The Development of the Atomic Theory free essay sample

The Development of the Atomic Theory Have you ever wondered how the atomic theory came to be? Or have you have wondered who it was that helped in its development? There was not just one man who came up with the atomic theory, but there were many scientists that contributed to its development. One of these scientists was Democritus, a Greek philosopher. Democritus was the son of Hegesistratus, and he was a student of Magians and Chaldaeans. By some authorities he was thought of as the greatest of the Greek physical philosophers. He was born in Abdera in Thrace sometime between 470 and 460 BC. Democritus studied under the Greek philosopher Leucippus, whose system he later on developed further. Democritus visualized atoms; atom is a Greek word for indivisible, which means as moving through space, then colliding to form the universe and the natural objects in it. Democritus was said to have excelled in all the branches of knowledge. We will write a custom essay sample on The Development of the Atomic Theory or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"His name was associated with the first exposition of the atomic theory of matter, according to which all matter is composed of single, indivisible atoms exactly alike qualitatively.† (Greek: pg 1) His theory was different from the theory of early philosophers, who believed that matter was composed of particles that differed qualitatively from each other, and that disagreed only concerning their differences. Democritus believed that the first principles of the universe were atoms and empty space, and that everything else was only thought to exist. He also believed that the space which the atoms moved in and their motion within that space was without end. Democritus’ theory also included that atoms were unlimited in size and number, and that they generate all composite things. He wrote extensively on the nature of matter, but only fragments of his original work still remain today. Democritus also contributed to ethics, theology, and psychology. The second scientist that helped in the development of the atomic theory was John Dalton, who was an English chemist. The idea of the atom was first suggested by Democritus, but his assumption was said to not be useful in explaining chemical phenomena, because he did not have experimental evidence to support those assumptions. It was the late 1700’s when early chemists began to explain chemical behavior in terms of the atom. â€Å"Joseph Priestly,  Antoine Lavoiser, and others were the ones that set the stage for the foundation of chemistry.†(Early pg.1) They did this by demonstrating that substances can combine to form new materials. It was John Dalton, though, who put the pieces together and helped in the development of the atomic theory in 1803. In Dalton’s theory he had five basic assumptions the first one stated that all matter consisted of tiny particles called atoms. Dalton along with others anticipated the atoms that composed all matter as tiny, solid spheres in different stages of motion. The second assumption was that atoms are indestructible and unchangeable. Atoms of an element cannot be created, destroyed, divided into smaller pieces, or transformed into atoms of another element. Dalton based this hypothesis on the law of conservation of mass which was stated by Antoine Lavoisier and others around 1785. The third assumption was that elements are characterized by the weight of their atoms. Dalton suggested that all atoms of the same element have equal weights. Therefore, every single atom of an element, such as oxygen, is alike to every other atom. On the other hand atoms of different elements, like oxygen and mercury, differ from each other. The fourth assumption was that in chemical reactions, atoms combine in small, whole-number ratios. The experiments that Dalton and others performed indicated that chemical reactions happen according to atom to atom ratios which were accurate and well-defined. The fifth assumption was that when elements react, it is possible that their atoms may join in more than one whole-number ratio. Dalton used this hypothesis to describe the reason it was that the ratios of two elements in various compounds, such as oxygen and nitrogen in nitrogen oxides, differed by multiples of each other. John Dalton’s theory was accepted because of its explanation of the law of conservation of mass, definite proportions, multiple proportions, and other observations. The third scientist that helped in the development of the atomic theory was Robert Millikan, who was a Nobel Prize winning physicist and one of the best known scientists in America. He was born in Morrison, Illinois. His father and mother were Silas Franklin and Mary Jane Millikan. Robert Millikan went to college at Oberlin in 1887 where he then began to have an interest in problem solving and experimentation. In 1893, after receiving his master’s degree, he was given a fellowship by Columbia University. Later, Millikan became a teacher and wrote several  physics textbooks. Robert Millikan realized that he was going to have to do important research if he wanted to make a name for himself, so he began to search for a research project that could produce fundamental results. Scientists in the past had estimated that the electron was a subdivision of the atom with a unit charge of constant value. Then in 1907 Robert Millikan began to explore ways to measure that charge. He then refined the method that was developed by the Scottish physicist C. T. R. Wilson, and Millikan developed the â€Å"oil drop experiment.