters 1-3 Characters: Hester Prynne “The Stranger” Pearl Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale

Chapters 4-6 Symbols: “The Black Man” Hester’s self-penance and elevation of Pearl Pearl - the repercussions of secret sin

Chapters 7-9 Bellingham’s home and Mistress Hibbins The importance and imagery of the scarlet A. Dimmesdale with Pearl Chillingworth and Dimmesdale’s soul

Chapters Pearl – symbol of truth and disregard for society and its methods. Scaffold: scene 2 … The “electric chain.” The “A” in the sky

Chapters Hester’s new role and self-awareness seven years after the act The transformation of Chillingworth and Hester cutting ties of responsibility to him The role of the Scarlet Letter – who should remove it and Pearl’s understanding of it

Chapters The source of sin is varied, starting with Hester’s marriage. Sin versus evil. Hypocrisy in Mistress Hibbins. The forest reflecting mood, joy realized. Hester’s transformation and Pearl’s reaction.

Chapters Hester and Dimmesdale making the same mistakes made when the Puritans left for the New World, in reverse. Dimmesdale’s wandering thoughts, his soul torn. What is the purpose of chapter 21?

Chapters The visiting sailors and Native Americans and the Scarlet Letter Dimmesdale: judge, jury, and executioner Dimmesdale’s proclamation manipulated into allegory Pearl becomes human, Hester becomes a symbol