Scarlet Letter Interpretation

Scarlet Letter Interpretation Qu 5: ‘†¦they had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deed since what does the Scarlet letter teach us on the subject of meaning and interpretation? It is perhaps unheard of and a little strange that one could actually consider the very letter ‘A within the story of ‘The Scarlet Letter to be considered the main character within Hawthornes tale. However it is due to this very letter that the entire tale of Hester unfolds. After reading the tale of Hester and her ascent from tainted woman to what can only be called a liberated if somewhat damaged soul it is hard to pin point the exact meaning of the letter ‘A .It is a letter as ambiguous as it sounds for it leaves open an entire dictionary of words to interpret its meaning. In a story that deals with the breakdown of the puritan society beliefs through a woman whose punishment for adultery is to wear a red letter upon her clothing it is easy to see how one can suppose the tale of ‘The scarlet letter to be one centering around Hester herself and yet it is perhaps the very ending of the ‘The scarlet letter ‘It bore device, a heralds wording of which may serve for motto and brief description of our now concluded legend; so sombre is it, and relieved only by one ever-glowing point of light gloomier than the shadow: ‘ON A FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A, GULES that beholds the true central subject of the ‘The Scarlet letter. That is, the very letter itself being the main protagonist leaving Hester to portray a rather small if catalytic part of the novel providing no more than a mere insight into the true meaning of the many and sometimes abstract meanings of the letter. Through out the ‘Scarlet letter the reader is presented with a selection of characters within the Puritan community, which come to view and relate to the scarlet letter in their own different ways. For example at the beginning of the novel the old puritan women of the community regard it as what is the general opinion at the time of Hesters release from prison. That of a symbol of sin and shame. Hester herself provides her own interpretation by weaving a letter whose appearance could only but reflect her own rebellious nature within the puritan society. Within and throughout the novel the scarlet letter takes on and changes many forms so as to leave the reader in a somewhat bewildered and confused state of mind. The beginning of the novel sees the puritan society regard the letter as the proof of sin made visible to all eyes to both punish Hester whilst at the same time serve as a warning. Yet as the tale progresses the meaning of the letter changes and transforms to create a whole different meaning around it. If the major characteristic of the symbol is its enigmatic nature, it is not surprising that the question of its understanding should be of major importance. Yet perhaps in order to begin understanding the true meaning of the Scarlet letter we must first look towards Hawthorns ‘The Custom-house where in the Scarlet letter is described as a ‘mystic symbol, subtly conveying itself to my sensibilities, but evading the analysis of my mind. As a romantic symbol, the scarlet letter appeals to both intellect and sensitivity. However, the interpretative process as Hawthorne presents it in The Scarlet Letter is complex, and the link between feeling and understanding is far less direct than it may seem at first sight. Although the idea of intuitive comprehension may be considered as an ideal, Hawthornes pragmatism leads him to qualify it and to take into account the impact of social conventions on the understanding of the symbol. This is evident when Hawthorn describes the feeling of ‘burning heat as he picks up the letter and how it appeared that the letter was not altogether made of simple red cloth but was much rather like ‘a red hot iron, yet Hawthorne goes on to conclude that even so without any knowledge of the letter past and origins it was to then remain a riddle. Hawthornes ‘The scarlet letter which then goes on to try and give voice to the letter found in the common house is no more than a possib le insight into the many interpretations available regarding the letter itself, perhaps then leaving the reader more mystified than ever. Martin Terence within ‘Nathanial Hawthorne claims that Hawthorne seems to say, this is a scarlet letter; because of that, it is capable of further meaning. The letter will have to carry the burden of the tale. Hawthornes use of symbolism is fully developed in the multi-meanings hidden in the scarlet letter through a variety of characters. The scarlet letter represents different ideals to different people and should be given the proper consideration. For the puritans the scarlet letter symbolised the sign of a sinner whose moral obligation towards the community was to portray the mark of sinner to both shame and warn. Giving up her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of womans frailty and sinful passion. Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast, [†¦] as the figure, the body, the reality of sin. (71-72) Through the above extract one can easily see the firm belief the Puritans held that was that through her actions Hester had disgraced not only herself but the entire community. Their belief in that Hester is to take responsibility for her actions is not however carried out in the manner they had originally hoped. Hester may carry out her punishment silently and diligently yet the outcome is not the one the Puritans had foreseen, for Hesters sin grows from that of passion to one of principle. On the other hand towards the Reverend Arthur Dimmersdale the letter takes on a whole new meaning. He regards the letter as a constant reminder of the sin and cowardice that plaque him. As time goes past this guilt constantly grows as he finds himself unable to take responsibility for his actions. The action he takes of standing upon the scaffold at night is merely one of the signs of his ever increasing guilt. It could even be claimed that his inability to like Hester wear the Scarlet letter tur ns out to be his downfall as by the end of the novel Dimmersdale dies. Whilst on the other hand it could also be claimed that Hesters ability to wear the scarlet letter proves to be her salvation for although she does not forget or dismiss the original purpose of the letter she is however able to through the letters ability to deem her a social outcast to be left alone behind the symbol to both develop and grow as a character. Terence claims that Hester comes to view the letter as ‘an armour of pride that is also a mantle of suffering. Her isolation from the rest of the community and the downfall of her place within society can be seen as her mantle of suffering whilst her armour of pride resides in Hesters own beliefs that her act of adultery was rooted in the love she felt for Dimmersdale as well as her own love of Pearl. Hesters secret serves as an â€Å"emblem† of different fates of the Puritan generation. â€Å"Hawthorne seems to adorn the subject rather than present it, conceal it with fancy needlework, so that the letter A might have been thought to mean†¦anything other than adulteress†. He portrays the guilt as craftwork, which he attributes to Hesters prototype: â€Å"sporting with her infamy, the lost and desperate creature had embroidered the fatal token with golden thread and the nicest art of needlework. The Scarlet Letter is concerned not only with passion but also with America (another possible signification of Hesters letter). â€Å"It attempts to find in the story of Hester and Dimmesdale a paradigm of the fall of love in the New World†. Pearl herself could be described as a character that function upon two levels within the narrative, both as a child and as an allegory. If then Pearl is the embodiment of the Scarlet letter itself ,then it is possible for the reader to understand Hesters own interpretation of the letter even better, for what mother could ever see her child as a sin to be ashamed of. Instead it is with and through Pearl that the letter begins its ascending course, as its meaning changes to mean both motherhood and strength. It is Pearls utter devotion and obsession with the letter that helps convey the bond between the letter and the child. They are the same, they were born through the same ‘act of sin .This is most evident when Hester removes the letter in the woods and is then forced to replace it when Pearl refuses to acknowledge her without it. The incident is vital in conveying the bond between the letter and the child. As the living manifestation of the letter, Pearl refuses to have it dis carded. It is here that critic Stephanie Carrez puts forward the notion that here it should be said that through Pearl we can see the danger of Hesters ability to change the letters meaning and interpretation. This is seen when Hester does not comply with the educational values prescribed by Scriptural authority. This echoes the discussion set by the author on the market place as Hester steps out of the prison door, where one of the women within the crowd voices â€Å"This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die; is there not law for it?   Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statute-book. Then let the magistrates, who have made it of no effect, thank themselves if their own wives and daughters go astray. â€Å"Hester should have died, since such is the law, both in the Scripture and the statute-book†. Carrez goes on to explain that If the punishment chosen is for her to wear the letter, it does not represent the letter of the law, but rather its spirit; although the letter is supposed to be fatal,† Hester will nevertheless live. The interpretation of the symbol entails social consequences, and Hawthorne is highly aware of its dangers. Interpreting words is potentially dangerous: is not the disappearance of the word adultery the best proof of the subversive power of the artist? Even so the many interpretations of the Scarlet letter all stem out of the most common symbol found by readers and that being â€Å"adultery†. Although the letter contains various interpretations, it proves to serve only one purpose: that being to make Hesters sin of adultery known to everyone. The letter is the revolving element throughout the novel. As a consequence of such a use of symbols, no definite truth can be established, and truth itself becomes an uncertain concept. The resulting ambiguity of Hawthornes texts is at the same time a force and a weakness. Hawthorne thus seems to linger over the consequences of using the scarlet letter as a romantic symbol. If scattered and particular visions must be assembled to represent the truth, along romantic lines, he refuses to adopt the radical idea of totally subjective truth, and even sometimes mocks the possibility to do so. The multiplication of possible interpretations is at the same time an artistic necessity and a metaphysical and social threat, and this constitutes one of the keystones of Hawthornes ambiguity. The modern aesthetic interrogation about writing, and about the role of the reader in the construction of a truthful meaning, unsettled Hawthornes faith in his own work, but provided the modern reader with one of the best examples of the power of art.

