The Scarlet Letter Question #1

    In the novel “The Scarlet Letter” Hester is forced to wear a red letter “A“ on the breast of her gown. The Puritans force her to wear this letter as a sign of punishment. Hester had a relationship with another man while she was still married and ended up getting pregnant. The town’s people believed that the “A” symbolized adultery and see it as she committed a crime. "She hath raised a great scandal” in "godly Master Dimmesdale's church” is a quote from a town’s person who sees her actions as sinful. As the book progresses Hester becomes okay with wearing the letter “A” and eventually the towns people forgive her. The scarlet letter becomes a symbol of grace and symbolizes how she overcame the people who were meaning to punish her by wearing it. Hester believes the “A” on her chest means “able” or “angel” and doesn’t think of it as a punishment.

The scarlet letter "A" on Hester Prynne's dress at first signifies that she is an adulterer, having cheated on her husband and then having a child. The "A" symbolizes the fact that the Puritans think that Hester should be publicly shamed. In the book, the town crier says "A blessing on the righteous Colony of the Massachusetts, where iniquity is dragged out into the sunshine! Come along, Madam Hester, and show your scarlet letter in the marketplace!" It functions to remind everyone that she is an outcast and not worthy to be part of their society, and the Puritan ladies feel superior and more Godly than her. Over a period of years, the meaning of the letter "A" changes based upon what the people are thinking- they kind of fit their meaning into what is happening at the time. When the meteor formed the letter "A" in the sky, most of the townspeople thought it stood for "Angel", because it appeared as Governor Winthrop died and went to heaven. The book's narrator says, "Nothing was more common, in those days, than to interpret all meteoric appearances, and other natural phenomena, that occurred with less regularity than the rise and set of sun and moon, as so many revelations from a supernatural source." At the same time, Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl were on the scaffold, and Dimmesdale's guilt was overwhelming him, but he did not want to recognize Pearl as his child. Dimmesdale took the "A" in the sky to mean that he was a sinner.  Over the years, many of the Puritans see Hester in a different light because she is taking care of the sick and helping people. Their idea of the letter "A" changes to mean "Able", and she is somewhat more accepted by some of the townspeople. The narrator says, "The letter was a symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her, -so much power to do, and power to sympathize, -that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength."  Hester refuses to let others determine the significance of the A to her and wants to control her own identity. 

The letter "A" in the Scarlett Letter signifies auldtery. Hester was branded with the letter "A" on her chest since she committed sexual intercourse with a man she was not married to. She later had a child that she named Pearl. Later on in the book the letter "A" stands for something else than adultery. It now means Angel.

In the beginning of the novel the letter A on Hester is something very negative. It represents the sin she has committed and she is ashamed she has to wear it. As the book goes on Hester begins to feel as if the "A" becomes a part of her. She no longer is ashamed of the A. Unlike Arthur Dimmesdale, she admitted to her sin and respectful accepts her punishment.

In The Scarlet Letter, a woman by the name of Hester Prynne is sentenced to wear a red "A" on her bodice. The letter originally stood for Adultery in the beginning of the novel. "She hath raised a great scandal." Hester's sin, was that she was "the wife of a certain learned man," This man was a doctor by the name of Roger Chillingworth. Roger sent Hester to Massachusetts to prepare for his arrival, but when he never arrived he was proclaimed dead. Hester then proceeded to have an affair with the town's minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. The appropriate amount of time in a puritan society for a woman to mourn was too long. Hester and the ministers love was just too strong to wait. The lover's never thought anyone would find out about them, until Hester got pregnant. The townspeople demanded to know who the father was so they could punish him but Hester would not give up his name. The scarlet letter was a beacon for the other citizens so they would always be reminded of what a terrible sin she committed.  As the story continues, the meaning of the scarlet letter is viewed differently by Hester and the reader. When a meteor fly's across the sky, it appears as "a great red letter A in the sky" The sexton people believed that the "A" stood for Angel, and appeared in the sky as a religious symbol. As time passes, the letter's meaning changes again. The townspeople said that it meant "Able," and it showed how strong Hester was, through the taunting and shaming of the townsfolk "So strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength." The people now saw her a strong independent woman, she had made what was meant to be a curse into a test of her endurance, and she passed with flying colors.

The scarlet letter 'A' on Hester's chest signifies that she committed adultery. The symbolization of the letter 'A' made people see Hester as a sinner and a bad person, because adultery was (and is still) one of the worst things you could have commited. She "Hath raised a great scandal", according to the people, and they thought poorly of her. However, as the story goes on, the scarlet letter 'A' begins to have a different meaning than just branding Hester as an adulterer. A meteor flew across the sky, and it appeared as "A great red letter in the sky- the letter 'A'". This letter 'A' was believed to stand for "Angel", representing Governor Winthrop. Again the meaning of the letter changes when the people of the town said that the letter 'A' stood for "Able", showing how strong and capable Hester was.

The "A" is the main symbol of the story in the novel. This "Scarlett Letter" stands for adultery. Hester Prinn committed adultery and had a daughter when she was not married. The scarlett letter symbolizes her sin. It functions by showing everyone that she is a "sinner". Hester had to wear this letter on her chest, wear it was visible for everyone to see. The meaning changes over time. To other people, Hester is a sinner in the beginning of the novel. As the story carries on, people view her as honorable or "Able" or even as "Angel". Hester is raising her daughter Pearl all alone.