Essay/Term paper: Letters from the heart

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Literature Essays

Letters from the Heart

I'm lonely. Being alone makes me feel like I'm lost, an outcast that doesn't deserve to stay

here with the ones I love. They all ignore me now, they all treat me like the sinner I am.It's cold

outside and as I wander from door to door seeking warmth and, perhaps, a little compassion from

my friends, I recieve neither. Perhaps I deserve it. They aren't sinners. How could they possibly feel

what I'm feeling right now?

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nethaniel Hawthorn, offers a dynamic outlook at the Puritan

Society. It was written in the Romantic era during one of Hawthorns flurry of creativity inspired

through his newly found political freedom. This book is a Romantic that deals with human

emotions such as guilt, love, lust, sin and how they were delt with in the puritan society.

The Romantic era was one of peace and tranquility. Romantics viewed the wilderness that

surrounded them as one of the devine souls, the other two being man and god. They are optomistic

as well as true non-conformists. They also believe that the basic human nature is good. Almost

everything is symbolic in the Romantic wold. Romantics rely on their strong sense of intuition

because they believe that there are things that lie beyond the senses.

The Scarlet Letter is written in the Romantic style. It contains many elements that

are vital to the Romantics. It is full of symbolism. For example, by the end of the story, how many

different ways could the letter "A" be interpreted? What about the lot described in the beginning?

Was Pearl Hesters child or was she symbolic of the wild life that sin leads to? The people in the

story seem to have an innate sense of intuition, much like the Romantics. They are constantly

reading each others feeling and reacting to them. Emotion plays a key role in the story. People

didn't ignore or hate Hester for her sins because, much like the Romantics, their basic nature was

good.

This piece is truly timeless. It encompasses the emotions and problems that an individual in

any society may face. Granted, the average individual is not forced to wear our sins for all to see,

nor are we punished in the same manner that the puritans were. However, we do carry our sins

inside, where we can see them. Perhaps, the reader might see this piece as an attempt to bring out

the good in some of todays non-moralistic society.