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Post by Noah Raecek on Aug 11, 2014 15:30:58 GMT
In the beginning the Scarlet letter sewed onto Hester prunes dress is a symbol of wrong doing. She receives the punishment of wearing the A on her chest because she committed adultery. The letter on her chest and her child Pearl are living proof that she has committed the crime. The letter is meant to embarrass her in front of everybody in the town. The letter A shows the town about what Hester had done in the past. The crime is never to be forgotten. She is embarrassed a lot. The meanings changed towards the end of the story about the letter A on her chest. The towns people begin to think that the A is more of a positive thing then a negative one. They believe that Hester is more of a graceful and nice person. Hester begins to feel less ashamed of herself. They change their thoughts on the punishment that Hester had received. They view the A as “graceful” thing rather than a negative thing.
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Post by bp1998 on Aug 11, 2014 16:33:48 GMT
The letter in the Scarlet Letter has multiple meanings in a physical sense and a more mental sense. First the physical meaning, the red letter placed on Hester means that she has committed adultery and the community looks down on here with disdain and calls her a sinner. Later on in the book however especially after Hester has her daughter Pearl the community begins to respect her more especially because of her expertise in the sewing business as Hester, is even called in to make garments for the governor. Even the governor's own servant calls Hester an upper-class citizen claiming that the "A" stands for being an "Aristocrat," or an "Authoritarian." Nor for the more mental impact of the letter. For Hester the letter is sewed onto her body where as for Arthur the scarlet letter has been "burned," into his heart and Arthur claims that God put the letter into his heart. |
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Post by Jimmy Sampey on Aug 11, 2014 17:49:33 GMT
In the novel the main character is Hester Prynne who wears the letter A on her chest to show she performed adultery. It functions as a way of saying she is a bad person but she embraces what she did, even enough to embroider a gold outline. Over time in the book the townspeople realize she isn't a bad person and accepts what she has done.
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Post by Savannah Bedillion on Aug 11, 2014 19:04:33 GMT
The meaning of the Scarlet Letter is “Adultery.” Hester wears a red Scarlet Letter, in the symbol of an “A” around her neck. A form of punishment. She had an affair with the Boston’s minister, Arthur Dimmesdale while still married to Roger Chillingworth. Hester then became pregnant. She gave birth to a baby girl named Pearl. In the beginning of the book Hester is looked at and judged cruelly. As the book continues on the “A” symbol changes it meaning. The meaning of the Scarlet Letter changes from adultery to grace and able. The townspeople realized that she has great strength and courage to wear that letter. They are no longer judging her anymore.
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Post by natalie on Aug 11, 2014 20:28:25 GMT
The Scarlet Letter "A" signifies the sin Hester Prynne commit which was adultery. The symbol functions in the novel as at first a punishment that reminds Hester of her mistake, but gradually changes. In chapter VIII Hester pleads that her daughter Pearl can not be taken away from her and relates her with the scarlet letter. "Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the Scarlet Letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin? Ye shall not take her! I will die first!" states Hester. By this quote she is saying that she is living with the Scarlet Letter and must accept it, and because she has Pearl in proof of her sin she is reminded to learn from it everyday. Her daughter teaches her with love and kindness, by the end of the book it represents a new, better Hester.
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Post by thomasfrance24601 on Aug 11, 2014 22:35:54 GMT
In the Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne wears a scarlet "A" as a reminder that she commited the "sin" of adultery and meant to be a symbol of her "sin" to the rest of her town. Despite the purpose of the letter, Hester uses her skills as a seamstress to embroider the "A" with gold thread. The "A" slowly changes its meaning as Hester builds a reputation as a kind helpful woman by tending to the sick and dying; It is at this point the townspeople consider taking off the letter her busom. The Reverend Dimsdale also bears an "A" on his chest, however we do not know if he did it to himself as part of his guilt or if it was "an act of God." At the end of the novel after the reverend revels his "A" to his congregation the letter Hester wears has the meaning of "angel" because of her kindness.
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Post by Jordan Briske on Aug 11, 2014 23:46:06 GMT
The symbol of the scarlet letter is the letter “A”, which stands for “Adultery”. This meaning the person is a sinner. The meaning changes in chapter 13 to “able” or “angel”. The letter “A” is meant to be a punishment however it does change over time now making whoever wears it a good person and person of grace.
