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Consequences In Scarlet Letter

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Every single happening in the universe always will inevitable create a resulting effect. Characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter face the repercussions of their own activity continually throughout the novel. Many of those within the novel either dig themselves into a pit of unrelenting punishment or elevate themselves to new heights of contentment all from the original activity taken place. The answer one gives towards the hardest to face ramifications defines him or her profoundly. In Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, consequences follow all actions as revelation the human spirit pushes characters to transform, either evil or honorable, themselves towards the direction of their inclination. Actions of all individuals have …show more content…

After the death of Dimmesdale, Chillingworth loses all purpose he has to his life in the interest of exacting revenge upon Dimmesdale. Within a year, “All his strength and energy—all his vital and intellectual force—seemed at once to desert him; insomuch that he positively withered up, shrivelled away, and almost vanished from mortal sight, like an uprooted weed that lies wilting in the sun” (213). Vindictive people, who dedicate their lives to the destruction of others, often latch onto that revenge and rely on it as their only resource of any joy they can muster. This teaching creates an unhealthy pattern of banking on others to deliver their happiness to them, and putting a stop to the inveterate mindset of revenge proves to be a difficult habit to break. When the first initial stemming of the animosity Chillingworth has for Dimmesdale branches out, the physician’s true colors reveal all insidious intentions he carries in his conscience: “Had a man seen old Roger Chillingworth, at that moment of his ecstasy, he would have had no need to ask how Satan comports himself when a precious human soul is lost to heaven, and won into his kingdom” (126). Mankind sees justice and fair punishment as an equal way to repay the suffering endured, but in the process man can turn malicious and lose sight of the boundary …show more content…

The hidden aftermath of all people’s stays unforeseen until it has taken full effect. How people react to their consequences will either benefit or disadvantage them and their future. The overall handling of their consequences takes a toll on all individuals having large effects on the mind and body. All that applies to life are effects that branch from one single root cause, but there is no predestined path paved for any

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Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, one of the protagonists of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, stands as a highly conflicted character. The source of his divide stems from the consequences of private sins, and is prevalent within the first paragraphs of Chapter 12, “The Minister’s Vigil,” where the narration chronicles Dimmesdale’s surroundings as he dream walks through the town in a state of limbo. He is portrayed as a model citizen who lacks moral imperfections to the general public yet suffers privately from the juxtaposition of his sins to his position within the community. In this specific passage, Hawthorne uses somber diction and imagery to illustrate Dimmesdale’s strife, while portraying his internal conflict through the formation

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(113) “What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him—yea, compel him, as it were—to add hypocrisy to sin?” (62) These passages emphasize the internal conflict within Dimmesdale, he is a man who is desperately trying to hide his sins from the public. The physical description of Dimmesdale emphasizes his physical weakness and fragility, which reflects his moral weakness, linked with his unfaithfulness which brings him to fulfill sinful acts.

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Sin is an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law. Despite the moral principles recognized in everyone, it is so often that individuals succumb to the instant gratification of sin. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the plot is centered around a group of Puritans living in Boston Massachusetts, where the avoidance of sin is one of their most absolute doctrines. He truly captures how sin affects individuals in a strict civilization through the use of various rhetorical devices, focusing on the symbolism of the characters, the distinct tone employed to convey specific messages, and the analogies further that emphasize and develop the effects of sin on individuals.

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Humans have a tendency to conform and often neglect the potential consequences of doing so. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author introduces those consequences through a respected clergyman and sinner named Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale struggles with his guilty conscience and cowardice to confess his sin which prompts him to abide by societal rules but question himself in private. Dimmesdale’s conflict between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the novel’s message that everybody must confront their sins or they will fall victim to some form of retribution.

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One spontaneous but significant mistake made by Arther Dimmesdale caused him to live the rest of his life crawling with guilt. Arthur Dimmesdale, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, had an affair with a married woman, and that crime ruined the lives of almost everyone in the novel. The Scarlet Letter remains a classic to this day because it emphasizes harsh penance which highlights the difference between the treatment of sinners today and those during the 17th century. The way Puritans view sin and guilt cause Dimmesdale’s life to come to an unfortunate end.

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Oftentimes, an event that seems and feels negligible can have an immense impact on a person’s psyche and physical actions. A passage from chapter 20 of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne presents this phenomenon through Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The passage shows Dimmesdale’s change from a weak, broken man to one with boundless energy as well as his change of view on life through symbolism. The change in Dimmesdale is seen immediately after he exits the forest, for he is described as having “unaccustomed physical energy” (Hawthorne, 188).

