ipl-logo

There Are Some Sins Better Than Others In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

491 Words2 Pages

Are some sins better or worse than others? The story of The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne leads the reader to believe that intentions determine the severity of sin. Presented sinners in the tale are Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. These three people commit sins including dishonesty, adultery, and murder. So which one of these is the worst sinner? The case can be made for one as more sinful than the others or that they are all sinners and that all sin is wrong. Of these sinners, Roger Chillingworth is the worst sinner of them all. He feels no remorse for any of his actions. His driving force is revenge, and he murders Reverend Dimmesdale.
Roger Chillingworth is the worst sinner of them all, because he never felt regret for the things he did throughout the story. Chillingworth’s sins were aimed to bring pain and suffering to others. He never believed that anything he did was wrong. Roger gains much pleasure from the pain he causes to Dimmesdale. “Chillingworth looks at Dimmesdale's chest and does a devilish dance at the sight.” …show more content…

He did everything he knew to do, and he was a very smart man. He befriended Dimmesdale under the pretense of wanting to “help”. He learned all he could about Dimmesdale and concluded he was the man that his wife had been with. As a result of this conclusion, he used the knowledge he gained from the Native Americans to get revenge on Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale had hurt him emotionally and he was going to hurt Dimmesdale

Show More
Related

How Does Chillingworth's Character Change Throughout The Scarlet Letter

558 Words | 3 Pages

After several years, Dimmesdale decides to confess. As he does this, Chillingworth’s attitude towards Dimmesdale changes. Suddenly, Chillingworth does not want Dimmesdale to confess! He seeks “to snatch back his victim from what he [Dimmesdale] sought to do” (Hawthorne, 1994, p. 172).

Read More

Roger Chillingworth Quotes

618 Words | 3 Pages

He acts as if he is completely innocent, though he is just as guilty as Hester and Dimmesdale. This plot of revenge turns him into a “devil.” “In short, old Roger Chillingworth presented a striking example of how a man who spends enough time doing the Devil’s work can actually transform himself into a Devil” (Hawthorne 55). This quote

Read More

Scarlet Letter Arthur Dimmesdale Weak

660 Words | 3 Pages

A man named Chillingworth, who claimed to be a doctor, made Dimmesdale feel worse about his secret, Dimmesdale let him get in his head. Reverend Dimmesdale was very weak for being a priest and putting no faith into his God. Reverend Dimmesdale is afraid of his town and his people finding out about his sin. As a priest he wants to seem holy and sinless like the people think him to be, so he hides the fact he and Hester committed adultery. When Hester is on the scaffold, Dimmesdale is asked to try and get Hester to confess who the father is, “If thou feelest it to be for thy soul’s peace, and that thy earthly punishment will be made more

Read More

Character Foils In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

612 Words | 3 Pages

The reader is especially made aware of Dimmesdale's mental state in the eleventh chapter, “His inward trouble drove him to practices more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome, than with the better light of the church in which he had been born and bred” [150]. This suggests that he is racked with immense guilt and shame at the falsehood he is living and suggests that he is physically abusing himself as a result of this guilt. This directly contradicts Chillingworth's mental state of fury and vengeance that he falls deeper into as the story progresses. These two characters also hold striking incongruities as to what drives them onward as the account

Read More

Roger Chillingworth Archetypes

1396 Words | 6 Pages

Roger Chillingworth is a character seen as a distorted human being, seemingly one without a soul. This is an effortless conclusion to make without proper analysis. Roger Chillingworth is not as twisted as is often thought, as he does many good things that are overlooked. He is open minded and gains knowledge for the good of others. He does evil deeds, but in a human way that makes him quite conflicting.

Read More

Blindness In The Scarlet Letter

1270 Words | 6 Pages

He moves in with Dimmesdale, and claims he will care for him, but the public cannot see that his intention is to torture Dimmesdale. Hawthorne explains, “The intellect of Roger Chillingworth had now a sufficiently plain path before it. It was not, indeed, precisely that which he had laid out for himself to tread. Calm, gentle, passionless, as he appeared, there was yet, we fear, a quiet depth of malice, hitherto latent, but active now, in this unfortunate old man, which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an enemy” (126). He deliberately chooses to drive Chillingworth into insanity.

