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Sin and punishment in scarlet letter
Theme of punishment in scarlet letter
Theme of punishment in scarlet letter
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David Laskin—a graduate from Harvard College in 1975 and Oxford University in 1977—earned a degree in history and literature as well as a master’s in English. He has devoted twenty-five years of his life to writing nonfiction and producing articles for various magazines, including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among others. As an author and freelance writer, he has produced numerous, notorious works, including his latest title, The Children’s Blizzard, which earned him the Washington State Book Award as well as the Midwest Booksellers Choice Award in 2004. Among his other famous works lies The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War. The monograph focuses on the lives of twelve renowned
Throughout the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates the Puritan community as judgemental. Naturally, humans attempt to hide their mistakes and imperfections from the world. The protagonists of the story battle with concealing their feelings of shame from the town. Hawthorne shows that self-isolation will inevitably lead to the destruction of one’s character, suggesting that those who admit to their sins are able to thrive. He accomplishes this by contrasting character changes between Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, and Hester Prynne.
The oxymoron of death and celebration often occurred in Puritan societies as Puritans viewed public punishment and executions as joyful entertainment. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne examines the concept of guilt and how it negatively affects the human soul. As he reveals a dark and gloomy Puritan society, Hawthorne introduces Hester Prynne, mother of young Pearl, who has recently committed adultery and is being publicly shamed for her punishment. Betwixt and hidden beneath this conflict, is Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester’s partner in crime, who struggles with the guilt of his sin. As the town begins to forgive Hester Prynne, Dimmesdale’s distraught soul causes his physical and mental health to decline.
As two main characters in The Scarlet Letter, which is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester and Dimmesdale are committed adultery, therefore, the scarlet letter is patched on Hester’s chest. Accordingly, Hester and Dimmesdale have some similarities and differences. Both of the characters have the same sin, love each other, love Pearl , and indeed, they have been changed by their sin. On the other hand, the way that Hester and Dimmesdale deal with their sin is totally different, and it brings them to different ending as well. Hester and Dimmesdale love each other deeply, even though they have changed totally since their identical sin has revealed.
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, reveals many aspects of human nature. One of Hawthorne’s prevalent themes is the way in which hidden sin affects the human soul. Through the progression of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Hawthorne explores the dynamic way in which hidden sin ultimately induces more suffering than open ignominy, using figurative language and contrast to convey his message. Immediately before Dimmesdale gives an impassioned plea for Hester to reveal her partner in sin, Hawthorne indicates through imagery and contrast that Dimmesdale’s sin does not yet have a great impact on his livelihood. Hawthorne notes that Dimmesdale’s “eloquence and religious fervor had already given the earnest of high eminence (46).”
Hester was publicly shamed in front of the Puritan Society. On the
Throughout Hawthorne’s novel, a direct connection can be made through narration and the events that supposedly a “pure” man has to encounter. Hawthorne encourages you to take a deeper look in the nature of sin and the corruption surrounding religion. To add ingratiate his plot and to distance himself from the narrator, Hawthorne uses a story-in-story approach to further insure his credibility, increasing the author’s ethos. Regarding his position on the nature of sin and corruption of religion, Hawthorne is not for the Puritan Church of Salem because of the corruption within the system. During chapter three, with the prior knowledge of Hester Prynne’s sin, Hawthorne exposes Minister Dimmesdale as the father and lover of Hester.
Considering the townspeople’s reactions toward Hester’s sin of adultery, it can be concluded that in the Puritan era, religion was of utmost importance, and the Puritans met sins with extremely harsh punishments. Because the majority of the Puritan town viewed Hester as a disgrace, she became “Lonely . . . and without a friend on earth” (56). This made it effortless for the inhabitants of the town to continue to insult and degrade Hester because they did not care to learn her true personality. While a few civilians had sympathy for Hester, the town mostly regarded her as shameful and
The“Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne has become an american phenomenon. In the “Scarlet Letter” the main character, Hester, is charged with adultery. The people of the puritan faith put Hester through harsh punishments. The puritans believed that they had to purify the christian faith. Hester's punishment was too Harsh because pearl could have been harmed, Hester’s husband was lost, and this mistake will follow Hester for the rest of her life.
The book “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a complex novel that has underlying themes of sin and the responsibility for sin. The novel takes place in a Puritanical society, but two people, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, fornicate with each other, even though Hester is married to someone else. Only Hester is punished, so Dimmesdale keeps his guilt inside, not revealing it to anyone. Hester’s husband, Chillingworth, then proceeds to ruin Hester’s partner in crime, corrupting his soul and being the ultimate cause for his death. Hester, on the other hand, leads a relatively happy life after she had repented for her sin.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter depicts two different attitudes regarding the sin of adultery. One of the two attitudes hits on the morals of Hester and Dimmesdale. This attitude shows that they are sinners and need to repent for what they have done. The second attitude expresses that their actions are acceptable due to the circumstances.
Punishment in The Scarlet Letter In life everyone falls short of making the right decisions, but mistakes do not define a person, one is defined by the deeds they accomplish and the tasks they are able to overcome even in the most difficult trials. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne asserts the fact that self punishment is more conflicting than social punishment in order to prove the Puritans customs were askew. He rebuts the Puritans through the main characters Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale as they face hardships of the societal humiliation as well as the forgiveness they must give themselves. At times, the punishment should fit the crime, but under certain circumstances, the crime itself holds all the punishment that is
Opposing the society, and not obeying the Puritan religious standards, Hester unconsciously gives the Bostonian community an impulse to contradict deformed norms. With time, Hester 's and Pearl 's isolation and acceptance of fate causes the society to forget and adapt to their sin, and therefore makes it more liberal. The Puritan society is no longer so prejudiced and is even thankful for Hester 's charitable deeds. It can be argued that Hester is the embodiment of the new democratic world which endorses individualism and independence, and supersedence of outdated Puritan
Hester's punishment was a judicial sentence; however, being forced to stand on the scaffold for three hours, and to wear the scarlet letter "A" for the rest of her life. It was socially humiliating. Hester was sent to prison for committing adultery. Hester was forced to live with the consequences by wearing the scarlet letter "A". Hester is physically and emotionally reminded of her sin, while wearing the scarlet letter "A".
The Puritan society thinks that it was their job to punish people who committed crime severely because they believe they were doing god’s work. They persecuted Hester for committing adultery while they are blinded by