A Review of the Research Study

The study is a mixed theoretical-empirical study regarding bystander intervention. It is theoretical in the sense that it applies known concepts of the bystander effect and helping mechanisms.It is however dominantly empirical since it bases its findings and method on observations of actual circumstances. It attempts to reproduce actual situations through a controlled experimental environment wherein limited variables are introduced and measured by the researchers.The experiment presumes to manifest high external validity in the sense that the situation presented could likely occur in actual real-life scenarios. Even the theory behind the research has been observed to happen in actual crimes or situations. In fact, this same research resulted from a crime effected in New York wherein witnesses failed to give aid to the victim.Thus, if variables were adequately isolated and conclusions logically inferred, the results of such experiment would be highly valid externally. The problem her ein lies in the low levels of construct validity. Albeit the generalizability of the theories in question, it is questionable whether the appropriate instruments of measurement were in place.The results of the experiment discussed the effect of group number, sex, and educational background on bystander intervention. However only one of these factors was adequately represented, that of group number. Bystander intervention was in practice representative only of the presence of unobservable or unperceived bystanders, as differentiated in the study’s literature.The effect of bystander presence with regard to perceived and observable bystanders could not have been measured by the researchers as all the bystanders they had planted in the experiment with the participant were unobservable, as they were supposedly in different rooms.The factor sex was discussed whenever the participant’s sex was different from that of the perceived group member or members, particularly the diff erence when there was a potential male volunteer in the group. However, the research design shows a large inequality in the number of male and female participants. Further, the research shown to back up the discussion had not been previously discussed to ground the relevance of the effect of sex in helping as to that of the actual study.In other words, there was no previous discussion as to the intent of the researchers to measure such factor, giving the impression that the discussion was inserted only after the results of the experiment had come in – an unreliable and bias-prone practice in research. Further, the factor regarding the medical background of a potential volunteer and other group member was likewise not discussed until the results portion of the paper.The failure to distribute this factor to the three observed group sizes may also have presented disparity in the data gathered. There was also a lengthy discussion in the results regarding the avoidant-avoidant nat ure of the conflict that emerged in participants who did not intervene in the emergency presented. This is highly speculative in nature and is largely unsupported by self-reports presented in the research paper. In fact, there wasn’t even any previous research presented to ground the arguments made.There seems to be high internal validity as the research adequately described the means of measuring intervention and gave data and computations regarding the measurements obtained. There was also adequate presentation of the commutations of the participation of the respondents.Further, there was also a note regarding participants who had been dropped and for what reason this had been done.   Despite what would have been expected given the high external validity of the concept being studied, the results of this experiment show low external validity. The situation presented shows a bystander who has previous knowledge regarding the situation of the victim of the emergency.The byst ander thus has knowledge of the nature of the emergency and the cause of the same. Furthermore, the previous rounds of discussion that the participants had engaged in regarding their college experiences establishes a semblance of relationship between them. The mere fact that they are in the same research environment for a psychological experiment already creates a level of relation between the participant and the victim.This may not be and often is not the case with actual situations wherein the bystander effect is observed. In many of these situations the participant is not related to the victim and there is no knowledge regarding the situation unfolding – except for certain circumstances where the extremist nature of the emergency could not be mistaken for any other situation. Overall, the research proves to be high in internal validity, low in construct validity, and low in external validity.Based on existing literature regarding this topic, the research presented informat ion consistent with findings of other researchers. An increase in group size has been found to have a minimizing effect on bystander intervention.The findings, such as in the murder case presented as the ratio for the research in question, display this finding in practice. It   should be bourne in mind however that in spite of the correct conclusion of the research hypothesis, the other results should not be taken at face value, nor should the procedure employed by the researchers by reproduced without thorough analysis of the accurate representation of variables.ReferenceDarley, J. M., & Latane, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8 (4), 377-383.

Death Versus Death By Emily Dickinson - 2596 Words

