A Look Behind the Letter A

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A Look Behind the Letter A
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By Kristi Bratten Carissa Snyder
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(No Transcript)
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The Scarlet Letter gained Hester respect in the
community.
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• In the beginning, she was loathed by many.
  Later, she was liked by most everyone!
• Her A later stood for able because she had
  won back the lost respect.

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Even though Hester could have left Boston, she
chooses to remain in the town where she was
committed and punished for her sin.
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• Why would she want to stay?
• Hester was able to endure all of the bad things
  that happened to her because of her love for
  Dimmesdale.

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Pearl is dressed as a lady of great wealth, and
she eventually becomes a lady of great wealth.
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-Pearl was made wealthy by a man who was not her
father. -Although in Pearls youth she was
brought up in a poor home, she was still able to
present herself as respectable and wealthy.
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Pearls name implies purity and serenity.
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-Pearls mothers name represented one true
symbol of sin and adultery.-Pearl acted in
obscene and disturbing ways.

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The motto on the single tombstone links Hester
and Dimmesdale together in death as they were not
in life. They now publicly share the A.
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-Hester always took full blame, never revealing
Dimmesdales name because of her love for
him.-Hester and Dimmesdale were never allowed
to display their love for each other in public.
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Dimmesdales useless attempts at public
confession the more he declares his own
sinfulness, the holier his followers believe him
to be.
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-Dimmesdale counted on the fact that the
congregation was not going to take him
seriously.
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Hester, who publicly confesses her sin, is
scorned. Dimmesdale, who has not acknowledged
his, becomes increasingly popular
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• Dimmesdale was applauded for his sin.
• Hester faced up to the situation and was punished
  severely.

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Dimmesdale, agonized by guilt and self-loathing,
is nevertheless able to achieve great heights in
the pulpit.
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-Dimmesdale was guilty in his own eyes and
tortured himself, yet he continued to receive
approval from the town.
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Hawthorne reverses the readers expectations by
failing to reveal what if anything is on
Dimmesdales chest.
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-Dimmesdale never admitted what was on his chest
even after he told the people about his sin.
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Roger Chillingworth is punished more than
Hester.
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• Chillingworth never committed adultery.
• He did not wear a scarlet letter.

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Works Cited

• The Scarlet Letter-by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• Notes given in class
• www.nhj.k12.in.us/bcamden/Hawthorne/NH5.htm
• www.mamma.com
• www.yahoo.com