Although written for different reasons, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Arthur Miller express similar concepts about sin and morality in The Scarlet Letter and The Crucible. Although these works are similar in time period and aspects of plot, both authors use characters to convey their themes. Readers can see strong parallels between characters, such as John Proctor and Arthur Dimmesdale. The audience can find evidence of sin and morality within all of Hawthorne and Miller’s main characters.
Hawthorne wrote during Puritan New England because of personal connection, while Miller drew inspiration from social disorder. Hawthorne himself struggled in coping with sin, a common theme of his stories. Furthermore, he had a Puritan ancestor who was a judge in the Salem witch trials. He writes of his ancestors with admiration, but also concern for their
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Hester understands that she has committed a sin, and takes full responsibility for her actions. She embroiders her own scarlet letter ‘A’ for ‘Adulteress’ that the townspeople make her wear, and dresses Pearl in all red, presumably to acknowledge her sin. However, near the end of The Scarlet Letter, she plans to run away with Dimmesdale, which would challenge her religion and morals. In The Crucible, Mary has wanted to tell the truth since Act I. Throughout the play, she faces peer pressure, which affects her behavior. Abigail and Mercy quickly silence Mary’s urges to ‘tattle’ in Act I, and Mary is convinced otherwise. Later, Mary goes to court with full intentions of judging people fairly, but realizes they are doing “God’s work.” She begins to justify the hangings. Furthermore, she only tells the truth about the poppet because Proctor pressures her to do so. Once in court, the other girls accuse her of witchcraft, and she quickly changes her mind, pledging her allegiance to God, and calling Proctor the Devil’s man. She is one of Miller’s examples of moral