A description of the scarlet letter a classic tale of sin punishment and revenge

Hawthorne's Theory of Moral Sentiments: The Scarlet Letter It is only the one-eyed who love to advise. Introductory Nathaniel Hawthorne begins The Scarlet Letter by telling us that it is set in a peculiar sort of community. Early Boston, he tells us, was originally planned by its founders as a "Utopia," a community based on someone's conception of "human virtue and happiness" p.

His earliest American ancestor, William Hathorne Nathaniel added the w to the name when he began to writewas a magistrate who had sentenced a Quaker woman to public whipping.

She moved in with her affluent brothers, the Mannings. Hawthorne grew up in their house in Salem and, for extensive periods during his teens, in Raymond, Maine, on the shores of Sebago Lake.

Hawthorne did not distinguish himself as a young man. Instead, he spent nearly a dozen years reading and trying to master the art of writing fiction.

The Scarlet Letter - Wikipedia

First works In college Hawthorne had excelled only in composition and had determined to become a writer. Upon graduation, he had written an amateurish novelFanshawewhich he published at his own expense—only to decide that it was unworthy of him and to try to destroy all copies.

A Discussion of Nathaniel Hawthorne's Dr. His increasing success in placing his stories brought him a little fame. Even when his first signed book, Twice-Told Tales, was published inthe work had brought gratifying recognition but no dependable income. Hawthorne welcomed the companionship of his Transcendentalist neighbours, but he had little to say to them.

Artists and intellectuals never inspired his full confidence, but he thoroughly enjoyed the visit of his old college friend and classmate Franklin Piercelater to become president of the United States.

At the Old Manse, Hawthorne continued to write stories, with the same result as before: His new short-story collection, Mosses from an Old Manse, appeared in Three years later the presidential election brought the Whigs into power under Zachary Taylorand Hawthorne lost his job; but in a few months of concentrated effort, he produced his masterpiece, The Scarlet Letter.

Early years

The book made Hawthorne famous and was eventually recognized as one of the greatest of American novels. Determined to leave Salem forever, Hawthorne moved to Lenoxlocated in the mountain scenery of the Berkshires in western Massachusetts.

There he began work on The House of the Seven Gablesthe story of the Pyncheon family, who for generations had lived under a curse until it was removed at last by love.

At Lenox he enjoyed the stimulating friendship of Herman Melvillewho lived in nearby Pittsfield. This friendship, although important for the younger writer and his work, was much less so for Hawthorne.

But eventually Melville came to feel that the friendship he so ardently pursued was one-sided. In the autumn of Hawthorne moved his family to another temporary residence, this time in West Newton, near Boston.

There he quickly wrote The Blithedale Romancewhich was based on his disenchantment with Brook Farm. Blithedale was disappointingly received and did not produce the income Hawthorne had expected.

He was hoping for a lucrative political appointment that would bolster his finances; in the meantime, he wrote a campaign biography of his old friend Franklin Pierce.

When Pierce won the presidency, Hawthorne was in rewarded with the consulship in Liverpool, Lancashire, a position he hoped would enable him in a few years to leave his family financially secure.

He performed his consular duties faithfully and effectively until his position was terminated inand then he spent a year and a half sight-seeing in Italy.The Scarlet Letter study guide contains a biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a .

First works

- The Scarlet Letter - Punishment and Death Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter deals with many themes, among those including punishment and death. Utilizing the theme of punishment, the central character, Hester Prynne, was forced to wear an embroidered scarlet letter on "her bosom" for the rest of her life as a sign of her sin of adultery.

The Scarlet Letter, as it turns out, embodies ideas on the very same subject. I will try to bring these ideas into the open by interpreting them as a response - a critical one - to Smith's ideas. I will try to bring these ideas into the open by interpreting them as a response - a critical one - to Smith's ideas.

In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the theme of sin viewed through the prism of many colors is the essence of the novel. The protagonist, Hester, her child, Pearl, and the Reverend Dimmesdale all live in a Puritanical society in Boston, and are subject to the Puritans' strict religious beliefs and rigid attitudes.

A dramatization of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel of the same title, about an adultress in puritanical, 18th century New England. Nathaniel Hawthorne: Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short-story writer who was a master of the allegorical and symbolic tale.

One of the greatest fiction writers in American literature, he is best known for The Scarlet Letter () and The House of the .