Maheen Chranya English HP-E Ratliff Term Paper Rough Draft HP: _____________________ Death versus Death—but the Points go to Dickinson Emily Dickinson was born in a time when not many women involved themselves in poetry or any form of intellectual capability. Nonetheless, she did, and she was such a wonderful poet that her poetry rivaled Whitman’s. Of course, no one ever saw her poetry at the same time as Whitman because she chose not to publish her poetry in her lifetime. Once she did, however, the world was shocked by the literary genius that lived in seclusion for a good majority of her life, especially because of how raw her writing was without having the influence of an editor or publisher. Her style is very distinguishable through it’s excessive but purposeful punctuation and 4-6-4-6 rhyme that matches church songs and patriotic songs like â€Å"Amazing Grace† and â€Å"Glory to God on High.† The church influenced more than her style, however, as much of her subject matter pertains to her unorthodox beliefs. Other subjects include hope and sometimes humor, but her ideas on death are both very interesting and complex. Dickinson does not make light of death, but she uses her poems as her diary to record her thoughts on death. She moves rapidly from thinking death is passive to thinking it is an amazing honor, but she also thinks of it in a terrified sense. Emily Dickinson’s views on death may not be easy to understand, and one may not draw a conclusion based off of her thoughtsShow MoreRelatedDeath Versus Death By Emily Dickinson2970 Words   |  12 PagesMaheen Chranya English HP-E Ratliff April 21, 2015 Term Paper Rough Draft HP: _____________________ Death versus Death—but the Points go to Dickinson Emily Dickinson was born in a time when not many women involved themselves in poetry or any form of intellectual capability. Despite this, she was such a wonderful poet that her poetry rivaled Whitman’s. Of course, she was never able to rival him because she chose not to publish her poetry in her lifetime. 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Residencia sellada en el pasaporte se puede viajar

Si tiene  una visa de inmigrante y sellaron su pasaporte al ingresar a Estados Unidos pero todavà ­a no ha recibido por correo la tarjeta de la greencard de plà ¡stico puede viajar al extranjero pero  con ciertos là ­mites. En este artà ­culo se responde a las inquietudes mà ¡s frecuentes relacionadas con la tarjeta de residencia sellada en el pasaporte, incluido por quà © algunas personas la tienen, cuà ¡l su valor y cà ³mo se puede viajar fuera de los Estados Unidos y regresar sin problemas.  ¿Por quà © se tiene el sello temporal I-551 en el pasaporte y cuà ¡l es su valor? Cuando se obtiene una visa de inmigrante, en el momento en que se ingresa a los Estados Unidos por primera vez sucede que el oficial migratorio de la CBP va a poner un sello con la fecha de entrada que puede ser colocado parcialmente sobre la visa de inmigrante o muy cerca. Ese sello, junto con la visa no inmigrante, equivale a una green card. Es decir, la persona extranjera se convierte en ese mismo momento en residente permanente legal de los Estados Unidos. De hecho, sirve como prueba para trabajar legalmente. El sello, que se conoce tà ©cnicamente en inglà ©s como Temporary I-551 Stamp, tiene una validez de un aà ±o y sirve todas las funciones de la green card hasta el momento en que se recibe la tarjeta plà ¡stica por correo.   Pero,  ¿se puede viajar al extranjero sà ³lo con la residencia sellada en el pasaporte? La respuesta es sà ­, siempre y cuando se cumplan estos  dos requisitos: El sello tenga menos de seis mesesEl pasaporte està © vigente. Si ha caducado habrà ¡ que sacar uno nuevo y viajar con ese y el antiguo en el que està ¡ la residencia. Para ingresar de nuevo a Estados Unidos es necesario presentar los dos en las aduanas y fronteras. Entonces,  ¿no es necesariosolicitar un advance parole? No, no se necesita, ya que ya se es  residente permanente. Es mà ¡s, nunca van a dar el advance parole porque no es para estos casos. Los residentes no necesitan pedir permiso para salir de Estados Unidos.  ¿Quà © pasa si se està ¡en Estados Unidos, la residencia ha sido aprobada pero no ha llegado la greencard por correo y no han estampado el pasaporte? En estos casos hay que esperar a recibirla. No se puede viajar al exterior porque no se tiene documento para regresar.  ¿Quà © necesito tener en cuenta a la hora de viajar? Si se sale  de Estados Unidos con la tarjeta de residencia estampada en tu pasaporte y  Ãƒ ©ste se extravà ­a o lo roban, se debe ir a la embajada o  consulado americano mà ¡s cercano para pedir documentacià ³n para poder ingresar de nuevo a Estados Unidos. Comprobar en la pà ¡gina web cà ³mo hacer una cita, seleccionando la oficina consular que corresponda. Ademà ¡s, cuando se està ¡ en otro paà ­s se deben tener siempre presentes los là ­mites sobre el tiempo  para permanecer fuera de Estados Unidos sin poner en peligro la tenencia de la greencard. Hasta los seis meses por aà ±o no hay, generalmente, problemas. Desde el medio aà ±o al aà ±o puede haberlos, si el oficial de Inmigracià ³n en la aduana americana estima que ha habido un abandono de la residencia. Si la estancia en el extranjero es superior al aà ±o, hay que pedir permiso antes de salir de Estados Unidos o conseguir autorizacià ³n en la Embajada o consulado americano que corresponda antes de viajar de regreso a USA. Las estancias fuera del paà ­s superiores a los dos aà ±os son muy problemà ¡ticas. No recomendables y, salvo en casos muy especà ­ficos, sà ³lo traen problemas y la cancelacià ³n de la tarjeta de residencia. Ademà ¡s, destacar que el tiempo que se pasa fuera de los Estados Unidos afecta al cà ³mputo de residencia fà ­sica en Estados Unidos que se requiere cuando se solicita la ciudadanà ­a estadounidense mediante la naturalizacià ³n. Este es un dato que tambià ©n que no se puede olvidar. A tener en cuenta Cuando se habla de tarjeta de residencia permanente o de greencard  o de tarjeta verde  se habla de los mismo. Se les llama asà ­ porque originalmente eran de ese color. Y aunque han pasado por varios colores, en la actualidad han vuelto al original. Por à ºltimo, se recomienda tomar este test o quiz de respuestas mà ºltiples sobre la tarjeta de residencia, para asegurar de se conoce lo esencial sobre cà ³mo obtenerla y sobre cà ³mo conservarla.