Essay, Research Paper

The Scarlet Letter and The Bean Trees

Functions of the Supporters

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, both writers cast their supporter as a individual, unwed female parent. Though the clip and puting that they are put into are really different and greatly effects the manner the character is portrayed, there are many similarities between the two chief characters.

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, the chief character, is scorned and ridiculed because of her secret and undue matter with Arthur Dimmesdale, the curate of the Puritan community. The consequence of Hester? s wickedness is her girl, Pearl. Not until the terminal of the novel does Hester uncover her kid? s male parent. When the magistrates ask Hester to state of her fellow evildoer, Hester answers? Never! It is excessively profoundly branded. Ye can non take it off. And would that I might digest his torment, every bit good as mine! ? By making this we can see how Hester is a adult female full of strength and power. Despite what has happened to her, she still continues on with her life and though she may demo shame and despondence on the exterior, inside she feels that she must travel on. She feels that she must go on for Pearl. Besides, but digesting Dimmesdale? s wrath, Hester shows even more bravery, but she besides reveals kindness and idea. Because of Dimmesdale? s place in society, Hester refuses to give away his name. She thinks of what could go on to him and how the curate of the community would be looked upon if what he did was unveiled. Hester besides presents a sense of independency in the book. In malice of the effects, she still manages to populate, although it? s on the outskirts of the community, and to take on the duty of Pearl. When she eventually decides the she needs her entire freedom, she rips off the vermilion missive and says, ? Let us non look back. The yesteryear is gone! Wherefore should we linger upon it now? See! With this symbol, I undo it all, and do it as it had ne’er been! ? With this action, Hester is seeking to free herself of the yesteryear. She wants to bury everything that has happened and go on on with her life. This, most of anything in the book, shows Hester? s chief qualities & # 8211 ; strength, independency, and bravery.

After reading The Bean Trees, I have come to detect that Hester and Taylor, the chief character in the narrative, are likewise in many ways. Marietta, as she was one time called, grew up in Kentucky with merely two things in head for when she grew up. The first 1 was to avoid acquiring pregnant, and the 2nd 1 is to acquire off. Now right off the chiropteran, it seems as if there could be no differences between Taylor and Hester. One, because Hester didn? t attempt to avoid acquiring

pregnant and two, because after all that Hester went through, she didn? t attempt to get away it, merely till the really end. But there are many similarities between the two. They are merely deeper within. Like Hester, Taylor is a really independent individual. She took off on her ain, trusting to set down someplace safe where she could do a new life. And that? s precisely what happened. But along the manner she encountered some obstructions. She is given a babe, non that she wanted it, but she had no other pick but to take it. To be able to take on the duty of a kid shows how strong Taylor is. Most people in the same state of affairs wouldn? Ts have accepted the kid. Taylor names the babe Turtle. Taylor has gone from populating with her female parent, to being on the route by herself and now is on the route with a kid. It seems as if the route has many more bumps than it did when she foremost started. Following she has to happen a topographic point to populate, which she does. But this is besides and hindrance because there is ever the money issue. Now that she has a kid to take attention of, Taylor needs to acquire a occupation. Besides, towards the terminal of the book, Taylor is on the threshold of acquiring Turtle taken off from her due to child services. On history of everything that has happened to her, Taylor says, ? I thought I? vitamin D had a reasonably difficult life. But I keep happening out that life can be difficult in ways I ne’er knew about. ? Even though everything that Taylor might hold gone through was difficult, she still had the strength and bravery to travel on, merely like Hester had the bravery to remain in the Puritan community and face all her obstructions every bit good. Taylor believes that everything happens for a ground. She says, ? For me, even bad things bring good luck. ? What she means is that all the obstructions that may hold affected her new life really turned out to take to something even better than she expected. This, in a manner, was besides the instance with Hester. Though Pearl was a changeless reminder of the wickedness Hester committed, she was besides Hester? s pride and joy. She was truly the lone thing that she had left and she was happy about that.

Hester Prynne was placed in a scene long earlier ours today and even long before that of Taylor Greer? s in The Bean Trees. In Puritan society, wickedness was forbidden. When Hester had Pearl, she lived shame for the remainder of her life. But if Hester were placed into the scene of Taylor, her wickedness would? ve been condoned. To hold an matter in these yearss is a wickedness, but it is merely between you and the individual that you hurt, non the whole community. And if Taylor were placed into the times of Hester, merely accepting a kid that? s non yours, even though she didn? Ts have it herself, would hold been a wickedness. The scene affects the characters, their actions, and the actions of others to a great extent.