The Role Of Adultery In The Crucible

In the novels, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, discipline played an important role. Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter committed adultery and was sentenced to wear the letter “A” on her bosom at all times and to stand on a scaffold every Sunday at twelve. In The Crucible, discipline was known to be more extreme. Innocents began to lose lives as they were either hanged or pressed by stone. In both novels, the discipline was supported by the townspeople. Extreme discipline was given to sinners and lawbreakers because of the Christian belief the characters had in both novels. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester committed adultery and was sentenced to wear an “A” on her bosom, which stood for adultery. Adultery is an unforgivable sin to the Puritans, so when Hester gave birth to her daughter, Pearl, and her husband was missing, the townspeople knew a crime was committed and she must be punished. Townspeople did not think this was enough punishment for such crime. They wanted her child taken from

Innocent people were being accused of being witches and being seen with the devil.The consequence, if found guilty, is to be hung. Accusing others was a way to save themselves. After accusing someone else, that person would have to confess to being a witch or seen with the devil. Naming someone else who they “seen” with the devil was the next step to their freedom. This became a chain reaction and before the townspeople knew it, loved ones, friends, and neighbors were all being hanged. It started affecting the town more and more. Families lost mothers and some fathers, children became orphans, and the greedy became richer. Compared to today, society has a lot of freedom. If someone was to be practicing witchcraft there wouldn’t be much of a punishment because today we have the first amendment in the constitution, which allows freedom of