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The Scarlet Letter

Although theme is sometimes used to signify recurring concepts in literature, the term is mainly used to express the general idea or argument in a literacy piece. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is not only one of the first great novels to be written in America, but also the first to combine different themes. Through the writing of Hawthorne we can see that he wanted to expose how the Puritans isolated themselves from those who were different from them. Also, he wanted to show that the characters in this story are human, which submits them to human frailty and the possession of immoral qualities. Isolation, morality, and human frailty are the themes used not only throughout the book but are the main themes in the novel.
Hester and Pearl Prynne are the obvious outcasts of Boston, Massachusetts. Living on the outskirts of the small town in a small abandoned cottage by the sea, Hester not only raises Pearl, but also Hester practices the art of her needle. It is the letter “A” upon her breast, which has brought her to this small place, to be pushed aside. Her adultery made Pearl and her separate from the rest of the town. But, one must not say that Hester was the only one that was isolated, it was also the whole Puritan society. “It might be a sluggish bond- servant… a Quaker, or other heterodox religionist was to be scourged out of town.”- Ch. 2, pg. 47, line 10- 14, this quote is a perfect example of the isolated Puritans, because it shows that anyone who was not the ideal Puritan was banished from the their society. Thus, one does not experience, learn, and teach, the ideas, beliefs, and cultures, to and of other societies. Secluding themselves from the world was really what they were doing. Back in the time when this story took place, other colonies believed to be foreign to their neighboring colonies, and it seems that the Puritans had the same way of thought, believing that Hester and Pearl were foreigners to the town. This theme of isolation...

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