Lillie Kenyon

Subject- commitment

Theme- If a commitment is broken then that person may feel ashamed and want to hide that the commitment had been broken. Some people hide their broken commitment as an attempt to protect the person who the commitment was broken with.

Attitude- Love, compassion, sacrifice

Audience-Anyone

Rhetorical Strategy-Symbolism

“…That SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (56).

“…To stare into her face, and at the winking baby in her arms, and at the ignominious letter on her breast” (57).

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, uses the rhetorical strategy of symbolism. Many themes are presented through the use of symbolism. Hawthorne writes, “…That SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (56). If commitment is not honored, there may be consequences, such as how Hester Prynne broke her commitment to her husband when they were in separate countries, and Hester is now forced to wear the letter “A” on her clothes for adultery. Nathaniel Hawthorne also states, “…To stare into her face, and at the winking baby in her arms, and at the ignominious letter on her breast” (57). Hester’s child, Pearl, also reminds her of the commitment with her husband that she broke. Pearl is the child of the affair that she had, representing the broken commitment. This relates to the Crucible, by Arthur Miller because the girls who have accused innocent people of being witches have to see all these people dying and it’s a constant reminder of what they did, and Pearl and the “A” are constant reminders to Hester Prynne of her broken commitment.

Question:

Do you believe that it can be justified as to why Hester Prynne committed adultery considering her husband sent her to America and took so long to come to America himself? Why or why not?