the scarlet letter nathaniel hawthorne. puritans puritans believed nothing could save their souls...

The The ScarletScarlet Letter Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

PuritansPuritans• 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 1-3Chapters 1-3• Characters: Hester Prynne

“The Stranger”

Pearl

Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale

Chapters 4-6Chapters 4-6

• Symbols:

“The Black Man”

Hester’s self-penance and elevation of Pearl

Pearl - the repercussions of secret sin

Chapters 7-9Chapters 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 10-12Chapters 10-12• Pearl – symbol of truth and disregard for

society and its methods.

Scaffold: scene 2

… The “electric chain.”

The “A” in the sky

Chapters 13-15Chapters 13-15• 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 16-18Chapters 16-18• 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 19-21Chapters 19-21• 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 22-24Chapters 22-24• 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