“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry./Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” (Colossians 3:5-6). Throughout The Scarlet Letter the main characters are both sinners, but over time they vindicate the reputation that they had once made with helping others and coming clean for the cleanse of their souls. Hester, the reason for this book has on one of the most simple things, she has committed adultery. At times Hester, the reason for this book has on one of the most simple things, she has committed adultery. At times it does not bother her, but of course like anyone when people are talking to you, it can get to you and it does for Hester Prynne. “... the judgement of God…” (Hawthorne 152). Although Hester had confidence in herself, Dimmesdale whom commit the same crime did not and felt guilt within himself. Dimmesdale was always hesitant and knew he did something wrong, but was glad no one knew. “‘What is it that haunts and tempts me thus?’ cried the minister to himself…” (Hawthorne 175). The sin of adultery will not be relieved from their conscious until they have confessed what they have done wrong. …show more content…
He won it indeed…” (Hawthorne 93) because the thought of his sin weighs heavy in his head. To overcome the shame put on themselves, Dimmesdale and Hester both help and give back to the community to try to relieve their actions of sin. “‘Thou shalt forgive me’ Cried Hester flinging herself on the fallen leaves beside [Dimmesdale]. ‘Let God punish! Thou shalt forgive!’” (Hawthorne 133). Trying to redeem their conflict made it easier for them to live, but still not as well as a
The Righteous Brook Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a complex story, each page having a deeper meaning than shown. One of those symbols is the brook. The brook represents the boundary between truth and falsity. Only Pearl interacts with the brook, but her attitude towards it affects her mother and father.
It is not really explored in the book “The Scarlet Letter” how Roger Chillingsworth plans to take revenge. But by reading you can see how Roger is getting revenge on the lovers. Simply by being a shadow over them Roger seems to get his revenge. If he is always there to remind them of their sin then that seems good enough for him. He seeks revenge on Dimmesdale’s mind, by constant torment.
In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Hester commits adultery with Dimmesdale and gets pregnant. The worst part about this sin is that this action affects so many people other than Hester. This sin affects two people in particular- Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. Her action causes a man of God, Dimmesdale, to become corrupt with many other sins and Chillingworth to become obsessed with revenge. Dimmesdale, a town minister, commits adultery with Hester and is the father of her daughter.
Despite committing adultery,Hester and Dimmesdale are saved. From the second chapter to the end of the book, Hester has been making up for her sins and dealing with the consequences of her actions. Even though dimmesdale did not confess until the enfo the book, he still suffered the consequences of his sin. Dimmesdale is saved because he confesses his sin to the whole town even though it was seven years late. “At last--- at last I stand upon the spot where, seven years since, I should have stood, here, with this women….”
Eva Meza Ms. Orr English III: 5 Due Date: November 25, 2014 Day Versus Night In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, day versus night is a reoccurring motif. Throughout the novel, people conceal their true identities and desires in the dark.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is convicted of adultery and the whole town ostracises her for her sin and the secrecy of who the father is, who is coincidentally their preacher, Reverend Dimmesdale. The town fails to find out the true identity of the father until he confesses seven years later after the birth of Pearl. While Hester is able to forgive herself with the help of her only treasure, Pearl, Reverend Dimmesdale does not forgive himself. When Rev. Dimmesdale fails to confess and forgive himself, he dooms his life forever because of the burden of his sin; but, not only did it hurt his life, it hurt Hester and Pearl and the rest of the community. Reverend Dimmesdale feels very guilty for not confessing to
In the same way, the characters in The Scarlet Letter determine their fate through their own actions. Similarly to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the theme of doing what one wants versus living up to societal expectations is, shown through the scenes that happen in the town of Boston, and the scenes that happen outside of it. The first instance where this occurs while inside of Boston is when Hester decides to defy her society by having a child with the man she truly loves. Even though the affair was with a man whom Hester loves, since she is already married when she has the affair, she is being publicly questioned, on a scaffold; about the name of the man, she had the affair. While on the scaffold, Hester felt “as if her heart [has] been
Guilt is a serious emotion that has the power to effect a person greatly. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne demonstrates the true meaning of guilt by focusing on the grave consequences that follow a culpable deed. Hester and Dimmesdale have committed the sin of adultery and must live with the guilt that accompanies this. Through Dimmesdale’s death, Hester’s ridicule, and the narrator’s depiction of human nature, guilt is clearly interpreted. Hawthorne defines guilt as physical, social, and emotional suffering caused by an irreversible sinful action.