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128 Words | 1 Pages

Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of the first great American writers and author of The Scarlet Letter, is credited with saying that “families are always rising and falling in America.” He is saying that families have ups and downs all throughout their lives. This quote applies to The Scarlet Letter on a smaller scale in the sense that people are always rising and falling in Puritan Society. The rises and falls are often shaped by outside influences and can be internalized. Dimmesdale, for instance, faces many falls, not by the public, but by his own emotions.

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84 Words | 1 Pages

In other words, ideas of the inherently flawed human can be compared to the importance of the human heart, and why it cannot be underestimated in The Scarlet Letter. Its function is to connect the individual to the world of nature and to common humanity. Hawthorne suggests that by fully accepting and honoring the human heart, man can find a balance between nature and society. “When man can live an existence which will allow nature and society to be in concord rather than conflict”.

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1842 Words | 8 Pages

Avenging and vengeful is the man who is wronged! This statement could be applied to several characters throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Sinful acts are inflicted upon many of the minute cast of characters, which impose a riveting journey for the reader to endure. Even more so are the reactions these prominent characters have toward their anguish and adversities as they heave themselves into the depths of solitariness, self-inflicted agony, and woe. Among these richly intriguing personalities is the town’s sinful stain, Hester Prynne, who has committed adultery; the demon-child, Pearl, who was a product to her mother’s adultery; the unholy clergyman, Arthur Dimmesdale, the other adulterer; and the implacable Doctor, Roger Chillingworth.

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784 Words | 4 Pages

Should Public Humiliation Be Used As A Punishment For Crime? In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses public humiliation to shame a puritan women named Hester Prynne for her sin of adultery. To punish her for her sin, the puritan officials of the community force her to wear a scarlet letter “A” upon her chest to publicly shame her and so that everyone in the community can mock her for her sin. Public humiliation is still used by people and by the government in some ways as a punishment.

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806 Words | 4 Pages

Dimmesdale is a hypocritical reverend that does not confess his sin, and Chillingworth who is the knowledgeable physician, does not treat his patient. As a result of his actions, the Clergyman’s health rapidly declined until the end where he was brought to the scaffold to ,“die this death of triumphant ignominy before the people!”(Hawthorne 383). This may seem like a strange story now but when studied and compared to the writing era it originated from, all aspects of Romanticism fit. Each main character in the story has their own unique personality full of conflicting thoughts and complex emotions. Every time Dimmesdale clenched his chest in pain or wallowed in self-pity, he did not feel only one thing, but felt several.

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1458 Words | 6 Pages

However, he also uses these allusions to create a new side to his narrative as evident when he describes Hester’s resilience, and to create a new element in the plot as evident in his description of Dimmesdale’s penance and need for redemption. Therefore, Hawthorne demonstrates an effective use of allusions to craft a religious and detailed narrative for The Scarlet Letter by reviewing on parallels between the Bible and the novel’s main characters. There’s more to The Scarlet Letter than these allusions though, and there are many questions to answer about this book. These questions may never be answered fully, but by reading the novel itself, we might find the right places to start searching for answers and formulate our own opinions on the matter. What’s important from this novel is the realistic warning about what might happens when an individual place themselves too highly among others, a message Hawthorne writes to warn against the fervor of transcendentalism of his time.

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796 Words | 4 Pages

The Consequences of Sin Sin is defined as “an offense against religious or moral law”. The idea of sin and being ostracized for your sins was extremely relevant during the Puritan period when religion was the greatest component of daily life. The Puritans believed that they had entered a covenant with God and therefore any sin, such as crime and adultery were considered a breach of their covenant with God. This view led to the church punishing people who committed sin in order for God not to punish the church as a whole. The consequences and effects of sin is shown through the character development in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter.

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686 Words | 3 Pages

He was the last person that people would think as a sinner. Dimmesdale was sin when he was committed adultery with Hester. He broke the law of church, but he was afraid to face the punishment and indifferent attitude from he masses. As a faithful follower, Dimmesdale also afraid the punishment of God, so he flog himself with a whip. The physical and spiral torture and the control of Chillingworth stranded him in a world that he cannot contact with others.

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480 Words | 2 Pages

Chillingworth came back into town and learned his wife had conceived a child with someone. He then made up his mind to find the other adulterer and seek revenge on him. When Chillingworth learned that Dimmesdale was the other adulterer, he did everything he could to make Dimmesdale feel worse. This crime was directed at causing pain and suffering to another, making this a terrible sin (“Who”). Chillingworth and Dimmesdale committed two completely different sins.

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