Rhetorical Analysis Of Hester Prynne - 862 Words

In his work â€Å"On the Scarlet Letter,† D.H. Lawrence addresses the controversial character of Hester Prynne. He is just one of many critics who have analyzed Nathaniel Hawthorne’s fictional character, where some look to her as a hero and others blatantly shame her for her sin. Lawrence makes up the latter of this crowd, and is able to prove his case in a very meaningful manner. The critic believes that Hawthorne sugarcoats Hester’s image, and tries to make it look as if she is the victim of the tale. Disregarding this sympathy, he addresses the root cause of her sin rather than its consequences. As he writes, he uses a multitude of literary techniques to help convince readers of Hester’s seemingly evil character, using descriptive diction, a†¦show more content†¦He does this sarcastically and in a way that provokes a reaction out of the reader. Nonetheless, he goes on to mock the couple and point out how Hester had purposely ruined a once pure man in Dimmesdale. Instead of being depicted as the victim as Hawthorne does, Lawrence uses this line to point the woman out as a villain. Eager to assert his point, he further mentions that â€Å"When Hester Prynne seduced Arthur Dimmesdale it was the beginning of the end† (Lawrence). Insulting the woman, Lawrence continues to imply on how it was all Hester’s fault that everything fell apart. She had initiated the romance and from there nothing was ever the same. In this case, he states it figuratively by over exaggerating on how her actions would doom them all for the â€Å"end.† It is with this tone that the reader knows what judgements Lawrence holds for Hester, and on how the rest of his paper would play out. Biblical allusion is the final device used to attack Hester Prynne and her sin. Using these, Lawrence is able to illustrate his beliefs and connect Hester’s wrongdoings to other literary works. He first takes on the character of Pearl, remarking on how as an infant she was â€Å"to redeem the world† and on how â€Å"It will be a startling redemption the world will get from [this] American infant† (Lawrence). While this quote does attack Pearl, it also shames her mother. Being the living example of Hester’s sin, Pearl is compared to the holy being of JesusShow MoreRelatedThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1359 Words   |  6 Pagescharacters Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, and Hester and how they change from the sin. In the beginning Chillingworth is painted as a man â€Å"well stricken in years, a pale, [and] thin† (6) man that slithers into the market place. After finding out that his wife, Prynne, has committed adultery he blames himself by saying he â€Å"betrayed [Hester’s] budding youth into false and unnatural relation with his decay† (78). By saying this, he is telling her that he married young Hester without acknowledging who she is asRead More New Historicism, Feminist Criticism and Deconstruction in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter3014 Words   |  13 Pagesis necessary. Critical perspectives at a glance Feminist Criticism, New Historicism and Deconstruction share at least one common ground: They are part of contemporary critical perspectives. The literary text serves as a basis for further analysis of which poststructuralist methods are then applied in order to arrive at an interpretation. The general assumption that the three different perspectives are related to poststructuralist criticism seems to conflict with our knowledge of historical