The Scarlet Letter Pearls Impact on Main Themes free essay sample

Impact on the Main Themes In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pearl is a bastard child living in Boston during the 1600’s. Although she is the youngest character, she is arguably the most important because she emphasizes the main points in the story indirectly through her observations and questions. Two of the main points are that the scarlet letter represents sin and that sin is an inevitable part of life. Throughout most of the book, all the townspeople and even her own daughter, Pearl, associates the scarlet letter as a symbol of adultery, which is a sin. During their walk in the forest, Pearl makes several comments that reveal her opinions on the impact of the scarlet letter in her mother’s life. Firstly, she points out that â€Å"the sunshine does not love† her mother and when it sees her, the sunshine â€Å"runs and hides itself† due to the fact that â€Å"it is afraid of something on [her] bosom† (Hawthorne 220). We will write a custom essay sample on The Scarlet Letter: Pearls Impact on Main Themes or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In this context, the sunshine refers to the innocence and the pureness of oneself which is the opposite of the scarlet letter, which represents sin. Because Hester committed adultery and is forced to wear the scarlet letter, the sunshine does not shine upon her because she is neither pure nor innocent. Additionally, the sunshine is also a representation of the community, because they too tend to ostracize her for the same exact reason. Since the sunshine and the scarlet letter are two polar opposites, they tend to avoid each other. In contrast, Pearl realizes that she is â€Å"a child† and since she does not â€Å"wear [anything] on [her] bosom†, then the sunshine will not flee from her (Hawthorne 221). Pearl indirectly makes the connection that the scarlet letter is a negative symbol, due to the fact that sunshine tries to avoid her mother, who wears it all the time. Conversely, due to the fact that she is a child and does not bear the sinful meaning of the scarlet letter on her bosom, the sunshine welcomes her under its rays. Even from a very young age, Pearl understands that the scarlet letter dictates her mother in every way. She also understands that it is a symbol of sin and nothing good can amount to it since sinful people are often ignored. Similarly to the point mentioned above, Pearl again, indirectly finds out that sin is a part of growing up. After making the association that the scarlet letter is a sinful thing, she tells her mother that she does not wear the scarlet letter yet. Hester responds to Pearl and says that she hopefully never will. Pearl is confused, and proceeds to ask her mother if the scarlet letter â€Å"will not come of its own accord when [she] [is] woman grown† (Hawthorne 221). The confusion among the young character reveals that she believes that her mother represents all the women in the community. By that, Pearl essentially believes that it is only natural that all people will eventually become sinful and bear the scarlet letter to represent it. It is a valid point but, Hester does not tell her whether she’s correct with the assumption. Instead, Hester avoids the topic and tells Pearl to â€Å"runaway†¦and catch the sunshine! It will soon be gone† (Hawthorne 221). Hester’s response can be interpreted in both a literal and figurative way. The literal response is telling her daughter to run and play before its starts getting dark. The figurative meaning is much more complex. In the paragraph above, sunshine has already been identified as ones pureness and innocence. When Hester tells her daughter that the sunshine is receding and advises Pearl to catch it while she still can, she is emphasizing the fact that sin is a part of life. Like the rotation of the sun, there comes a time in the day where it sets and all becomes dark. Pearl is currently pure and innocent because she is in the sunlight. However, her mother warns her that the sunlight is not going to be present forever and once it gets dark, she too will be sinful. The combined information about Pearl’s assumption and Hester’s figurative response to her daughter reveals to the reader that sin is an inevitable part of life. Pearl, being the youngest character, does not have the maturity to understand the complex world around her. However, her indirect observations and questions highlight the main points in the story. In this case, a few lines of her interaction with her mother reveals that her mother’s scarlet letter is a representation of sin and that sin is an inevitable part of life, which Hawthorne feels very strongly about.

Todays Woman Vs. Yesterdays Essays - Ibsen Family, Trifles

Todays Woman Vs. Yesterdays Essays - Ibsen Family, Trifles Today's Woman Vs. Yesterday's Women of today have come a long way since the periods portrayed in the dramas "Trifles," written by Susan Glaspell, and "Doll House," written by Henrik Ibsen. In both dramas, the characters played by women were portrayed as nothing more than property which should be seen and not heard. This is typical of society in the late 1800's and early 1900's, which is the time setting in which these dramas take place. In the drama "Trifles," the male characters known as Henry Peters (sheriff) and George Henderson (county attorney) strut around like roosters making lewd, sexist remarks while investigating the murder of farmer John Wright. The two farm women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, while forced to listen to such barbaric comments, actually end up solving the murder. Throughout the drama, the male characters are made to walk around the farm house looking for clues. Unfortunately, they do this from a male's point of view and are completely oblivious to the unseen environment around them. During this time, the two ladies sit silently conversing between themselves about the tragedy, and actually find clues to the hows and whys of the suspect without really looking. The female characters in this drama are written to be very perceptive and understanding about what happens in everyday life in a country home, since they too are country homemakers. With this information, which the men do not share, they notice small insignificant looking items which appear to be out of place. Through deductive reasoning, the women were able to figure out that John Wright's wife had been abused for many years. Not physical abuse, but severe mental abuse. The abuse seemed to reach its zenith when her husband killed her canary by ringing the bird's neck. This signifies a symbol of the life and freedom she once had. In the drama "Doll House," the main character named Nora is a woman who has gone through life being treated as if she were a "china doll." She was not unlike a china doll to be placed high on a pedestal, never to be heard from except when spoken to, or when asked to entertain her husband Torvald, their children or a group of Torvald's friends. As the story progresses, Ibsen creates a climax in the theme when Torvald finds out that Nora forged her father's name on a document to obtain money for a trip to Italy. This trip to Italy was necessary in order to save his life. Society had a certain stigmatism about the women of the late 1800's. Women were not thought to have been as smart as men, and were therefore not expected to understand the complicated world of money and especially the repercussions of getting a loan from places other than a banking institution. At this point, Nora receives a miracle she has not been looking forward to. The miracle turned out to be a test in which she finds out that their storybook love is not as strong to Torvald as she had imagined and hoped for. This particular scene in the drama gave the impression of morning sun rays tapping on the petals on a morning glory. With this, the reader begins to witness the blossoming of a flower. Nora's eyes open for what appears to be the firs! t time in her life, and she makes the decision to leave her life and family in search for a new beginning. For a male author born and raised in the 1800's, Ibsen does a fine job of looking at a relationship of this kind from a woman's point of view. However, women of today would not put up with either one of these situations. The women of today are more assertive and demanding than they used to be. There are many women today who are just as good if not better than their male counterparts. Some of the most successful people in today's society are women. With the passage of the right for women to vote and the women's movement of the late sixties and early seventies, women have deservingly "Come a Long Way Baby."