Letter A

I do not think the Scarlett letter did its office because it would be much harder to live with the guilt deep inside of you then on the surface. Dimmsdale had a much harder time hiding his sin than Hester did showing her A. It is evident that Dimmsdale had a difficult time dealing with the sin keeping it to himself because he got sick and struggled to recover with the help of Chillingsworth. Hester is actually recovering in my eyes and is doing much better than Dimmsdale. She has nothing to hide because it is shown on her chest and she does not have to live with the guilt. The Scarlett letter did not do its job because Hester can live her life better when she is isolated with pearl than in the town. She does not deal with guilt daily like Dimmsdale and can hide her sin in the forest. 

The scarlet letter did not do its office

Trevor Krupp

The scarlet letter did not do its office

AKA: The scarlet letter did not do its job

            I think the purpose of the scarlet letter was to embarrass Hester and pearl. It also was to make Hester feel inferior to the rest of the people in the town. At first I think the scarlet letter did do its office, but now Hester made it into a positive. It made her into a better person and made it for a lesion for pearl to follow.

Did the Scarlet Letter do its Office?

The Scarlet Letter had an office, or job, to change Hester’s life and make her a better person; but also feel guilt. Based off events in the story, the Scarlet Letter absolutely did not do its job. Hester instead becomes a very negative and depressed citizen. She certainly felt a significant amount of guilt, but in no way became a better person. She is completely humiliated and degraded. The Puritans look at her as a criminal, an outcast, and most significantly a traitor of the law and god. She had thoughts of committing suicide, and was also threatened multiple times to have her child taken away from her. Both these events form her into an even more morose character, and in a poor state of mind. I also think she is not entirely regretful of her actions because she really loves Pearl. The combination of her self-punishments and the community’s punishment and their impacts show that the Scarlet Letter did NOT do its office.

Did the Scarlet letter do its job?

Spencer Altman

Period F

Did the Scarlet letter do its job?

I do not think that the scarlet letter did its job because it did not make Hester feel like an outcast.  Hester learned to live with it.  She was however ashamed that she had an affair with Dimmesdale.  Hester is very strong willed and seems to have a lot of self respect.  Hester was however quite alienated from the community which I can't imagine feels good and welcoming.  Hester is definitely a free thinker who has ideas that are outside of the box.  Hester is very capable even though people are very sexist against her and they dont always give her a fair chance.  The scarlet letter was located on her breast which is not seen by people so it was not very “out there”.  I think that if the letter was located on her face it would have shamed her more because every time someone sees her it would constantly remind her of what she did.  The only public shaming that Hester ever had was standing on the scaffold.  Hester redeemed herself of shame by doing good deeds which she felt made up for her sin.

Has the Scarlet Letter Done It's Office?

 The Scarlet letter has and has not done its office. The answer to the question is subjective to each considerations. On one hand, since Pearl was born 7 years ago, the townspeople have grown used to Hester and they are more accepting of her because "it is to credit the human nature, that except where selfishness is brought into play, it loves more readily than it hates."(140) Hester does not do anything to annoy or trouble the people, therefore they are without reason to judge and/or ridicule her.
Hester has taken an active role in bettering the well-being of the people as a whole by dedicating her time and labor to the less fortunate. Because she spends so much time helping others, they choose to change the A for adulteress to A for able. "The Scarlet letter had not done its office." (145)
But you could also say that the Scarlet letter has done a number on Hester. Her character changes to what would be almost repulsive if there was anyone close to her to be repulsed. Because of the adversity Hester has faced she has indeed changed to become a tougher woman in order to survive.
Hester has turned to thought, because she is alone in the world. It is speculated that if Hester did not have Pearl to raise she would have been a threat to the established Puritan society because of challenging convictions. If not for the Scarlet Letter damaging Hester's good standing, who knows what would have happened? The Scarlet Letter is supposed to be a punishment that is a message to uphold Puritan values so it has performed its office.

