The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter is a romantic fiction written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Although it is written in 19th century, the romantic work of fiction is set in the 17th century. In the Puritan Boston, Hester Prynne, through adultery, gets a daughter. In The Scarlet Letter, the author conspicuously presents one of the protagonists as spending the better part of her life in reparation of that sin and guilt. Other characters like Chillingworth and Dimmesdale also contribute a lot in development of this theme.

In chapters 7 to 10, the author uses various aspects of syntax, figurative language, diction, and tone among other styles to develop the two main male characters. As a result, he creates a particular way in which he expects the reader to view each of the two characters. Chapter 7 introduces the subject matter of the action that dramatically proceeds to chapter 8. In the latter, the author presets the two male characters as insolent and insensitive. This is because after they found Hester’s daughter in the mansion, they began to call her a demon-child wondering why Hester would be allowed to keep the child. There is no doubt that their diction and tone is expressly against the way Pearl was born.

In chapter 9 and 10, more action is centered on Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. In these chapters, Hawthorne brings up again the concept of a devil. Although in chapter 8 the two male characters used ‘devil-child’ as a figure showing contempt, chapter 9 presents Chillingworth as the devil himself. This is because he hides his secrets from everybody in Boston. Moreover, Dimmesdale is seen as of great help since he comes out to help Chillington with health and medical insights. Although the two characters spend more time together in chapter 10, little is uncovered about them. Hawthorne presents all of them as secretive. While Dimmesdale kept his feelings towards Hester a secret, Chillingworth is also suspicious of both the minister and Hester. Through dialogue, Chillington seems too spiritual while Dimmesdale seems to be more scientific.

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