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The Sin Of Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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In the novel, the Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the characters reveal the truth of their sin. the author shows all of the characters sins in depth. he includes things such as description, action, and dialogue to greatly describe the severity of their problems. Dimmesdale reveals his inner sin through the action he prevails, speech, and through the author's description of his character. Dimmesdale is depicted as “the reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, half frozen to death, overcome with shame.”(89). This clearly shows that he no longer knows what to do with himself and that his guilt has overcome him and his physical features. The next way he shows his sin is more subtle, but Hester picks up on it. “She knew the Minister to be in the habit of taking contemplative walks along the shores.” (114). Dimmesdale is self reflecting his sin by thinking about it with longs walk on the shore. the final way Dimmesdale shows his sin is through talking. “Has the mother not expressed this through in the dress of the poor child, so strongly reminding us of that red symbol burning on her bosom?’ (68). the minister is standing up for Hester because they both share the sin. …show more content…

she does it through actions, speech, and Hawthorne's description as well. the first way she shows it is through her actions. “she was mindful of her mistakes and misfortunes.” (51). This quote shows that she is not severe with her punishment. Hester also says some things in the story that reveal her sins as well. “I have greatly wronged you” murmured Hester ”We wronged each other” answered he. (44). This piece of dialogue from hester shows that she feels bad for what she has done. The next thing the author uses to shows sin is description. “Hester Prynne was now fully aware of the deep influences she was responsible for’ (171). Hester is fully aware of the sins she has caused and she doesn't know how to handle the

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According to Hawthorne, the consequence of sin is mental deterioration as represented by Reverend Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is a priest that has committed a vile crime, although only a scanty amount of people know about it. Dimmesdale has not publically announced his sin, which in turn worsens his mental health due to guilt. Dimmesdale stood in front of the town when his past lover, Hester, was being publically humiliated and never uttered a word, only placed “his hand upon his heart” (59). The consequence of not admitting his immoral sin was ultimate guilt.

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In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commits a mortal sin by having an affair with a married woman, Hester Prynne. As a man of the cloth in Puritan society, Dimmesdale is expected to be the embodiment of the town’s values. He becomes captive to a self-imposed guilt that manifests from affair and his fear that he won’t meet the town’s high expectations of him. In an attempt to mitigate this guilt, Dimmesdale acts “piously” and accepts Chillingworth’s torture, causing him to suffer privately, unlike Hester who repented in the eyes of the townspeople. When Dimmesdale finally reveals his sin to the townspeople, he is able to free himself from his guilt.

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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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The Scarlet Letter is a book filled with characters that are neither always good or always evil. Scarlet Letter, written by a famous Romantic author, compiles his book with characters composed of moral vagueness. One of those characters is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is such an engaging character because he is the minister of the town, but also has committed adultery with Hester Prynne and hides it from the community. In being a minster lying and committing adultery are not qualities many other clergymen possess.

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Erin Joel Mrs. Janosy English 2H P 5 22 October 2015 Quote Explication Dimmesdale is trying to overcome a conflict within his own soul, defying his own religion, and choosing to do wrong by keeping his sin to himself. In a theocracy type community like Dimmesdale's, God is known as the supreme civil ruler, and a crime would be known as a sin. On the other hand, Hester’s sin was made known to the public, receiving the public shame and ridicule she deserved. During the duration of time when the public knew Dimmesdale was hiding his sin, “the agony with which this public tortured him” (Hawthorne 119).

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Many characters from The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, changed throughout the progression of the novel, — including Chillingworth, Hester, and even Pearl herself. No character, however, has changed as much as Dimmesdale has. Towards the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale tries to ignore his sinful actions. Near the middle of the book, the clergyman, with the ‘help’ of Chillingworth, is able to realize his wrongdoings, and starts obsessively thinking of those wrongdoings. Around the end of the novel, with the help of the forest’s freedom, is able to finally repent correctly for his sin.