Everyone makes mistakes, it is a part of being a human. It can come in different forms, from a quick look at a paper during a test, being tempted to do something, or even saying something with no intention. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the movie, The Crucible by Arthur Miller, the main characters attempt to achieve redemption from God after committing adultery and earn the respect of fellow members of their Puritan society while also finding good in themselves. In which, the author ties his message through the main character’s redemption by others, but nothing is more freeing than redemption that is self-realized.
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne links the mind and body together in order to demonstrate the hierarchical relationship the two have by implanting an abstract form of sin into the mind and revealing its tangible effects on the body. As guilt slowly torments Hawthorne and Hester’s spiritual mind and soul, the mental deterioration trickles down into their physical well-being. The two characters exemplify the two polarities of overcoming shame and guilt; Hawthorne represents those who cannot cope while Hester characterizes the able and strong-willed. By crafting these opposite personalities, Hawthorne implies that the mind resides on a higher tier than the body and conditions that affect the mind will subsequently affect the body. However, he suggests that
Even though only one person that he knows of, Hester, knows his sin, he still is going insane from the misconduct he did. Dimmesdale cannot be freed of his private guilt that is driving him crazy. Dimmesdale is noticeable being damaged by the suffering of keeping his guilt private. After Hester and Dimmesdale discuss their plans to runaway together, in the woods, Dimmesdale returns to the town with a new attitude. He grasps the
We are all sinners, no matter how hard we try to hide our faults, they always seem to come back, one way or another. Written in the 19th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows us Hester Prynne and how one sin can change her life completely. Hester Prynne changes a great deal throughout The Scarlet Letter. Through the view of the Puritans, Hester is an intense sinner; she has gone against the Puritan way of life committing the highest act of sin, adultery. For committing such a sinful act, Hester must wear the scarlet letter while also having to bear stares from those that gossip about her.
n The Scarlet Letter, there are many elements of the supernatural that are scattered throughout the story. One example would be the scarlet letter itself. Although the scarlet letter is just a piece of cloth, to the villagers and to Hester, it becomes something else entirely. The symbol is not mere scarlet cloth, tinged in an earthly dye-pot, but was “red-hot with infernal fire, and could be seen glowing all alight, whenever Hester Prynne walked abroad in the night-time” (Hawthorne 21). It seared Hester’s bosom so deeply, that perhaps there was more truth in the rumor than our modern incredulity may be inclined to admit.
The townspeople “[began] to look upon the scarlet letter as a token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since.” This quote exemplifies how sin is not a death sentence for Hester. Through hard work and charity it allowed the rigid Puritan society to see her as something different, and as someone who would not let society define who she was. Hester, thus, was not only able to change herself, but also the image in which society viewed her by working hard to benefit the public. Likewise, the scarlet letter which was supposed to represent sin was instead “fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom.”
In the “Scarlet Letter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays hypocrisy of the Puritan society, where the protagonist Hester Prynne face many consequences of her actions and the how she tries to redeem herself to the society. During the seventeenth puritans believe that it is their mission to punish the ones who do not follow God’s word and it is their job to stop those from sinning. Therefore, the hypercritical puritan society punishes Hester harshly for committing adultery, but in Hester’s mind, she believes that what she did was not a sin but acts of love for her man. Eventually, she redeems herself by turning her crime into an advantage to help those in need, yet the Puritan society still view her as a “naughty bagger.” (Hawthorne 78)