† Then over the next few years he refined it, and then finally in 1913, Millikan published the value of the electronic charge. â€Å"He showed that the mass of an electron was truly 1/2000 of the simplest type of hydrogen atom. His experiment also showed that the charge to mass ratio was very high. This meant that although the mass of an electron is much smaller than that of a hydrogen atom it has about the same size charge as a negative ion of hydrogen.†(Robert 1909 pg 1) The fourth scientist that helped in the development of the atomic theory was James Chadwick, who discovered the neutron in 1932. He was born in 1891 in Manchester, England, and he graduated from Manchester University in 1911. He then stayed to work with Ernest Rutherford. Chadwick created an experiment that would help to answer the question of an unknown nucleus mass source. He smashed alpha particles into beryllium, a rare metallic element. He then allowed the radiation that was released from it to hit another target which was paraffin wax. After the beryllium radiation hit the hydrogen atoms in the wax, the atoms were sent into a detecting chamber. In physics it was recognized to be the only particle to have approximately the same mass as a hydrogen atom. The results of the experiment showed that an impact with beryllium atoms would release enormous neutral particles, which Chadwick called neutrons. This provided the answer for the hidden mass in atoms. His discovery helped to develop experimental work for all scientists. Because neutrons do not have any electrical charge, neutrons fired from a source have the capability to go through deep layers of materials and go to the nuclei of the target atoms. After Chadwick’s work, scientists all over began to attack all types of materials with neutrons. The fifth scientist who helped develop the atomic theory was J.J Thomson, who discovered the electron in 1897. He put his work towards a new theory that stated the atom was made up of small particles. Thomson discovered the  electrons, and he proved his theory with the use of the cathode ray tube. Scientists did many experiments, trying to find the structure of the atom. They passed an electric current through a vacuum tube, and saw light glowing inside the tube. It traveled in a straight line and they were not able to explain it. J.J. Thomson began doing more experiments on the cathode tube. He put two electric plates in its path, one of which was positively charged and another which was negatively charged. The glowing light bent towards the positively charged plate, and he found that the glowing light was smaller particles that were even smaller than the atom. In conclusion to this experiment, J.J. Thomson found the particle called the electron, and so his atomic theory was found. He stated that electrons came out of the trace gas that was inside of the cathode tube. Then because of what he stated, a new theory which said that atoms were made of tiny particles came to the attention of people. Thomson discovered the electrons, and it was then proved that atoms are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons, and he also proved that the atom was divisible. Because the atom was neutral, he suggested that the negatively charged electron was equal to the positively charged proton, and that neutrons did not have charges. He also suggested considering the atom as a sphere, with positively charged particles. These positively charged particles were surrounded by the negatively charged electrons which were placed there because of electrostatic forces. Mattheis 6 The sixth scientist that helped in the development of the atomic theory was Ernest Rutherford who was born in New Zealand. Rutherford worked with and studied under James Chadwick in England. He performed many experiments with radioactive alpha particles. At the time it was unclear what that alpha particle was, they just knew that it was very tiny. Rutherford fired tiny alpha particles at solid objects such as gold foil. He found that most of the alpha particles would pass through the gold foil, but there was a small amount that passed through at an angle and bounced straight back. These experiments that he did suggested that gold foil, and mater had holes in it, and that these holes allowed most of the alpha particles to pass directly through. There was still a small amount though that bounced straight back because they hit a solid object. In 1911 Rutherford  anticipated a ground-breaking view of the atom. He suggested that the atom was made up of a small, and dense core of positiv ely charged particles in the center or nucleus of the atom, and that they were enclosed in a swirling ring of electrons. The alpha particles bounced off because the nucleus was so dense. The electrons were very small, and they spread out to great distances so then the alpha particles were able to pass through the area of the atom. Rutherford’s atom represented a tiny solar system with the positively charged nucleus always at the center and the electrons that revolved around the nucleus. In the development of the atomic theory there were many scientists that contributed to it by experiments, research, and hard work. Because of what all these scientists researched and learned we have all this information on the atomic theory today. If it had not of been for their research and dedication, we would not know the things we know about the atomic theory.

