Question

In: Psychology

summarize the chapters 1-4 of the scarlet letter

summarize the chapters 1-4 of the scarlet letter

Solutions

Expert Solution

  • 1.A large crowd of Puritans stands outside of the prison, waiting for the door to open. The prison is described as a, "wooden jail ... already marked with weather-stains and other indications of age which gave a yet darker aspect to its beetle-browed and gloomy front." The iron on the prison is rusting and creates an overall appearance of decay.
  • Outside the building, next to the door, a rosebush stands in full bloom. The narrator remarks that it is possible that "this rosebush ... had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson, as she entered the prison door." He then plucks one of the roses and offers it to the reader as a "moral blossom" to be found later in the story.
  • 2.The crowd in front of the jail is a mixture of men and women, all maintaining severe looks of disapproval. Several of the women begin to discuss Hester Prynne, and they soon vow that Hester would not have received such a light sentence for her crime if they had been the judges.
  • One woman, the ugliest of the group, goes so far as to advocate death for Hester. Hester emerges from the prison with elegance and a ladylike air to her movements. She clutches her three month old daughter, Pearl.
  • She has sown a large scarlet A over her breast, using her finest skill to make the badge of shame appear to be a decoration. Several of the women are outraged when they see how she has chosen to display the letter, and they want to rip it off. Hester is led through the crowd to the scaffold of the pillory.
  • She ascends the stairs and stands, now fully revealed to the crowd, in her position of shame and punishment for the next few hours. Hawthorne compares her beauty and elegance while on the scaffold to an image of Madonna and Child, or Divine Maternity. The ordeal is strenuous and difficult for Hester. She tries to make the images in front of her vanish by thinking about her past.
  • Hester was born in England and grew up there. She later met a scholar who was slightly deformed, having a left shoulder higher than his right. Her husband, later revealed to be Roger Chillingworth, first took her to Amsterdam and then sent her to America to await his arrival.
  • Hester looks out over the crowd and realizes for the first time that her life condemns her to be alone. She looks at her daughter and then fingers the scarlet letter that will remain a part of her from now on. At the thought of her future, she squeezes her daughter so hard that the child cries out in pain.
  • 3.On the edge of the crowd, Hester notices an Indian accompanied by a white man. She recognizes the white man as Roger Chillingworth, her husband, who sent her to America and remained in Amsterdam.
  • Hester fearfully clutches Pearl harder, which again causes her child to cry out in pain. Roger Chillingworth asks a bystander who Hester is and what her crime was. The man informs him of her past, telling that she was sent to Boston to await her husband, but she ended up with a child instead.
  • Chillingworth remarks that the man who was her partner in the crime of adultery will eventually become known. The Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale is exhorted to make Hester tell the gathered crowd who the father is.
  • She refuses and instead tells him that she will bear both his shame and her own. Dimmesdale cries out, "She will not speak!" and places his hand over his heart. The Reverend Mr. Wilson steps forward and delivers a sermon against sin, after which Hester is allowed to return to the prison.
  • 4.After Hester returns to her prison cell, she remains agitated by the day's events. Pearl is also upset and starts crying. The jailer therefore allows a physician to enter and try to calm them down.
  • Roger Chillingworth, pretending to be a physician, enters and mixes a potion for Pearl, who soon falls asleep. He also makes a drink for Hester, who is afraid that he is trying to kill her. Nevertheless, she drinks his potion and sits down on the bed.
  • Chillingworth tells her that he forgives her, and he accepts the blame for having married her. She says, "thou knowest that I was frank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any." He asks Hester who the father of Pearl is, but she refuses to tell him.
  • Chillingworth then laughs and says, "He bears no letter of infamy wrought into his garment, as thou dost; but I shall read it on his heart." He then makes Hester swear to never reveal that he is her husband.
  • She becomes afraid of Chillingworth's purpose, and she asks whether he has forced her into a bond that will ruin her soul. He smiles and tells her, "Not thy soul ... No, not thine!"

