Similarities Between The Scarlet Letter And The Crucible

The Puritans are a group of Christians who originally came from England, where they were persecuted and scorned for their beliefs. In the 16th and 17th centuries, they moved to the colonies in America to create a new life for themselves where they could practice their religion freely. One of the most famous Puritan communities is Salem, which is in modern Massachusetts. Salem is well known for the Salem Witch Trials where countless innocent people were hung on the accusation of witchery. Both The Crucible by Arthur Miller and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne take place in Salem. The Crucible takes place during the trials, while the Scarlet Letter does not. Both Hawthorne and Miller have a strong distaste for the Puritan way of life,

In the Scarlet Letter, the most obvious example of irony is the fact that Reverend Dimmesdale is Hester’s counterpart and fellow adulterer. Dimmesdale’s sin is dramatically ironic because the readers catch on to it much sooner than most of the characters in the story. The audience slowly realizes that Dimmesdale was Hester’s companion because of several events. First, whenever he is to speak about Hester or on the topic of sins, he becomes very pale and shaky. He also progressively appears sicker and more gaunt due to the guilt that builds up inside his body and consumes his mind. Secondly, when Dimmesdale is participating in the questioning of Hester, he at first states that a woman has a right to keep secrets, and then later pushes Hester to speak the name- as if he is both frightened of the answer, and hoping for her to

The audience learns early in the play that Abigail, Betty, Mercy, and Mary Warren are witches trying to cover their tracks by accusing others of witchery. At one point when Betty is ill in bed, all of the girls are in the same room and are discussing what happened. They all went out at night and danced around a fire, Tituba charmed blood, and Abigail drank it- hoping to kill Elizabeth Proctor, the wife of her love interest. When they meet in the house, the girls plan to admit to dancing, but nothing more (Miller 18-20). At the end of the act, they start accusing nearly everyone of being a witch to get themselves out of trouble (48). This irony is significant because Miller is mocking how the Puritans believed the girls without question. Everyone they accused was thrown into jail without a fair hearing. The Puritan people were so obsessed with punishment, that they didn’t even think twice about administering