Character evolution through three scaffold scenes Essay -- essays rese

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts in 1804 (net). He attended Bowdoin College with famous writers such as Horatio Bridge and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (net). In 1850, Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter (1222). It is considered by many that The Scarlet Letter, represents the height of Hawthornes literary genius. At this time, Boston was the snapper of a very Puritan society. Throughout the novel Hawthorne uses many symbols. For example, one prominent symbol is the scaffold. During this period in time, the scaffold was used for public humiliation. Those who had connected either a crime or a sin were forced to stand upon it in front of everybody in the town, as a form of confession or public recognition of ones sin. In The Scarlet Letter, the scaffold not only represents the snatch of confessing but it also can be seen as a symbol of the stern, inflexible doctrine of the Puritan faith. The Scarlet Letter is centered on the three scaffold scenes, which unite t he work, beginning, middle, and end. Hawthorne uses these scenes to aid in his development of the main characters, Hester Pryne, the Reverend Mr. Dimmsdale, and to a lesser degree, Roger Chillingsworth. In The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Dimmsdale commits the sin of adultery with Hester Pryne. As a result of this sinful act she bares a child which she names Pearl, the living evidence of their sin. The first scene takes place while Pearl is still an infant. Hester is made to ...