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Describe the character of Hester Prynne - BCR style. Be sure to Answer, Cite specific text, and Explain the connection

Hester Prynne is as portraid in the story a loyal, and sad woman who made a mistake and is now paying for it with the scarlet letter. shes been to jail had a baby and kept many secrets. but she also regrets ever keeping the child but it is also the only thing keeping her sane. "often impelled hester to ask if it were for ill or for poor that poor little creature had been born at all" this quote shows that she questions her decisions and is very undeceive. she has kept a secret about the identity of her husband and the father of her child and keeping the scarlet letter on her chest. she has stayed steadfast and loyal to these promises and punishments. at any tim she could have aken the letter off or even made a new dress and not brand the scarlet a on to it. or broken her promise and told the Governor. Nicholas T. Przybocki

Hester Prynne is an independent woman. She's been in jail, with a child, because she's committed adultery. Since she's been in jail she has no choose but to rely on herself. She also cares for her child. When she was being insulted on the pedestal it was "her first impulse to clasp the infant closet to her bosom"(pg 60). It's a motherly instinct. She doesn't want het child exposed to the nonsense and chaos around them. Hester doesn't care what people have to say about her either. When people were suggesting cruel punishment for her, "little will she care what they put upon the brodice of her gown"(pg58). She cares about herself and Pearl, her child. Hester is also a talented seamstress. Even though towns people scold get for her wrong doing, they admire her for the "A" she stitched and wears on her chest. Hester is a strong, independent woman. -Maryah Wright

Throughout the story, Hester Prynne demonstrates her unfaltering confidence that faith with pull her through in the end. She feels true guilt for her actions, and shows this by wearing the scarlet letter without fear or embarrasment wherever she goes. She takes pride in the fact that she will bear her punishment without flinching. However, underneath this determination is a deep sadness, caused by her desolation. In her intolerant Puritan society, adultery is considered a crime worthy of death. Even though Hester escaped that fate, the townspeople were determined to make her wish otherwise. Children throw mud at her, most adults shun her, and the whole town seems to continually invent new ways to torture her. An example of this is the attempt by the townspeople to take away her child. Hester has taken most punishment silently, but she is unable to bear this. When the Governor suggests that he ought to take Pearl away, Hester almost panics. "God gave me the child!" cried she. "He gave her in requittal of all things else, which ye had taken from me. She is my happiness! -- she is my torture, none the less!" (Chapter 8, Paragraph 10) Although Hester Prynne faces her punishment fully and unflinchingly, the wear of it is beginning to hurt her deeply. Her strength of character will be heavily tested throughout the story by the cold antipathy of the townspeople. Austin Farr

Hester Prynne is the main character in the novel "The Scarlet Letter" written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. From the first few chapters the reader can see that Hester is tenacious, considerate for her daughter. Hester is extremely stubborn during the first few chapters whenever she is harassed to confess who her "fellow sinner" may be. She is forced to stand on a raised platform among her fellow townspeople for three hours and demanded to tell the town who is the father of her dear daughter Pearl, before the assembly of townspeople by the minister and yet, she will still not speak the name of the man that has too sinned. She recognizes her husband that she hadn't seen since she arrived in Boston nearly two years prior, intermixed with men and woman in the crowd. He later visits Hester in jail and questions to who the father is, again, no direct answer. During the second chapter and so on, you can tell that Hester truly cares for Pearl because of the way she holds her close while she is standing on the scaffold even though she was being bullied by the audience of people she still held to Pearl because she is her daughter and she's proud even though she was the product of the 'sin' she was being humiliated of in the middle of town. Also, Pearl knows that she and her mother are different at a very young age when other children would tease her and throw mud at her, but Hester still cared for her and was horrified when she heard the rumors that Pearl may be taken away from her. That is really the Hester Prynne that I've seen in the first few seven chapters of "The Scarlet Letter". Hannah Hildebrandt

