Hester And Pearl example essay topic

Hester Prynne was the adulteress in the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Before she was punished for her sin, she was light-minded and passionate, which led her into committing the sin that changed her life. However, Hester faced her punishment bravely and leaned a lesson from it. After she was released from prison, she lived an important life. Her good nature, ability, and perseverance, along with her motivations to raise her daughter Pearl, and the desire to make up for her sin allowed Hester to assume a new identity and cleanse the image of her character. Although considered sinful, Hester was never an evil person.

In fact, it was exactly the opposite - she had a lot of love to give. Obviously, she could not give it to her husband Chilling worth, because he was away; therefore, she gave it to Reverend Dimmesdale and unfortunately established an illegitimate relationship with him. Although her first encounter with Dimmesdale was not depicted in the book, her second encounter with him in the forest, long after she was convicted, exhibits well her intentions towards the reverend. The quote, "So long estranged by fate and circumstances, they needed something slight and casual to run before, and throw open the doors of intercourse, so that their real thoughts might be led across the threshold", from chapter 17, "The Pastor and His Parishioner" describes their desires resumed. Since the time when Hester was convicted and condemned, she was unable to dare to share her love with Dimmesdale for another seven years, so the only person with which she could share it was her newly born daughter Pearl. Pearl grew up living a different life from her peers.

Raised by Hester, Pearl never really associated herself with the children from her age group. This happened because whenever Hester and Pearl went into town, they were tormented and harassed. Despite the inimical environment that surrounded Hester and Pearl, Hester was not moved. She deeply questioned the origin of Pearl, but she never stopped loving her. The entire idea of calling her child Pearl was so that Hester could symbolize her as her greatest treasure she ever had. Had Hester been put to death because of her sin, Pearl might not have been as successful as she became, but since Hester was allowed to live, her most prominent motivation to remain strong and not decline was the fact that she had to take care of Pearl.

Throughout her childhood, Pearl was a witty and kind of mysterious young girl, but once she grew up, she got married and started a new life, free of her mother's condemnation. Hester definitely accomplished her goal well. Hester was a very admirable person from the beginning. However, after she committed her awful sin (as seen by the townspeople), and lost the respect of most of the townspeople, Hester wanted to make up for her sin, therefore she was motivated to work hard and reestablish her image in the town. Her turnaround, though, happened rather slowly. It took Hester and Pearl a while to earn some respect in their community.

Hester became a renowned seamstress. Not only did she work to make clothes, but she also helped the sick and poor people. Most people, if put into a situation similar to Hester's, would let their life deteriorate, but Hester managed to rebuild her life and thus she showed that she was mentally the strongest character in the book. Her life was anything but a waste. In chapter 13, Hawthorne said of her, "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 it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength". The people of the town told strangers, "It is our Hester, - the town's own Hester, who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!" These quotes perfectly illustrate that Hester's motivation to improve her image paid off, and she became a respected person, rather than a condemned outcast. Not only Hester's life was not a waste to her, but also, if it were not for her the townspeople might not have ever known that they could forgive a person who committed such a terrible crime. Hester lived an important life, for her and her townspeople. She was benevolent, and she managed to raise a wonderful daughter, to become the town's seamstress, and served an example for the rest of her community.

Hester was able to live her life to the fullest, because it showed the stuck up Puritans that not everybody was perfect. However, what was more important was that she started as an abhorrent outcast, humiliated by everyone, but through her deeds managed to turn her image and the meaning of the scarlet letter almost completely around. The only thing that she could not accomplish was to have a decent love life, but considering the fact that after all she had a child and she left a legacy, Hester was perhaps the most successful character in the book The Scarlet Letter.