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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.
Westby Caspersen October 27, 2015 A Chance for Penance The shunning and malice directed towards the perpetrator of a scandalous act can cause him or her to break under the pressure leading to more scandalous behavior, or it can be accepted, which results in perpetrator being able to earn back acceptance into his or her community and ultimately become a more benevolent person. Scandals and public backlash to them were present in the 1800s while Hawthorne was writing, and still are pertinent today.
The stories themselves closely relate to The Bible story entitled Jesus and the Samaritan Woman. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester commits adultery which causes her to be shunned from her community in Boston. Speak’s Melinda Sordino suffered the sexual sin of another character named Andy, which caused her to be shunned from the school she was enrolled. In the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman, Jesus told the woman, “for you have had five husbands, and the on you now have is not your husband” (English Standard Version John 4.18). Similar to the characters in the novels, the Samaritan woman had also undergone adultery, in which she chose to commit herself.
The Scarlet Letter Arguement According to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the author argues that sin and suffering exists even in a utopian society. To illustrate, Hester prynne commits the sin of adultery.
Two travelers, namely Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, travelled to China independently and while there noted their experiences by writing travel accounts. Although they both went to China, their individual experiences influenced the way they wrote. These individual experiences were primarily driven by differing cultural backgrounds, different time periods and religious beliefs. Marco Polo was born around 1254 in Venice, Europe and was raised Catholic . Marco Polo was privileged and was able to travel to China at the age of 17 with his father and uncle .
Dying with their sins seems to be the greatest fear the townspeople have and Hawthorne describes it as, “Dying sinners cried aloud for Mr. Hopper, and would not yield their breath till he appeared”(10). It is a great vulnerability to bare their deepest mistakes to someone who sees all and judges them for the rest of eternity. “The black veil involved his own spirit in the horror with which it overwhelmed all others”(6) the minister had seen his reflection in a glass cup, reminded of the horrible sin the veil represent for him. He quickly runs, the fear of the known chasing him and taunting him by hanging in front of his face, ever so reminding that he shall die with it.
Have you ever thought how blaming someone could cause problems for you and others? In The Scarlet letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne was blamed for being an adulteress and even took the blame for Dimmesdale, who didn’t say anything for seven years, which made him feel guilty about not revealing to truth. Many readers believe blame doesn’t affect anyone. Blame and guilt affected Dimmesdale’s life throughout the book, and you see countless amounts of blaming during the presidential debate. In my life I have blamed people for my mistakes and regretted it.
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.
His novel The Scarlet Letter expresses this very idea by exposing the follies of mankind and the potentially detrimental effects of sin through Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth
The Hidden Sin and The Revealed Sin As humans, we live in the that are brimming with sins and evil desire. As the creator of all the creatures, God, sent his only son to save the people from the control of devil. The only thing we have to do is to acknowledge our mistake. Bible teach us that we should tell the truth to God and your neighbors, and God will forgive you. But people are worse, they not only hide the sin and their evil behaviors but also try to deny it.
Similarly, Hawthorne uses symbolism of sin in The Scarlet Letter and “The Minister’s Black Veil” to display the negative effects of guilt and sin. Hawthorne uses symbolism in The Scarlet Letter to convey a deeper meaning about the sins the characters have committed. Symbols such as the ‘A’ Hester Prynne is forced to wear on her chest, and the mysterious mark on Dimmesdale’s chest are used to represent the sins the characters committed. When the Puritans of Hester’s community look at her, all they see is sin due to the red letter on her chest. Hawthorne describes this scene as, “Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast,—at her, the child of honorable parents,—at her, the mother of a babe, that would hereafter be
Their sins always had harsh consequences. One theme in The Scarlet Letter deals with sin and consequence of their sins. Hester Pyrnne is an example of someone that sinned and had to
Effect of Sin and the Chance of Redemption Sin is a powerful action that has an everlasting consequence of guilt. Once done, the person wants to forget about his felonious actions; however, hopefully a person’s conscience is a constant, nagging reminder. In order to be free of the constant pain, redemption is pursued for even the person who sinned in public or private. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne proves that the truth of sin eventually need to be confronted in order for a person to stop suffering.
When spoken, the word ‘sin’ always seems to have a negative tone; when discussing the sins another has committed, it usually coincides with a condescending view. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s well-known novel, The Scarlet Letter, the main character, Hester Prynne, committed the sin of adultery. In the time period of the Puritans, adultery was one of the most shameful crimes, considering how strictly they followed the bible. Once word travels around town the way rumours tend to do, Hester quickly becomes the center of attention in the community. There are various impacts; not only on her, but the entire community, with the birth of her barbaric child whom defies the standard Puritan etiquette, and the man who is also guilty and silently suffering.
Everyone is born with original sin: those that were inherited by the transgressions of Adam and Eve. Eve disobeys God, biting eagerly into the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. After this, she forever taints and corrupts the rest of the world with her sin. This would then become a consistent theme throughout literature as humans are depicted as being inclined to evil; to disobey rather than to act in a Godly fashion. Although this is a despairing and futile way to view society, it perhaps is justified and portrayed by Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter.
