The Scarlet Letter And The Handmaid's Tale, And When She Woke

The Scarlet Letter narrates the story of Hester Prynne, a recently married young woman sent to America in search of a new and better life, despite the fact her husband, Roger Prynne aka Dr. Roger Chillingworth had remained in England for the purpose of business. She had moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 1640’s. The book begins with Hester’s emergence from the town’s jail wearing the scarlet letter A embroided on her dress and holding a baby. The scarlet letter is a mark that women convicted of adultery were forced to wear among the Puritans during 17th century New England. The Puritans had been a group of people who sought to purify the Church of England from all Roman Catholic practices.

In 17th century Boston, Hester Prynne has just been sentenced to prison after being on trial for committing an act of adultery, which caused the arrival of her daughter, Pearl. In addition to jail time, she was doomed to wear a scarlet, embroidered letter A. When Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, arrives back from his mysterious adventure, asks her to tell the name of her secret lover to repay him for the sin she committed; however, she refuses once again and Roger vows to force her lover out of hiding since she would not tell him herself. Seven years after this incident, the extremely ill Reverend Dimmesdale meets in the woods with Hester and Pearl. After a heartfelt conversation between the reverend and Hester, they develop a plan to

Free thinking is outlawed in these worlds where everyone belongs to a complacent society. By doing this, the main characters often struggle with not wanting to stand out rather than doing what they expect for themselves. In both of these texts, the protagonists face conflicts not only in the world but also in themselves.

Keir Nason AP English Literature and Composition Mrs. Schroeder January 3, 2018 Politics and literature are far from strange bedfellows. Social commentary and allegory have been tools in the literary toolbox since Ancient Greece, with Plato’s Allegory of The Cave being one of the earliest forms of the device. Science fiction is an entire genre that, at least to a degree, is based upon the premise of looking at the problems of today through the eyes of tomorrow. Oftentime, authors seek to tackle the issues of their time within their writing, and Kate Chopin was no different when she published her final work The Awakening in 1899. At the time of The Awakening’s release, many works strived to address the rights of women, with the Suffragette

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter takes place in a Puritan town in the 1600’s. In his book Hester Prynne, who is the protagonist, commits adultery and out of it came a baby and a scarlet letter which she has to wear for the rest of her life. The person she committed adultery with was Reverend Dimmesdale, yet only Hester, Pearl (Her child), Roger Chillingworth

Octavia Butler is an Afrofuturist, science fiction author who writes many dystopian stories that allude to questions about gender, social structures, and an individual’s ability to control her body and sexuality. When people think of speculative and science fiction they tend to think of nerdy white men writing stories about space and light sabers, but Octavia Butler challenges this stereotype herself by being one of the few African American women in this genre. In Octavia Butler’s speculative fiction short story “Speech Sounds” there is a reversal of gender roles and a strong idea of feminism that is portrayed through the main character Rye. There is also the use of simile and metaphor to help point out flaws in the social structure of the story and the world of the reader.

Ashley Tinajero Mrs. Trull AP Language and Composition Mar 22, 2023 Scarlet Letter RA Essay In the novel The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses the impact of judgment from society on individuals with Hester Prynne and Arthue Dimmesdale having to deal with the guilt and judgment of their illicit affair in 17th century puritan New England, however one is publicly humiliated and the other is being internally destroyed. Hawthorne uses their story in order to convey a larger message applicable to any time period, which is that no matter how far away you strain from your sin it will always come back and haunt you but it is better to be an open book about it instead of secluding the sin within.

Throughout the course of history, people have observed a wide variety of social class breakdowns. Often formed by differences in socioeconomic status, social classes have been integral in the diversification of one culture from another, be it for better or for worse. While some nations have their hierarchy established by bloodline and relationships, others base social status on jobs, and few divide the general population based on gender. The social classes within communities serve as a double-edged sword. Although social classes, when well-balanced, may provide political stability to a nation due to traditions and norms, when poorly kept, social classes can be a source for violence and issue.

The book “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a complex novel that has underlying themes of sin and the responsibility for sin. The novel takes place in a Puritanical society, but two people, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, fornicate with each other, even though Hester is married to someone else. Only Hester is punished, so Dimmesdale keeps his guilt inside, not revealing it to anyone. Hester’s husband, Chillingworth, then proceeds to ruin Hester’s partner in crime, corrupting his soul and being the ultimate cause for his death. Hester, on the other hand, leads a relatively happy life after she had repented for her sin.

He shows how Hester highly values ideals such as independence, honor, love, and freedom. As a result of showing the morals of Hester, Hawthorne is able to show the true meanings of his work. He demonstrates how although Hester is known in the city as a sinner, the city is full of sinners and Hester, in reality, is representing an angel who stands up for what she believes in. Through the process of showing Hester’s Sacrifices affect what her true values are, Hawthorne is able to show the larger picture and the true meaning of the themes of the

Margaret wrote it shortly after the US elections of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher in Great Britain. During this time period, the religious conservatives criticized the “sexual revolution” of the 1960’s and 1970’s. This time period influenced The Handmaid’s Tale (Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale).

Imagine a nation in which its government commands by a religion where women are separated into different titles and must conceive children for their commander. Their rights from before this regime, and anything deemed unholy by the government, are a thing of the past. This situation is the one represent in the Republic of Gilead, where the rules of society and its traditions are not taken lightly if broken. In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood shows that an oppressive government leads to the inevitable neglect and remiss of the rules through Offred’s characterization, irony, and flashbacks. Offred 's character development can show that her actions change .

Anamaria, S. (n.d.). Feminist Views on Scarlet Letter and Madame Bovary. Retrieved April 03, 2017, from http://www.academia.edu/7597142/Feminist_Views_on_Scarlet_Letter_and_Madame_Bovary 2. Arsdale, H. V., & Rodriguez, S. (2011, October 29). Retrieved April 04, 2017, from https://sites.google.com/a/hightechhigh.org/hannah-s-humanities-dp/final-drafts/feminism-the-scarlet-letter 3.

There are two ways people will react to when their freedom is taken away. They will either accept it or rebel against it, which is what a lot of the female characters in Margaret Atwood’s novel, The Handmaid’s Tale accomplished. Shown through Offred’s repetition of certain events, Moira’s tone of being a fighter, and Serena Joy’s desperation, the reader can see that lack of freedom leads to rebellion. Offred, the novel’s narrator, now lives in a world where women are powerless. She has had her freedom taken away, and at times follows the rules, but ends up rebelling in many powerful ways.

From the outset, literature and all forms of art have been used to express their author’s feelings, opinions, ideas, and believes. Accordingly, many authors have resorted to their writing to express their feminist ideas, but first we must define what feminism is. According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, feminism is “the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power, and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state”. As early as the fifteenth century is possible to find feminist writings. Centuries later, and although she never referred to herself as one, the famous English writer Virginia Woolf became one of the greatest feminist writers of the twentieth