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Chillingworth And Dimmesdale In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'

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Luke Chilton Mrs. Hogg AP English 3 January 2017 Module Eight Lesson Three Mastery Assignment: The Scarlet Letter Chapter 9-12 In the novel, Mr. Chillingworth suggests that it would be a good idea for Chillingworth and Dimmesdale to lodge in the same house. When the Reverend Dimmesdale tells his congregation the he is the worst of all sinners, the congregation becomes fussy and very upset over the fact that he has been a liar and a hypocrite. In penance for his sins, Dimmesdale begins to torture himself by whipping himself, he also begins to fast and stay awake all night, in efforts to hold vigils and meditate. Before arriving at the scaffold, Hester and Pearl had previously been at Winthrop's deathbed. What does the minister reply when Pearl asks him if he will stand on the scaffold with …show more content…

The townspeople who see the red A in the sky interpret it as a sign of respect for Governor Winthrop. They believe that since he passed that night, they believe the A stood for the word Angel. At this point, I believe that Arthur Dimmesdale is a good man, who has done no wrong. He asked for forgiveness, showing that he is truly sorry, and not a bad person. Using the word leech in the titles of Chapters 9 and 10, is ironic because Chillingworth, the physician, uses leeches for bloodletting. He is also using Dimmesdale to find out information. He is “sucking” information out of Dimmesdale like a leech sucks out blood. After the discovery Chillingworth comes about at the end of Chapter 10, his relationship with the minister changes. Chillingworth seeks revenge but doesn't quite know how to go about it. The minister feels something negative is coming his way, but does not suspect it to come from a trusted colleague. One gesture that I believe foreshadows the presence of something beneath Dimmesdale’s vestment is when he would often grab his chest in stressful experiences would arise. One example from the text

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