The Issue of Remorse on The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Research Paper

The Issue of Remorse on The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne - Research Paper Example Various studies were conducted about the novel and they discuss the symbols, imageries, issues and parallelisms prevailing in The Scarlet Letter. The critical analysis of the novel would start with a brief biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne and also the significant issues faced by the United States of America in its early years would be analyzed in connection to the story. The main focus is on the issue of remorse faced by the main characters of the novel. Nathaniel Hawthorne came from a famous family living in Salem, Massachusetts. His relatives took care of him when his father died in a voyage. He studied at Bowdoin College together with some famous personalities in literature and politics like Horatio Bridge who became a writer, Jonathan Ciley who became a senator, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who became a poet, and Franklin Pierce who became a president of the United States. The personalities mentioned helped Hawthorne to get a public sector job. Afterwards he started as a writer when his works imitate the style of Sir Walter Scott and was considered to be his early writing training. The Transcendentalist Movement of Ralph Waldo Emerson influenced Hawthorne by investing in the Utopian community. The Trancendentalist belief rejects formalism as they promote individualism because humans according to them are more than just sensory realm. Individualism and symbolism became prominent in Hawthorne’s later works especially in The S carlet Letter wherein the Transcendentalist ideals clashed against the ideals of the Puritans. The Custom House was written by Hawthorne as a prologue to The Scarlet Letter and also as an autobiographical essay. His published work became possible through the help of his friends. The Scarlet Letter became famous across time since morality, spirituality and identity of the Americans were affected by the Puritans. During the time of Hawthorne, adultery was considered as a taboo because of prevailing rigidity and formality of culture. The novel became popular to people from all ages across time (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee). The Scarlet Letter made its author a famous writer. After seeing the relevance of the novel to the life and time of Hawthorne, going deeper into the summary would link the history to the story. Spirituality, morality and Puritan influence on the early America were reflected in The Scarlet Letter. The novel went against the norms and showed how the dreaded beha vior and beliefs would be turned from weakness into strength. The story started from a prologue that could be considered as a standalone essay. The essay revealed how the novel was written as the narrator mirrored Hawthorne himself. The narrator worked as a surveyor in the customhouse and he found certain documents bundled and contained a piece of cloth shaped into an A. Since the narrator was careless and lost some important documents, he made a story out of the two-hundred-year-old manuscript made by a past surveyor. His creative thinking produced The Scarlet Letter  and the story opened in a Puritan settlement at Boston during the early years of USA. The scarlet letter â€Å"A† labeled on the chest of the protagonist named Hester Prynne symbolized her crime as viewed by the townspeople. She walked out of a prison cell together with her baby named Pearl. She arrived at Boston when her old and scholarly husband sent her there. Her husband was lost in the voyage and was ass umed to be dead. Because of loneliness, Hester engaged in an affair that led to the birth of Pearl. Afterwards the town elders put Hester Prynne to a public confession to reveal the father of Pearl. She did not reveal the name of