Read More

Roger Chillingworth Character Analysis Essay

436 Words | 2 Pages

Eventually, he comes aware of what he has done and leaves his property to Pearl and Hester. “Nothing was more remarkable than the change which took place, almost immediately after Mr. Dimmesdale’s death, in the appearance and demeanour of the old man known as Roger Chillingworth” (253). It is obvious that Chillingworth develops an understanding of his sins after Dimmesdale’s death which made Chillingworth’s life without a purpose. To conclude, revenge and sin are one of the most disturbing crimes a man can commit; therefore, symbolism, figurative language, and imagery were used to verify the awful character of

Read More

Hester Prynne Is The Worst Sinner In The Scarlet Letter

601 Words | 3 Pages

Hester Prynne, the Worst Sinner Three different people, all with different stories but all have something in common; they’re all sinners but the question is who is the biggest sinner? In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, many characters are portrayed as sinners like Dimmesdale, Hester, and Chillingworth. But overall the biggest sinner in the story was Hester Prynne and there are many reasons for it. Obviously the reason for the scarlet letter, she was an adulteress. Hester caused many problems with people in the town including the most holy man Dimmesdale and a man that should've never been involved, Chillingworth.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Dimmesdale And Chillingworth A Sinner

480 Words | 2 Pages

Dimmesdale sinned with Hester Prynne by committing adultery. Although this was terrible and looked down upon, his crime was self inflicting and done out of passion. After Hester was punished for the crime, Dimmesdale was overwhelmed with guilt and sadness. This showed that Dimmesdale was a good person

Read More

Sin In The Scarlet Letter

1654 Words | 7 Pages

Same Sin, Different Consequences Punishment is the driving force for every character in The Scarlet Letter and this defines the morals and circumstances possessed by the characters in the novel. Hester is the character who is in the most obvious way being penalized, but not all of these penalizations are as clearly stated. Dimmesdale also endures several penalties. Some are shared between the sinners but others are unique to the individuals. Hester has, arguably the most difficult path to forgiveness.

Read More

The Sin Of Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter

1404 Words | 6 Pages

Because of the effects that Dimmesdale’s sin has on Chillingworth, the town suffers as well. The betrayal of their pastor leads them to refuse to see the truth when he pleads for the public to see his guilt at the end of the novel, and his secrecy from the people that adore him is one of the slyest and vile parts of his sin. The blind faith that the public has in their reverend is mislead by his deceit, which causes his sin to grow to a scale that Hester’s never did. Dimmesdale also harmed Pearl, by not standing with her and Hester on the day they were condemned. When she is grown, she asks, “Doth

Read More

The Hidden Sin In The Scarlet Letter

686 Words | 3 Pages

As the moving of story, the “side effect” of the hidden sin has reveal. Dimmesdale become more sick and powerless. As the end of the story, Dimmesdale concede the sin and died as the winner of the fight with hidden sin. Dimmesdale as a combination of saint and sinner, his sin is not committed adultery, but it is that he cannot face the sin and admit it. He wanted to be all perfect in the eyes of the masses, but destroyed his perfectly in the eyes of God.

Read More

Forgiveness In Scarlet Letter

1175 Words | 5 Pages

He may have ended up being forgiven by God, but the pain and suffering of keeping his secret slowly killed him. Dimmesdale’s knowledge of his own wrongdoing was like a poison seeping through his veins that could never escape, and he knows that God will forgive him, but is that sincerely what he wants. In his final moments he shouts out, “God knows; and He is merciful! He hath proved his mercy, most of all, in my afflictions….Praised be his name!

Read More

Essay On Chillingworth's Revenge

550 Words | 3 Pages

Chillingworth shows no restraint in persecuting Dimmesdale to achieve his ends. When he arrives in the town he finds that a man has committed adultery with his wife, which “[leads] him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an enemy.” From that moment, Chillingworth swears to exact his retribution. He forms a plan which will only satisfy his selfish desire to destroy the man that wronged him.

Read More

Moby Dick Evil Vs Evil Essay

493 Words | 2 Pages

Roger Chillingworth is a physician whose evil is deeply rooted in revenge; his desire to obtain and enact revenge causes him to become mad and eventually perish.

Read More

More about There Are Some Sins Better Than Others In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Related Topics

Open Document