The Scarlet Letter Essay
While the free essays can give you inspiration for writing, they cannot be used 'as is' because they will not meet your assignment's requirements. If you are in a time crunch, then you need a custom written term paper on your subject (the scarlet letter)
Here you can hire an independent writer/researcher to custom write you an authentic essay to your specifications that will pass any plagiarism test (e.g. Turnitin). Waste no more time!
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, life is centered around a rigid Puritan society in which the individual is unable to divulge his or her innermost thoughts and secrets. Every human needs the opportunity to express how he or she truly feels. If such an opportunity does not present itself, the emotions will remain bottled up until they become explosive. Puritan society did not permit this form of expression, causing the characters of The Scarlet Letter to seek out alternate means in order to relieve their personal sufferings and desires. For the four main characters, Hester, Pearl, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, Hawthorne provides such a sanctuary in the form of the mysterious forest. Hawthorne uses the forest to provide a shelter for members of society in need of a refuge from daily Puritan life.
The forest itself is the very essence of freedom. There is no watcher in the woods to report misbehavior; thus it is in the forest that people may do as they wish. To independent spirits such as Hester Prynne, the wilderness beckons her. “Throw off the shackles of law and religion. What good have they done you anyway? Look at you, a young and vibrant woman, grown old before your time…Come to me, and be masterless” (186). This shows how the forest lets people shed their masks and freely reveal their true selves.
In the dense, dark portions of the forest, many of the essential characters bring forth hidden thoughts and emotions. The path to the forest leads the characters away from the Puritan settlement out into the wilderness where all signs of civilization vanish. This is precisely the escape route from strict authorizations of law and religion, to a safe haven where men, as well as women, can open up and be themselves. It is here that Dimmesdale openly acknowledges Hester and his undying love for her. It is also here that Hester can do the same for Dimmesdale. Finally, it is here that the two of them can openly engage in conversation without being preoccupied by the constraints that Puritan society places on them.
Moreover, Hester takes advantage of this when Dimmesdale appears. She openly talks with him about subjects that would never be mentioned in any place other than the forest. “What we did had a consecration of its own. We felt it so!” (186). At first Dimmesdale is shocked by this statement and he tells Hester to quiet herself, but he eventually realizes that he is in an environment where he is allowed to openly express his emotions. The thought of Hester and Dimmesdale having an intimate conversation in the confines of the Puritan society in which they live is incomprehensible. Yet in the forest, they are able to throw away all reluctance and be themselves under the umbrella of security that exists.
In Puritan society, self-reliance is not only stressed, but assumed....
MLA Style
. EssayMania.com. Retrieved on 24 May, 2012 from
<http://essaymania.com/149244/the-scarlet-letter>
More College Papers
Many have argued over the legality of abortion. Pro-life activists believe that every child conceived should be born. They also believe abortion is murder. On the other hand, pro-choice activists feel life does not begin at conception but at birth. Als
The last question was asking the females if abortions should be banned. 24% said they think abortion should be banned in Pennsylvania (Survey). The number was greater for not banning abortion. Only 5% of the females were undecided if abortions should be b
I recently interviewed a woman who had an abortion. She was twenty years of age when she had the abortion She did so because she felt she had no choice. She was away at college and she did not want to tell her parents and the guy was a jerk (Interview). I