Analysis of Three of Hawthornes Works Solitude and...

Analysis of Three of Hawthornes Works: Solitude and Isolation Julia Pesaresi Burns 3rd Period Pre-Ap English 20 February 96 Solitude and isolation are immense, powerful, and overcoming feelings. They possess the ability to destroy a persons life by overwhelming it with gloom and darkness. Isolate is defined: to place or keep by itself, separate from others (Webster 381). Solitude is the state of being alone (Webster 655). Nathaniel Hawthorne uses these themes of solitude and isolation for the characters in several of his works. Hawthorne is interested only in those beings, of exceptional temperament or destiny, who are alone in the world... (Discovering Authors). Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Goodman Brown, and Beatrice†¦show more content†¦Hester and Dimmesdale sin and are isolated by that sin (Ringe 90). Hester Prynne, alone and independent by decree... (Martin 118), spends all her time in her tiny home with only her baby, Pearl. After the first scaffold scene, both Hester and Dimmesdale begin to work out their penance in isolation (Ringe 90). Hester feels so guilty and sinful that she wants to be away from the world. [She] becomes absorbed with a morbid meddling of conscience, and continues to focus her attention on self when she feels that none is so guilty as she (Ringe 90). The scarlet letter A that she must wear, makes her ...an outcast from social joy forever (Stoddard 8). However, this [shame, despair, and solitude] made her strong and taught her much amiss (Martin 21). Being on her own teaches Hester a great deal. unfortunately, the price of her new intelligence...is isolation (Ringe 91). Through this isolation from the community, Hester acquires an intellect which enables her to look at human institutions with a fresh point of view (Ringe 91). She becomes more caring and helps by ...performing small services for [the community]... (Lewis 21). Hesters only friend is Dimmesdale, whom she can no longer be with. She is completely alone with no friends or companions. She has been living on the outskirts of town, attempting to cling to the community byShow MoreRelated The Minister’s Black Veil – Solitude Essay3553 Words   |  15 Pagesâ€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† – Solitude  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   Henry Seidel Canby in â€Å"A Skeptic Incompatible with His Time and His Past† explains regarding the solitude of Nathaniel Hawthorne: â€Å"His reserve and love of solitude were the defenses of an imagination formed by peculiar circumstances and playing upon circumstances still more peculiar† (55). Let us explore in this essay the solitude within â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil† and its author.    Herman Melville in â€Å"Hawthorne and His Mosses†Read MoreEssay on Ambiguity of The Minister’s Black Veil3127 Words   |  13 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Minister’s Black Veil†; this essay hopes to explore this problem within the tale.    In New England Men of Letters Wilson Sullivan relates the purpose of Hawthorne’s veiled image:    He sought, in Hamlet’s telling words to his palace players, â€Å"to hold the mirror up to nature,† and to report what he saw in that mirror – even his own veiled image – without distortion. â€Å"Life is made up,†, Hawthorne said, â€Å"of marble and mud.† In the pages of his finest works, bothRead More The Deeper Meanings of Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown Essay1945 Words   |  8 PagesYoung Goodman Brown Young Goodman Brown, a story written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, should be interpreted on a psychoanalytical level rather than a religious one. It is my observation that Young Goodman Brown may very well be the first published work alluding to divisions of the mind and personality theory. Although religion is a direct theme throughout the story, Young Goodman Brown appears to be an allegory with deeper meanings. To explore properly my position concerning the dynamics ofRead More Sins of Hester Prynne, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter2139 Words   |  9 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a study of the effects of sin on the hearts and minds of the main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Sin strengthens Hester, humanizes Dimmesdale, and turns Chillingworth into a demon. Hester Prynne’s sin was adultery. This sin was regarded very seriously by the Puritans, and was often punished by death. Hester’s punishment was to endure a public shaming on a scaffold for three hours