Chapter 13 office review

By chapter thirteen it has been seven years since Hester was marked down with the Scarlett letter mentally and physically on her chest. This also means that the sin of a daughter is also seven years old. The Scarlett letter has mentally and physically changed Hester for the good of her because Hester has grown from the horrible sin she committed and soon faced the life long debt of being looked at in a different way from the general public in her town. I think that the Scarlett letter has done its office and Hester has learned and became a better person from her past mistakes. Hester is a different woman from the one who committed a sin seven years ago and she has gave back to help other people. Hester gives back to other people by being a nurse to the sick people and she sows for others. She also is a main place to go when someone is in trouble. Hester has grown in many ways from the terrible sin she committed, which was having an affair with another man, who is Dimmesdale. She was married to Chillingworth, but still has not told the public and the people around her that Chillingworth is her husband. This is a way to protect Chillingworth and Dimmesdale from the truth and what could come of telling the truth. Overall, the Scarlett letter has done its office for Hester and she has grown past the letter to become a stronger woman.

Has The Scarlet Letter Done Its Office?

This is a tough question to answer because it can be argued both ways. I think that the scarlet letter has done its office because Hester is a totally new person now. She is helping the people who are sick in her town and helping the needy. She is also now making and sewing garments for the ones who have passed away in her town. I also think that the scarlet letter has done its office because now Hester has become a young woman. She now has to take care of her child Pearl and has to make sure that she is not influenced in a bad way.

In chapter 13, it explains all of these things mentioned above and then says "The scarlet letter had not done its office." In this chapter they also mention that some of the towns people are now mistaking the letter A for Affection instead of Adultery. This is followed up with a few lines that say things about how the towns people say that she is "their own Hester Prynne". They are now taking claim of her instead of showing hate or shame.

I also think that the scarlet letter has not done its office because she mentions how she wants to change society and how it is run with the rules and laws. At the end of the chapter, it says, " As a first step, the whole system of society is to be torn down and built up anew." I do not think that she should have a say in society anymore due to the fact that she committed adultery and that is such a high crime.

However, I think that this question could be argued the other way as well. One could say that Hester has learned a lesson and is now a better person because of this incident. She has pushed aside all of the shame and hate that people have given her and started to raise a young girl and live a life.

Scarlet Letter Response

Brian Gould
English 4 
Chapter 13 
Analyze the following line: "The Scarlet Letter had not done its office."  Do you agree or disagree?  Why?

I both agree and disagree with the book's text, stating that "The Scarlet Letter had not done its office." This means that it didn't do what it was supposed to do. Throughout the book I had thought that the point of the letter was to make Hester Prynne feel shame for what she had done but to also to learn from what she had done. So in one sense, with feeling the shame, the Scarlet Letter had not done its job because she had redeemed herself of the shame by doing good deeds and gaining some respect from the townspeople. However, if you look it in a different way, as in to make Hester learn from her mistakes, then I think it was a success because she didn't have another child, and commit the sin again or any sin for that matter, but she also tried to help others around her. I think it depends on how you look at the meaning of the letter.

Scarlet Letter Response

English 4

Mr. Merrill

Jeffrey Baker

Chapter 13 Response

Scarlet Letter Response: Analyze the Following Line: The Scarlet Letter had not done its office.” Do you agree or disagree? Why?

In my opinion, I disagree and agree with that statement because it did some of its office, but not all of it. People in her community are seeing her more as helpful as years keep passing rather than a person who committed Adultery. One thing that the Scarlet Letter has done for her is getting her to stop and think about how it is affecting her daughter and all the people around her. She always has to worry about whether to reveal Chillingworth’s identity. If anything, the Scarlet Letter provided Hester with a subliminal second chance to rethink and redo her life. Overall, the Scarlet Letter did its office, but at the same time, did not quite do its office because it helped Hester out as well as mentally scar her.