Hester Prynne is an interesting character. She committed adultry and in her society, this sin is usually punishable by death. She was able to escape this punishment, but the townspeople ensure that Hester knows that she shouldn't have gotten away with it. As she "stands a certain time on a platform" (63) everybody crowds around her. They call her gruesome names and throw many different things at her. Despite all of this torture, Hester doesn't seem to mind. She is percieved to be taking pride in her sin by having the letter "A" inscripted on her clothes but her guilt and regret hide behind this scarlet letter. She is a very strong woman who's main purpose in life now is to take care of her daughter, Pearl. Hester gives her daughter all of the love that she deserves and is going to ensure that Pearl never turns into the person her mother became. Deep down, Hester is disappointed with what she did, but her love and care for her daughter show that she is willing to accept the consequences and move on. Kayla Holman

Hester Prynne is being punished for adultery by wearing the scarlet letter A on her chest. Although she is being punished in front of the whole town she stays strong. As time goes on Hester puts her sins behind her and moves on she ignores all the negative comments toward her and Pearl. When the governor says Pearl will be taken a way from Hester, she is very angry, but stays calm by explaining to the governor that "God gave me the child, he gave her in requital of all things else, which ye had taken from me. She is my happiness!" This shows that she is strong willed and determined to give Pearl a good life and to forget her sins. Jessi Lane

Hester Prynne is an independent and strong woman. She has been put through many problems including being put in jail with her own child for commiting adultery. Since she committed this crime she also has to wear the scarlet letter A on her chest. Through all of this she still stays strong because she movies on and ignores all negative comments made about her or pearl. When she was insulted her first instinct was to "Claps the infant close to her bosom". When Hester hears that her child will be taken away she is angry but still calm because she claims that Pearl is her "Happiness". These quotes show that Hester is independent and strong because no matter all the trouble she is put through she still has faith in herself and still loves she daughter Pearl. Matt Moyer

Hester Prynne is a fascinating and interesting character. She has committed adultery which leads to the punishment of death. Instead of dying, Prynne was able to escape this incident even though the people around her do not agree. She was put into jail and decides to wear a scarlet letter A on the front of her chest to show her guilt and regret. Knowing that the letter draws bad attention, she is able to avoid it and doesn't seem to care. In the book it says  It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself. Meaning that Prynne turned into an independent woman after her release from jail, making her daughter Pearl one of her best friends. Hester is very disappointed in her decisions and her consequences are shown throughout the novel. But, Hester knows to flush it and carry on. Ryley Harper

The character of Hester Prynne is a very confident, faithful, yet a sinful young women. Wherever Hester goes, she must wear the scarlet letter on her chest because she comitted the crime of adultery. Because of her crime, Hester Prynne was forced to be put on public desplay infront of the whole town of Boston. In the book, it says, "Of an impulsive and passionate nature, she had fortified herself to encounter the stings and venomous stabs of public contumely." During this quote, Hester Prynne is being insulted while she is on the scafold. This quote describes how confident but sinful Prynne is. She is confident because she is able to stand infront of everyone, with just her baby, and be able to encounter the stings of everyones insults. Although she is confident, she also feels an extreme amount of guilt for her sin, which the citizens make clear that they did not approve of. Jonathan Hoyle

Hester Prynne is the building block to the "Scarlet Letter". Because of her committing adultery they flee her out of the town. Alienated from the town, the only person she has with her is her daughter Pearl. Before Hester married Roger Chillingsworth she was an outgoing, strong willed girl. She was confident in herself. Because Hester was also forced to wear the letter "A" on her chest; the whole town knows her sin. She walks with regret and shame on her face. Yet she is still genuine and kind and has a love for others. She grows more comfortable and confident in herself throughout the book. Hester's character makes the "Scarlet Letter" unique -Erin Bromhal