Why you Vote essays

Why you Vote essays 1920, this year should ring a bell in everybodys mind. Especially in the minds of over 50% of this class. 1920 is the year that women earned the right to vote. After 75 years of struggles, fighting, defeats pain s society, we take for granted the passion that many people gave to fight for our right to vote. I am here to tell you why you as an American should vote. 2 weeks ago, our nation participated in a ritual that only takes place once every 4 yrs. Some of us went to the polls and voted for the next leader of our country, the President and Vice President of the United States. Now, here we are 2 weeks, later and we still dont know who our next president will be. There are many different ideas and opinions circulating around of why this country is in such turmoil over the election. In the Miami Herald on Tuesday November 14, George Meyers suggested that not enough people voted; therefore the #s were too close for comfort. After listening to many people discuss the issues at hand I realized that nearly 50% of the people who were complaining about the drawn out voting process were non-voters These non voters, focusing on our age group give two primary reasons on why they dont vote. One is that young people are just not interested in politics and the other is that our voted does not matter. However, both of these arguments re invalid. Sure th ere are many young people who Have no idea of politics and t even know who the candidates were. It is hard to say whether or not these people are just lazy or if they really dont care. On the other hand there are many yo...

Functions of the Apostrophe

Functions of the Apostrophe Functions of the Apostrophe Functions of the Apostrophe By Mark Nichol This post discusses the three primary functions of the apostrophe in the English language: the marking of the possessive case in nouns, the marking of the omission of one or more letters, and the marking of plurals of individual characters. (The obsolescence of apostrophes with abbreviations is also discussed.) Marking Possessives Apostrophes are employed in conjunction with the possessive s, as shown in the following examples: singular common nouns: â€Å"the farmer’s daughter† singular proper nouns that end in s: â€Å"Chris’ job† or â€Å"Chris’s job† (depending on which style one employs) plural common nouns: â€Å"the farmers’ daughters† plural common nouns that end in s: â€Å"the dogs’ bowls† plural proper nouns ending in s: â€Å"the Thompsons’ party† (no s at the end of the name); â€Å"the Simmonses’ car† (s at the end of the name) compound words: â€Å"mother-in-law’s tongue† separate possession: â€Å"John’s and Jane’s houses† joint possession: â€Å"John and Jane’s house† Note, in the case of proper nouns ending in s, the distinction between the first example, which refers to a party hosted by the Thompsons, and the usage Thompson’s, which refers to something belonging to Thompson. Lack of attention to this distinction is the cause of frequent errors in signage, as when a sign referring to the inhabitants of a residence reads, â€Å"The Thompson’s.† This truncation of â€Å"the Thompson’s house† literally indicates that it is the house of the Thompson and therefore is incorrect; it should read, â€Å"The Thompsons’.† Irregular plural nouns such as mice are treated according to the pertinent rule above, as in â€Å"The mice’s whiskers twitched with curiosity.† Also, nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning technically take an apostrophe with no s (â€Å"the scissors’ handle,† though â€Å"the handle of the scissors† is easier to read and say). This rule applies to similar proper nouns (â€Å"Highland Estates’ bylaws†). Another exception is in the phrase â€Å"for goodness’ sake.† Attributive forms, as opposed to possessive forms, do not take an apostrophe (â€Å"veterans affairs†). The distinction is subtle, but test for the correct form by determining whether the phrase refers to an entity that exists for a given group (â€Å"veterans affairs†) or belongs to it or is organized by it (â€Å"farmers’ market†). Names of holidays should be styled according to who or what they honor: â€Å"Mother’s Day† is treated as such, for example, because although the day is for all mothers, one traditionally honored only one’s own mother, while Presidents’ Day commemorates all presidents. (â€Å"Veterans Day† is an anomaly.) Insertion or omission of apostrophes is also inconsistent in proper names in general, especially in geographical locations (â€Å"Pikes Peak,† but â€Å"Martha’s Vineyard’) or names of entities such as companies and organizations (Barclays, but McDonald’s). When an italicized term takes the possessive form, the apostrophe and the s are not italicized (as in â€Å"The Wizard of Oz’s enduring charm†). Contraction Apostrophes mark elision of one or more letters or numbers, as shown in the following examples: don’t (â€Å"do not†) o’clock (â€Å"of the clock†) c’mon (â€Å"come on†) let’s (â€Å"let us†) l’il (little) OK’d (in place of OKed) ’tis (â€Å"it is†) will-o’-the-wisp (will-of-the-wisp) â€Å"rock ’n’ roll† (â€Å"rock and roll†) f’c’stle (forecastle) O’Hara (â€Å"of the Hara,† from Gaelic Eaghra) ’60s (1960s) Many writers are confused about this function in some usage, erroneously apostrophizing possessive pronouns such as its (resulting in the erroneous it’s) and plural nouns such as apples (confusing them for possessive forms, as in a sign reading â€Å"Apple’s on sale†). Also, plural possessives pertaining to time frames are often mistakenly rendered as singular possessives (â€Å"two week’s notice†) or as plurals (â€Å"two weeks notice†); the proper form is â€Å"two weeks’ notice,† because the notice â€Å"belongs† to two weeks. (Note, however, the absence of an apostrophe in the phrase â€Å"two weeks late† because weeks is plural but not possessive.) Another frequent error is confusion of use of the apostrophe as the first character in a term. When contracting a word by beginning with an apostrophe, as in ’tis and â€Å"rock ’n’ roll,† or when contracting a number representing a four-digit year to the last two digits, as in the last example in the list above, precede it with an apostrophe- not an open single quotation mark (‘)- but indicate a range of years with a plural s alone (1960s), not with an apostrophe and an s; reserve that form for possessives (â€Å"1960’s most significant event,† in which a year, not a decade, is under discussion). Also, an apostrophe should follow a number, whether spelled out or in numeral form, only in a possessive sense or as a contraction, as in â€Å"The 4’s diagonal line is sometimes formed vertically† or â€Å"This hundred’s a counterfeit bill.† Plurals of Individual Characters An exception is made for using possessives to indicate plurals of lowercase letters, as in â€Å"Mind your p’s and q’s,† â€Å"Label the x’s and y’s,† and â€Å"There are two m’s in accommodate.† Also, the first of these examples shows an additional exception, one to the style rule that letters are italicized when employed to refer to themselves, as in â€Å"Write an s in the square and an r in the rectangle.† (Normally, plurals of uppercase letters do not feature an apostrophe- and are not italicized- as in â€Å"the three Rs† and â€Å"I got three As, two Bs, and a C on my report card.†) Apostrophes with Abbreviations Apostrophes at one time were employed with a following s to indicate plurals of nouns styled as initials followed by periods, as in M.D.’s to indicate more than doctor or R.S.V.P.’s to refer to multiple responses to an invitation, because although those forms look awkward, M.D.s and R.S.V.P.s appear even more so. However, use of periods with initials is becoming obsolete, and an apostrophe in MDs and RSVPs is unnecessary. (Many newer coinages such as CDs and DVDs generally postdate widespread usage of periods in initialisms.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should AvoidIs There a Reason â€Å"the Reason Why† Is Considered Wrong?10 Writing Exercises to Tighten Your Writing

