Sokolov/ALT

Fall 2015
Scarlet Letter Essay Topics

Length:

3-4 pages, double-spaced in Times New Roman. Hand in brainstorming

and drafts with the final copy.

Essay Topics. Choose one:

1) Trace one symbol throughout the novel. To narrow your topic even further,
focus on the relationship of the symbol to a particular character. Does the
meaning of this symbol change throughout the course of the novel or remain
the same? Ultimately, what is Hawthorne trying to achieve or argue through
the relationship of symbol to character?

2) Trace Hawthornes use of nature symbolism. Does Hawthorne reconcile how

nature should be viewed? Is it dark and devilish, like the Puritans see it, or
spiritual and triumphant, like the Transcendentalists see it? How does
Hawthornes treatment of nature as a theme correspond to his argument
about Puritan society? To narrow your focus, you might choose one particular
element of nature, or you might choose one particular chapter in which
nature plays a large part.

3) Trace Hawthornes view of gender roles. Does he come out as conventional,

unconventional, or somewhere in between? Feminist, anti-feminist, or protofeminist? Take into consideration both his characters, their actions and
dialogue, as well as narrative portions that reveal Hawthornes opinion. How
might gender be a way for Hawthorne to critique Puritanism? To narrow your
focus, you might focus on a particular character or relationship.
4) A combination of 2 and 3. Or, devise your own topic with my approval.
General tip:
Write your essay based on specific, close readings of Hawthornes language and
techniques. The first step to achieving such an essay is to study the text, annotate,
ask and answer questions, brainstorm, complicate, and repeat as necessary.

Thesis Tip: When drafting your thesis, acknowledge that you will need to make
many attempts before the thesis is analytical enough, and phrased correctly. Be ok
with writing Thesis attempt #1, and so on. A way to reach a compelling and
complex thesis is to ask of each attempt, Why? or How? The first attempt of
your thesis may very well be simplified, but that is ok, as with each subsequent
attempt you will get deeper and more insightful.
Sample brainstorming/thesis writing process:
To the question Is Chillingworth evil? you might start with Thesis Attempt #1: Yes,
Chillingworth is evil. Okbut why? Thesis 1.5: He is evil becausehe seeks
revenge. Ok, buta reader knows that from reading the novel one time. You need to
discover something in the text to make a more interesting claim. Ok, if I have to study the
text, I could go back to an annotation I had where I wondered why does Chillingworth
bequeath his property to Pearl. Good question! There isnt an immediate answer. That
means its an analytical in. The text says At old Roger Chillingworths decease, (which took
place within the year,) and by his last will and testament, of which Governor Bellingham and
the Reverend Mr. Wilson were executors, he bequeathed a very considerable amount of
property, both here and in England, to little Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne (164).
There are a lot of interesting questions and insights that come out of this passage. Why did
he die within the year? Was he heartbroken? What does it mean that he planned ahead,
legally, for Pearl to inherit his property? He must have been really serious about this. What
did Pearl mean to him? The passage says to little Pearl, as if this were the language of the
will. Ohthat could be a good close reading! But at this point, Pearl is grown up. Does
Chillingworth still wish she were a child? Does he wish she were HIS child? This could
connect to my readings of the infant scene in the prison, when Chillingworth says he wont
poison baby Pearl with his medicine. He defends himself, saying and were it my child,--yea,
mine own, as well as thine!I could do no better for it (52). Maybe Chillingworth isnt so
purely evil after all. Maybe he is really hurt that he couldnt be a father. So my thesis
attempt #2, after studying some text, thinking, and asking and answering questions, is:
Chillingworths evil behavior is motivated by his genuine hurt at losing his wife
and the lost opportunity to be a father. Thats better. It would be neat to investigate
the scenes where Chillingworth interacts with Pearl to see if his longing for her is arguable. I
could look at the scene where Pearl might be taken away from Hester, and the scene where
Chillingworth sees her on the graveyard. I wonder if evil is even the right word. Thesis
attempt #3: While Chillingworth is traditionally viewed as an evil character who
harms out of revenge, in fact, he is a hurt husband who acts out of jealousy that
he could not be Pearls father. Interestingnow the thesis has lost the wife partI
think I really do want to just focus on Chillingworth and Pearl. Perhaps Chillingworths
behavior towards Dimmesdale could support this reading, like when he talks about Pearl in
Dimmesdales presence. I need to study those scenes! Going back to the first quote, why
does Chillingworth give her property in England AND America? Is England where he might
have been her father? Another close reading potential. In the language of the will, he
emphasizes that Pearl is the daughter of Hester Prynne. He leaves open who the father is,
perhaps to allow room for himself?! I will definitely use that passage, and do lots of close
readings there. I just looked at the cemetery sceneChillingworth says of Pearl to
Dimmesdale, What, in Heavens name, is she? Is the imp altogether evil? Hath she
affections? Hath she any discoverable principle of being? (89). We see Chillingworths anger
and resentment here, but Im also interested in that word affections. One could almost
argue that he is asking, Hath she affectionsfor me? The earlier scene where Hester
might have to give up Pearl has Chillingworth asking the assembled men if, by analyz[ing]
that childs nature, and from its make and mould,[can one] give a shrewd guess at the

father? (78). We know hes interested in paternity, in finding out who the father is. But his
understanding that the girl might LOOK like the father underscores how she WONT look like
him. Thesis #4: While Chillingworth is traditionally viewed as an evil character
who harms out of revenge at being cuckolded, in fact, his cruel actions evolve out
of his desire to have been Pearls father; By redeeming Chillingworth at the end
of the novel, Hawthorne argues for forgiveness, an attitude not commonly seen in
Puritan society.
And so on!