Hester Prynne is independent in two meanings of the word: she is self-supporting and individualistic, but is also disconnected from the people around her. One of Hester’s first actions in "The Scarlet Letter" is to step out of prison and into the market place. The narrator describes this as "an action marked with natural dignity and force of character... (she stepped) into the open air, as if by her own free will." (Hawthorne 61: Pink Book.) By stepping forward in this composed manner, Hester gives the impression that she is strong and self-governing. She is not ashamed of her crimes. In fact, the way she presents herself and her elegantly embroidered letter show that she still has a large amount of pride. By haughtily displaying her scarlet letter, Hester shows that she has accepted who she is and what she has done, even if others reject her. And they did reject her. Hester was isolated from the community. Wherever she went, no one could see past her scarlet letter. Many saw her "gliding silently through the town, with never any companion but one only child." (Hawthorne 99: Pink Book). She was alone and had to care for herself and her child without any steady income or support. Hester is able to deal with this isolation because of her independence. She supports herself and her child through work as a seamstress, and is able to get by with what she has and raise Pearl. -Sarah Meyers

The character Hester Prynne is a very independent and isolated woman. Hester is isolated from the rest of her town and sent to prison for the crime of adultery, which was punishable by death. Because she is isolated from everyone she therefore becomes an independent woman and has to care for her child by herself. The book shows her isolation from the quote "taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself." This is talking about how the scarlet letter she proudly wears on her dress makes people feel uncomfortable around her because of the crime she has committed. Still isolated from the rest of the townspeople Hester makes garments for people so she can provide money to raise Pearl. Hester does not receive any help to make these garments and raises Pearl single-handedly. -Tyler Blythe

Hester Prynne is a responsable woman. When she had Pearl, she felt it necessary to keep her, take care of her, love her, and teach her even though Pearl is a constant reminder to Hester of her life changing crime. Likewise, Hester likes having Pearl because she is a reminder of the crime she committed, which makes her responsible because Hester is voluntarily punishing herself in her own way; Pearl is a better punishment than the letter, and Hester feels like she deserved that. Hester is responsible when she didn't fuss when her husband, Chillingworth, told her that they should end their marraige and pretend that it didn't even happen, and Hester understands and agrees with Chillingworth. ~Ashley Jensen

Being an independent women in a world where people will look down on someone for it, is a very challenging path to take. It takes effort, dedication and responsibility. That is how i describe Hester Prynne. As someone who has been shunned from the world as well as having to take care of a baby on her own, she never once thought that she would give up. "But she named the infant Pearl, as being of great price- purchased with all she had- her mother's only treasure!" (Chapter 6) To raise this child, she had to be completely dedicated to her. She had to be willing to lay her life down in order to protect this baby. To sustain the two, Hester took up needlework, in order to pay for them both. This is not as easy feat. Hester had to do nothing but take care of the child. This took much energy and effort to raise a child by one's self. With the whole town not accepting her as an equal, she still paid her way and raised Pearl. Hester was completely responsible for Pearl as well. No matter what the child did, Hester had to take the responsibility of teaching what is right and what is wrong. When people wanted to take her away, Hester fought for her child, as long as she would raise her in the christian way. Hester, as a character, is a very strong person who knows what is right and what is wrong. She is very loyal to everyone and can also handle her own self in this negative world. By being who she is, Hester can raise Pearl to be a smart, strong, independent young lady, and that is what matters in the end. Lizzy Alexander

Despite everything Hester is expected to act like because of her disloyalty, she's clearly a genuine person. Her maternal instincts are imediatly shown even though the child she bore was against the expectations of her community. She shows her devotion to the child early on in the story when she stepped into her humiliation and onto the scaffold and it says,"her first impulse to clasp the infant closet to her bosom" pg 60. Later on in the story, she ignores the fact that she's alienated from the society and still gives food and clothing to the poor. Doing things for other people and taking such good care of the chid who started this whole mess, she begins to loose the shame of The Scarlet Letter. -Brooksley Baran