Smokers in Engineering Classes vs. Liberal Arts Classes Statistics Project

Smokers in Engineering Classes vs. Liberal Arts Classes - Statistics Project Example This is the best platform used to ask them their class and if they have a smoking habit. A lot of information gathered was taken from the gym and the field where most students seem to freely interact with their classes. If more students with or without a smoking habit go to the gym then we may have a conclusion that the class has more students who smoke than the other one. We decided to test the claims that less than 80% of college students smoke in engineering classes and less than 60% of students smoke in liberal arts classes and that students in liberal arts classes smoke more than engineering students did. This pertains to the economy because finding extra coins to smoke is hard and the costs of attaining college classes are rising because of the cost of living (Lejuez, 180). The survey undertook a population of 56 males and 45 females from each class to find out whether or not they have a smoking habit. While collecting the data there were some shortcomings in that not most students attend the gym and so the data collected might not be 100% accurate. The other shortcomings some students were already at school while others were working. Even though the data and the result collected may not be accurate, interview as a method of collecting data has appeared as the most appropriate method of collection of data. This is because it gives you a direct systematic conversation between the interviewer and the respondent, therefore, giving you the ability to judge if the information is relevant or not. The research design will adopt descriptive statistics that is it will summarize the quantities gathered by use of tables and pie charts to arrive at the findings and inferential statistics that is the estimation of the parameters and testing of statistical hypothesis. According to the data collected, it can be seen that 58.93% of the males in Engineering classes  smoke while they are still in college and that 41.07% of students in liberal Arts classes smoke while still in school.

