Scapegoats In The Scarlet Letter And The Awakening

Scapegoats in The Scarlet Letter and The Awakening The act of blaming others for problems is a common phenomena that occurs not only in our society, but also in literature. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Pearl Prynne represents the scapegoat. Throughout the novel, the townspeople put the blame of Hester Prynne s sin on Pearl and Hester grows as a person. Pearl gives Hester a daily reminder of her sin and Hester grows to becomes a happier, better person in response. In addition, another example of a scapegoat is Leonce Pontellier and the children, from Kate Chopin’s The Awakening. Edna Pontellier blames her husband and children for holding her back from reaching happiness and independence. All things considered, the†¦show more content†¦Overall, the archetype of a scapegoat, in literature or history, exemplifies an important role. The scapegoat is a character that has an important tie to the problem the protagonist. In other words, the scapegoat isn’t a random person, and one of the biggest scapegoats in literature was Tom Robinson. Although Tom wasn’t blood related to the Finch’s, Atticus was representing Tom in trial, which is the relation to the protagonist in this novel. As shown above, a scapegoat is a valuable person in literature, as well as real life. They provide a connection to the protagonist that is not like any other character. All in all, the archetype of a scapegoat is imperative in literature and the world, and continues to impact our society everyday. The archetype of a scapegoat is represented by Pearl Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. In the novel, the townspeople view Pearl as a personification of Hester Prynne s sin, and they do not treat her fairly because they only see her as the result of a horrible crime. And although Hester doesn’t see Pearl in this light for the most part, there is a time in which her view on her daughter changes. The village blames Pearl because they need to find someone to blame it on, which illustrates the role of a scapegoat in a novel. A scapegoat is an innocent character in which a problem is blamed on. In this case, the puritans put responsibility on Pearl because they can not blame Hester anymore. She isShow MoreRelatedVampire Diaries61771 Words   |  248 Pages/* /*]]*/ THE AWAKENING Vampire Diaries Volume 1 By Lisa J. Smith Contents Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter ThreeChapter Four Chapter FiveChapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter NineChapter Ten Chapter ElevenChapter Twelve Chapter ThirteenChapter Fourteen Chapter FifteenChapter Sixteen Are you having a good time? Elena asked. I am now. Stefan didnt say it, but Elena knew it was what he was thinking. She could see it in the way he stared at her. She had never been so sure of