John Mensah
5th January 2015
Mrs. Vargas Homework 13 I believe that, the story "The Scarlet Letter" is the story of Hester. Many other may agree and disagree to my opinion. Many people would say the story is meant for Chillingworth blouse files wiles others may also say the story was meant for Dimmesdale. I disagree to that, is I disagree to how some people would also say the story was meant for Pearl. I know that some people would say the story was meant for or what about Dinsdale. Some people say this because Dimmesdale also struggles against a socially determined identity. As the community’s minister, he is more symbol than human being. Except for Chillingworth, those around the minister willfully ignore his obvious anguish, misinterpreting it as holiness.
Unfortunately, Dimmesdale never fully recognizes the truth of what Hester has learned: that individuality and strength are gained by quiet self­assertion and by a reconfiguration, not a rejection, of one’s assigned identity. Pearl, is also a character, not only a normal character but an interesting one. People may say the story "The Scarlet Letter" was meant and based on her.Although Pearl is a complex character, her primary function within the novel is as a symbol. Pearl is a sort of living version of her mother’s scarlet letter. She is the physical consequence of sexual sin and the indicator of a transgression. Yet, even as a reminder of
Hester’s “sin,” Pearl is more than a mere punishment to her mother: she is also a blessing.
She represents not only “sin” but also the vital spirit and passion that engendered that sin.
Thus, Pearl’s existence gives her mother reason to live, bolstering her spirits when she is tempted to give up. It is only after Dimmesdale is revealed to be Pearl’s father that Pearl can become fully “human.” Until then, she functions in a symbolic capacity as the reminder of an unsolved mystery. As for, Roger, As his name suggests, Roger Chillingworth is a man deficient in human warmth. His twisted, stooped, deformed shoulders mirror his distorted soul.
From what the reader is told of his early years with Hester, he was a difficult husband. He ignored his wife for much of the time, yet expected her to nourish his soul with affection when he did condescend to spend time with her. Ultimately, Chillingworth represents true evil. He is associated with secular and sometimes illicit forms of knowledge, as his chemical experiments and medical practices occasionally verge on witchcraft and murder. He is interested in revenge, not justice, and