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Post by jasonzappulla on Aug 11, 2014 23:49:31 GMT
The eponymous scarlet letter is originally intended to announce to the town that Hester Prynne has committed the crime of adultery, with the letter also serving as a “mark of shame,” according to a townsman on page 59, Chapter 3. However, throughout The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the scarlet letter serves as an important symbol of Hester’s role in her society, specifically her isolation from it. For example, in Chapter 5, page 77, Hawthorne states, “In all her [Hester’s] intercourse with society, however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it.” Even little children are aware of Hester’s status as an outcast, and they extend the same hostility and distrust to Hester’s daughter Pearl. In Chapter 7, page 93, the local children remark “Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter; and, of a truth, moreover, there is the likeness of the scarlet letter running along by her side. Come, therefore, and let us fling mud at them!” However, at the same time, the scarlet letter represents Hester’s uniqueness. When Hester throws off her scarlet letter in Chapter 18, Pearl refuses to comes over in Chapter 19, page 188, and instead, upon seeing the fallen letter, “suddenly burst into a fit of passion, gesticulating violently” and “throwing her small figure into the most extravagant contortions.” While Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale chalk it up to a childish reaction to change, Pearl’s tantrum can also be seen as a symbol of the centrality of the scarlet letter in Hester’s character, to the point that Hester is practically a different person without the scarlet letter
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Post by Alyssa Snyder on Aug 12, 2014 14:55:21 GMT
In the “Scarlet Letter”, Hester permits a crime of adultery and becomes pregnant and sent to prison. Hester then was sentenced to put a letter “A” on her gown. The letter was “So fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom”. The “A” symbolizes adultery and Hester was forced to wear it to warn people about what the consequences were if you cheated on your husband. Hester then had her baby, Pearl and was isolated into a cottage and knitted clothes to the unfortunate. Hester through out the novel never changed, she was careless how society saw her. The meaning of the “A” changed over time to a positive symbol, citizens realize the sin that Hester did and the letter was symbolizes “grace” at the end to reflect that Hester is a kind woman.
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Post by Deanna McCullough on Aug 12, 2014 17:00:02 GMT
In the beginning of the novel, Hester Prynne is put to shame in front of all of the community and she is forced to wear a scarlet letter in the shape of an "A" on her chest. This scarlet letter had a few meanings throughout the novel. At first, the meaning was bad, showing that Hester had committed the sin of adultery. Some of the women observing Hester Prynne didn't agree with the punishment. One woman suggested, "she may cover it with a brooch," while another said," let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart." Hester will always have the living proof of her sin, the baby, Pearl. Arthur Dimmsdale always had a hand on his chest to show that he also had the burden but he didn't have a letter. As the story goes on, the meaning behind the scarlet letter changes. Good deeds by Hester make people begin to see her true character, The "A" begins to take on new meanings, such as "Able". Another meaning came about when a meteor lit up the sky with the letter A, "marked out in lines of dull red light." The towns people, "interpret [the letter] to stand fro Angel." The meaning started bad but changed for the good towards the end of the story. |
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Post by Lucas Chouinard on Aug 12, 2014 18:15:35 GMT
Hester Prynne wears a letter across her chest that makes out the letter “A”. This letter represents adultery which Hester committed when she was married to another guy during the novel. She wears the letter on her chest to let every women know that she committed adultery and if anyone else does this it will happen to them too. By Hester wearing the letter “A” on the clothes everybody finally figured out she is really not as bad as everyone says she was. By the end of the book nobody cared about the letter “A” on her clothes as if it wasn’t even there. They all figured out who the true Hester was and she is nicer then everyone thought she actually was.
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markc
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Post by markc on Aug 12, 2014 20:15:25 GMT
The meaning of the "A" at first symbolizes Hester's adultery and she is shunned in her community because of it. As the story progresses it is seen to represent her ability, her kindness in taking care of the sick as she becomes active in he community. Hester also finds the ability to take care of her daughter. It's not easy being a single mother especially in the 17th century. Pearle is the living "A" as she is the result of the adultery. In the book, Hester says, “I have laughed, in bitterness and agony of heart, at the contrast between what I seem and what I am!” Because she committed adultery and has to wear the "A", everyone thinks she is a woman of loose morals and yet, she is not. She is able, accomplished, admirable, |
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Post by Jacob Sheridan on Aug 13, 2014 2:48:45 GMT
In "The Scarlet Letter" the letter A means adulterer which is someone who has sexual relations with someone they're not married to. Hester who is the main character has this A embroidered on the chest of her clothes. The embroidered A is supposed to be a punishment and an embarrassment to the wearer but Hester is proud of it and surrounds it with gold thread. Her father, Hester, has the A branded or burned into his chest. As time goes on and the public's opinion of Hester is improved the meaning of the A changes to Able and even Angel.
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Post by jaredg on Aug 13, 2014 13:08:06 GMT
The most important symbol in The Scarlet Letter is the scarlet letter itself. The letter signifies Hester as a sinner for having committed adultery. The letter was “taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity”(pg. 51). Functionally, the letter made Hester out to be a sinner to anyone who saw the letter on her bosom, which in turn meant poor treatment to Hester. However, over time Hester, along with the villagers, accepted the punishment. She was then thought even more highly for having to of gained respect again.
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Post by Branden Suthard on Aug 13, 2014 15:21:59 GMT
The scarlet Letter is a scarlet and gold letter "A" that symbolizes a very shameful and disgraceful title of an adulterer, this means that the person wearing the Scarlet Letter has cheated on there husband or wife.Hester Prynne committed adultery on her husband and ended up getting pregnant. The baby's name was Pearl but she was called the devil child because she was a result of the act of Adultery. In the end of the story the "A" represented "Angel" and "Able" so it turned out to be a good thing by the end of the book.
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