The Scarlet Letter. help?!?

Question

I need to write an essay explaining how Hawthorne portrays evil and good in this novel. My teacher said to notice how some things (people) that appear good are more evil and vice versa. I am pretty confused. could anyone give me some examples or explain this more to me?! thanks!

Answer 1

There are a lot of examples of things that appear good but are could be seen as evil as well.  (It has also been a long time since I've read this book.)  The relationship between Hester and the priest is one thing you could look at.  Also, the priest working with the native americans is also something to examine.  The husband, the townsfolk, etc.  If you look hard enough it'll be easy to find the good vs. bad aspects of the book.  There are a lot.  

Answer 2

I read this book a while ago... didn't the priest work with the native americans, though the puritans felt that they were savages?

Hester's husband appeared good for a little bit, then he showed his true colors.

Hope i helped!

Answer 3

Chillingworth’s misshapen body reflects (or symbolizes) the evil in his soul, which builds as the novel progresses. IMHO, Chillingworth never appears "good" to the reader - we always know that he's evil - but he does fool Dimmesdale & others in the community into believing that he's good b/c he's a doctor.

Although Pearl is a complex character, her primary function within the novel is as a symbol. Pearl herself is the embodiment of the scarlet letter dressed in a beautiful scarlet dress embroidered with gold thread, just like the scarlet letter. The readers & other characters see her as an innocent little girl, but she represents the evil of her parents' sin & guilt.

As for Dimmesdale, his "Fall" is a descent from apparent grace to his own damnation; he appears to begin in purity. He ends in corruption. Parallels could be made to the angel Lucifer.

there are heaps of literary analysis about this. you should be able to find more info in your library.

Answer 4

I have not read The Scarlet Letter, but there are a number of on line study guides, and quite a few other resources on the Internet that can help you with this novel.  Most of them have good information.  Have a look at these sites, and you should get some help with your work.  If you do a search here in the Yahoo Answers search window you will find additional help because hundreds of questions have been asked here about The Scarlet Letter.

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/li...

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/scarlet/

http://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/t...

http://www.studyguide.org/scarlet_letter...