Cultures in Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cultures in Conflict - Essay Example In the nineteenth century the Jews, like the Christians and the Muslims, went through a phase of conflict -- the struggle between reformers and conservatives. Among the Muslims, the Greeks, and the Armenians, the reformers won. Among the Jews, they lost. For this the Jews paid a price. Compared with their Christian neighbors they fell steadily behind. The Jews had cast their lot, not surprisingly, with the reactionary forces among the Turks. The destruction in 1826 of the Janissary Corps, the old military order, with which the Jews had important links, was a heavy blow. The rise of Russia and the growth of Russian influence were also not very helpful to Jews in the Ottoman Empire. Later in the century there was a certain upswing in the entrept trade of Salonica with its ties to the West, but despite improved education, which was fostered most notably by the Alliance Isralite Universelle, the effort came too late. They were caught in the circumstances which led to the end of the Ottoman Empire and the transformation of the entire region. Language has barely been mentioned in this discussion of the major communities of the Ottoman Empire. ... However, the language of ritual was not necessarily the language of the street or the home. While the hierarchy of the Greek Or thodox church was both ethnically and linguistically Greek, the parish clergy and flock was a polyglot mass speaking almost as many languages as were spoken in the empire itself. In the Balkans there were speakers of Slavic and, in the case of Rumanian, a Romance language. To the south of Anatolia there were Arabic-speakers. In Anatolia itself, according to observers during the nineteenth century, the majority of the communicants of the church did not know Greek at all, as their native language was Turkish or Armenian. In Anatolia the Greek Orthodox who were literate wrote in Greek script, but the language many of them transcribed was Turkish or Armenian. The Ottoman Empire was a classic example of the plural society. An acute observer of similar societies in South Asia defined them with the following description which applies equally well to the Ottoman world: . . . probably the first thing that strikes the visitor is the medley of peoples. . . . It is in the strictest sense a medley, for they mix, but do not combine. Each group holds by its own religion, its own culture and language, its own ideas and ways. As individuals they meet, but only in the market-place, in buying and selling. There is a plural society, with different sections of the community, living side by side, but separately within the same political unit. Even in the economic sphere there is a division of labor along racial lines. (Furnivall 304-305) For all their shortcomings, plural societies did allow diverse groups of people to live together with a minimum of bloodshed. In comparison with the nationstates

