Scarlet Letter

Jacqulyn Dubidad

Ms. Brannon

Advanced Placement Language and Composition

11 January 2014

                                                Criticism to the Puritan Belief

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a satire that criticizes the beliefs of the Puritans. Hawthorne wrote this satire as a way of attacking the Puritans’ belief and to show how hypocritical they can be in certain situations through the use of rhetorical devices. Hawthorne had not just stated that the Puritans were being hypocritical but he instead showed signs of it throughout his writing.

Hester the protagonist in the satire was currently being punished for committing adultery as her punishment she had to wear an “A” which was a symbol of the sin she had committed. Hawthorne first used imagery to prove that there was hypocrisy through the beliefs of the Puritans. When Hester had to go to the Governors house to plea that they would continue to let her keep Pearl, Hawthorne had described the house as being, “the brilliancy that might have befitted Aladdin’s palace, rather than the mansion of a grave old Puritan ruler…” (pg 87-88). Puritans believed that they should live a humble and simple life, but yet the Governor is living in a house that favors Aladdin’s palace. Hawthorne used “Aladdin’s palace” to compare to the Governors’ house due to the fact that Aladdin is well known and everyone knows how rich Aladdin is. Another example of imagery is, “Hester looked, by way of humoring the child; and she saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions…” (pg 90). The exaggerated “A” in the governors house was to show that the Governor along with the rest of the other Puritans exaggerate Hester’s sin to be something bigger then it truly has to be. Nobody looks down at the Governor for having so many nice things, but yet they look down upon Hester who has confessed to a sin she had committed. Hawthorne used imagery to show the hypocritical views behind the Puritan belief.

In this satire Hawthorne used a optimistic tone in order to prove that the beliefs of the Puritans were hypocritical. It states that, “So speaking she undid the clasp that fastened the scarlet letter…she took of the formal cap that confined her hair…her sex, her youth, and the whole richness of her beauty, came back…forth burst the sunshine..” (pg 177-178). Earlier in the satire the sun would run away from Hester every time she would try to touch it, it would move in the opposite direction. That was to show that God had not wanted anything to do with her due to the sin she committed. However, Hawthorne used this quote to criticize their beliefs because the sunshine is God’s gift to the world, and it did not want to shine on Hester once she was wearing the “A” but once she had taken it off the sun came back out. This shows criticism because the Puritans punished Hester for something she has done by setting her as an outcast from the society, when God the “controller” of the sun still shines his light on her without being judgmental. Another quote that has shown an frivolous tone is, “God knows, and he is merciful!” (pg 226). Hawthorne used this quote repetitively to show that it has no meaning at all. They say God is merciful but they continue to punish Hester for a sin that she openly confessed to.  Hawthorne used different tones to prove his attitude or position on where he stands when it comes to the Puritans’ belief.

Hawthorne used irony in The Scarlet Letter to show how hypocritical the Puritans were. The Puritans looked down upon sin once you committed a sin you were seen as an outsider.  Even after you have confessed, the people in the society still treat you as if you are the “black man” himself. The Puritans barely believe in forgiveness but they worship a man who does, once Dimmesdale knew that he was dying he confessed to be the man who slept with Hester and although he was a respectable priest he said that that he did not mean to deceive them. It states that, “According to these highly respectable witnesses, the minister conscious that he was dying…had made the manner of his death a parable in order to impress on his admires the mighty and mournful lesson, that, in the view of Infinite Purity, we are all sinners alike” (pg 229). The Puritans especially the highly priest understood the true meaning behind Dimmesdale’s confession yet they cover it up due to the fact that Dimmesdale was a respectable priest and they try to keep up his reputation, but the Puritans are suppose to value honesty and go against sin so why lie. Another point that Hawthorne is trying to prove is that if the whole point was to prove that everyone is all sinners alike, why make a mockery out of Hester? Hawthorne uses irony to shine a light on the hypocrisy in the Puritans’ belief.

Hawthorne wrote a satire to expose and criticize the beliefs of the Puritans, through various uses of rhetorical devices. Hawthorne used imagery, tone, and irony to prove the hypocrisy of the way the Puritans live their lives. Hawthorne obviously does not like nor favor the Puritans and how they choose to be hypocritical over certain situations. He wrote The Scarlet Letter as a way to make a parody out of their beliefs.