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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a book filled with romance, surprises, and second chances. Arthur Dimmesdale is a reverend, Reverend Wilson’s younger brother. Arthur’s greatest sin, committing adultery with Hester Prynne, will come to haunt him and lead to his eventual, though untimely, death. Reverend Wilson, along with Arthur’s other parishioners, think that he is a saint (or something close to it). Later on, the author uses this to accentuate his greatest flaw, cowardice, when Dimmesdale tries to tell his congregation of his great sin, when Roger Chillingworth asks Dimmesdale to reveal his secret so that he can better treat his illness, and when he meets Hester in the forest.

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OUTLINE INTRODUCTION In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, many people in this community committed a form of sin but hides it due to the consequences. Publicly shamed for committing adultery, Hester must live with a scarlet A on her chest for the rest of her life, but the other person that commits adultery with Hester cannot say a word due to his place in the community. THESIS STATEMENT: Due to his place in the Puritan community, Dimmesdale cannot say a word about committing adultery with Hester, which affects him and Hester and Pearl.

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Despite Hester knowing it in her heart of hearts that she is not alone in her sin she is the only one to be punished for her actions. As she lives her days and walks about her hometown her scarlet

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We are all sinners. Although one may try hard not to sin, all humans eventually succumb at some time or another to sin. While people may not able to avoid the fate which awaits them, the power of free will allows people to decide how they will respond to sin. While some may respond with guilt and regret, others may react with a sense of redemption and a renewed sense of responsibility. Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American author during the 19th century witnessed the power of sin to wreak havoc not only to an individual but a whole community.

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Adultery and lustful sin is an apparent theme in both The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller. In The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale was beloved by the community as a man of God, but was an adulterer in his private life; he had fathered a child out of wedlock and lived a life riddled with guilt. In The Crucible, John Proctor was a farmer who had admitted to his wife that he had sinned, and was paying the price in their personal life. By comparing these two, it can be seen how differently they let their sin and its repercussions affect them, as well as the similarities in their circumstances. Reverend Dimmesdale was a notable preacher in his town who committed adultery with Hester Prynne, conceived a child, and suffered greatly from secret guilt.

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Because of the effects that Dimmesdale’s sin had on those living in his society, his sin is the greatest of all those presented in the novel, as illustrated by Hawthorne through Dimmesdale’s interactions with others. Because, unlike Hester, Dimmesdale hides his sin from the

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Secrecy, in its pure nature, disorients society from what one wishes to expose; it becomes a prerequisite to many for it is portrayed as the only course of action to mask one’s true self, imperfections, and mistakes, without consequences. Society attempts to disguise or delude sins due to shame or fear of dilapidating a reputation and, often, hiding behind white-lies reveals a person’s forthright values and conscientious intentions. Consequently, Nathaniel Hawthorne intensifies the need for secrecy through the character of Arthur Dimmesdale - whom questionably attempts to avoid facing his own sin - by beautifully practicing motif throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale’s mistakes are clearly affirmed to the reader when he commits adultery and keeps his secret to himself. The character does so to preserve his reputation of town-minister with the reasoning that the townspeople would essentially depart from God if he were to “expose himself.”

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The Scarlet Letter Essay Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale were two of the main sinners in The Scarlet Letter. Both characters kept their sins secrete throughout the story. These sins included adultery, revenge, and even murder. Out of the two sinners, Chillingworth was the worst, because he never felt guilt for the terrible things he was doing. Dimmesdale spent his entire life in guilt and remorse for the sins he had committed (“Who”).

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Throughout the novel, Hester is fraught by the Puritan society and her suffering is an effect of how evil society is. Hester continues to believe that the crime she committed was not wrong and she should not be punished for it. Her desire to protect and love Dimmesdale, turn her into a stronger person and become a heroine in the book. Although society still views her as a “naughty baggage” (Hawthorne 73) and is punished for her wrongdoing, Hester never thought to take revenge on them, yet she gives everything she has to the unfortunate and leaves herself with very little. She continues to stay positive no matter what society has for her.

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