Related Solutions

find 10 quotes of psychological events that take place in chapters 17-24 in scarlet letter
find 10 quotes of psychological events that take place in chapters 17-24 in scarlet letter
Summarize the major themes addressed in the assigned chapters of Good to Great Identify the characteristics...
Summarize the major themes addressed in the assigned chapters of Good to Great Identify the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur and the characteristics of a successful business idea, The book Good to Great by Jim Collins on Chapter 2
can you give me short summary abstract and conclusion on chapters 3 and chapters 4 in...
can you give me short summary abstract and conclusion on chapters 3 and chapters 4 in Strategic Market Management, 9th Edition, by David A. Aaker Competitor Analysis Competitor Identification Strategic Groups: Pursue similar competitive strategies –Have similar characteristics –Have similar assets and competencies Competitor Analysis: Potential Competitors: –Market expansion –Product expansion –Backward integration –Forward integration –Export assets or competencies –Retaliatory or defensive strategies Understanding the Competitors Competitor Actions: Size, Growth & Profitability, Current and Past Strategies, Strengths and Weaknesses Cost...
You are going to use column chromatography to separate a mixture of four dyes: 4-phenylazophenol, Scarlet-R,...
You are going to use column chromatography to separate a mixture of four dyes: 4-phenylazophenol, Scarlet-R, Sudan II, 4-phenylazoanisole. a. Which compound would you expect to elute from the column first and which one last? Explain. b. What solvent system will be used to elute these compounds from the column?
1. Before completing this exercise, review Chapters 3 and 4 of your SPSS textbook and complete...
1. Before completing this exercise, review Chapters 3 and 4 of your SPSS textbook and complete the example in each chapter (the example starts at the beginning of the chapter) to learn how to create a frequency distribution and a histogram. Using these new skills: Use SPSS to create a frequency distribution of the Body Mass Index (BMI) of a random sample of 30 adults diagnosed with the depression (Table 1). Take a screenshot of the output (make sure the...
ONLY NEED LETTER J ONLY NEED LETTER J Comprehensive Problem 4 Part 1: Selected transactions completed...
ONLY NEED LETTER J ONLY NEED LETTER J Comprehensive Problem 4 Part 1: Selected transactions completed by Equinox Products Inc. during the fiscal year ended December 31, 20Y8, were as follows: 1. Journalize the selected transactions. If no entry is required, select "No entry required" from the dropdown and leave the amount boxes blank. For a compound transaction, if an amount box does not require an entry, leave it blank. a. Issued 15,000 shares of $20 par common stock at...
I. Read Chapters 1 to 3 from your Textbook. II. NCLEX Review Questions Chapters 1 to...
I. Read Chapters 1 to 3 from your Textbook. II. NCLEX Review Questions Chapters 1 to 3 III. Chapter 3 : Functional Assessment in the Elderly Patient Profile H.J., a 74-year-old African American male, is a retired army military officer. His wife of over 50 years passed away four years ago. He has four daughters and two sons who are all grown and married. He has fourteen grandchildren with a great-grandchild on the way. His son brought him to the...
Letter # 1: Routine Request Assignment: Write a letter to your instructor requesting a letter of...
Letter # 1: Routine Request Assignment: Write a letter to your instructor requesting a letter of recommendation. You may be applying to graduate school, for a scholarship, for an internship, or for a full-time job. You select the scenario that is most applicable to your current situation. Preparation: Review Chapter 7: Writing Routine and Positive Messages (Especially pgs. 169-170) Format: Use the modified block letter format for this assignment. Please refer to page 421-423 for an explanation of the block...
1. Write a Formal Letter: SOLICITED LETTER: Write a cover letter for an advertised job, or...
1. Write a Formal Letter: SOLICITED LETTER: Write a cover letter for an advertised job, or a job about which you have specific knowledge (perhaps a new opening at your current place of employment).
Summarize the 4 phases of glucose breakdown
There are 4 phases of glucose breakdown. Summarize the major events (include inputs/outputs/location) of each.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT