Puritianism and Literary Techniques in "The Scarlet Letter"

Outline



i. Introduction

ii. Information of the time when it was first published

iii. A romance not a novel

A. Hawthorne called it a romance

B. Why it is a romance

C. The truth in the romance and the novel

    iv.         General considerations of the novel

D. Characters

E. Setting

F. Conflicts

G. Tragedy

v.         Psychological approaches

H. Prynne’s psychological thoughts

I. Chillingworth’s mental condition

J. Dimmesdale’s mind

K. Pearl’s mental approach

    vi.         Tragedy in The Scarlet Letter

A. Tragedy regarding Hester Prynne

B. Dimmesdale’s tragic mental approaches

    vii.         Crime and punishment

A. The crime of Prynne

B. Crime of Dimmesdale

C. The punishment that both of them go through

  viii.         Sin and purification

A. The purification of Prynne and Dimmesdale

B. The realization of Chillingworth

C. Hawthorne’s style of psychological purification

    ix.         Puritanism in The Scarlet Letter

A. Puritan society

B. Puritan church

C. Hawthorne as a critic of Puritanism

      x.         Symbolism

A. The letter ‘A’

B. Symbolic meaning of the forest

C. Symbolism by the characters

    xi.         The theme of Love

A. Love between Prynne and Dimmesdale

B. Love of a mother

C. Hawthorne’s treatment of love

    xii.         Irony

  xiii.         Ambiguity

    xiv.       Conclusion

                 

         

“Nathaniel Hawthorne has made a beautiful, admirable, extraordinary approach in this novel” said Henry James regarding The Scarlet Letter. It has the beauty and harmony of all original and complete conceptions and its weaker spots are not of its essence, but mere light flaws and inequalities of surface. The novel has the...