Lost and Found Essay Example for Free

Lost and Found Essay It’s a story that many people have lived through, from one side or the other. You’re a child in a busy department store, tethered to your mother’s side by her firm grip on your hand, your eyes constantly drawn left and right by the colorful displays. She lets go to grab something or talk to a salesperson, and you see an exciting toy or stuffed animal and run to it. After playing with it for a few minutes you try to walk back, but your mother is gone. First a wave of confusion hits you, but it is quickly overcome by dread. You are alone and lost in a sea of noise and people. When great philosophers or authors talk or write of being â€Å"lost† they can mean all sorts of things, but few are as visceral as the feeling of being lost that a child in a situation like that can experience. Even if there’s a good chance the child is in no danger at all, the feeling of dread that accompanies feeling alone and lost in a crowded department store can be terrifying. Most people will have their first feeling of being lost as being literally, physically lost as children, whether it is in a department store, or in a large park, or simply down the next street. It makes sense, then, to start defining what it means to be â€Å"lost† with the experience of a child. What about that deep, philosophical â€Å"lost,† though? When people say they feel lost (as opposed to being physically lost) they often are referring to alienation of some sort. One way that people address alienation that serves as a good comparison is religion. People who believe strongly in their religion will often feel like they are spiritually â€Å"in place.† On the other hand, if some tragedy or crisis of identity strikes, they might suddenly feel spiritually lost. The same dread that a child who can’t find his mother feels in the department store can be felt by an adult who experiences a tragic accident and loses their belief in their religion. These definitions of lost could apply five hundred years ago just as easily as they apply today. I believe, though, that every era has challenges that are unique to it, and the information age is no exception. The â€Å"information age† really is aptly named, because in today’s fast-paced world we are hit with more information than any humans have ever faced. As modern people, we are constantly inundated with a flood of information everywhere we turn. Magazines and newspapers and books and nutrition labels and billboards and television programs – they’re all feeding us new information every waking moment. All these mediums pale in comparison to the true information mother lode though: the internet. With computers, people gain access to the vast majority of the world’s information at their fingertips. With the increasing popularity of internet-connected smart phones and tablet computers, though, this information is not only at our fingertips but alwa ys at our fingertips. What does the internet have to do with alienation and being lost? The sensory overload that Wikipedia and Youtube provide can be great for keeping people entertained, but it can also be all too easy to get lost in. Many people know the feeling of logging onto a computer or smart phone with a single goal in mind – sending an email, perhaps, or checking the weather next week – and spending not five minutes but an hour and a half, as the myriad attractions of the digital age distract them. Just like the child in the department store, people can be drawn to the colorful displays of the internet, and realize only when it is too late that they are lost. So, then, we can define (at least) three different ways that people can be lost. There is the physical â€Å"lost† – not knowing where you are physically. There is also the spiritual â€Å"lost† – not feeling at peace with your own existence. Finally, there is the information age â€Å"lost† – being trapped, pinned beneath ever-growing piles of information that your mind will never have time to process all of. All three of these forms of being lost have something in common: they feel bad, but are actually ultimately helpful. Since it’s been established previously that being lost is connected to being alienated, it might seem contradictory that it is actually a good thing. After all, those feelings associated with being lost – hopelessness, dread, despondence – are all quite uncomfortable and even painful to feel. Nobody likes to feel like they don’t know where they are in life, like they are out of place. No child likes the feeling of separation from their loved ones. And certainly nobody likes to look up and realize they’ve just wasted three hours of their lives they’ll never get back watching funny videos about cats on the internet. Overall, all the emotions that being lost makes people feel are negative – but all the negativity serves a purpose. Without darkness, there’s no light, and without being lost, there’s no being found. There’s an old stereotype that people who are on a bad path in life will never be able to clean up their act until they hit the lowest possible point, and in a way getting lost can be like that. Realizing that they are lost can be the ultimate wake up call. It’s easy to demonstrate how getting lost once or twice in a physical way can help someone. Going back to the example of the child in the department store, what is most likely to happen is that the child will have a harmless scare for a while and then be re-united with its mother. While in the short-term both the child and its parents will be scared, in the long-term the child will hopefully learn not to stray far from its parents in an unfamiliar place. If the person getting physically lost is an adult instead of a child, they may learn the value of being more prepared (by bringing a map on a road trip, perhaps) or even the value of asking other people for directions. Spiritual periods of being lost can be similarly helpful to a person’s growth and development. Someone who’s faith has never been tested may continue to go on acting as they do while life is easy, but if things get harder they won’t know what to do. On the other hand, if someone experiences a tragedy or unexpected twist in their life their faith might be challenged and tested. Even though they may feel horribly lost during this period, they may emerge from it with a new, stronger faith in their beliefs. On the other hand, if they find their beliefs to be lacking, they may instead have new personal revelations and growth that will lead them to a belief system that they more truly support. Getting lost in the information age is less easy to define than the more traditional ways people get lost. In many cases, people embrace the information overload and dive right in. Every day, people’s jobs and education can require them to submerse themselves in the sea of information that is the internet. It is hard to say what the consequences of people being inundated with so much information will be. The easy access (and unavoidable flood) of information is a relatively new thing, that has only been around to this degree for at most a bit over a decade, so the implications have yet to be seen. What is it to be lost? There are at least a handful of answers to this question, but in the broadest terms possible, being lost is being alienated from one’s surroundings. Everybody gets lost from time to time in one way or another, and that will likely never change. Getting lost can be uncomfortable and scary, but getting lost is an important part of life. Through getting lost and then finding themselves again, people can grow and learn more about themselves and their surroundings. So what is it to be lost? To be lost is to be in a state of change: to be lost is to be down, but coming back up, to be in trouble but in hope of being found again.

Scarlett Letter Essay -- essays research papers

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter has many characters that go through several changes during the story. For example, the young minister Dimmesdale, who commits the sin of adultery with Hester, greatly changes. He is the character that makes the most progress in the story. Dimmesdale, being a minister, acts as a role model to the townspeople. He is the last person who should commit a crime and lie about it, but in the end, he confesses to the town. The fact that he did confess illustrates his courage and morality. Hester and Dimmesdale’s affair goes undiscovered until Hester is pregnant and has a child without having her husband present. As her punishment, Hester is forced to stand on the scaffold in the middle of the market place, with an A on her chest. Dimmesdale hasn’t told anyone that he is the adulterer. He sits in the balcony with the Governor, and others, watching the display, without any expression or emotion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hester and Pearl go to the Governor’s home to deliver a pair of gloves, but more importantly to talk about the possibility of the government taking away her child. After Mr. Wilson asks Pearl a few questions, the Governor decides that Hester is unready to be a mother, and that the child would be better off in the hands of the church. Hester begs Dimmesdale, whom she says knows everything about her and has charge of her soul, to speak for her. Therefore, he does, convincing the Governor to let Hester kee...